Darren Millar: Cabinet Secretary, do you agree with me that it’s very concerning to read the findings of the Children’s Society’s ‘The Good Childhood Report’, which reported that one in seven girls in Wales are unhappy with their lives and one in nine boys are unhappy with their lives as well? What specific action is the Welsh Government going to take in order to reverse this trend, which appears...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. I have to say I’m very encouraged to hear the Minister’s response to the motion that we’ve tabled today. I think it’s good that the Welsh Government is at least recognising now that the workforce planning of the past, and the way in which the workforce planning has been undertaken, has been inadequate and that there is a need to engage more widely with the stakeholders...
Darren Millar: First Minister, will you join me in congratulating the Friends of Kinmel Bay Community Library, who established a charity in order to take over the operation of the library in Kinmel Bay after it was threatened with closure by Conwy County Borough Council? Do you accept that there is a challenge for rural local authorities in particular being able to provide sufficient access to library...
Darren Millar: First Minister, I was very pleased to see the reference to the A55 and improvements that the Welsh Government wants to make to the A55 in your programme for government, but there's not a great deal of detail in what those improvements may or may not be. You'll be aware that we've got congestion problems on some parts of the A55. We've had flooding problems in the past and there is no hard...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. You’ve responded to a number of questions that Llyr Gruffydd has already put down in terms of the timetable. But, can I just ask you this? One of the things that you mentioned in the statement was the importance of alternative routes into teaching. I’ve heard what you’ve just heard in response to Llyr Gruffydd about the opportunities that might...
Darren Millar: 2. Will the Minister make a statement on the budget allocated to the economy and infrastructure portfolio in relation to business support in each of the past 3 years? OAQ(5)0024(FLG)
Darren Millar: Cabinet Secretary, you’ll be aware of my keen interest in monetary reform, having been an attendee of the cross-party group on monetary reform in the previous Assembly. I was very pleased to see you picking up on a Welsh Conservative idea of establishing a development bank here in Wales, in the announcement that was made yesterday. It’s something that I’ve long advocated, and I’m...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd, and thank you to everyone who has participated in this debate today. I’m very pleased to hear some of the announcements that have been made by the Cabinet Secretary this afternoon in terms of a little bit more information about some of the proposed improvements to the A55, and, indeed, an update on where things are at with the metro. We look forward to receiving further...
Darren Millar: Of course it’s important that Governments work together, from Cardiff Bay to Westminster and London, and indeed local government and town halls working with you too. But, at the end of the day, it’s those stakeholders in north Wales—the local authorities, the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, the universities, the further education sector, the third sector and everybody around that...
Darren Millar: I’ll happily—.
Darren Millar: And long may that situation continue—long may that situation continue. But, of course, there are administrative borders, and, of course, many members of your group would like those borders to be more important, shall we say, in economic terms than they currently are. But it is important that we give north Wales the opportunity to grow, that we devolve the powers, that we make the finance...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. I move all the amendments tabled in the name of my colleague, Paul Davies AM. I have to say that, unfortunately, we will not be supporting the UKIP motion this afternoon because the Welsh Conservatives, frankly, recognise that Wales is different to England. We believe that the education landscape is different, and, as a result of that, we are not currently...
Darren Millar: There’s a thing called devolution; perhaps you haven’t recognised it. We have different policies in Wales than what our party has in England, because our education system’s different; Wales has different needs. Now, what I did say the other day is that we should never say never and never completely shut the door on any ideas. We’re not prepared to do that. You appear to be able to...
Darren Millar: Thank you, First Minister, for that question. I listened very carefully. One thing that you didn’t refer to, of course, is the innovation in GP care, in particular in north Wales, in terms of the work that’s going on in Prestatyn, with a multi-disciplinary team approach to patient care. What work is the Welsh Government going to do to evaluate whether that model is a successful model that...
Darren Millar: Minister, can I call for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure on Road Safety Week, which is coming up in November? There’s been some concern that many motorists across Wales, and, indeed, other parts of the UK, are not having their eyes tested frequently enough and that this is leading to an increase in the risk of motor traffic accidents. I’d like to hear...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I would also like to put on record the thanks of the Welsh Conservative group to Professor Diamond, and indeed all of the panel members, especially our nominee, Professor David Warner, for his contribution to the excellent work that they have done. We certainly welcome the publication; we welcome wholeheartedly the recommendations that have been made...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, will you provide us with an update on any progress that you’ve made towards implementing your priority of reducing infant class sizes to a maximum of 25 in Wales?
Darren Millar: I’m sure that the Cabinet Secretary will be familiar with the broad consensus of opinion amongst many academics that this is not the best way to invest money in order to improve outcomes for younger pupils, and, of course, you’ll be aware of the fact that we’ve got some significant recruitment challenges now across Wales in terms of teaching staff. Will you consider looking again at...
Darren Millar: You’ll be familiar with the fact that the Scottish Government also considered some moves towards this, and that the conclusions that were drawn by a working group up in Scotland were that these were complex issues, and whilst everybody would like to see smaller class sizes, the money could be better spent elsewhere. Can I switch to another issue, which I know we’ve had some...
Darren Millar: I’m very grateful to you for taking the intervention, Cabinet Secretary. You made previous commitments in your last programme for government in the previous Assembly to ensure that all over-50s had an annual health check and that everybody could have access to evening GP appointments and weekend GP appointments. You failed to deliver on those commitments. What guarantees can we have that...
