2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 7 March 2023.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 2:27, 7 March 2023

Trefnydd, I'd like to ask for two statements, please. Firstly, I'd like to ask for a statement of clarification about the clean air Bill. Last week's business statement refers to the Minister for Climate Change making a statement on the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Bill. Now, the First Minister and the Minister for Climate Change have consistently referred to it as the 'clean air Bill', so I was a bit confused. The First Minister promised a clean air Bill specifically when he became leader of the Labour Party. It was included in the governing party's manifesto. Indeed, it was announced in the legislative statement and was mentioned again in March. So, can I ask why the change of name now? Is it still a clean air Bill? Is clean air still a Government priority, because, Trefnydd, could you explain why the Bill has been renamed at this late stage?

Secondly, I'd also like to ask for a statement, please, from the transport Minister, regarding the maintenance of trains in the Transport for Wales fleet. I understand a significant proportion of TfW's class 175s had to be pulled from service last week on Wednesday and Thursday because a number of them caught fire within a month. This resulted in over 100 services being curtailed or cancelled, including all services to Treherbert and those services west of Carmarthen. Now, as I understand it, the enclosed engine of the trains requires regular cleaning to prevent fires. This has been managed by the maintenance teams at Canton depot, but apparently the maintenance contract was recently transferred to a new provider. Minor repairs at the Canton depot have now stopped. Could a statement please give us assurance that the class 175s will continue to be properly maintained to avoid a situation like these fires occurring again?