David Rees: Llywydd, I will now turn to our three reports in a little bit more detail. The reports being debated today look in depth at some of the issues faced by three sectors—three sectors that are important to the Welsh economy. They also build upon previous reports of the committee. Whilst it would not be possible to consider all of the issues in the time available to me today, I would encourage...
David Rees: Diolch, Llywydd. I thank Members for their contributions today and the Counsel General for responding on behalf of the Welsh Government's position. David Melding, once again, provided a very thoughtful and sincere contribution, seeking to ensure that we are ready for any outcome, as he has always been within the committee. He's been a very strong voice for the sheep farming industry and...
David Rees: 5. What discussions has the Minister had with the Treasury regarding the reallocation of any money from or to the EU upon the UK leaving the EU? OAQ53310
David Rees: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Obviously, many of us have often mentioned the shared prosperity fund, because we don't know what it is and where it comes from, but that focuses on European structural funds and regional development fund money. The question I have is: are there other funds in Europe that are coming to institutions in this country? I'll give an example—it was raised with...
David Rees: I'm pleased to follow my colleague Jack Sargeant because I think he brought back the reality of what goes on on the ground as a consequence of this whole issue. I was going to talk about the chaos last night we saw in Westminster, which was the culmination of two and half years of frantic efforts by a Government that didn't have a clue what it was doing. But it is important we remind...
David Rees: Llywydd, I think we heard from the horse's mouth ourselves: there is no better deal than what we've got at the moment, and WTO is not going to improve. In fact, in steel, there's a WTO agreement. We can actually import steel from Turkey without tariffs. We have to pay 40 per cent on steel going to Turkey. That is going to damage our industry. And we face other rules and other consequences...
David Rees: I appreciate the exchange rate is more competitive and, therefore, the exports become more attractive, but I also have to remind the Member of the imports that are required in the raw materials. And whilst we've been in a situation where you have six-month deals down the line, we will come to a point where that's going to end and we have to start looking at the changes and costs increasing on...
David Rees: What action is the Welsh Government taking to promote the growth of small businesses in South Wales West?
David Rees: First Minister, the question focused on value for money, but one of the other important areas is value for the Welsh economy. As you pointed out, it's also looking at how we can use public procurement to actually support the Welsh economy and small independent businesses. My colleague Mike Hedges has often raised this with you. An example could also be ensuring that Welsh steel is used in...
David Rees: Leader of the house, last Saturday I attended a meeting of the Neath Port Talbot 1950s Women—make sure I get that terminology right. It was a packed meeting, with over 400 in attendance. Now, I appreciate that pensions, and this issue in particular, is a Westminster matter, but the consequences actually come in devolved competencies. If we have women who are no longer able to retire at the...
David Rees: 5. What progress is being made to improve ambulance response times in South Wales West? OAQ53355
David Rees: Minister, I've received many representations from my local authority, trade unions, local communities regarding the minority ethnic achievement grant funding from the Welsh Government. I understand that you've kept the figure the same this year as last year and that you've given it out to four of the major cities in Wales to look at how that's distributed. But the demographics are changing...
David Rees: Thank you for that response, Minister, and I appreciate the efforts being made to improve the response times. I want to raise an issue in relation to that and how we can perhaps help it, because in my personal circumstances, I had a need for a family member to phone an ambulance over the weekend, and the individual actually went into atrial fibrillation at home. We phoned up and we were told...
David Rees: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motion in my name. As Members are aware, the steelworks in Port Talbot is the beating heart of my constituency, my home town, and the blast furnaces breathe the fire that comes from this Welsh dragon. To be honest, I cannot imagine the skyline of Port Talbot without those blast furnaces as part of it. I've never known it to be anything else. So, steel is...
David Rees: However, whilst we had hoped that the future of steel making was assured following the actions of the sector and the Welsh Government, we now face up to more challenging times. The high energy costs continue to present difficult economic challenges within the industry, and now the uncertainty of Brexit is making those challenges bigger and deeper. It is critical that at this time all parties...
David Rees: I thank the Member for taking the intervention. I agree and understand that point, but it is possible, if the UK Government was prepared to put investment into Tata, for example, to look at how we can recycle the waste gases. It could become self-sustainable, therefore it doesn't rely upon oil or gas prices outside because it can do it itself.
David Rees: Trefnydd, I wonder if I can have perhaps updates on statements from the Welsh Government on two areas. One is obviously steel. Last week, we had a wonderful debate here in the Chamber on steel making in Wales, and the implications of the future for steel making and the challenge it still faces. Yesterday, we heard that Swansea University was going to be the lead university in a £35...
David Rees: 2. What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure indigenous businesses seeking to expand and grow are able to do so within their locality? OAQ53412
David Rees: What discussions has the Counsel General had with his UK counterparts in relation to the impact on the Welsh economy of a no-deal Brexit?
David Rees: I thank the Deputy Minister for his answer. We are very good in some places at being able to help people start up businesses. In my constituency, and particularly in Port Talbot, we have sufficient numbers of start-up units available for businesses to get into and spend their first year or two as they start to develop and grow. But what we are finding is, as they want to grow and expand, the...
