Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:53 pm on 27 February 2018.
Can I thank Jenny for her questions and for highlighting a most pressing problem, particularly in urban areas, which is the existence of carbon canyons, in many respects, that are polluting the lungs of commuters, and in particular young people? The irony, of course, is that within those more intensely urbanised areas young people can most easily access places of education on foot. What's preventing them from doing that is either parental fear or their own fear of not being safe on the roads or on pavements, or indeed, I'm afraid, a lack of desire to actually be physically active.
It used to be, certainly when I was in school, that it was cool to cycle to school. I'm not sure whether that's still the case today. It seems to be that it's often cool to be picked up, to have a chauffeur. Again, it's absolutely crucial that, within the school estate, they check these behaviours and that practices are challenged and changed. I do think that there is a role for education practitioners to take up in leading that sort of cultural change.
Money I don't think should be raised just by Welsh Government for these purposes. I stated just previously that I think it's absolutely essential that local authorities also play a role in increasing the amount of resource that can be made available for active travel. I think it's a really interesting suggestion that you've made about having a levy on car parking. The Welsh Government doesn't have a monopoly on ideas and what we're looking for from local authorities as partners, working individually or together, is good ideas that will challenge and also deliver game-changing proposals that will increase levels of physical activity and bring about a healthier nation. I think that the idea of a levy is certainly one that's worth further consideration.
I think Jenny has been very consistent over many years in championing active travel, and I'd like to put on record my thanks to her for ensuring that I, personally, am fully accountable for the level of spend and the commitment that the Welsh Government shows to active travel. Again, I can give my commitment to Jenny that in future budgets I will be seeking a significant increase in the amount of funding that's available for active travel projects.