Mike Hedges: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. Of all the non-native species that we have in Swansea, the one that’s causing us our biggest problem is Japanese knotweed, which is highly invasive, very difficult to get rid of and causes houses not to be able to be sold, causes drains to be damaged and can cause houses to have their foundations undermined. Can the Cabinet Secretary provide an...
Mike Hedges: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the problem of non-native invasive species in Wales? (OAQ51178)
Mike Hedges: Please.
Mike Hedges: I agree with you entirely. I don’t see why these things can’t be refurbished, and I think that it’s unfortunate there are still some people who have this throwaway mentality. We’ve had rapid technology changes. The mobile phone—I know that’s interrupted this session on several occasions this afternoon. That contains gold, heavy metals—in fact 70 per cent of the heavy metals in...
Mike Hedges: In the second half of the twentieth century, we became a throwaway society. My grandmother, who was born in the nineteenth century, and lived with an unemployed husband during the 1930s, was often horrified by the general wastefulness of society at that time—items that were working, and nothing wrong them, often thrown away and taken to landfill because they had been replaced. Sometimes,...
Mike Hedges: Will you take an intervention?
Mike Hedges: Would you not accept that zero is impossible if you’ve got incineration, because incineration will always end up with residual waste?
Mike Hedges: I’m asking for a statement by the Welsh Government on transport within the Swansea bay city region. This statement should include bus-rail interchanges, which we desperately need; the reopening of closed railway stations such as Landore station and the opening of new railway stations such as Cockett; improved road links, especially the dualling of the A40; and improved cycleways, so that...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? Of course, council houses were built to a very high standard until the Conservatives did away with the Parker Morris standards. Can I say that some of the more enlightened tenants and councils in Wales supported council housing stock staying in council hands? What support will the Welsh Government give councils such as the City and County of...
Mike Hedges: I would like to stress the importance of the electrification of the main London to Swansea rail line in going through Bridgend, First Minister. I think it’s incredibly important. The message it sends out to potential investors about how important you think an area is when you stop the electrification 40 miles away I think is seriously disadvantageous to those of us who live west of Cardiff....
Mike Hedges: 9. Will the First Minister make a statement on providing sufficient quality housing in Wales? (OAQ51177)
Mike Hedges: Can I thank Dai Lloyd for giving me a minute in this debate? South Wales has two major hospitals—that is without argument—that is Morriston and the Heath. Really, what we’re looking at is: how can we make the best use of both? We need to support both. To west Wales—and I include the area that you represent, Llywydd—Morriston is the major hospital. Anybody who has spent any time...
Mike Hedges: Free trade zone.
Mike Hedges: Can I talk about integrated public transport systems? In far too many areas, we have buses and we have trains, but the bus comes in at a different time to the train going out, and also we have a situation where buses park some distance away from the train. In my own constituency of Swansea East, for example, we’ve got Llansamlet station, but the bus stops a couple of hundred yards away...
Mike Hedges: Can I, first of all, welcome the statement? Can I highlight two things? The importance of dialogue regarding bus services—too often, bus services are being run by bus companies without enough dialogue with users and others. The second thing: the importance of bus-rail interchanges. I don’t think you can overestimate the popularity of concessionary travel. Support for it is overwhelming in...
Mike Hedges: The leader of the house is well aware of my interest in invest-to-save. In fact, she’s probably been missing my questions over the last 18 months or so. I would like to ask for a Government statement on the success of innovate-to-save, and how successful innovations are being promoted across Welsh Government and throughout the Welsh public sector.
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? I agree entirely that promoting advanced manufacturing is going to be incredibly important to the Welsh economy, and areas such as robotics and graphene can help grow the Welsh economy. Does the First Minister agree that there needs to be a further clarification of the definition of advanced manufacturing by the Welsh Government, to exclude...
Mike Hedges: 5. Will the First Minister make a statement on the advanced manufacturing sector in Wales? (OAQ51139)
Mike Hedges: I can be convinced that we need a relief road for the M4, but I’m currently unconvinced. We always talk here about decisions being evidence based. Do we know where people join and where they come off the M4, using number plate recognition technology? Do they need to be using the M4, or are there alternative roads? Has any thought been given to signposting Neath, Swansea and west Wales, as...
Mike Hedges: Yes, but it’s an average, isn’t it? And so you’ve only got to see how much ice is breaking off in both Antarctica and in the Arctic, and that’s going to lead to flooding in a large number of low-lying areas, and possibly countries disappearing. The other thing I was going to say is, if you want to help the poor: better insulation. Many of us have visited people in their houses, which...
