Answers issued to Members on 16 August 2007
[R] signifies that the Member has declared an interest.[W] signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh. Contents
Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government
Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs
Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport
Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Does the promised expenditure of over £50 million on routes between North, West and South Wales during this Assembly term referred to in the 'One Wales' agreement include programmed work on the A40 and the A477? (WAQ50286)
The Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy and Transport (Ieuan Wyn Jones): Improvements to the A40 and A477 are not included in the proposals to improve routes between the North, the West and the South of Wales referred to in the 'One Wales' Agreement
Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): How much expenditure will remain specifically for North to South improvements on the A470 and the A483? (WAQ50287)
Ieuan Wyn Jones: Subject to the satisfactory completion of the statutory procedures, about £140m and £50m respectively are currently scheduled to be spent on A470 and A483 schemes in all phases of the Trunk Road Forward Programme.
Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister reconsider the decision to delay the A470 Newbridge on Wye bypass in view of its safety and environmental benefits, and the potential to substantially reduce its cost by combining it with the Cwmbach to Newbridge improvements? (WAQ50288)
Ieuan Wyn Jones: The preferred route for improvements on the A470 between Cwmbach and Newbridge on Wye was announced in November 2005. There was no strong public support for a bypass of Newbridge on Wye and after appraisal it was not justified. This remains the position.
Andrew R.T. Davies (South Wales Central): What steps is the Welsh Assembly Government taking to alleviate traffic congestion at Cardiff Gate? (WAQ50291)
Ieuan Wyn Jones: The Cardiff Gate Business Park and the Junction 30 roundabout of the M4 is Cardiff County Council’s responsibility. The Welsh Assembly Government is collaborating with Cardiff to improve the roundabout by the introduction of traffic signals.
Andrew R.T. Davies (South Wales Central): What is the Welsh Assembly Government doing to alleviate traffic congestion in the light of current road-widening work on the M4 near Cardiff Gate? (WAQ50292)
Ieuan Wyn Jones: The M4 motorway at this location was under pressure at peak times even before Widening works commenced. To minimise inconvenience to the travelling public two lanes of traffic are being retained in each direction. There are two dedicated recovery vehicles on site to ensure that accidents or breakdowns within the road works can be moved quickly. The average response time is 10 minutes.
There are regular traffic management meetings, which the police attend and the traffic management measures are monitored for effectiveness. This is being done in conjunction with the improvement being developed in collaboration with Cardiff City Council to alleviate the problems at Cardiff Gate.
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government
Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire): Will the Minister consider allocating funding to the Citizens Advice Bureaus to enable them to employ professional members of staff, alongside current volunteers? (WAQ50295)
The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government (Brian Gibbons): The issue of core funding for Citizens Advice Bureaux is not a devolved matter, it is the responsibility of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Additional support is provided by local Authorities and via the Legal Services Commission.Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs
Andrew R.T. Davies (South Wales Central: Would the Minister make a statement on Welsh representation on the UK Boards of the various sector companies of the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Organisation (Levy Board UK)? (WAQ50290)
The Minister for Rural Affairs (Elin Jones): The Chair Designate of the Milk Sector Company farms in Wales and there is also one Welsh member. In respect of the case of Cereals and Oilseeds board no Welsh candidates were considered suitable for appointment and there were no Welsh applications for the Horticulture and Potato boards.