3. Will the First Minister make a statement regarding safety on the M4 in the Swansea area? OAQ54294

Llywydd, the Welsh Government continually monitors the safety of the M4 and addresses any immediate issues as a matter of urgency. A wide range of measures to improve safety and transport opportunities along the M4 west corridor has now been identified and we will make that report publicly available by the end of September.

Can I thank the First Minister for that response? As he's well aware, a large number of accidents of various degrees of seriousness have occurred between junction 45 and junction 47, which cover my constituency. I could continue it on into David Rees's constituency as well, but I won't do that—I think he'll have an opportunity later.

I think that it is a problem there. A number of regular users of the road have approached me concerned about drainage and the road surface, which they believe have contributed to accidents in this area. Will the First Minister arrange for an investigation into those concerns and, if they are proved to be correct, arrange for the problems to be rectified?

I thank Mike Hedges for that question. He's right to say, of course, that anybody who has followed the news over the month of August in particular will be aware of accidents that have happened between junctions 45 and 47 on the M4. That's why the Welsh transport appraisal guidance stage 1 study is important, Llywydd, because it has identified potential improvements to safety and other matters on that part of the road, and that's why we will publish those proposals this month.

Issues of drainage and the way in which road surfaces are constructed are a matter of safety. The 'Design Manual for Roads and Bridges' sets out the standards that we use in Wales, but I will certainly ask officials to investigate whether issues of drainage and the state of the road surface did contribute, or were believed to contribute, to the accidents to which Mike Hedges refers.FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary

Thank you for that reply. I look forward to seeing that report, First Minister. The safety, of course, of the air that we breathe remains an issue around certainly the western part of the M4 running through my region. You'll recall that the extended 50 mph temporary zone west of Port Talbot is no longer temporary. However, I seem to recall that Government officials advised that the legal change doesn't necessarily mean that the reduced speed limit will be permanent, stating that once air quality has improved beyond required levels, the Government will revisit the question of the speed limit in that area.

Listening to your response to Paul Davies earlier, can you just confirm that it's still your intention to possibly increase that speed limit if there is a reduction in air pollution caused by vehicles? In the meantime, what active steps are you taking to encourage the use of less-polluting publicly procured and publicly licensed vehicles in that part of my region?

I thank Suzy Davies for that. We don't introduce a 50 mph zone just for the sake of reducing the speed of traffic. As she says, it's there for a particular reason, because of the evidence that we have seen and believe to be compelling that reducing average speeds to 50 mph will make a difference to air quality—necessary differences to air quality—and, of course, we will monitor that very carefully. We would not want to be in a position where we achieve improvements in air quality then raise speed limits to find that the air quality has gone back down again. So, I don't think we can offer an immediate assurance that if air quality standards improve that that will mean that speed limits will go back up again. But what we do provide an assurance of is that we continually monitor it, and we'll keep that question properly under review.

Of course, Suzy Davies is right, Llywydd, that beyond speed limits, we need vehicles that emit less pollution, and that's why it's been such good news that Wales has done so well in the competition to get funding for electric buses in Wales. And by changing the nature of the vehicles that we use, we will make a difference to air quality not just in Swansea and in the part of the M4 that Mike Hedges referred to, but right through to Cardiff and to Newport as well.