Russell George: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the decision to suspend the activities of the board of Sport Wales? EAQ(5)0083(HWS)
Russell George: Will you give way?
Russell George: I do agree; that was an issue that was raised with us. I think part of the issue is that there’s a confusion between—. It’s not a Welsh Government problem here, but it’s the valuation office that sets the valuation, it’s the local authority that collects the funding, and then it’s the Welsh Government that distributes the money centrally. I think businesses just don’t understand...
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. We heard from several small-business owners who are telling us, as politicians, to listen to them, and organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses and the Welsh Retail Consortium have also joined in calling for fundamental reform of what I would say is an outdated business rates system. Megan in Newtown talked about the potential of having to...
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to formally move this important motion in the name of Paul Davies and, in doing so, declare that I also have a share in a small business myself. The objective of this debate today is to recognise the massive contribution that small and medium-sized enterprises and the retail industry make to the Welsh economy. Small businesses are the...
Russell George: In a letter to me on 7 November, Cabinet Secretary, you said that you saw no need to amend the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which states that local authorities have a statutory obligation to provide residents with at least one facility where they may deposit their household waste. Now, in light of the closure of the recycling centre in Machynlleth, coupled with the fact that the local...
Russell George: Cabinet Secretary, Llanfair Caereinion Town Council have been in correspondence with me on this issue for some time. The town council are keen to take on the running of the town library from county council control. If this doesn’t happen then it’s fearful the town library is likely to close. Now, legal advice provided to the town council actively prohibits them from funding the library...
Russell George: 5. Will the Minister make a statement on the application of section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to the powers of local authorities to incur expenditure? OAQ(5)0056(FLG)
Russell George: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on the application of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in Wales? OAQ(5)0055(ERA)
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’d like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement this afternoon. It’s very welcome, and I’m certainly keen to have further statements of this sort. I certainly appreciate that we are in uncertain times, following the EU referendum result and the US election, but I also do think that there are exciting opportunities for new and existing UK...
Russell George: Can I thank the Presiding Officer for accepting the urgent question, and the Cabinet Secretary for his answer? This does seem to be a significant change in the way that Welsh Government receives advice and makes decisions in regard to economic development. So, perhaps you could outline why this was released, or reported in the media, before being made available to Assembly Members in a...
Russell George: First Minister, the Welsh business barometer, from the South Wales Chamber of Commerce report, said the number of small and medium-sized enterprises that were reporting a growth in export sales and orders has fallen in the third quarter of 2016. My own postbag is growing with small businesses contacting me concerned about the potential increase in their business rates. Will you consider...
Russell George: Will the Minister make a statement on plans to streamline the Welsh Government’s economic advisory boards? EAQ(5)0076(EI)
Russell George: I’m very grateful to the Member for allowing a minute of his time. I should say for the record that I did ask at the very last minute in the day and the Member accepted if time allowed. Can I say that I agree with virtually everything that Hefin has said? I congratulate him on being elected the chair of the cross-party group on small businesses, of which I am a member also. All I would say...
Russell George: Yes, absolutely.
Russell George: Well, it is a previous assessment that has been undertaken, and I’m happy to speak to you outside the Chamber about that. But that assessment is done, where 25 per cent of tolls were removed immediately—sorry, the 25 per cent—. The traffic would increase by 25 per cent if tolls were removed immediately. It’s certainly my view that a traffic assessment—a wider traffic...
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I’d like to move the amendment in the name of my colleague Paul Davies, and to thank UKIP for bringing forward this debate today. I recognise there is widespread ambition across this Chamber to remove the tolls on the Severn bridge and to reduce, of course, the burden on motorists travelling into Wales. The intention of the Welsh Conservative...
Russell George: This weekend, celebrations will take place to mark the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of one of Wales’s most famous musicians, John Roberts, Harpist of Wales or ‘Telynor Cymru’. His life and works will be marked with two days of performances, talks and events exploring his life and how he and his family, who lived in Newtown, became one of Wales’s best known musical acts of...
Russell George: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer. The Cabinet Secretary will be aware that the Newtown bypass is developing well, and I’d be very grateful, Cabinet Secretary, if you could let me know how the Welsh Government can support the towns—particularly Newtown, Llanidloes and Welshpool—that sit in the Severn valley to take best advantage of that Newtown bypass once it’s complete.
Russell George: Cabinet Secretary, I heard your response to Bethan Jenkins earlier. When I raised this with the leader of the house recently, I was assured that you as Cabinet Secretary would look at this issue. With just one week to go, Rent Smart Wales appears to be, I would say, in chaos. It seems there are not sufficient staff to take calls. Some people are unable to make payments online and staff are...
