4. What recent discussions has the Minister had with other Government ministers on the role of active travel in promoting health and wellbeing for children and young people? OAQ53559

Thank you for that question. The Cabinet has discussed our 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' strategy, which is currently out for consultation, to agree eight priority areas on physical activity. I've since established a cross-Government implementation board; the first meeting that took place was attended by me and my colleague Dafydd Elis-Thomas. There are a range of programmes, such as the daily mile, the Healthy and Active Fund and active travel to school, which support delivery of our ambitions.

Well, thank you very much for that answer, Minister. I'm pleased that you've already—. You've pre-empted my question, because part of the delivery of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013—brought through with laudable ambitions by my colleague John Griffiths here, before my time—sets out that Wales would become the country where it was the most natural thing to walk and cycle, it was the most natural way to get about. But we held a debate only last week where we showed the distance that there is between that laudable aim and actually the reality on the ground, and a lot of this is to do with cross-Government working. So, could I have that commitment on record from the Minister that he will continue to work with other Government Ministers, including the Minister for Education, to ensure that active travel to and from schools becomes a key part of the Public Health Wales administered healthy schools programme? This will not eat into schools' time, into any curriculum delivery, and it can be done cheaply and well, as we saw only recently at the cross-party group on active travel, delivered in Cardiff itself. So, would he commit to that cross-Government working with the Minister for Education to really embed it within the healthy schools programme?

Yes, I'm more than happy to continue the work that I and Dafydd Elis-Thomas have started with a range of Ministers with an interest. And, of course, the Minister for Education has a specific role and remit over what takes place within the school. There's a challenge about not just what takes place in the curriculum, but the broader culture within that school, but—obviously, with our colleague the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport in particular—to understand how we get children to and from the school as well. Now, it isn't just about travel in the school day, it is also work, for example, on our response to the 20's Plenty for Us campaign as well—the evidence that exists about whether speed limits make a difference about people's willingness to travel to school and undertake other forms of getting to and from school, their place of work and moving around socially as well. So, there's a wide range of activity that I'm interested in to fundamentally change the way that we move and the way that we actually have health outcomes here in Wales as well.

Minister, I'm encouraged to hear how you're talking to colleagues, because this does seem to me an area for the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 methodology to come in place, because, clearly, you can improve health. The other key thing, if we do, is we improve the environment, because the school run is something that really got embedded in the 1990s. Of course, those of us of an older generation have no idea about it. It still amazes me to see just how much traffic there is taking children and young people to and from school. I did notice there was an excellent demonstration outside the Senedd—unfortunately, not on a sitting day—of young people demanding more action. One thing they could demand is an end to the school run. I think that is a real thing that would help improve the situation. And it's really that sort of challenge that we now need in the system.

I recognise exactly the point you make and I'm, in politics, young—in real life, I'm a middle-aged man—and so I do remember going to school and the normal thing was that people walked, and you got a bus to school if your school was further afield. There were very few cars around the primary school that I attended, and yet, in most of my constituency and in most others, there are a significant number of short journeys to and from school. I normally walk, and sometimes end up carrying my son to school, but the normal way for us to get to school is not to get in the car. There's a challenge about how we renormalise behaviour, and, again, that challenge about not wanting to judge people, because, actually, that doesn't help them to engage, but how we make it easier for people to make that journey a normal one without the aid and benefit of a car.

I was delighted to take part in the health committee's recent inquiry into increasing physical activity among young people, and I'm looking forward to going through the report that I pushed to have, to go through it in more detail. But one of the key things that was highlighted in that report was the need to push active travel for children. And I am also pleased that you're talking with other Government colleagues about what can be done, but, of course, what you're talking about is crucial here. Not only do we need to see co-operation, but we need to see co-budgeting, I think, between Government departments. Can you assure us that you are moving away from what would perhaps be called a silo way of working in order to find ways of co-funding schemes that have benefits across departments?

Well, every department needs to think not only about its own individual priorities, but actually priorities for the Government, and on a number of the areas—this is only one example—what is a Government priority with a lead Minister requires action by a number of other people to make it real. That's exactly what we are aiming to do. I will, of course, be responding to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee's report in due course properly and fully, and we'll see if this place allocates time for a debate in the Chamber as well.