Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:23 pm on 24 November 2020.
Can I thank Helen Mary Jones for her contribution, which, as always, was extremely constructive? I'm very pleased to answer the questions that she raised.
I'll begin with that final question about the support that may be available for green taxis in the future. Of course, this is a pilot, first and foremost, that will enable taxi drivers, operators, to test green vehicles before they buy them. Ultra-low emission vehicle funding is going to be provided for a number of green taxi pilot schemes in this financial year. We are proposing that the pilots will take place in the Cardiff capital region, in Denbighshire, in Pembrokeshire and in Ceredigion, and then incorporate many of the priority areas that are included in the transforming towns initiative as well. So, we're trying to align quite a few policy areas in this regard.
Longer term schemes for incentivising the uptake of zero-emission taxis and vehicles are going to be investigated, such as options for grants, options for improving the terms of leasing schemes, but it's going to depend very much on the evaluation of the pilots, and, of course, I have to say that the degree to which we're able to offer support will depend on the availability of financial resource. But I am excited by this particular area of work, and I think that those pilot schemes can offer some valuable information and intelligence that will then shape the scale of the intervention that's required.