North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has today criticised the Welsh Government for its lack of progress in relation to the Active Travel (Wales) Act, and for failing to recognise the vital role that co-production could play.
Speaking in the Assembly Chamber this afternoon During the Debate on the Economy and Skills Committee Report ‘Post Legislative Scrutiny of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013’, which came into force in September 2014, Mr Isherwood said leadership from the Welsh Government needs to be strengthened.
He also spoke of the importance of designing and delivering services with people and communities, rather than for them.
He said:
“We should not be surprised that the Cabinet Secretary (Ken Skates) has only accepted in principle our first recommendation, which considered “a lack of strategic leadership at both Welsh Government and local authority levels to be responsible for the lack of progress made to date” – where “Leadership from the Welsh Government should be strengthened, and it’s expectation of leadership at local level made clear”.
“It is all well and good for the Cabinet Secretary to say that the “Welsh Government has already shown leadership in the implementation of the Active Travel Act”, but, as our Chair , Russell George, states in the report’s foreword “It’s time now for the Government to change its own behaviour, show some real leadership and get the Act’s ambitions on its feet and moving”.
“The Cabinet Secretary’s wishy washy, self-excusing response that he “will continue to champion this agenda” and that “Local Authorities have a “clear role to play” therefore simply won’t wash.
“Neither will his acceptance in principle only of our recommendation that “the Welsh Government should revise its statutory guidance to include co-production as a minimum standard for the delivery of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013, involving stakeholders not only in the identification of an issue, but enabling them to be a part of the solution”.
“In describing co-production techniques as merely a “tool to develop good schemes” illustrates the Cabinet Secretary’s continuing failure to understand that co-production is about doing things differently, designing and delivering services with people and communities in order to improve lives and strengthen communities.
“This is about moving from needs–based approaches to strength based development - helping people in communities identify the strengths they already have, and utilising those strengths with them.”
He added: “Guide Dogs Cymru and RNIB Cymru were clear to Committee that although routes can become a no-go zone, “there has been very little engagement with blind and partially sighted people, or with organisations that represent their views”.
“Sustrans Cymru, the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle, sees the value in investing and linking up all forms of transport so that walking and cycling is an easy and accessible option.
“They describe the Wales and Borders rail franchise procurement process as representing a “missed opportunity to better integrate walking and cycling with public transport” - and state that “rail stations should be active travel hubs, making it easier for commuters, locals and visitors to get active”.
“I sponsored an Assembly event here for the infrastructure development company, Furrer and Frey, launching their “White Paper on Developing Sustainable, Agile, Multimodal Transport Solutions for Wales”. This included the full results of a You.Gov Welsh Public Transport survey which found that only 29% of people think public transport is well interconnected in Wales, with just 5% very satisfied in North Wales. As this said: ‘Transport Infrastructure connects communities – and must be deployed in a sustainable managed way using local resources wherever possible’.”