Senedd Cymru	Welsh Parliament
Pwyllgor yr Economi, Masnach a Materion Gwledig	Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee
Blaenoriaethau ar gyfer y Chweched Senedd	Priorities for the Sixth Senedd.
ETRA - 27
Ymateb gan: Sefydliad Siartredig Logisteg a Thrafnidiaeth Cymru	Evidence from: Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Cymru Wales

Priorities for the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee

Written evidence from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Cymru Wales

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a professional institution embracing all the management of logistics and the supply chain, transport planning, government and administration. This response has been prepared by the Cymru Wales nation within CILT.

The logistics industry plays a crucial role in supporting the Welsh Economy and facilitating trade between Wales, the rest of the UK and further afield. There are a number of issues that affect the Sector that we would suggest to the committee as being priority issues for consideration during the next Senedd term.

The first of these is the current recruitment challenges faced by the sector, perhaps most visibly illustrated through the HGV driver shortage that is leading to supply issues in the retail, hospitality and other sectors including manufacturing sectors, not to mention impacting the provision of council services and bus operations. We would consider this a strategic priority for the first six months of the committee. Key issues to consider could be an understanding of how the situation has arisen, what are the immediate challenges in addressing the shortage and, perhaps more importantly, how can the Welsh Government work with the sector in the longer term. There is a need to attract more, younger people into the industry, including a better gender and diversity balance, and particularly in driving jobs which are often seen as unattractive. We would also link this to the issue of Lorry Parking facilities in Wales – unlike in England, Wales has no national inventory of the location, facilities at, and usage of Lorry Parking facilities within Wales.

A second issue to consider would be the future development of Welsh ports, across various modes of transport. With sea ports, there has been an impact from Brexit on Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock, while the issue of freeports remains unresolved. In terms of aviation, the future of Cardiff Airport following the impact of COVID-19 needs considering.

A third issue is particularly in the context of Welsh Government targets for Net Zero, is the role that  rail freight in Wales can play. At the top of list of barriers to modal shift is the lack of appropriate rail terminals across Wales. For Rail to capture additional growth then it is s likely that additional rail freight terminals will be required. The development of ports and rail freight terminals in Wales may not be a priority for the first six months, but should be a topic considered by the Committee during the term of the sixth Senedd term.

A fourth issue would be the issue of ‘freight blindness’ across the public sector in particular within the Welsh Government, Transport for Wales and Local Authorities. In public policy making, freight is seen as an afterthought and there is very limited freight expertise in any of the three bodies referred above. The current freight strategy, last dated 2008, is now 13 years old and the current Freight and Ports mini plans (part of the Welsh Transport Strategy) are in urgent need of being developed into a fully fledged freight strategy and implementation plan.  Recommendation 33 of the Burns Report recommended a regional level freight strategy which the Welsh Government has said will form part of a wider Wales freight and logistics plan, which is yet to start. Other areas of interest would also include the duty on Great British Railways to promote rail freight and set rail freight growth targets, and how this will work in Wales?

Finally, the Committee may wish to consider the challenges faced in delivering Net-Zero transport solutions for rural areas. These solutions are often different to those adopted in more urban areas, and CILT have recently produced a report on this issue which can be found at the following link:https://ciltuk.org.uk/Portals/0/Policy_AK/R2NZ/RtNZ2050_RuralCommunities%20_%20May21.pdf?ver=2021-05-18-142013-143. In particular, the report highlights the potential for the move to Net-Zero to have a disproportionate impact on rural communities, and the need for specific, tailored responses for these communities.

With all of these issues, there are clear overlaps with the work of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure committee, and will be including these in our response to that Committee’s call for evidence on priorities for the sixth Senedd. However, we would contend that these issues go beyond just transport and infrastructure issues as they support the functioning of supply chains supporting the Welsh economy, as well as providing employment. It may be that a joint inquiry between the two Committees would be valuable.

CILT Cymru Wales look forward to learning more about the future plans of the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee, and providing evidence to support this work in due course.