7. What is the Welsh Government doing to alleviate congestion in and around Newport? OAQ52994

We are taking significant steps to tackle congestion and improve journey-time reliability across Wales, through our road infrastructure projects, pinch-points programme and improvements to public transport.

Thank you, leader of the house. Newport's road network is undeniably under strain. Any incident or heavy congestion on the M4 has a significant effect, not just on the main artery for Wales, but a severe knock-on effect on local roads. It also causes traffic that's passing through the city on the M4, like heavy goods vehicles and others, to spill out onto Newport's roads. Next week, the Severn bridge tolls will finally be lifted. Without any mitigation, this will put an additional pressure on the bottleneck at the Brynglas tunnels. Already poor air quality due to idling traffic will only get worse. With bus companies finding it hard to cope during heavy congestion and current disruption on trains, local people have very few alternatives. What preparation is being made to help alleviate congestion on an already struggling road network following the abolishment of the tolls?

Thank you for that very important question. We've been conducting a series of studies into measures to tackle pinch points on the most heavily congested parts of the motorway and trunk road network. Those studies are under way, and as soon as we've got the results, we will be acting on them. Our transport network needs to obviously be sustainable, as the Member rightly points out.

The pinch-point studies are designed to look at a range of solutions to congestion problems right across the whole range of things available, from public transport to active travel measures, for example. We continue to support local authorities in addressing key local congestion issues through the provision of financial support and collaborative working. A number of other things have been done on the artery, as she calls the M4, quite rightly. M4 junction 28—the construction was completed in autumn 2018, representing an investment of £13.7 million in that area, and the Brynglas tunnels have recently had a £40 million uplift to ensure the tunnels are compliant with current design standards. In addition, essential maintenance has been carried out on the Usk river bridge and the Malpas viaduct.

The Member will, of course, be aware of where we are with the M4 corridor around Newport. The year-long public inquiry has just finished, and we are awaiting advice from the lawyers on the public inquiry to be supplied to the Executive when that's complete. We hope that that process will continue, and then, as the Llywydd knows, we're hoping to get a debate in Plenary time, as promised, on the M4.

I note that the Minister got through a minute and a half before you actually mentioned the M4 relief road, and I do hope we have this debate next week, as I think you suggested in a prior session. I just wonder, given the First Minister has worked so hard to ensure that he doesn't prejudice his position so that he can consider the inquiry dispassionately and then take the planning decision, isn't it important that he's allowed to take that planning decision, even if a new First Minister in Welsh Government, nonetheless, thereafter, has to decide whether to actually spend the money on taking up that permission if he grants it?

Well, no, that's not how the legals work; it's an executive decision for the Government. So, if it's not the Government, then, obviously, he can't take it. However, we are currently working very hard, as I've said repeatedly—we're currently working very hard to make sure that all of the legal advice and all of the other advice necessary to ensure that the decision can be properly considered and taken in the light of all relevant information will be available. As soon as it's available, then the First Minister will be able to apply his mind to that. There's no certainty of the outcome of that; the First Minister needs to apply his judgment to that when he's got all of that information in front of him. Once that has been done, then it can proceed to the next stages of that very, very complex legal set of issues that surround it.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank organisations such as Gwent Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Earth Cymru for their vocal opposition to the Government's proposed black route M4 around Newport, which, as we all know, will do nothing to alleviate congestion around the city or the wider area. I note that it took the leader of the house a little while to get round to mentioning the black route in her answer, but I wonder if she'll take this opportunity now to agree with me that we'd be far better off, financially and environmentally, by investing money earmarked for the black route instead on the final phases of the metro system and improving public transport links between the communities of the south-east.

As I said, the Government is in a legal process; it's not for me to upset the legal process. The legal process is a set process that I've explained on a lot of occasions; I'm happy to explain it again. The reason I took a little while to get to the M4 is because I do think that Members need to understand that this is a range of measures; there are a suite of things happening across the road network in that area as well as across Wales, and to get fixated on a single project is not necessarily where we want to be. It's a very important project, of course it is. There is a legal process that we are in, the legal process is inexorable, we must follow it to its conclusion, whatever that is, and I'm sure the Member will be taking part in the debate when it's brought forth.

Leader of the house, one of the issues, when it comes to tackling the pinch points, of course, is that you often just free up traffic to go to the next pinch point. One of the next pinch points further on from that location, of course, is the A470, which is now recognised, actually, as the most congested part of Wales with very serious pollution issues. Would you agree with me that the ultimate solution to our problems on the roads is the development and maintenance of a public transport system that gives people the opportunity not to have to drive on the roads to get to where they need to go, using a safe and efficient and comfortable public transport system?

Yes, and as I said, I emphasised that the pinch-point studies are designed to look at a range of solutions to congestion problems—not just road building, but absolutely everything, from public transport to active travel. A whole suite of measures is necessary to reduce congestion in most parts of Wales, not a fixation on a single part of that.