Opened in February 2017, views have been heard from those for and against the proposal to build a new 14 mile (23km) six-lane section of motorway south of Newport, including a bridge across the River Usk and major remodelling of junctions 23 and 29 of the M4. 

The current M4 route, running north of Newport, is regularly congested particularly where it narrows to two lanes at the Brynglas tunnels. 

The inquiry received 319 unique objections out of a total of 6189 and 216 letters of support.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:

I have been clear that this inquiry should robustly and openly scrutinise the proposed scheme, the embedded environmental mitigation measures, the Business Case and all objectors‘ suggested alternatives including the Blue Route.

I want to thank all individuals and groups for their involvement in the inquiry. We will now await the independent inspectors report and we expect to be able to make a decision later this year on whether to proceed with construction.

The Inquiry inspectors will now report on their findings to inform Welsh Government’s decision on whether to proceed with construction. Their report will make recommendations to the Welsh Government. 

After the Welsh Government has had the opportunity to scrutinise the recommendations, the government has confirmed it will bring forward a debate in the National Assembly for Wales on the scheme.

If the decision is made to go ahead with the project, construction could start around the end of this year and the new section of motorway could be open by the end of 2023.

Commenting on the neurological conditions annual statement of progress for 2016-17, Mr Gething said: 

“People with neurological conditions need timely access to high-quality care, wherever they live. Our plan, supported by additional funding, aims to deliver that. 

“I am pleased the annual statement has shown progress in improving the services for people who have a neurological condition. There are excellent examples of multi-disciplinary team improvements throughout Wales despite dealing with increasing and more complex demands for services.

“In particular, there has been a reduction in the number of emergency admissions and the average time patients spend in hospital following an admission. This is a key focus of our plan and demonstrates that patients and the NHS are getting far better at managing people’s conditions.

“Progress is also being made on the establishment of a responsive and efficient neuro-rehabilitation service to ensure patients get the care they need as locally as possible.”

Around 100,000 people are living with a long-term neurological condition in Wales. Of those, over 41,000 people in Wales are estimated to suffer from Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, motor neurone disease or cerebral palsy. In addition, a further 10,000 people each year were admitted to hospital for an acquired brain injury. 

The plans are part of a much wider package of measures the Welsh Government is taking to support children to have the best start in life, and to support their parents to do the best job they can. 

It is already against the law for a parent or carer to physically punish their child, except where this amounts to ‘reasonable punishment’ 

The proposed legislation would not involve the creation of a new offence. It would instead remove the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ to the existing offences of assault and battery. 

It would mean any adult looking after a child would no longer be able to use physical or corporal punishment against them. 

Ministers want to accelerate existing trends in the way parents in Wales discipline their children and to support them in feeling confident to choose positive and more effective methods of discipline. 

Minister for Children, Huw Irranca-Davies said:

“The Welsh Government has a long standing record of working to ensure children have the best start in life and of promoting children’s rights. This is why we intend to bring forward legislation to make it clear that physically punishing a child is no longer acceptable in Wales. 

“Children need discipline to understand what is right and wrong and how to behave. Removing the defence makes it clear that physically punishing children isn’t acceptable in Wales.

“I am aware there are differing views on this; so the consultation provides an opportunity for everyone to have their say to help us try to address concerns as the legislation develops.

“The consultation closes on Monday 2nd April – so I’m encouraging as many people as possible to take part.”

The First Minister has outlined his concerns that Theresa May has yet to adequately explain the kind of new relationship with Brussels she would like after the transition period more than 20 months after the referendum.

In contrast the Welsh Government has published evidence, analysis and detailed proposals for a Brexit that would protect jobs and the Welsh economy.

The First Minister said:

“We are only 12 months away from formally leaving the EU and the people of Wales still have no idea about the post-Brexit deal the Prime Minister wants with Brussels. The transition deal was welcome, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. The reality is we still do not know what we are ‘transitioning’ to. Long-term uncertainty has not disappeared, the shape of our trade relationship remains unclear and this is bad for business and investment.

“As the Prime Minister recently said herself we all need to face up to some hard facts. This is sound advice for the UK government itself. There still seems to be no agreement at the heart of Whitehall on the kind of post-Brexit relationship with the EU they want.

“The UK faces prolonged negotiations where tough issues will need to be resolved. If the government does not budge from its ‘red lines’, we face the prospect of a future relationship with the EU-27 which will do serious damage to our economy. We need clear decisions, transparency and the ability to legitimately scrutinise choices that will have an impact for generations to come. 

“The clock is ticking. Businesses and the public sector need to be able to plan for this huge change but the lack of clarity from the UK government is making this all but impossible. I am not questioning Brexit – the UK is leaving the EU. But we deserve to know what the plan is.

“By contrast, we have based our priorities on evidence and on putting the needs of the economy first. We will continue to fight for a sensible Brexit that protects Wales’ economy and jobs. Pragmatism and common sense needs to prevail to deliver a successful Brexit.”

The jobs are with insurance broker and price comparison provider Assured Futures, who developed the UK’s first online comparison of health insurance products over 10 years ago.

The company also provides comparison services for income protection and life insurance products, including over 50s life insurance, with their technology powering some of the UK’s leading price comparison websites, including Comparethemarket, Moneysupermarket and Money.co.uk.

Assured Futures already employs over 100 staff at its head office in Cheltenham. Their new presence in Cardiff is part of the company’s continued growth as it looks to expand its current services and develop new products.

The new office in Wales will see Assured Futures joining an already buoyant insurance sector along with other world renowned names such as Admiral, Aon, Legal & General and Zurich.

Indeed a recent report by the Association of British Insurers estimated that the insurance and long-term savings sectors employs 8,000 people in Cardiff alone, contributing almost £645 million to the region’s economy in 2015.  

Economy Secretary, Ken Skates said: 

I am delighted that following Welsh Government support, Assured Futures has made the decision to expand its operation  into Wales, creating an additional 70 jobs in Cardiff’s already thriving insurance sector.

With over ten years experience, and as a  leader in the comparison website field, we are very pleased to welcome them, and wish them a long and  successful future in Wales.

Ian Sawyer, Managing Director at Assured Futures said:

I am delighted to see us expanding our business into Wales in what is a hugely exciting period for Assured Futures. We see Cardiff as the ideal location to continue our growth with its strong history in the insurance and finance sector and talented and experienced workforce in this sector.

We are grateful to the Welsh Government for the support they have provided to us, which was a determining factor in our decision to Cardiff as the location for our new office and look forward to what we can achieve in the coming years.