2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:26 pm on 25 September 2018.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 2:26, 25 September 2018

Leader of the house, can I have two statements—one from the Cabinet Secretary for health, who's left the Chamber at the moment, some time before the October recess, on the boundary changes progress as far as Cwm Taf and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health boards are concerned, so that we can have an update on what's happening and where we will be going? Because this will take effect as of April next year and it's important that we, as Members, are able to have that detailed an opportunity to examine the Cabinet Secretary on those matters.

The second point is that, as you may well know, we had a long campaign in Aberafan on the junction 41 closure trial that existed. We eventually managed to persuade the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport that the decision to stop the trials and keep the junction open was the right decision, and that has been working ever since. Now, last week, a report commissioned by the Welsh Government on the M4 junction 41 to 42 temporary 50 mph speed limit and the emissions was published. In that is the reintroduction of a possibility of closing the westbound slip road for junction 41 again. This, clearly, is unacceptable in my constituency, and I will once again be fighting any chances of this happening, but can we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport to reaffirm his decision at the earlier start of this Government to keep that junction open and operational? Because any attempt to close that junction on the grounds of pollution I can assure you will increase pollution on the ground where people are breathing it in, as the cars get congested on the local roads. It is not an answer to this and whoever wrote this clearly doesn't know the streets or the congestion caused during that trial.