Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:58 pm on 19 January 2021.
Minister, you complain that UK Government isn't prepared to fund anything and that the M4 relief road was too expensive at £2 billion, but there have been a number of suggestions around UK Government that the shared prosperity fund, indeed the internal market Bill, could be used for this. If there's a chance of getting up to £2 billion out of the UK Government to deal with the congestion and drive our economy with an M4 relief road, surely we should be biting their hand off.
Could I, though, ask the Minister to pass on to Lord Burns and his team the appreciation for their work on a cross-party basis across the Senedd? I had been sceptical to start with that this was just a cover up for the Minister not doing anything on the M4 relief road, but it's been a substantive body of work and I'm impressed with several of the recommendations in it.
In terms of the rail work, is it an all-or-nothing or can we get some improvements even if we don't get all of them? For instance, what's happening on the Cardiff parkway station? When might we see that delivered, and the two others where work's already starting? I remind the Minister: wasn't this commission about what to do with the money that you weren't spending on the M4 relief road, or a substantial part of it? So, why are we then getting the answer, 'Oh well, this is for the UK Government to fund'? I do have some sympathy with his statement that the UK Government should be funding more in Wales on rail infrastructure, but will he give me the assurance that he won't be using that as an excuse not to move forward in this area? Because this relief rail with six stations all working together and having a stopping service I think will be a real benefit to the south Wales economy.