Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I concur with the comments made earlier by Darren Millar regarding the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Baptist Union of Wales? I also attended that event, as did many other Assembly Members. It was very successful and we send them our best. At the same time, I had my own event upstairs in the Oriel for Love Zimbabwe. Leader of the house, we are now...
Nick Ramsay: I'm pleased to move amendment 1A—David Melding's insurance policy, as he put it. We would rather, in the Welsh Conservatives, that the other amendments in the group be passed instead, but as David Melding said in his comments, should that not happen, then we do believe that there is a case to at least make sure that residents are consulted specifically in relation to that change between a...
Nick Ramsay: Formally.
Nick Ramsay: Thanks for giving way, Mike Hedges. I don't disagree with a word you've said so far. Will you undertake to abandon these plans when you become Cabinet Secretary for local government? [Laughter.]
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I just put on the record at the start of my contribution that I don't lie awake at three in the morning either thinking, or sleeping and dreaming, about the Cabinet Secretary's plans for local government in Wales, despite rumours that might have gone around after the last statement you gave on this subject, Alun Davies, when I said I'd be more than happy to live...
Nick Ramsay: I think I'm out of time—sorry, Mike. It doesn't work. Now, do what you said you wanted to do originally—go back to the drawing board. If you have written these proposals on the back of a fag packet, I might try to FOI that fag packet, actually, because it does sound quite interesting to see it written somewhere. But, for goodness' sake, let's get on with the job of modernising public...
Nick Ramsay: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement this afternoon? I think we all recognise that we do remain in a time of public spending constraints. We certainly in the Welsh Conservatives welcome proposals to invest in our economy and public services, despite those obvious challenges. Can I just say in responding at the start to your statement, Cabinet Secretary—? On your point about...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm pleased to share with you all today details of the work undertaken to date by the Public Accounts Committee in relation to public procurement in Wales. The committee agreed to undertake an inquiry, following the publication of the Auditor General for Wales's report on the National Procurement Service—the NPS—on 30 November 2017. This report followed on from a...
Nick Ramsay: The report concluded that indicative figures show that public bodies in Wales spent £234 million through NPS frameworks and contracts in 2016-17, £222 million of which related to member organisations. However, public bodies are not using NPS frameworks as much as anticipated, resulting in concerns over its funding, less than anticipated savings—£14.8 million reported for 2016-17—and...
Nick Ramsay: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on feedback received from local government following the publication of the Strengthening Local Government, Delivering for People green paper? OAQ52115
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. To say that local authorities clearly have their own views on this process is probably one of the biggest understatements I've heard in this Chamber to date. But I agree with you on that. We recently held a debate that you participated in—many AMs did—on the proposals within the Green Paper, specifically the concerns surrounding the proposed mergers of local...
Nick Ramsay: Will the Minister take an intervention?
Nick Ramsay: Thank you. I was listening to Siân Gwenllian's comments earlier, and she mentioned the Economy and Business Committee report from 2012. I might be one of the few people who still have a copy of it up in my wardrobe upstairs, and recommendations 16 and 17 are not word for word exactly, but say exactly what you've just said, Minister: 'Provide gender equality training for careers advisers and...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Llywydd. Well, we may well have emerged, on this side, from the dark side of planet Thatcher, but this afternoon we've well and truly landed on planet Corbyn, haven't we? Can I thank everyone who contributed to this afternoon's debate? There are many of you; I'll try and mention as many of you as I can, but it may be difficult to include everyone. As the Cabinet Secretary has...
Nick Ramsay: Well, that's a typical Mike Hedges comment, isn't it? So, basically, you're not denying that you've also had concerns from the sector about a higher rate.
Nick Ramsay: Yes, okay. I'll touch on it when I come to your comments later. I've lost my place now. And, yes, my former colleague on the Finance Committee will remember his drive and our drive to get the rates on the face of the Bill, because even back then—. I understand that there were concerns from some of the civil servants to do that, and from the Government to do that, but, at that time, we...
Nick Ramsay: Simon Thomas—well, I was more than happy, actually, to let my former colleague on the Finance Committee shine by opening this debate. I'm happy to encourage and support other Assembly Members—[Interruption.] I'm always more than happy to have the last word, as well, which I've got today. [Laughter.] I agree wholeheartedly with the concerns, actually, that you raised about pubs, and...
Nick Ramsay: First Minister, I was looking forward there to saying I agree with Rhianon Passmore. Unfortunately, the bit at the end I found difficult to agree with, but the first part was positive. Can I also concur with those sentiments that credit unions do a great deal of work across Wales? In south-east Wales, my area, the Gateway Credit Union has branches in Abergavenny and in Bulwark, and as Rhianon...
Nick Ramsay: Can I concur with the sentiments of Jack Sargeant? I was pleased to attend the six-month memorial dinner last week. I'm pleased to hear that around £3,000 was raised at that dinner and I think that the decision to donate the first tranche of funds to the Cruse charity in north Wales is a very good one. I know that Carl would've been proud of your efforts in this regard, and also proud of...
Nick Ramsay: Can I welcome the Cabinet Secretary's statement today? You certainly have to be a jack of all trades in this new tax world, don't you, Cabinet Secretary? Many of the taxes involve land in some way, so I'm sure you're becoming an expert in your own right. As you said today, this is new territory for the Welsh Government and for this Assembly, and I appreciate that your statement today falls...
