Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:35 pm on 14 March 2023.
Well, Llywydd, I recall the context at the time when the then First Minister said that we would be continuing with the third crossing across the Menai strait, because I was Minister for finance at that time, and the context was that of Wylfa B. And I remember everything that we discussed at that time with the company responsible for the Wylfa B project—whether it was possible to draw funding in for a third crossing, because there would be far more traffic flowing to Anglesey and off Anglesey. I also recall the discussions with the National Grid, and the original suggestion from the National Grid was to create a tunnel under the strait, and we were discussing with them whether it would be possible to use that funding to help with the cost of a bridge. So, the context has fundamentally changed, hasn’t it, because everything that was on the table with Wylfa B isn’t there now.
But what I can tell the Member today is what is set out in our plan. We say that we want to see options for a crossing of the Menai in a way that helps us in our effort to create a shift in the way in which people currently travel. We’ve asked Lord Burns and the commission looking into transport in north Wales to look at how we can do that and to make recommendations to Government on that basis. And that’s how we want to proceed. We are open to whatever Lord Burns recommends, and everything that was contained within the report that Rhun ap Iorwerth has referred to this afternoon is available to Lord Burns and the commission that he leads.