There will be 'changes' to 20mph speed limit in Wales says new Transport Secretary Ken Skates

The new Transport Secretary has said that there will be changes to 20mph zones to ensure that they’re “targeted” in areas “where children and the elderly are at risk.”

Ken Skates’ comments are the clearest sign yet that the way the policy is implemented will change under the leadership of Vaughan Gething even if he remains committed to keeping it in place.

Welsh Conservatives say their pressure is “moving the dial among Labour Government Ministers” but continue to call for the overall policy to be scrapped.

Since September 2023 local authorities here in Wales have been obliged to set speed limits in urban and residential areas at 20mph as a default, even though they can keep some of those roads at 30mph.

There has been huge controversy over the issue with a petition reaching nearly half a million signatures, the highest number a Senedd petition has ever received.

It’s also been seized on by the Conservatives both here in Wales and at Westminster. The cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt described it as “absolutely insane” while Rishi Sunak himself said that it “seems like an attack on motorists and that's rightly received the opposition that it deserves."

When he took over as Welsh Labour leader and First Minister, Vaughan Gething said the Welsh Government had got some of its messaging wrong and promised a review of the way the policy has been implemented although he has said he remains committed to keeping in place.

Now the new Transport Secretary Ken Skates has given very clear hints that there will be changes when he makes a statement on transport priorities next Tuesday.

He was speaking in a debate called by the Welsh Conservatives to try to overturn the 20mph policy. That was defeated but Mr Skates told the Opposition Leader, “I say to Andrew RT Davies that next Tuesday I'll be making an oral statement on transport priorities where I'll be outlining measures that will be taken in coming weeks and months in relation to all matters relating to transport and particularly to 20mph.

“But I must say again that I really strongly feel across the chamber there is support for 20mph in those areas where it's appropriate, especially where the children and the elderly are at risk.

“And I think in such areas it all makes sense, it all makes people feel safer, but we do need to make sure 20mph is truly targeted in those places as we always promised it would be and we need to work exceptionally closely with our partners in local government, with town and community councils and indeed with citizens in order to achieve that.

“Changes will be done with and for the communities that we all serve and the voice of citizens is at the heart of what we do.”

He added that, “I desperately want to help to change the tone and tenor of the debate on transport. I'm very pleased that opposition spokespeople have agreed to meet with me for regular discussions on how we can work more collaboratively because I've always said, we don't have a monopoly on good ideas and I look forward to working with members across the chamber when it comes to developing solutions for transport challenges we face here in Wales.”

The change of tone was welcomed by the Conservatives’ Shadow Transport Minister, Natasha Asghar, although she continued to criticise the Welsh Government for refusing to scrap the policy.

She said that, “While Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay have voted to continue their anti-motorist agenda, it is clear that Welsh Conservative pressure is moving the dial among Labour Government Ministers, whose rhetoric on 20mph has changed dramatically.

“The people of Wales want to get on with their daily lives and businesses wish to flourish, yet Labour’s lack of investment in public transport, road building ban, and 20mph speed limits are slowing them down in doing exactly this.

“But in the Senedd today, the Welsh Labour Government and Plaid Cymru showed how truly out of touch they are with the people of Wales by voting against our motion to end the war on motorists, scrap their road building ban and roll back their controversial 20mph speed limits to get Wales moving again.”

The cycling organisation Cycle City Cardiff said it was "disappointed and alarmed" by Mr Skates' comments.

"It is a long-accepted fact that lower speeds save lives - the 20mph policy is a reflection of this. If we are to encourage people to walk and cycle more, then we have to make our roads safe for them to do so.

"It appears that Mr Skates has succumbed to pressure from a tiny but vocal political minority.

"We hope that he will put people before politics and leave this popular and effective policy in place, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all members of our communities."

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