I'm pleased to speak in this debate this afternoon. I'd like to start by thanking the Deputy Minister for the briefing that he hosted last week, and I would also extend my thanks to Phil Jones, who chaired the 20 mph taskforce, for the work he put into this report and for his recommendations. From my perspective and the Conservative group's, we would of course support measures that reduce the cases of accidents occurring on our roads. From my own group's perspective, there was a range of support for aspects of the report and, indeed, all of the report, and there was also a range of questions on aspects of the report that still need to be addressed in terms of some other members of my group. But I hope that during the course of this debate some of these issues will be addressed. My own comments as well—I'm going to try and perhaps tease out a bit more information, if I can as well, which I hope the Deputy Minister may be able to respond to in his closing remarks. 

First of all, I thought that I'd look at my own local authority area and, thankfully, collisions within 30 mph speed limit areas within Powys are relatively low. Therefore, whilst the research suggests that 20 mph limits will reduce collisions, there will be a smaller reduction, I think, in rural local authority areas. And the other issue as well is that, particularly in rural areas, you've got a higher level of unrestricted higher-speed roads, which, of course, is—there is a higher level of accident rates on those particular roads. In the last five years, Powys County Council inform me that 19 per cent of collisions occurred in 30 mph restricted areas. That's 448 in total. So, another notice I would perhaps point out is that we're potentially going to see an increase in collisions on the amount of people using sustainable travel, which we want them to do, of course, by walking and cycling. So, the trend in that area is also increasing, so I think we need to take into account that particular aspect as well.

The change as proposed would happen, overnight, as the report suggests. So, there would need to be a significant media campaign in that regard, which is also pointed out in the report. But, of course, drivers tend to drive in accordance with the conditions of the road. So, I think this is a concern—that where we may initially see vehicle speeds lower, due to the media campaigns, overall, over a shorter period of time, or over longer a period of time, there will need to be adequate police enforcement of the new limits. And the longer term reduction in speeds will only, of course, come from a generational change—that's certainly my view. We saw that with seat belts, for example. I'm not suggesting we don't do this because of that, but there is a generational change, so that perhaps does put some expectations on how long it may take for change to occur.

I do have some concerns about the unsustainable level of possible requests that may come in for physical traffic calming measures, to ensure that vehicles drive at new lower speeds. I know this from my own local authority days, when I was often asked to intervene in those particular aspects. I also think, from speaking to traffic officials, that there does need to be some robust guidance that's published along with any change as well.

If I can just quickly mention some legal matters as well, which perhaps need to be considered. Not all 30 mph limits have street lighting—some limits are part-lit and have had the restricted road status within the lit part removed at the 30 mph limit, imposed by order. So, if the proposed changes—. That needs to be taken into account. I'm also aware that, for some rural authorities—Ceredigion is one; the Presiding Officer might tell me otherwise—as I understand it, all 30 mph limits in Ceredigion are by order, thus no 30 mph in that county will change should the proposals be implemented, unless the Welsh Government force the local authority to revise the orders in place.

There are just a few other things, if I can. With regard to the report, it seems to be—very often, the report is very much focused on urban Wales; I would have liked to have seen more attention on rural Wales. The report also talked about sub-groups being set up. I would have preferred a sub-group also set up to look at the costings of the proposals—I think that should have been included as well. Because what is the total cost of local authorities, Welsh Government, policing? I think this does need to be known at this stage. Overall on costings, I think it would be important that local authorities are supported financially. I certainly agree with the report that a significant media campaign will be required. And I think that the final say also has to be with communities. I'm not fully convinced that the intentions of the report do need this statutory instrument to be introduced; I do wonder whether existing guidance is sufficient.

I think perhaps I would end with two questions—in 10 seconds, Deputy Presiding Officer. Are we using a sledgehammer to crack a nut with this proposal? And also, what criteria will define success of a 20 mph default? So, I look forward to the Deputy Minister perhaps responding to some of those, I hope, constructive questions and issues.