Mick Antoniw: Counsel General, clause 47 of the internal market Bill enables the UK Government to not only spend in devolved areas but then to send the bill to the Welsh Government. Now, this seems to me a total contradiction to what we were promised the shared prosperity fund might be. In your discussions with the UK Government, have you discussed what their understanding is of the term 'shared' and the...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, acting Llywydd. Some short questions, Minister, in the light of the acting Llywydd's comments on time. Firstly, I welcome this opportunity now for a much greater regulation and planning of the bus service, which we very much want. I, for example, cannot travel from Tonyrefail to Pontypridd without having to change buses. That makes absolutely no sense. If I want to go into Cardiff,...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, acting Llywydd. In respect of item 7 and item 8 together, we considered both sets of regulations at our meeting yesterday morning, and our reports have been laid before the Senedd to assist today's debate. If I may, I'll deal with the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 2) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 18) (Bangor) Regulations 2020 first. Our report on these regulations...
Mick Antoniw: Diolch, acting Llywydd. We considered the draft Order at our meeting last week. As always, our report is available to Members via today's agenda, and Members will see that our report contains two merits points. The first merits point highlights the work of our predecessor committee, as the First Minister has already mentioned—a fact that is also acknowledged in the explanatory memorandum...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, acting Llywydd. We considered these regulations at our meeting last week, and we considered the Welsh Government's response to our reporting points during our meeting yesterday morning. Our report contains three merits reporting points. The first merits point notes a concern that the Welsh Government has not set out its justification for interference with article 8 of the European...
Mick Antoniw: 8. What consideration has the Minister given to funding flood recovery in Wales when allocating the Welsh Government's budget? OQ55745
Mick Antoniw: Minister, the Welsh Government funding has been very welcome, in particular the 100 per cent funding of preparatory work for the flood damage from the February flooding. Two weeks ago, I asked about the promise that was made by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales that money would be passported through to the Welsh Government for the flood damage that occurred. The Rhondda...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank you for the report, and also applaud all the good intentions and the work that is being done? But can I say that I really am not so reassured in this process? What we have is the most dramatic change in the way in which work is carried out at home, and in work technologically, in many ways, and where similar situations have occurred over recent decades, there is a need for us as...
Mick Antoniw: I very much welcome this debate and the underpinning proposal that lies behind it. Alun, when we heard the news of what had happened to you, it did send shockwaves through and was particularly poignant to me at the time because five and a half years earlier, my wife had a cardiac arrest and didn't survive. She was on her own at the time; I gave CPR for what seemed an eternity, but I think the...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank the First Minister for his statement and say that I, obviously, also look forward to an opportunity to reconnect at some stage with my four grandchildren, and I suppose also to visiting my local pub and being asked to produce ID? Underage drinking is a scourge on our society. Can I raise particularly the issues of well-being, of the mental welfare of our communities? And can I say...
Mick Antoniw: Minister, can I just say how pleased I am that we've been able to take this step? The privatisation of rail and the deregulation of buses has been really one of the great disasters, one of the great disastrous legacies of the Thatcher era, and it's led to us having one of the most underinvested public transport systems in the whole of western Europe. And sometimes we forget the history of...
Mick Antoniw: In terms of the long-term future, section 25 of the Railways Act, which the Tories put in to prevent public ownership of public transport—will you campaign for the revocation of that? It is a hindrance and it is an anachronism in terms of the future of public transport in Wales.
Mick Antoniw: The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee reported on these regulations yesterday. They came into force at 6 p.m. on Friday, 23 October 2020, and expire at the end of the day on 8 November 2020, at which point they will have been in force in Wales for a total of 17 days. These regulations revoke the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 2) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 19)...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, Llywydd. In speaking today, I draw attention to our two reports on this draft Order in Council. Firstly, in accordance with our responsibilities under Standing Order 21, and secondly, in relation to our constitutional role and the draft Order as part of the common framework for a UK-wide emissions trading scheme. Our first report, laid on 28 September 2020, made one technical...
Mick Antoniw: Can you hear me now?
Mick Antoniw: How's that now?
Mick Antoniw: There we are. Well, thank you, Llywydd. I was going to say, when I started earlier, that there'd be some excellent contributions. I was particularly impressed with the contribution of Siân Gwenllian, because I thought she set out not only the philosophy around the teaching of history, but also the considerable challenges that exist. I chaired the committee that looked at the votes at 16...
Mick Antoniw: Minister, many tens of thousands of workers in Wales are employed on a self-employed basis, or as freelancers. Many of my constituents are in that situation, and, of course, the main source of support for them has been the self-employed income support scheme. Now, can I firstly say how important to those individual businesses the cultural resilience fund has been—the freelancers fund—and...
Mick Antoniw: First Minister, firstly, can I commend the work undertaken by Eluned Morgan in developing our international strategy and the Welsh Government generally for recognising the fundamental importance of international engagement and social, cultural, economic relationships, and also in supporting the Wales for Africa programme? Those of us who have been engaged with it have seen the significant...
Mick Antoniw: All around the world, countries commemorate an Armistice Day and an Armed Forces Day. It is a recognition of the sacrifices made by servicemen and women, wherever they are, in support of freedom and democracy, in whichever country they belong to. Amongst the countries of the world, war has sadly been the most common event between us throughout our modern history. Different cultures, often...
