The Establishment of Corporate Joint Committees

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:14 pm on 17 November 2021.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 2:14, 17 November 2021

That's a really good question, and it does give me the opportunity just to say that, obviously, CJCs will be responsible for developing regional transport plans, but these will obviously be considering issues relating to transport in and from each CJC area, and include policies for implementing the Wales transport strategy.

The point about buses is really important, because, obviously, the system for the planning and delivery of bus services needs to be efficient and effective, and we want all parts of the system to work together to achieve the type of bus service that we want. It's about one network, one timetable and one ticket. It seems simple, but, actually, it will require a lot of work. I think the fact that we could do some work on a regional basis will be really, really important. Obviously, there would need to be clarity over the roles and how local, regional and national authorities can integrate to ensure local accountability and a national perspective on the future of bus services, but I do want to reassure Hefin David that work is under way with local authorities to consider where those functions best sit to achieve this. Potentially there could be an important role for CJCs, given their transport function and the clear overview that they will have of the importance of networks within their areas.