Mike Hedges: Can I remind Members how overwhelmingly the alternative vote form of proportional representation was rejected in the referendum, and how the single transferable vote is based on 'guess how many seats you can win'? Will the Welsh Government legislate that a supermajority vote by councillors and councils of two thirds will be necessary if councils want to change their voting system?
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, I have already disappointed my good friend from Swansea East with my views on proportional representation; I don't propose to disappoint him again this afternoon. But, I will say to him that when we look at how we reform and deepen our democracy, I believe that we have to be bold and radical, and not conservative, and look and embrace change.
Mick Antoniw: ...an industry that’s getting concerned—a £37 billion industry—and we need to be very alert. This is very similar to what happened with the tobacco industry, and we will have similar sorts of representations about how it’s really about fair lobbying, just as in America it’s all about fair gun control and so on. So, that’s important. Our concern is, of course, that we’ve got to...
Bethan Sayed: I've received many, many representations from parents in the Port Talbot area whereby they're claiming that specialist provision of a playgroup for children with additional learning needs at Action for Children at Neath Port Talbot Hospital is under threat and that it may lead to closure. Also they've told me that the autism family support worker is under threat of losing their position....
Julie James: ...with the scheme, as it happens, and it's a very good scheme indeed. I know that there are a large number of parents who have relied very heavily on the scheme in the past and I've had similar representations to the Member made to me about the benefit that the scheme has brought to families. The Minister responsible is here and has listened very carefully to your comments. I'm sure he'll...
Julie James: ... questions. In terms of the community health councils and their role in social care, the Minister was listening carefully all the way through. The Member characterised the consultation in not quite the way I understand it to be, and I think we do need to let the consultation take its course and see where we go with that. It is a consultation about the future of the CHCs, and I'm sure...
Julie James: ...people and people with particular problems in mobility and so on about their banking. There is an arrangement in place with Post Office Counters, in actual fact, to do some banking, and we've made representations to them, I know, in my previous role, about ensuring that the Post Office Counters staff have the right training and that there are appropriate premises in which to conduct what...
Hefin David: Well, that's not a responsible representation of what I said, and what I said is: we are operating within a UK Government budget context in which it has cut back mercilessly, and those merciless cuts have fed back to the Welsh Government. I think that Nick Ramsay knows very well that's exactly what I just said. I will be supporting this budget this afternoon, because I have every confidence...
The Fair Representation of Women in Elected Roles
Siân Gwenllian: 9. Will the Leader of the House make a statement on the Welsh Government's efforts to ensure the fair representation of women in elected roles? OAQ51434
Andrew RT Davies: ...Government brought forward the national public procurement framework, which was to allow smaller businesses, obviously, to get a greater share of the public procurement pie. I've received many representations that businesses have found this procurement network very cumbersome, and I think Government Ministers have indicated that it hasn't been the success that, obviously, it was desired...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. And, finally, on this theme, in fact, the Haven of Light organised a conference in St Asaph cathedral, which I took part in on 28 October, with police representation, local authorities, voluntary sector and others presenting. The Salvation Army told us that seventh out of the 94 nationalities they worked with were British victims, people who originated within the United Kingdom and...
Siân Gwenllian: ...reform in the area of local government in Wales, but they were very disappointed to see that there was no mention at all in the consultation paper about the Government’s attempts to ensure fair representation for women in elected roles upon councils in Wales. Of course, political parties have a responsibility to ensure that there is fair representation of women and minority groups on...
Julie James: ... to fibre broadband to see what we can do with combination technologies, and a very large part of this will be what the UK Government does with the spectrum sales. So, we'll be making a lot of representations to the UK that they shouldn't regard 5G as a cash cow, but should actually think about what part of infrastructure it might play in public roll-out of some of the new artificial...
Suzy Davies: That's an encouraging response, Minister. I just want to make it plain that this question is not raised as an attack on the growing film industry in Wales, despite comments from Welsh Government to that effect. I'm raising it in an attempt to break through the lack of transparency surrounding how some decisions were made and whether representations made by Welsh Government about the positive...
David Melding: A rough definition of a participative democracy would be one where citizens take on greater responsibility for decision making. This would not reduce the need for representative institutions, far less central Government—we are not heading back to Athens—but it would mean that public participation amounts to a lot more than periodic elections. When observing the public mood on polling day,...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...lead to misdiagnosis, which is why it is so very important that we raise critical awareness of the potential meaning of these symptoms. I want to make it clear that this campaign, this debate, is not calling for population-wide screening. The Cabinet Secretary has made it clear that this would create concern about a significant number of unnecessary referrals and investigations. Therefore,...
Leanne Wood: What representations has the Welsh Government made recently regarding the devolution of the criminal justice system?
Andrew RT Davies: ...and ministerial questions and statements are about. We choose the questions, we try and elicit the answers. I do regret, on two rather straightforward questions, which are topical, that you have not been able to give me a more concise answer, in particular to clear up some of the answers that you've given over the last five weeks. On two other occasions, I have asked you, and you haven't...
Carwyn Jones: ...questions have been asked, I understand that, and they need answers, and they will get answers. But I do think it's important that those answers are provided as part of a whole picture. It's not right that people should pick out little bits, mention them, and then not give the full context in terms of which answers are given, for example, or the context of what happened some years ago....
