Steffan Lewis: Community health councils have independence, expertise and powers to intervene on behalf of patients in order to uphold their safety and their dignity. So, can the First Minister explain how taking such functions away from the local level and centralising them nationally, and then watering them down, is going to enhance patient safety and dignity?
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement today and the publication of the fair movement of people document, which, of course, elaborates on the joint White Paper that was published between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru recently. I, like him, perhaps in vain, look forward to a time when we can have an honest and serious debate on immigration that considers the facts and the true...
Steffan Lewis: Come on. The mask is slipping again.
Steffan Lewis: Can we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Transport on the obligations on local authorities to maintain safe highways and install traffic calming? Residents in the Pant Ddu Road area of Crumlin are working hard, and have been for many years, to secure traffic calming in their area. There’s been a doubling in the volume of traffic and the average speeds are now...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Member for giving way. He rightly points to the age of the rolling stock on the Welsh franchise. I wonder if he agrees with me that due to the age of the rolling stock and the incidents of doors jamming and even fires on them, built into the next franchise contract—whoever gets it—should be a commitment not to cut the number of guards on the Welsh franchise from the point of...
Steffan Lewis: I’d like to echo the previous speakers in thanking all those who gave evidence, and to put on record my thanks to the Chair as well for the way that he has conducted this inquiry in particular. I think all Members are going to be echoing the same point—that one of the disappointing parts of our inquiry was to see that there was almost a hope for business as usual among those that we took...
Steffan Lewis: Can we have a statement from the Welsh Government on the planning crisis in the county borough of Caerphilly? There is no active local development plan at the moment and, as a result, the planning system is heavily skewed in favour of developers and, indeed, inappropriate unsustainable development. Recent adjudications by the planning inspector have highlighted the fact that the five-year...
Steffan Lewis: I’d also like to thank Simon Thomas, as Chair of the committee, for the work that he’s done in bringing this Bill forward. Indeed, a number of the points that I was going to raise have already been raised by other Members. But I think it is a very important point to make—Mike Hedges has mentioned this in particular—the point about costs relating to accepting complaints orally....
Steffan Lewis: 10. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the rollout of universal credit in Wales? (OAQ51186)
Steffan Lewis: The Member for Newport West touched on a point of the levels of personal debt and that being a real impact of the hideous welfare reforms being thrust upon us by the British state. Research earlier this year showed that personal debt levels in the NP postcode area were the highest in Wales and, across the United Kingdom, they are now reaching pre-recession levels. I wonder what action the...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer, and it follows on from an answer he’s given to the Member for Arfon this afternoon. I know he will agree that universal credit’s more than just a political shambles; it’s cruel and it’s causing real hardship. The cost of calling helplines has been raised regularly, as too has the crucial issue of the frequency of payments. Now, I don’t...
Steffan Lewis: Of course, one of the greatest threats to staffing long term in the Welsh NHS would be for us to have a one-size-fits-all UK immigration policy after separation with the European Union. The University of Edinburgh have published a paper by Professor Christina Boswell, ‘Scottish Immigration Policy After Brexit: Evaluating Options for a Differentiated Approach’. It looks at a number of...
Steffan Lewis: Can we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for the economy and transport on the apparent inability of Caerphilly County Borough Council to upgrade a roundabout without unleashing absolute chaos? People are hours late for work, children late for school, and there’s evidence of businesses now being affected by the upgrades at Pwll-y-Pant roundabout. The works are set to continue for...
Steffan Lewis: What discussions has the Cabinet Secretary had with Caerphilly County Borough Council about improving the delivery of services in the area?
Steffan Lewis: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Yesterday, the Welsh Government published the detail of its draft budget, including detailed budget expenditure line tables for 2018-19 and 2019-20. In the last 24 hours, a number of organisations have expressed concern regarding the Supporting People budget line in light of that budget line in particular disappearing in the 2019-20 budget table. Plaid Cymru, of...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer. So, to clarify, the removal of the ring fence—and I understand that this will be piloted in the next financial year—and the discretion in pilot areas will not allow local authorities therefore to underspend, so to speak, on the Supporting People grant. Can he clarify and confirm that the merger, so to speak, with other grant streams will, in...
Steffan Lewis: That’s a very important point, of course. I’m glad to hear the clarification that hypothecation will remain in a form. However, the fact that the budget line in particular for the Supporting People grant disappears in the second year raises questions on how we can ensure that we can scrutinise fully and properly as elected representatives, but also in terms of the sector as a whole, that...
Steffan Lewis: I’m grateful to the Member for giving way. Can he tell me what his fiscal vision for Wales is?
Steffan Lewis: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I was perhaps naively looking forward to a mature debate this afternoon. Sadly, that’s not been forthcoming. The Member for Monmouth was conspicuous in his silence this morning in Finance Committee when we heard evidence from experts on the proposed tourism levy. It’s a pity that evidence is not something that he wants to include in his contributions in this...
Steffan Lewis: I’ve just started, so I’ll make progress, but I’m happy to give way later on. [Interruption.] It is not Plaid Cymru policy. However, we welcome very much the Welsh Government’s approach in introducing four ideas for further research and further testing, because the contradiction in the contribution from the Member for Monmouth was that we didn’t have any evidence in order to make a...
