Clause 1 - General transport duty

Part of Transport (Wales) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:30 am on 28 June 2005.

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Photo of Bill Wiggin Bill Wiggin Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) 10:30, 28 June 2005

I beg to move amendment No. 1, which is in clause 1, page 1, line 6, leave out ‘to, from and’.

I take this opportunity, Miss Begg, to welcome you to the Chair.

The amendment seeks to clarify the sphere of responsibility covered by the Bill. By limiting the remit of the policies to transport facilities and services within Wales, we can avoid a great many of the problems and questions that now remain unanswered. We must consider the impact of the Wales transport strategy on services that run within Wales but that originate elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Why is the Assembly compelled to provide policies on running services from Wales to elsewhere and from elsewhere to Wales?

As it stands, the Bill confers on the Assembly an order that it “must” develop policies on transport “to, from and within” Wales. Does the Assembly necessarily want to develop policies on those services that operate only briefly within Wales and largely outside? Amending the clause would also help to answer the question whether, under current arrangements, transport services from England that operate only partly in Wales should be subject to control and regulation by the Assembly. That would also tackle the question of representation for those who live in England but who are subject to transport provisions ruled on by the Assembly.

If the Assembly is to control policy for transport services to and from Wales which can be used by people from all over the UK, what representation will those people have in the Assembly? The people in Wales are represented by Assembly Members, but there are no English Assembly Members. If control over transport from or to areas outside Wales is to be devolved, we must be sure to give a voice to those who have no direct representation in the Assembly. Though many questions remain over what impact the development of the Wales transport strategy will have on services that regularly cross the border, the amendment would at least give us a more definite remit from which to work.

We need more reassurance over the cross-border implications of the Bill before its proposals can be fully supported.