Can I really warmly thank Russell George not only for his contribution today, but also for his constructive participation in the process led by Lord Burns? And indeed, I'd like to thank every Member of the Senedd for being so constructive, willing and enthusiastic about speaking with Lord Burns and the commission, and I do hope that Members have felt well informed as a result of Lord Burns's willingness to engage directly with them. I'm very pleased indeed that Russell George welcomes the report, and, I must say, I think there are many, many recommendations where he and I would have agreement on, particularly in terms of the co-ordination, better co-ordination and integration of services and ticketing. It's vitally important that we create a public transport system that is desirable, that is accessible and that offers a better alternative to the car, and integration of services is key in doing just that.

The M4 relief road proposal was a solution for yesterday. It was a solution for an age before the climate emergency was declared by the Senedd, and the future is now low-carbon public transport and better active travel, less reliance on car use, more vibrant communities served by remote working hubs and a stronger foundational economy as a consequence of retaining wealth opportunities within communities.

In terms of my initial thoughts, I must say that, first of all, the delivery unit is going to be assessing all of the recommendations, and that delivery unit will be, if you like, a single mind that Lord Burns was keen to promote, involving all of the key delivery agents and decision-making bodies. But the delivery unit will be carrying out an assessment of all the recommendations. In terms, though, of my early thoughts on some of the key recommendations, I'd be very, very supportive of better infrastructure in terms of rail and active travel, and also utilisation of bus services, through the roll-out of more dedicated corridors. In particular, I think the need to upgrade the south Wales main line to provide the opportunity for more commuting services is something that pretty much all people in south-east Wales would welcome.

What the report found was that congestion on the M4 is a commuter problem, and the best commuter solution is to provide public transport that the most advanced western nations enjoy already, and that is through advanced metro systems. Now, our £700 million-plus metro vision will provide just that, but it's largely based on north to south travel. What Lord Burns has added is a vision for east-west travel as well, therefore combining all forms of movement across south-east Wales. I'd be very, very supportive of adding to the Welsh Government's vision for the metro an additional vision for east-west, horizontal travel between our key cities and, indeed, Bristol.

In terms of some of the key findings that emerged from the report, I was particularly struck—and it went back to the first principles of the work of Lord Burns—by findings concerning the main contribution to congestion at peak hours, and that it is people who are travelling between 10 and 50 miles. Prior to this report being published, I must say I'd heard a number of people who would make assumptions that the problem in and around Newport was caused by local journeys and local people. What is evident now is that that is not the case. These are longer journeys that are causing congestion.

Value for money will of course be a key consideration. Only today I received an e-mail from the finance Minister reminding me that value for money must be an integral part of our decision-making process. However, I would also add that if we are to inspire modal shift and provide opportunities for people to access public transport then we must invest in public transport, now and in the future, both in terms of the infrastructure that's required, but also in terms of the subsidy that's required to make it a cost-effective alternative to private car use.

And then, finally, to the important point that Russell George has raised, the proposals for workplace parking levies to be administered and determined by local authorities, I think the vitally important point to make here is that such a levy is proposed by Lord Burns only on the basis of those improvements to public transport alternatives having already been delivered, and, therefore, I think it's a very useful suggestion, but clearly it is based on the need to first of all implement the other recommendations that will provide attractive and cost-effective alternatives to private car use.