2. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's review of junction improvements on the A483? OQ58740

The roads review panel has submitted its final report to the Welsh Government about its findings for each of the road schemes that it has reviewed, and this includes the A483 junctions 3-6 improvements. I will be making a further announcement on the next steps of the roads review by the end of the month.

Thank you for your statement, Minister. Of course, junction 1 at Ruabon was not included in the roads review, and therefore work on improving that junction has not been paused, and it's for good reason. That particular junction is utterly lethal and has created a congestion canyon right up the A483, with resulting carbon emissions increases. And, of course, it's also sending motorists onto local roads, again, putting lives at risk, particularly schoolchildren, and deteriorating the air quality in and around Ruabon. Minister, would you agree to visit the A483 and to meet with community leaders, and can you outline what progress has been made in the past year on work to improve junction 1 on the A483?

Thank you. As Ken Skates rightly says, junction 1 was not included as part of the roads review schemes that it has looked at, but the other junctions were. The proposals that have been put forward by the local council for junction 1 would involve a large remodelling of the junction, which would be carbon intensive and would increase road capacity. So, this is relevant to the recommendations we're anticipating from the roads review about future road schemes. What we don't want to do, by treating schemes in isolation—there's always a case for individual schemes—is for the cumulative impact of that to add to traffic volumes. So, we do need to think very carefully. That said, where there are traffic problems, there need to be solutions, and one of the themes in the roads review is how future roads can be made compliant with existing policies on climate change, transport and planning. So, when we produce the results, in the areas where we accept the recommendations of the review not to go ahead with a road, we will want to work with the local authority and other partners to see what else can be done in that case. As I say, I'm not able to preannounce what's decided—largely because we haven't yet decided—but we'll be updating Members in the coming weeks on the next steps.

Minister, one improvement that's needed on the A483 is in regards to the Pant-Llanymynech bypass, which I've mentioned a number of times in this Chamber, and you'll know I'm very keen to see this bypass, partly in my constituency, move forward. So, I'm quite keen that, due to the roads review on the Welsh side, this scheme isn't delayed any further. As I understand it, the UK Government—. It's a joint scheme between the Welsh Government and the UK Government, with Highways England leading on the scheme. I wonder if you are in a position to update me, Minister, on the scheme, if not today, in writing, because this scheme is particularly important, because it's not just a bypass; it's actually a road safety improvement. And if you are on the way up the A483 to visit Ken Skates in his constituency, can I ask if you'd stop on the way and meet me in my constituency to discuss this part of the road area as well?

There's nothing more I love than travelling around Wales visiting bypasses with my colleagues from the Senedd, so we'll see if the diary allows. I'm afraid the—. It's a cross-border scheme, as you say—only 5 per cent of it is in Wales, the rest being in England. And there are ongoing discussions between Highways England and Welsh Government officials about moving to the next stage, and I'm expecting some advice shortly about that, and I'd be happy to update the Member when I know more.