'No plans' to reduce speed limit to 10mph in Wales

The Welsh government has said there are "no plans" to reduce the speed limit to 10mph on some roads.

It comes as a Welsh government minister called the suggestion of reducing the limit to 5 or 10mph an "interesting" idea. Jane Hutt, the Trefnydd (leader of the house), made the comments in the Senedd earlier this week, in response to a report by the Road Safety Foundation.

The Road Safety Foundation said in a statement that it had "not made any recommendations about what speed limits would be appropriate". Its technical research paper noted that "translating these findings into policy and practice is complex" and that further work was needed to "develop comprehensive speed management guidelines".

Responding to a question in the Welsh parliament on the report, Ms Hutt said: "It is interesting that that association did come forward with proposals, based on evidence, that in some circumstances... 10mph, 5mph is appropriate in terms of road speeds." She said the evidence had shown the rollout of the 20mph speed limit had "not only saved lives, cut insurance bills, but actually has now been welcomed by the people of Wales".

New data released on Wednesday revealed the number of collisions on 20mph and 30mph roads was at a record low in 2024 - the first full year since the default speed limit in Wales was changed in September 2023. Former leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies said the minister's failure to rule out a further reduction in the speed limit was "ludicrous".

But Ken Skates, the cabinet secretary for transport, said there are "no plans to reduce speed limits to 10mph in Wales". A YouGov poll published this week found more than half (52%) of people in Britain would oppose a 10mph speed limit.

Read more:'Several years' needed to know true impact of 20mphNumber of people caught breaking speed limit revealed On Wednesday, Mr Skates was in Wrexham as the first roads in North Wales were changed back to 30mph. Mr Skates said the change in limit in some areas was "about getting the right speeds on the right roads".

It follows a review of the guidance for local authorities, commissioned by the government, after a record-breaking petition on the Senedd's website called for the policy to be reversed..