Clause 7 - Provision of public passenger transport services
Transport (Wales) Bill
12:15 pm
Bill Wiggin ((Also Shadow Secretary of State for Wales), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)
The amendment has been tabled on behalf of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which has grave concerns about the lack of reference in the Bill to sustainability, apart from a brief mention of it in clause 1. The Assembly has a statutory duty to promote sustainable development in transport, as in any area. Given that Wales has reached only 2.6 per cent. of the 10 per cent. 2010 renewable energy production target—a very slow increase from 2.4 per cent. in 2002— it is all the more important to create sustainability in other fields. The amendment asserts the importance of having regard to environmental sustainability in securing the provision of public passenger transport services in Wales. The relevance of that is that, as well as promoting economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of public passenger transport, it clearly aids the necessary cause of sustainable development.
In tabling amendment No. 8, our intention is to ensure that the Assembly’s powers with regard to the provision of passenger services cannot be extended without due regard being paid to existing services. We must be certain that the Assembly’s power to secure the provision of extra services does not have a negative impact on the ability of the network to run efficiently. Transport services in Wales are part of a national network. If the aim of the Bill is partly to create genuinely integrated transport, existing transport strategies across the UK must be taken into account, as must the effect on other services, both within and without Wales, and the impact on efficient operation of the whole UK transport network. I suspect that the Minister will say that it is inconceivable that that would not be considered. However, it is important that, even if Welsh Assembly Members do no more than to read his comments, they take on board that important point.