The Welsh Government is not doing enough to promote and develop the use of electric vehicles, says a new report on the future of road building and infrastructure in Wales. The report, launched by FSB Wales, found Wales was lagging behind when it came to the transition to electric vehicles (EV) and recommended that the Welsh Government revisit its EV strategy.
It added that the lack of progress in EV charging infrastructure by the Welsh Government was “worrying” and that small businesses looking to transition to EV needed clear timelines, support and certainty that their investment was not going to disadvantage them.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "Wales already has more public chargers per vehicle than other parts of the UK. We’re working hard to further increase the scale and pace of this rollout, supporting local authorities to meet local charging requirements and working with the UK Government to expand the charging network in Wales."
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The report also criticised the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICW), calling it “toothless and under-resourced” and ambiguous in its remit of giving advice to the Welsh Government on the infrastructure Wales needs. It said: “It is a body with currently little resource, capability or authority and has clearly been bypassed in even the limited functions it is meant to take on in feeding into areas such as the Transport Strategy.
"This is not a reflection of people on the commission but rather its resourcing and remit. The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales should be empowered to do the job of delivering and convening and coordinating the complex pieces across the infrastructure network, or there is little point in its existence.”
FSB Wales said the commission should become a fully-autonomous “arm’s length” statutory body charged with delivering solutions to problems on complex infrastructure.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We simply don’t have the resources to create a large arms-length body to deliver the role of the NICW. Instead, we're drawing on the skills of existing Welsh Government officials and supplementing that with outside help as and when required.”
It follows the Welsh Government’s controversial Roads Review earlier this year which saw an expert review panel assess 59 road projects and make recommendations on which projects to proceed with, which to abandon, and which to reconsider in a different form.
The panel decided that 15 road building schemes would go ahead, with the rest scrapped or substantially revised, adding that future road-building should be on minimising carbon emissions not increasing road capacity. FSB Wales said this was a desirable goal where there are other transport alternatives, but roads play an important role in promoting economic development, growth and opportunity.
It added that the Welsh Government had been effective at communicating what it wants to stop and what is undesirable, but less effective at conveying the opportunities for transport development, including roads. “It has been established why roads are bad – not what they are good for and how we can use them positively in the future,” the report said.
FSB Wales is now on the Welsh Government to develop opportunities for new infrastructure projects following its Roads Review which balance sustainability goals while ensuring socio-economic benefits are not lost.
Ben Francis, Wales policy chair, said: “The future of our roads is a complex and often controversial conversation but one that needs to happen, given the importance of roads to our national infrastructure and to smaller businesses which inevitably rely on roads.
“Transportation alone does not create economic growth and opportunity, but it enables and supports networks and opportunities that are important for business. From local farmers transporting produce to manufacturers sending equipment across the globe, to self-employed tradespeople keeping homes safe and warm, a joined-up transportation system is crucial to facilitate our economic activities.”
“Our recommendations pave the way for a complementary infrastructure landscape that balances the need for roads with our net-zero ambitions. We need to shift the conversation about roads to a more positive and ambitious space, while providing the support and tools SMEs need to make sustainable decisions.”
He added: “Welsh Government needs to articulate an economic vision that concentrates on net zero while also recognising the importance of maintaining and developing reliable road infrastructure in Wales to help grow businesses and the economy.”
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