3. What discussions has the Minister had with the UK Government regarding the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's decision to close the driving test centre in Caernarfon? OAQ55113

Well, we were not informed of this decision by the UK Government. However, I have written to the Secretary of State for Transport asking for urgent clarification on their proposals, and my officials have contacted the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. The Welsh Government are ready to assist where possible, with those that will be affected by this news.

Thank you very much for that response, but we do need to go further than that. We need to ensure that this decision is overturned, because we can’t afford to lose this centre. I’m talking about a centre that is in the constituency of my colleague Siân Gwenllian, but, of course, it’s a centre that serves a vast area of north Wales. In August of last year, following concerns raised with me by Huw Williams from the heavy goods vehicles and buses training service—Huw Williams from Anglesey—I wrote to the DVSA, pointing out to them that they had a lack of capacity in Caernarfon as things stood. We need lorry drivers and we need bus drivers for our economy and our wider society.

What Huw Williams—and I know that this is true of other companies—had found is that they couldn’t get enough slots in the centre in Caernarfon in order to test those people who they were training. That tells me that we need to grow and strengthen the centre, so you can imagine my huge disappointment and the shock of Huw Williams in hearing, unofficially first of all, that the intention now is to close the test centre.

That was confirmed in due time. There was a suggestion that they would seek another site in Caernarfon, having closed the current site. Now, that’s not how things should be done. If the DVSA agree that there is a need for a centre in Caernarfon, then they must find a new site in Caernarfon or in that area now, not after the closure of the centre. Can we have an assurance from the Government that you will do everything you can to urge the Government to change this decision, because we can’t afford to lose that centre?

Can I thank Rhun for his question? Llywydd, I think that it would be helpful if I was to release the letter that I sent to the Secretary of State, because I think that it will show how serious we are in demanding that a Caernarfon site is secured. I appreciate the predicament that haulier trainers are in over this decision, and the impact that it might have on their business, especially those who have invested in good faith and in the belief that a test centre would be retained in the area.

Our understanding is that the Department for Transport is still exploring options for an alternative test centre in or around the Caernarfon area. We have said to the UK Government that we believe that it should be in Caernarfon, and it's also my understanding that the current Caernarfon test site is leased from Gwynedd county council. Our understanding is that they have yet to be formally notified of any date to vacate the site. As I say, we are determined to see the decision reversed and to see a permanent site in Caernarfon.

As you indicate, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have been in negotiations for another location in Caernarfon, on the Cibyn industrial estate. Subsequent to that they said a move to Wrexham, 90 miles' drive from Caernarfon, is a contingency, and officials continue to look for alternative sites, as you indicate, in Caernarfon, after not finding what they describe as a suitable location, and that tests should still be booked from the current site until further notice. What assistance, if any, can the Welsh Government provide in not only understanding why the site on Cibyn industrial estate was deemed unsuitable, and whether that can be remedied, but also perhaps on identifying, or helping identify, alternative suitable sites in order to keep the centre in or near Caernarfon?

Our regional team in north Wales stand ready to assist DVSA in identifying an alternative site in Caernarfon. So, too, do Business Wales, and I've asked my officials to work with Gwynedd county council in assessing the reasons why DVSA have determined that it may not be a suitable site, the one that they currently have, and to ascertain exactly what it is that they would wish to have in a new alternative site in Caernarfon.