Rhys ab Owen: 2. What discussions is the Welsh Government having with the Ministry of Justice and police and crime commissioners to tackle racial discrimination in the criminal justice system in Wales? OQ57734
Rhys ab Owen: —the unanimous voice of the Assembly and the Senedd. I sincerely hope, friends, that we will not be back here in another 22 years having the same debate. Thank you very much.
Rhys ab Owen: I'll finish with this now, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Rhys ab Owen: During that time, my father has lost the ability to speak entirely, but his words, and through them his voice, remain. He ended his speech by quoting the last words of our patron saint, 'Brothers and sisters, rejoice and keep your faith and your belief, and do the little things.' My father, Deputy Presiding Officer, went further by saying this: 'Note the words "byddwch lawen", which mean...
Rhys ab Owen: Of course.
Rhys ab Owen: Funny you say that, Alun, as my next sentence will be, 'For Wales needs to be able to decide when we have our own bank holidays.' [Laughter.]
Rhys ab Owen: Instead of that, we're like Oliver Twist, aren't we, holding out our begging bowls, hoping for a few crumbs. Well, we should not have to rely on the charity of another Government to ensure that the day of our patron saint is a bank holiday. It was lovely to hear Tom Giffard speaking Welsh on Radio Cymru yesterday morning, and lovely to hear you speak Welsh today—stick with it, friend, do it...
Rhys ab Owen: If the United Kingdom is a union of equals, as the muscular unionists and the not-so-muscular unionists like to throw around, then there would be parity between the nations—an equal opportunity for us to celebrate, to dance, to sing and to rest on the day of our patron saint. And as Tom Giffard said, during the past 22 years, Scotland and Northern Ireland have created extra bank holidays to...
Rhys ab Owen: 'Westminster has rejected the Assembly's request, but negotiations are still ongoing.' Well, I don't know if they're still ongoing—
Rhys ab Owen: —now, but they haven't been very successful so far, have they? And again in 2021, following a request by Gwynedd Council, the proposal to give Wales a bank holiday was rejected by the Westminster Government. Deja vu, groundhog day—call it what you like—but we've been here before. Despite the united voice of the Assembly and the Senedd on this issue, we've not made any progress in 22...
Rhys ab Owen: I thank the Conservatives for bringing this debate before us, but I'd like to start today by taking you back on a history tour—not back to the age of David and the early saints, but far enough back to a time when Tom Giffard was wearing the short trousers of primary school and Gareth Davies was eating the Denbigh plum on his mother's lap, when Jack Sargeant had no beard and when I had a lot...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Minister. It was a privilege to meet some of the strikers on the steps of the Senedd today and they praised my colleagues Sioned Williams and Mike Hedges for the support that they've shown them. A fair pension should be a fundamental right for every worker in Wales, and the fact that they are cutting end-of-employment pensions by 35 per cent is disgraceful, and that is...
Rhys ab Owen: Good question. [Laughter.]
Rhys ab Owen: 2. What discussions has the Minister had to resolve the pension dispute in higher education institutions in Wales? OQ57697
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Brif Weinidog. The most recent Welsh Government prediction for the growth of the Cardiff population was 0.6 per cent per annum, however, the three options provided by Cardiff Council in the replacement local development plan are far higher than that. The first option is 19,000 extra homes on 0.8 per cent per annum, the second is 24,000 with a projected growth of 1 per cent,...
Rhys ab Owen: 2. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Cardiff replacement local development plan? OQ57696
Rhys ab Owen: As an intervention there, on the point you make, Darren Millar, Samuel Kurtz and I met with the Baptist Union of Wales last week, and the issues that chapels are having with Cadw, of being unable to renovate the buildings at all and then the chapel closes and everything goes and the building is demolished. It's not fit for purpose at the moment.
Rhys ab Owen: Is that a risk with your seat, Sam—in the North Wales region?
Rhys ab Owen: The fact that STV has been introduced into Scotland has nothing to do with the fact that the number of people who've voted has gone down. It's not connected at all.
Rhys ab Owen: I'll explain it now, if you want.
