Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 1:57 pm on 10 June 2020.
Can I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for his questions? He's absolutely right that we need to lock in some of the benefits that have been accrued through people choosing not to use their car, through people instead undertaking active travel. I can inform the Member that we'll be investing millions upon millions of pounds in road reprioritisation schemes, first and foremost for temporary schemes that can test the ability of local authorities to be able to deliver longer term improvements, but also to make sure that those short-term behavioural improvements that we've seen become the long-term norm.
We're also looking, and we've begun the work, at a smarter working programme that will, essentially, encourage the private sector, the third sector and the public sector to adapt working shift patterns to ensure that people can work remotely, and to ensure that people can work in a way that aligns their working day with the provision of public transport so that they don't have to use their own car. And we're also looking at how this particular smarter working programme can dovetail with the work that colleagues in local government and housing are doing on the town centre first approach.
So, what we're keen to do is to utilise redundant buildings within town centres and high streets as shared spaces, remote working places, not just for the public sector, but also for the private sector and the third sector. It drives innovation, it enhances creativity, it's good for the economy, it's good for the environment, it's good for communities.