Lee Waters: 3. What analysis has the Welsh Government undertaken of the opportunities outlined in the Institute of Welsh Affairs’s case study, 'Swansea Bay City Region: A Renewable Energy Future’? OAQ52429
Lee Waters: Thank you, First Minister. Not content with cancelling green trains to Swansea and pulling the plug on subsidies for renewable energy, yesterday the Tory Government pulled the plug on the tidal lagoon, when their own former energy Minister said it would be a no-regrets policy. The Welsh Secretary had the brass neck to tour the TV studios and say that the 30p annual subsidy was expensive,...
Lee Waters: I well remember when this building was opened, the national poet for Wales, Gwyneth Lewis, gave a reading where she described this Chamber as the cockpit of the nation—the place where we come together to discuss things of importance. And listening to this debate and reading this report, it's clear there's a cross-party consensus that the current system is inadequate. To be fair to the...
Lee Waters: Just reflecting on a point you made a little earlier about the practical implications of one of the recommendations, and David Melding made the point: the Permanent Secretary had assured the Public Accounts Committee that the Government would stop this practice of accepting things in principle and be clear when they were rejecting it. I've written to the Permanent Secretary again this...
Lee Waters: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I wanted to bring to the attention of the Assembly these two reports, published in quick succession, at a juncture where I believe Wales has some critical choices to make. The first, published jointly by the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee on 6 May this year, opens with this stark paragraph:...
Lee Waters: Published the very next day after this Carillion inquiry, the second report I have sought to bring to the Assembly’s attention is by the National Audit Office, and chronicles a complete failure of understanding, both by NHS England and Capita, of the services they were attempting to transform. In one of its starkest conclusions, the report states that in this botched delivery of back-office...
Lee Waters: 8. What plans does the Welsh Government have to introduce a default 20 mph speed limit in urban areas? OAQ52528
Lee Waters: Thank you, First Minister. Because, two years ago, Public Health Wales did produce some research that showed that a default 20-mph speed limit would result in a reduction in road traffic casualties, a reduction in carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions in residential areas, a decrease in noise, an increase in active travel, community cohesion and more spending in local shops. Put simply, it...
Lee Waters: 1. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the Auditor General’s decision to qualify the accounts of Natural Resources Wales for the third year in succession? 207
Lee Waters: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Last year, the Public Accounts Committee criticised NRW for giving a £39 million contract to BSW Timber in Newbridge-on-Wye without competition. It did not represent value for money but it was justified on the grounds that the firm would invest in a new sawmill, which would benefit the industry overall. They didn't deliver on that deal. We now discover that NRW...
Lee Waters: Can I thank Paul Davies for attempting to address some of the concerns I've expressed about the range of neurodevelopmental conditions being addressed by this? I appreciate his efforts and I look forward to seeing how that is scrutinised as the Bill goes through to see whether or not that is going to be robust enough to address my concerns. Last Friday, I went to visit Serendipity Day Nursery...
Lee Waters: It's just now becoming clearer that the impact of reducing the tolls on the Severn Bridge will increase traffic by around 20 per cent, as driving becomes a cheaper and more attractive alternative to public transport, as well as the impact on property prices around south-east Wales from the measure. What assessment has the First Minister made of the new public transport and active travel...
Lee Waters: In relation to the impact of automation and digital, which has been discussed already this afternoon, I too am looking forward to the report of the Brown review in the new year, and I think the Welsh Government deserves congratulations for assembling such an impressive panel of experts, and that does look promising. But it's been clear for about a year now that the regional skills...
Lee Waters: What steps has the Welsh Government taken to ensure that Welsh students are able to access information on the professional accreditation of degree courses?
Lee Waters: It was 11 years ago that I stood on the steps of the Senedd and handed a petition to Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the then Presiding Officer, for a law to promote walking and cycling. And, a decade on, we have a law and I must say, to the great credit of the Cabinet Secretary, we have the first real substantial chunk of money behind it. And I think the Welsh Government deserves real credit for that....
Lee Waters: Will the First Minister meet with Preston City Council to understand what lessons the Welsh Government can learn from its approach to community wealth building?
Lee Waters: I'm delighted that among the first projects to come through under the bid is the £200 million wellness village in Llanelli, which, through its innovation promises to be an exemplar for the whole of Wales. I've been discussing with the council how we can make sure it joins in with the rest of Llanelli and doesn't become some out-of-town development; the traffic in the area is already...
Lee Waters: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, and thank you for your statement and your commitment to putting things into action to improve the lived conditions of families with autism, while the whole debate about legislation continues around it. I visited the Serendipity nursery in Pembrey recently and saw for myself the Learning with Autism early years programme. The Serendipity nursery is the first in...
Lee Waters: This is clearly a difficult issue, confronting the mechanics of change. The case made by the Hywel Dda health board is for the sustainability of services, not now, but in 10 years' time, and we already see that our hospital services are struggling under the extra demand and the implications of an ageing population today. There are already shortages, on many weekends, of out-of-hours care in...
Lee Waters: Can I just point out the irony? You've just delivered a speech on the mitigation of climate change, and you're now arguing for the dualling of a major road.
