Mike Hedges: Yes, certainly.
Mike Hedges: If Mark Isherwood is asking, 'Can we fund every local authority by exactly the same amount per head?', on behalf of Swansea, I say, 'Yes, please.' And I think there'd be people in Cardiff who'd be ecstatic about it, and there'd be problems in other parts of Wales where they'd be less happy. The formula means that it's driven by population, and population demographics, with additional money...
Mike Hedges: Oh, diolch, Llywydd. [Laughter.] That came as a shock then. Two major areas of Welsh Government expenditure are health and local government. The downside of extra money for health has obviously been less money for local government. Local government finances are under pressure. Local councils have been forward thinking and innovative in dealing with real-term cuts to their budgets, and that's...
Mike Hedges: Well, I think if we'd had Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell elected in 2017, I don't think there's anybody in this room who doesn't think we'd have a radically different budget. The block grant from the Tories in Westminster is inadequate. As the year progresses, I expect the Conservatives to call for more money for health, more money for education and to oppose any cutbacks that are being...
Mike Hedges: Whilst supporting the Welsh Government budget, I acknowledge that the budget is inadequate for the needs of Wales. As the Cabinet Secretary said during his speech, there is between £1.1 billion and £4 billion less in expenditure than we actually should have if we'd even just stayed level, in one case in cash terms, and the other one in terms of real-terms increases in line with the...
Mike Hedges: All I would say, of course, is that Franklin Delano Roosevelt did exactly that: the New Deal that got America out of the recession.
Mike Hedges: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I thank David Melding, Simon Thomas, Joyce Watson, Neil Hamilton, John Griffiths, and the Cabinet Secretary for taking part in this debate—and Paul Davies for taking part in this debate? And I think it's really—. I think it really is important that we've got a number of people who aren't members of the committee taking an interest in this committee report. I think...
Mike Hedges: Assembly Members and stakeholders will see from the exchange that the Cabinet Secretary has addressed a small number of the committee’s many concerns, but the majority of our questions are still unanswered. But I'm sure the Cabinet Secretary will address those today. Our report, 'Turning the tide', addresses several issues, including the Welsh Government’s approach to enforcing, the...
Mike Hedges: Diolch, Llywydd. I think marine discussions are a bit like buses—you wait a very long time for one and two come along very quickly. I am delighted to open today’s debate on the report from the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee on the management of marine protected areas in Wales. I need to thank the previous Chair of the committee, Mark Reckless, and members of the...
Mike Hedges: Can I warmly welcome the Welsh Government's action? I don't think it's possible to overestimate the importance of the tidal lagoon to the Swansea bay city region. I know that there is support from Members right the way across this Chamber for the tidal lagoon, and Members I disagree with on virtually everything else are in total agreement about how important this is to Swansea and the Swansea...
Mike Hedges: The Wales plan has been a long time in the making. It started initially with the Countryside Council for Wales back in 2009, advising the Welsh Government on its initial approach to maritime planning. I'm not going to criticise it for taking that length of time. It's always better to get a policy right than to get one quickly, so I make no criticism of the length of time; I think it's...
Mike Hedges: I'm on the positive side. The arrival of the first ever marine plan for Wales, I believe, is a significant moment in the history of Wales as a maritime nation. Despite a land use planning system being in place for 70 years, a strategic spatial and plan-led approach to managing UK—including Wales—marine environments has been absent. That's not to say that the land-use planning has been...
Mike Hedges: On apprenticeships, construction needs skilled workers. We need apprentices to come through to replace retiring tradespeople. We went through a period of time with too few apprentices. This needs resolving. I am well aware and appreciative of the work done by the CITB, and I know the Welsh Government is looking to work with employers. All apprenticeships include an appropriate competency...
Mike Hedges: I'll just say this: the Hendry review, which many of us who are pessimistic thought was kicking it into the long grass, is the most positive I've ever heard. I'll quote it: 'I believe that the evidence is clear that tidal lagoons can play a cost effective role in the UK’s energy mix.' Ultimately, the UK Government faces 'a strategic decision, every bit as much as an economic decision.'...
Mike Hedges: This expansion will be driven by a range of major infrastructure projects. It's almost like we're waiting for them, aren't we? Infrastructure projects like Wylfa—we're still waiting. The tidal lagoon—we're waiting. The work that has been done by local authorities in terms of schools and the twenty-first century schools programme, which has been a huge success, and has had huge support...
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I hope to show the importance of the construction industry, the importance of apprenticeships and having a skilled construction workforce, the importance of supporting and growing Welsh construction companies and also the importance of big projects such as the tidal lagoon in Swansea. The sad thing is that, if I'd been making this speech two years ago, I'd...
Mike Hedges: I thought you were going to say that.
Mike Hedges: It's not a good thing to be picked for the last week of term.
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. First of all, can I thank David Melding, Simon Thomas, David Rowlands, Vikki Howells, Jayne Bryant, Mark Isherwood and the Minister for taking part in this debate, and I think, most importantly, for the positive and consensual way we've all taken it forward? I think I could sit down now and say, 'Well, we're all in agreement, aren't we?' But there are a...
Mike Hedges: Overall, the inquiry found that stakeholders generally felt the policy direction of the Welsh Government’s strategy 'Woodlands for Wales' was appropriate. However, they all called for it to be refreshed, urgently, in order to significantly increase planting rates. We made 13 recommendations. I am pleased that the Welsh Government has accepted 12 of those recommendations either in full or...
