, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Yes.
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Thank you, Janet. If there was a question there, apart from saying thank you for your support, I agree with you that the UK Government will be one of those key parties in any conversations about funding. Diolch yn fawr.
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Yes, you've picked up some of the answers to the exam question, I think. But I think the starting point of it all is to make sure that you have something that you know how you're going to do it, what it's going to cost. You clarify all those other points. One…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Yes, okay. Diolch for that. So this, I think, was—. When I came into office, we immediately took on probably the two big issues that are affecting Wales from a transport perspective at the moment. So, we took on the M4 and Newport—I think we need to make it…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
We didn't see that here as much as they did over there, and I think that being able to go there and have those conversations was really, really important.
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Can I just—? It's an area of focus and genuine interest as well, because I think, when I was in Ireland, the one thing that I noticed was that the impact on the Irish economy in terms of what happened in Holyhead was huge.
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I think that this is probably a conversation that you'll be having with the First Minister, and resilience is one of his responsibilities in Government. But then that obviously cascades down to my responsibilities, and my responsibilities aren't just for…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I think it's really important. So, you're talking about national emergencies that can come from a number of different threats.
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Thank you for the question. I think the complexity of the question indicates the complexity of the issue. People think that Menai and the M4 is the most difficult thing on my agenda; I can assure you that the most difficult thing on my agenda is learner…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I think this is a really important question. There are a number of different issues here and I'll try and cover them all if I can. The first thing is that, with fuel policy and fuel pricing, the impact that can be genuinely made on this is at a UK level. So…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Okay. So, if you don't mind, I'll give that one a swerve.
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Through the Chair, if I may, this is a responsibility that's gone to the Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy. So, he's probably best placed to answer this question now. When I came into office, I felt that this was more of an economic…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I'm just going to add—sorry, it just made me think—that it's deep, wide and very Welsh as well. This is about maintaining the benefits of the work that we do within Wales, within people who are actually working on the project, to be able to spend their wages…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Precisely—as it often is, Shav, I think. That's something that I think we'll be looking into. So, I think there's a lot of good experience. I've met all of the unions for Transport for Wales once. I'm meeting them again in a week or so's time. These are…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I think this is really important. We've met with people from outside the organisation who have looked in and said, 'How do we get to deliver these things?' instead of someone like Network Rail, for example, if we take yesterday's example. This is about making…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I'll take that one, and feel free to add into this, Duncan, as we go. I think this is the way that the organisation has been established. From the very get-go, we've had an organisation that's focused on making sure that this is a collective. I think the…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
So, I completely agree with you that Transport for Wales have a knowledge base that we are linking into. And it's something that we've asked them to consider in terms of things that are outside of what you would think would be their normal responsibility. So…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I think that's a really important question. They're something that I've spent a lot of my time since being in office talking to. So, I've met all of the CJCs bar one—we've got the south-west to come in days' to weeks' time. And it's been really important to…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
Diolch yn fawr. Just to precis that, I think one of the things that I've found in the role so far—. Members will probably have noticed that I am at most of the meetings in the Siambr. I tend to be in there a lot of the time because transport is central to…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
I'm Deputy Minister for Transport. I've got Alison Thomas with me and Duncan Hamer.
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Transport
My name is Mark Hooper.
, Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Transport: Strategic Priorities for the Menai Strait Crossings and M4 around Newport
Thank you for the question, Art, and thank you for your engagement earlier in this session—for the questions you raised then and for the questions you've raised now. I think I've made myself clear in terms of my engagement with local residents. I make that…
, Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Transport: Strategic Priorities for the Menai Strait Crossings and M4 around Newport
Diolch, Pred. Thank you for those questions. I think you're right: the issues aren't new. This is something that's been around for a long time, and that doesn't mean that they're easy. Probably the reason why these issues have never been addressed is because…
, Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Transport: Strategic Priorities for the Menai Strait Crossings and M4 around Newport
Can I help the Member with the second part of that question? The 10 per cent improvement was in 2042 expected traffic volumes. So, it's a 10 per cent improvement on them, which has built some of those increases before. So, it does make a valid and important…
, Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Transport: Strategic Priorities for the Menai Strait Crossings and M4 around Newport
Thank you for the question, Jayne. I just want to agree with you on the point that people in Newport aren't to blame for the problems that we've got here. What is to blame is, I think, a body politic failure to be able to resolve some of these issues that…
