Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:57 pm on 17 May 2022.
Just before I ask my question, I'd like to welcome Mr Sean Donovan and his mother Sarah into the public gallery. He will have taken a great deal of interest in the question that was asked by Adam Price and the response from the First Minister. I have also discussed this issue with them today.
And one of the key issues that I've raised previously with the First Minister is connection to the Grange hospital by public transport, by bus. I've spoken to Transport for Wales—I've had many meetings with them—and one of the things they are pioneering is a new east-to-west high-quality strategic bus corridor that would connect Llantrisant, Pontypridd, Abercynon, Nelson, Ystrad Mynach, Newbridge, Pontypool and Cwmbran to the Grange hospital, and I know my colleague from Blaenau Gwent is interested to see connections there too. It's going to be done in a three-stage process, and the first stage can be enacted quickly with the support of the Welsh Government, which is extending the route 21 service direct from Blackwood to the Grange, with an extension to Cwmbran. That can be done very, very soon. And stage 2, then, can follow fairly soon afterwards. What I'd like from the First Minister today is a timescale for that and some advice on how quickly that can be achieved—both stage 1 and stage 2, connecting our communities east and west, and particularly to the Grange hospital.