David Melding: Can I add, Minister, to Bethan's point? We've all had casework in this area and time and again people with muscular dystrophy or other neuromuscular conditions emphasise the importance of specialist posts like specialist nurses who can train other medical staff, but also enable people to live with conditions that can last many years, decades sometimes. We really do need to see an improvement...
David Melding: Minister, the core food competences framework was reviewed by all the administrations in the UK in 2014, and 'Food—a fact of life' draft guidelines were published in February. I wonder when full guidance will now be issued, and how will it be introduced into the new curriculum?
David Melding: Well, it's clearly work in progress, and issues about shared governance require real thought, because they need to be rigorous and really like nothing we've really had before in our internal structure and in terms of how the various Governments in the union operate. So, I'd urge you to be patient, but I don't dismiss the importance of the issue. Suzy said we need to be bolder and braver. I...
David Melding: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I think we've had a full and constructive debate mostly, perhaps with the occasional flash of partisan anger, but when we are debating the economy, I think there should be some real feeling, so that's perhaps not amiss. Russell George opened the debate I thought, as you'd expect from someone with great authority on these themes, speaking as a really...
David Melding: Minister, I do hope you'll have the good grace to join me in congratulating Cardiff Metropolitan University football club, which is celebrating becoming the first university to reach the UEFA Europa League after an exciting play-off against Bala Town on Sunday—I do apologise—where they won 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out. This means that Cardiff Met will move into the preliminary rounds,...
David Melding: Minister, you may have seen that last week it was announced that Japan's biggest house builder will move into the UK housing market with immediate effect after striking a multi-million pound deal that will see it work with Homes England and Urban Splash to deliver thousands of new homes across England. The £90 million deal comprises of total new investment of £55 million into regeneration...
David Melding: Minister, it's legitimate to have a second home. However, it's only fair that you make a contribution to the community you're in, especially at times of restricted finances and housing shortage. We also need to ensure that we don't create perverse incentives for people to redesignate domestic dwellings. So, I think it is time to have a comprehensive look at this and just see how we can have a...
David Melding: 4. What consideration does the Minister give to the funding of prefabricated housing when allocating the Welsh Government's budget? OAQ53918
David Melding: What is the Welsh Government doing to promote mining heritage as a tourist attraction in the south Wales valleys?
David Melding: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and can I thank the Minister for making her statement? I'm a little disappointed; I think I have to be candid about this, given that we've had an earlier statement, the one in March, and I had hoped there'd be more pace and purpose in the May statement, which was promised in the earlier statement. At the moment, we know that the Government accepts all the...
David Melding: Can I just say, following Oscar, that I thought he summed up there the feeling that carers have for the person they care for? It's an act of deep love but it's a demanding act as well. I think it's good that we remember the context in which these activities are performed. Can I start with an observation? This is the second week the First Minister has sat through the Conservative debate. We...
David Melding: —and they want access to—indeed, I hear another Member, who I know has enjoyed these facilities—nearby market towns and villages, so, you know, with good transport links when you need to make that little journey from the walking path you're following. But these people spend a lot of money. They're high-end tourists. When we think of people who are walking, we could be tempted to think...
David Melding: Can I thank the Deputy Minister for this very timely statement, made during the remarkable Wales Coast Path Walking Festival? Can I pay tribute too to the hard work of Ramblers Cymru, who are facilitating many of the festivities? Can I also emphasise to the Minister and the Chamber that I am a keen user of the path, especially in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and on my home patch, Glamorgan? So,...
David Melding: Well, I must follow the Minister's inspiring observation that, you know, perhaps this is the world that will now mark the next 20 years of devolution, where we debate subjects on which we have broad agreement, but subjects that are still critical to our society—and in this case the economy and creative industries. But, can I thank everyone who has taken part in this debate? It's been a...
David Melding: The potential, Deputy Presiding Officer, is clearly vast, yet Wales is yet to play its full role or the role it is capable of performing, despite some commendable activity, which I'm sure the Minister will refer to later. But this is an industry that is yet to really take off, and if we get in there now and really capture these trends, then we can be a real leader. Other UK cities are...
David Melding: Now, e-sports have been around for as long as the video-game industry itself, and collectively refer to competitive video-game play by professional and amateur gamers. Back in the early 1990s, it existed simply through a group of friends sitting around a Sega Mega Drive or Nintendo 64 console. But in recent years, growth in the gaming audience and player engagement has elevated e-sports into...
David Melding: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to open this Welsh Conservative debate on a topic that—I think it's fair to say—is making its debut in the National Assembly. It's a topic that's very fresh and exciting in my opinion, and which has the potential for substantial growth in Wales if it's given the recognition and the attention that its success to date warrants. Around the world,...
David Melding: Minister, the airport has had a couple of setbacks recently—the Flybe announcement being the worst. I'm not sure that you would have heard that Peter Phillips, a former senior manager at Cardiff Airport and a former adviser to Brisbane and Amsterdam airports, has said that Cardiff Airport needs to develop its freight services and its business zone in response to the Flybe announcement. In...
David Melding: 8. What discussions is the Welsh Government having with Cardiff Airport officials regarding the expansion of its freight services and business zone? OAQ53820
David Melding: Can I congratulate the First Minister for making my supplementary utterly redundant? [Laughter.] Because I was going to call for exactly that default position. It's logical that we set the standard limit in built-up areas at 20 mph and then councils have the power to set it at 30 mph for those more arterial routes through their urban areas.
