Confident about the need to change

Speech to the Senedd on 27th September 2023 responding to a motion of No Confidence


I recognise the strength of feeling there is against the change to the speed limit. The number of people who have signed the Senedd petition speaks for itself, and we certainly take it seriously.

I understand that lots of people are angry and frustrated. My message to the more than 400,000 who have signed the petition is simple:

We are listening to what you're saying, we understand not everybody likes this, and we are willing to be flexible on how this is implemented in your local community.

Llywydd, this is the biggest change in the rules of the road since wearing seatbelts became compulsory in 1983. That too was highly controversial and strongly resisted. Many people found it hard to adjust but it became accepted, and nobody has suggested we should go back.

And that’s what’s happened in areas that have dropped the speed limit too.

We won’t be going back either. On streets where people and traffic mix the evidence is very clear that 20 saves lives and cuts casualties.

But we will be flexible in how it is implemented, and we will continue to work with local authorities to get it right.

I am very pleased that the early and emerging traffic data from the first week signals that people are supporting the change by slowing down.

The data so far shows that the average delay to journey times is less than 1 minute. I know that is not everyone's experience, but that’s what the anonymised Sat Nav data that we’ve had so far is showing.

It is also encouraging that both Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s have said in the past few days that they’re not planning changes to delivery patterns or increasing charges for customers in Wales.

10 days on and the signs are promising that the change is already bedding in. But they say it takes 28 days to change a habit.

This week’s SatNav data suggests half of all drivers are complying with the limit, and we expect that to rise as driving at 20 becomes the norm.

Llywydd, the debate has shifted. There is now broad agreement that 20mph is the right speed outside schools, health settings and residential areas.

And let's be clear what our guidance actually says: on roads that are within 100m of an educational setting, a community centre, a hospital or close to shops and homes, 20mph is the right speed.

That is a sensible guiding rule.

But of course for every rule there is an exception. For example if a road passes the backs of houses and there aren’t people crossing then I’d expect that to stay at 30mph. We need to apply common sense. And Councils are able to make those decisions.

As the guidance says, and I quote, ‘highway authorities continue to have the flexibility to set local speed limits that are right for individual roads, reflecting local needs and considerations. Where their decision deviates from this guidance highway authorities should have a clear and reasoned case’.

Right across Wales Councils have already used their powers to make Exceptions ahead of the roll out on September 17th. They have exercised their ability to keep some roads at 30mph, which is why this is not a ‘blanket’ policy. Those powers remain with them for them to use in the light of experience.

To be fair, Councils are in a difficult position. The research tells us that people want lower speeds on the streets they live on, but are less keen on lowering speeds on roads they drive on.

In fact, when Councils have decided to keep some streets at 30mph the people living on them have objected.

It is a very difficult balance to get right. But we will work with local authorities to help get it right.

I want to thank local authorities for all the work they’ve done in the run-up to September 17th and the work they continue to do

We will work with them to keep a close eye on how it is going.

Later this week we will be publishing the framework for how we will monitor the changes.

In January we will publish the first set of post-implementation speed data.

By the summer we'll publish the first detailed results for the first six months of the limit being in force. Then there will be further formal monitoring on an annual basis for the next 5 years.

We are asking councils for feedback on the experiences so far, what has gone well and what might need to change. And of course we would welcome scrutiny from the Senedd and its committees. We are not digging our heels in, we want to take a common-sense approach.

In parallel, we will work with councils to consider whether our exceptions guidance needs clarifying, recognising it will take some time to bed in before we can draw wider conclusions.

I want to place on record my thanks to everyone in Wales who is doing their bit to help make our communities safer.

Speeds are already down. And as a result we expect to see fewer accidents, fewer casualties, fewer deaths.

A little bit slower, Llywydd, but a whole lot better.