6. Will the Welsh Government's decision regarding the M4 relief road be made under the current First Minister or his successor? OAQ52621

I'm pleased to be able to tell the Chamber today that the public inquiry inspector's report has now been received by officials. Following due diligence, a decision will be made by Welsh Ministers and, ultimately, the current First Minister, on the statutory orders process—effectively, whether planning permission is granted. An open and robust debate will then take place before a final investment decision.

So, the current First Minister, who, to put it I hope not pejoratively, is on his way out, will be the decision maker, yet, whatever decision he takes, there'll then be a robust debate about his decision. Is it not the case, Cabinet Secretary—? You let the cat out of the bag earlier in response to Caroline Jones, when she asked would you assure her that south-west Wales would be getting as much investment in respect of the M4 as south-east Wales. And actually neither's going to be seeing very much investment at all under your party and the congestion will only get worse.

I don't think that's a fair comment, given some of the projects that we are currently funding in south-west Wales and given the developments that are currently in train, particularly with regard to the Swansea bay metro programme. The decision will be for the First Minister, but a debate will take place, and that debate will, I'm sure, see a number of alternative expressions of interest given and a number of alternative ideas for how we resolve the M4 congestion around Newport. This is a very divisive issue—I respect that—but the decision must be evidence based, and when we look at the evidence available to us, the benefit-cost ratio of the proposal is classed as high, particularly when you compare it to some of the other major infrastructure projects that are taking place or have taken place across the UK. It emerges favourably when you compare it, for example, to the A303 Stonehenge bypass, which was given a BCR of just 1.3, or the A470, 1.05.

However, in recognition of the different views around the Chamber and the need to ensure that we invest in alternative means of travelling, it's fair to say that we need to look at car sharing schemes as well as personalised travel plan schemes and active travel wherever and whenever we can, because it's an interesting fact that, with car sharing schemes, there's a BCR of between 1.95 and 6, and personalised travel plans, 4.5 to 31.8. Active travel provides a very high BCR as well and that's part of the reason why we decided in Government to significantly increase our spending on active travel, in order to accelerate the development and delivery of active travel routes that offer an alternative means of getting people from A to B.

Whoever makes the decision on the M4, there's no doubt that Newport is being choked by significant traffic congestion. On the M4 as it is now and when there is an accident on that route, the rest of Newport becomes absolutely gridlocked, and this will only get worse with the lifting of the Severn tolls imminently. Everybody agrees that something needs to be done. While regular, reliable public transport certainly is crucial, this is not the complete answer. The metro plans around Newport have a long way to go before they move from coloured lines on the map to actual routes and services. Does the Cabinet Secretary agree with me that this problem needs addressing quickly and that it's our duty not to allow this to be passed on to the next generation?

It's my very firm view that easing congestion around Newport needs to be accomplished as soon as possible. We also need to look at alternative ways of enabling people to pass through Newport, or to travel within the Newport area. Again, that work needs to be conducted at speed. It's something that we're examining as part of reforms of local bus services across Wales and I'm keen to ensure that, moving forward, there is a greater role being played by Transport for Wales in planning public transport solutions across the country. I'd be very happy to facilitate a discussion between the Member and Transport for Wales, exploring her many ideas on how we can ensure that congestion is eased, not just on the M4, but on the local roads in the Newport area as well.

The First Minister has confirmed, of course, to my fellow Plaid Cymru Member, Adam Price, in response to a written question, that the report of the public inquiry and the decision on the statutory orders will be subject to a debate and a vote in this Chamber before a decision is taken. Can you, therefore, confirm to us all whether that vote will be a binding vote?

We're currently examining options. We had determined that a 'to note' debate would be appropriate, however further discussions are taking place on whether the debate should, indeed, have a binding vote.