Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:55 pm on 27 February 2018.
I'm afraid, coming a little late in a debate, that sometimes many of the points that I wish to make have already been made, Cabinet Secretary. I thank you, obviously, for your statement, and please forgive me if I do reiterate some of the points that have already been made this evening.
The measurement of any programme can be challenging. We see with many plans that the focus is often on activities surrounding their implementation, rather than their outcomes. What is the Cabinet Secretary putting in place in order to monitor the effectiveness of your active travel programme?
It has been stated that funding was set at £5 per head of population. We've already talked about funding, but it has been mooted that it's probably nearer £3. Could the Cabinet Secretary update us on figures that are more current than that? You mentioned the Scottish figure, but you didn't actually give us that figure, so could you do that as well?
The active travel Act puts Wales at the forefront of action to promote walking and cycling, for which it received international recognition. However, the sight of ranks of buses and cars outside schools, often engaged in travelling quite short distances, shows how deep the problem is in effecting a modal shift in people's attitudes. Does the Cabinet Secretary share with me the belief that there should be a concerted effort within schools to convert our young people to a greater use of the bicycle and walking for school access?
The last point I wish to raise with the Cabinet Secretary is the seeming lack of ambition by local authorities with regard to their integrated travel maps. This has been identified by no less an authority than the Welsh Local Government Association, who believe that this is due to local authorities' fears of a lack of funding for the active travel infrastructure that they envisage. Could the Cabinet Secretary make a comment on this observation? Thank you.