Nick Ramsay: I'm pleased to be speaking in this important debate today, a debate, of course, about the budget, but also about the future of the people of Wales. Let us be quite clear about the context of this budget: yes, the Welsh Government has found itself developing this budget during an exceptionally short time frame, with issues surrounding the recent general election, and we recognise the...
Nick Ramsay: Out of practice. Trefnydd, it wouldn't be the business statement without me bringing some of my well-trodden pet causes to your attention, as I've done before, the first of those being the ongoing and pressing case for a Chepstow bypass. Could we have an update from the Minister for transport on any discussions that may have happened over recent months with the UK Government to develop this...
Nick Ramsay: I concur with the points made by Jenny Rathbone. I think that, in the area of zero-carbon homes, Wales really can make a lead in this area if we want to. Minister, the innovative housing fund has enabled Monmouthshire Housing Association to carry on their excellent work, developing two innovative housing sites in Chepstow, working in partnership with the Welsh School of Architecture, and this...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Last Saturday, I'm sure you were aware, was Small Business Saturday. I, like many other Assembly Members, was out campaigning for local businesses. I visited Neil James, a small local butcher in rural Monmouthshire, whose family has been supporting Welsh farmers and supplying local produce since the 1950s. The business is frequently nominated for the...
Nick Ramsay: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's policies for supporting the rural economy? OAQ54840
Nick Ramsay: Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's policy on waste incineration?
Nick Ramsay: I didn't say—. Sorry.
Nick Ramsay: I didn't say 'publish' per se, because I could understand that that could raise some issues—
Nick Ramsay: —but that that data be available if it's requested, rather than being kept away, because some schools might not want that sort of data being in the public domain or being available to parents, for obvious reasons.
Nick Ramsay: Will the Member take an intervention?
Nick Ramsay: Thanks for giving way, Julie. I quite agree with what you've just said about the importance of schools recording data when it comes to bullying, but would you also agree that, in the interests of transparency, it's important that data isn't just recorded but that it's available to parents should they request it so that we do get an accurate picture of bullying, and, more importantly, the...
Nick Ramsay: Can I concur with Mike Hedges's previous comments and requests on two issues? Firstly, on the request for a statement and update on what the Welsh Government is doing to help disabled people into work or back into work. Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of visiting Legacy International Group Ltd, based in Merthyr but serving the whole of south Wales. They have got a number of projects going...
Nick Ramsay: Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's decarbonisation policies?
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Minister. When I last raised the issue of the A4042 flooding problem at Llanellen with your colleague, the Deputy Minister, a few weeks ago he pointed out, rightly, that the problems are well-known and difficult to deal with and if I had any solutions to let you know. Well, it seemed to me, thinking about this afterwards, that there is one obvious, although costly, solution, which...
Nick Ramsay: 7. Will the Minister provide an update on plans to improve the trunk road network in Monmouthshire? OAQ54782
Nick Ramsay: Minister, as I'm sure you're aware, this Saturday coming is Welsh Small Business Saturday. A great opportunity for all of us, as Assembly Members, to support local homegrown businesses, both in the high street and elsewhere. Last week in this Chamber, the First Minister made the important point that the high street of the past cannot simply be resurrected, no matter how much we sometimes...
Nick Ramsay: Will you take an intervention? Just on that health figure, I don't disagree with you. I haven't got the figures in front of me, but I don't disagree with you that the figure might be higher here, but, of course, that isn't necessarily the issue. The issue is the rate of increase of the health budget within Wales vis-à-vis the other parts of the UK, and that's where—. Because you start off...
Nick Ramsay: Will you take an intervention? Thank you for that. That amount of money might be spread over a number of years, but it is, you must welcome, an amount of money that is going to come to Wales that wouldn't otherwise. On the fiscal framework, which, again, you've only just touched upon, I wasn't mudslinging earlier, as Rhun pointed out, I was actually complimenting the way the Welsh Government...
Nick Ramsay: Will you take an intervention?
Nick Ramsay: Yes, you're quite right to say that it's the situation that Wales faces now. On the day after independence, on the day of independence, that would be the situation. So, to say, 'Well, it's going to be challenging and we wouldn't have been in this position before' will not matter when people find their taxes are going up, there's not enough money to spend on public services, and people in...
