5. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport: Active Travel

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:58 pm on 14 May 2019.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 4:58, 14 May 2019

I think many have made the point, Minister, that there is a lack of consistency across Wales, and you yourself have made that point. So, there is a need for more training, more capacity, more support for our local authorities. Substantial funding is available, although hopefully it will increase further, but to think of that funding and then hear you describe some of the use of that money, which is not really achieving the purposes of the active travel Act, I think will give everyone pause for thought, because we are tasked with making effective use of money. It's very, very important always, but perhaps even more so now in the current strained circumstances in which we all operate. So, providing that capacity building to make sure that the money is properly used and that we do get the benefits of the active travel Act, and get them as quickly as possible, must be an absolute priority. I really would like to see that level of consistency right across Wales in terms of the benefits that active travel brings.

Jenny mentioned 20 mph limits, Minister. I wonder if you could say a little bit more about that, because it does seem to me that the many benefits that 20 mph limits offer in our inner-urban areas are very conducive to active travel. If we do reduce the speed of vehicles through those areas, it does make active travel much more attractive, much more doable. So, I do think the two policies need to work in tandem. At the moment, local authorities face considerable costs in taking forward traffic orders for 20 mph limits. If that was turned on its head and there was a blanket 20 mph policy in these inner-urban areas right across Wales, and then they only took traffic orders forward for 30 mph speeds, I think that would actually offer quite a considerable cost saving, given the direction of travel that we need towards 20 mph, with all the benefits that it offers. So, I wonder if you could perhaps say a little bit about that.

And, finally, Transport for Wales obviously has a key role now in taking forward transport policy here in our country, and we need to make sure that, again, those linkages are made between active travel, our train services and, perhaps to a lesser extent, our bus services, just to make sure that everything is linked up, and that Transport for Wales is working with you as closely as possible to make sure that communication, joint working, synergies are achieved.