3. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change: The Roads Review and National Transport Delivery Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:05 pm on 14 February 2023.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 3:05, 14 February 2023

Perhaps I can explain. I realise there are lots of documents for Members to digest in a short period of time. I did provide a briefing to Plaid Cymru this morning to try and allow you to understand the contours of the decision making here. The roads review is not a report of the Welsh Government; it's an independent report. You're quoting there, accusing us of running contradictory to our own policies; it is an independent report. The national transport delivery plan that we published alongside it is the Government policy response. The schemes included in the national transport delivery plans, based on the recommendations in the independent review, are our response; that's what the Government is supporting. Alongside that is the roads policy statement, which is now the new policy of the Welsh Government, and the tests applied for future funding schemes and in the WelTAG process. The panel makes its view clear on the Menai bridge, based on the tests it has consistently applied across the other 55 schemes. You'll see at the back of the report, in the annex, a chapter with a detailed view on that.

He says from a sedentary position, 'It's totally inconsistent.' It's the panel's analysis. It's allowed to be inconsistent. It's not our analysis; it's their analysis. We've asked an independent panel to look at it. We have said—and I've just told him what we have said—'We will ask the Burns commission to look at this in the broader context of north Wales.' I hear what he says about resilience; we have to balance short-term resilience with a longer term resilience to the climate change issues. At the moment, this is a £400 million scheme for which we do not have the funding. So, regardless of the recommendation in the review, it's a slightly academic point at the moment given the state of our budgets from the UK Government. I know there's a hotly contested race going on in Anglesey, and no doubt Virginia Crosbie will be—[Interruption.] Let me finish. No doubt Virginia Crosbie will be issuing press releases this afternoon calling us everything. There is no money from the UK Government to proceed with a third Menai crossing. We're going to look at the Burns commission work in north Wales to look at a whole package of support, and whether or not the resilience case that Rhun ap Iorwerth has just made stands scrutiny or if the work of the roads review is robust in its own terms. We'll return to this question.