Llyr Gruffydd: I'm not doubting when you tell us that your policy is Welsh Labour policy, but I'm telling you that it's also UK Tory policy, which clearly is rather uncomfortable for you and your backbench Members, I'm sure. Now, as well as removing the safety net that I have referred to for Welsh farmers in these turbulent times of Brexit, under your proposals, of course, funding will now become—or is...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. Of course, you will know as well as I do that the reality is that councils are facing the very difficult position of cutting services on the one hand and increasing council tax on the other, and Conwy council is the latest authority to have talked about increases of up to 11 per cent while, simultaneously, there are hardly any non-statutory services left to cut....
Llyr Gruffydd: I'd like to ask for a statement from the health Secretary, if possible, on the ability of private companies to access hospitals. The company Bounty, we know, provides starter packs to many new mothers and they also come to the wards to offer to take photos of the babies, and they do gather information that is then used to send marketing information to those mothers. Apparently, according to...
Llyr Gruffydd: Will the Leader of the House make a statement on the availability of 3G and 4G in North Wales?
Llyr Gruffydd: Although I don't think the taxpayers in Conwy will enjoy an increase of 11 per cent in council tax either—but that is something that is currently being considered. I raised a question with the Cabinet Secretary for public services last week, given the huge, painful pressures on local authorities now, as to whether he was confident that arrangements were in place by Government—that there...
Llyr Gruffydd: It was good to hear that Monmouthshire is going to play a part in the UK Government's rural test-bed for 5G. Cardiff is receiving funds for a local full-fibre network. We know about the first compound semiconductor centre that's going to be based in south Wales and, of course, we know about the Welsh Government's Tech Valleys strategic plan. So, there is a lot of focus and a lot of...
Llyr Gruffydd: There are twin celebrations going on in Denbigh this week, with the Clwyd Welsh language centre celebrating 30 years of providing Welsh-medium education for adults. It’s also 10 years since the opening of the unique Wireless in Wales museum, which is also located in the same building in Denbigh town centre. The main driver for the establishment of the two bodies was the late David Jones,...
Llyr Gruffydd: Would you take an intervention?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you. Do you know what the Dáil is? Do you know what a Taoiseach is?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I just want to endorse some of the points that Rhun made in his opening address. I think the fact that Cefas and NRW have both said that they could be doing more work, and that they would be willing to do more work, underlines to me the fact that they do acknowledge that there is further work that could be done. The fact that the...
Llyr Gruffydd: Jill Evans, the Plaid Cymru MEP, has spoken extensively about the precautionary principle, particularly in this context, actually. I went digging through some of the European Commission's communications, and we know that the precautionary principle aims at ensuring a higher level of environmental protection through preventative decision taking where there is an element of risk. Preventative...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I ask for two statements from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, please? The first relating to the UK Government’s announcement today that they are to hold an independent review on how agricultural funding will be distributed among the nations within the UK post Brexit, because it is crucial that this is done properly in terms of the interests of the...
Llyr Gruffydd: 'the Barnett formula alone will not be used as a basis for distributing funds to farmers after 2022.'
Llyr Gruffydd: Does that suggest that, perhaps, Barnett will be part of the equation? And if it is, then, clearly, that could cause major problems for us here in Wales. So, I would like to know, for example, what the Welsh Government’s input was to the remit of the review that’s been put in place, what involvement will the Welsh Government have in choosing the Welsh representative on the panel, and, of...
Llyr Gruffydd: 'A man in whom I have no confidence and for whom I have no respect'.
Llyr Gruffydd: Now, I think we should at least have a full oral statement in this Parliament rather than one brief sentence in a written statement, so that we can understand why the Cabinet Secretary and the Welsh Government have confidence in this individual, when it’s clear that so many other people don’t share that confidence.
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Minister, teachers in schools are to receive a pay rise of 3.5 per cent, or up to 3.5 per cent, but we will have a situation then where teachers teaching sixth-form pupils in schools will receive a pay rise, whilst those teaching sixth-form students in further education colleges won’t receive a corresponding pay rise. Now, I’m not going to ask you to...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that clarity and thank you for accepting the principle, because that is an important message the sector wants to hear. According to ColegauCymru, it seems that £10 million will be required to pay for salary increases for FE staff in order to provide the same pay rise for them. Now, being aware of the funding situation in the sector as it currently exists, then it’s likely...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much. Now, you said recently, and I’m sure that you may have anticipated that someone might raise this—but you said that there may be a need for more emphasis on lifelong learning, and that that isn’t a priority for the Welsh Government. Can you be clear with us: isn’t that your fault, because you are the Minister responsible for this area within this Government?
Llyr Gruffydd: One of the difficulties that the health board finds difficulty in tackling is in the transfer of care, and I don’t know if you can explain to me how we saw a situation that we saw in Chirk hospital recently, where it took 368 days to transfer one patient, according the community health council. Now, not only is that bad for the patient, but it’s also bad for the hospital and anyone else...
