David Melding: 6. When will the Minister issue the 2019 pay remit guidance for Welsh Government sponsored bodies? OAQ53309
David Melding: Can I start by thanking our Chairman, David Rees, for the way he's led the committee? I think he's done so with great alacrity. This is very pressing and serious work and I do appreciate the way you've chaired our meetings and sought to draw out a consensus amongst committee members. But the first thing to emphasise is that, if we leave the EU without a transitionary period, then the...
David Melding: First Minister, I'm sure you'll want to commend the work of the Auditor General for Wales, who has pointed out that 82 per cent of this spend is to cover for vacancies. And he also says there's a real issue of skills shortages and poor data, especially the lack of consistent and comparable data, which is impeding the leadership that we need from the health boards. What are you going to do...
David Melding: Minister, the flight of SMEs from house building is a UK phenomenon, and it's really stark. In the 1980s, about 40 per cent of house building was conducted by the SME sector; it's as low as 10 per cent in some parts of the country now. We clearly need to turn this around, and I think you're right to look at the stalled sites. Welsh Government research in 2015 said there were nearly 400 such...
David Melding: Minister, do you welcome the UK Government's recent decision to commit to air quality standards based on World Health Organization recommendations, which are much tougher than the EU recommendations, and, indeed, to commit to reducing the number of people living in areas that breach WHO guidelines and to reduce it by half, at least, by 2025? I understand the UK Government is about to publish...
David Melding: We deeply regret the abolition of the right to buy. That debate has been had, and we move on. We certainly need to concentrate and forge a new consensus around rapid increase in house building, which will now be our main focus, but we do regret this legislation deeply, and, on this side of the Assembly, we would seek to reintroduce the right to buy on a reformed basis at our earliest...
David Melding: Can I thank Jack for raising this really important issue of mental health first aid in the workplace? I speak as someone who's had my own mental health problems quite consistently throughout my adult life, and it has impacted in the workplace, there's no doubt about that. I think in an informal way I've been supported and I've struggled through and most of the time I've been in good health....
David Melding: I do believe that this report's publication is a landmark for everyone concerned to ensure that people living in buildings like Grenfell Tower, but in the private sector, are safe and feel safe, and I do hope that the Minister will continuously update this Assembly on the progress that the Government are making towards implementing the recommendations. I think it was one of the first acts you...
David Melding: If I might amplify Vikki Howells's point, the true irony of our current position is that the vast majority of businesses that export into the single market will want to continue to observe the regulatory framework that is set today, and for the future, by the EU. I've heard what you've said about the preparations, but will you also be working with the likes of the Confederation of British...
David Melding: Minister, I hope you and your very promising deputy have had a chance to read the Conservative group's strategy on liveable cities. Indeed, if you and your wider team want us to run a seminar for you, we'd be delighted to inform you of our thoughts. I think one thing that we were struck by is that some cities around the UK have really been key for economic development in their regions and...
David Melding: I would like to request a statement from the Minister for Health and Social Services on the case of my constituent, Mr Barry Topping-Morris. Mr Topping-Morris was the head of nursing at the Caswell Clinic in the then Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust when he was removed from post in 2005. He had brought to the attention of senior management what he considered irregularities in the assessment and...
David Melding: First Minister, I join you in commending the work of Lynne Neagle and her committee, which I think has been key in this area. Can I highlight the increasing pressures caused by internet use, particularly social media? Children in the UK now spend more time on the internet than any other country apart from Chile in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and we are way...
David Melding: Llywydd, Steffan's voice was a strong voice on the constitution. He had a depth of understanding that allowed him to soar to the heights of political thought. Llywydd, we were both elected in 1999, and I don't think I've ever heard a more generous voice on fundamental matters. His knowledge and use of the parliamentary process allowed him to promote the concept of the continuity Act, as we've...
David Melding: We've had the debate about the right to buy and the Assembly's made its decision. What I think is crucial is to have mixed tenure. There's a lot of attention being given to this—that that's what's at the heart of sustainable communities. Just as we would favour, under conditions, the sale of council houses, we would favour, and this has been done a lot in the past, councils buying what's in...
David Melding: Demand for housing has outstripped supply in Wales, as it has across the UK. For many, many years, this has been the case. The extra requirements for housing mainly came about as a result of the increase in the number of households, especially one-person households, which reflect more modern living, but also other factors, such as the rise in population. The Welsh Conservative Party has...
David Melding: I'm going to open this debate with a quote from the previous chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, and I quote: 'All the signs are that, without effective action taken now, Wales is heading for a housing crisis equal to or possibly worse than in the rest of the UK…We are urging the Welsh Assembly that unless urgent action is taken, the country's housing crisis will have severe...
David Melding: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'm delighted to open this debate and can I start with a very happy task and welcome the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Julie James, to her post? Quiet genuinely, it is a matter, I think, we can celebrate that we have again a Minister of Cabinet rank especially designated for housing—although also responsible for another department, but one closely...
David Melding: Evangelist.
David Melding: Minister, I too am concerned about learning loss, which has long been identified as an issue, particularly in deprived areas, where children who have made great progress in catching up on some key skills—for instance, numeracy and literacy—then lose out during the summer period. I know, when Cardiff University reviewed this programme in 2016, they said it was very important that there...
David Melding: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Can I just say that the remarks I'm going to make are in no way a reflection on the individual, whom I hold in very high esteem? But Jeremy Miles is listed on the Welsh Government's website as, I quote, 'the Counsel General designate and Brexit Minister'. His duties as a Minister, as far as I can work out, include chairing the Cabinet sub-committee on European...
