James Evans: Thank you. Diolch, Llywydd.
James Evans: Diolch, First Minister. Brecon and Radnorshire is a proud military community, and I recently mentioned in the Chamber the important role the military plays, both socially and economically, in my constituency. I regularly speak with veterans who tell me there is a need for this focused role in our political system to deal with the issues and challenges that veterans face. The Deputy Minister...
James Evans: The Welsh Conservatives will be supporting these measures today, which we believe are proportionate and clearly beneficial for the physical health of the Welsh public. We agree with the provisions for domestic self-isolation to reflect the emerging situation and slow down community transmission of the virus. We will be supporting you today. However, we should always remember the unintended...
James Evans: Minister, judging by your response, then, it is widely known and accepted that the Labour Party running the Welsh Government has little understanding of the rural way of life or the countryside, and I believe that the recent Natural Resources Wales decision to ban trail hunting on its land is the wrong one. Trail hunting is not hunting, which was banned in the Hunting Act 2004. Trail hunting...
James Evans: 5. Will the First Minister make a statement on progress towards the Welsh Government’s house-building targets? OQ57447
James Evans: Diolch. Thank you, First Minister. Your Government's plan to build 20,000 affordable homes is an ambitious target. However, the building of homes in my constituency is at a standstill due to pollution targets. I'm not disputing the need to address pollution in our rivers, but the answer simply cannot be to stop all house building. At least 10,000 homes, of which 1,700 are affordable and...
James Evans: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. Minister, it would have been nice to hear some positivity throughout your speech, but you did lose me after you kept criticising the UK Government for investing in parts of Wales that your Government has forgotten for years. And with all due respect, Welsh Labour's poor record on the economy leaves something to be desired, at one time aided and abetted by Plaid Cymru...
James Evans: Minister, thank you for your statement. I agree with you and the previous speakers about the quality of the produce we have here in Wales, and we're all proud of the products that are produced in our constituencies. Minister, I do have three questions for you. Do you think that the BlasCymru conference has achieved what it set out to achieve, and have we seen any net benefits yet for the food...
James Evans: Minister, what we've heard the last couple of weeks from Members and you is that you like to berate the UK Government with the usual mantra of, 'We don't get enough money', but the fact of the matter is you've had more money than ever before. The UK Government provided furlough for workers during COVID. The UK Government is increasing the national living wage by 6.6 per cent this April. The...
James Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. Deputy Minister, are you aware that the latest figures from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre suggest that a staggering 81 per cent of patients confirmed with COVID-19 in Wales had a BMI of over 25, when the healthy range is between 18.5 and 24.9. We're already seeing the stage when nearly two thirds of Welsh adults are overweight or obese, with a quarter...
James Evans: Thank you, Deputy Minister. And I do appreciate it isn't just a problem in Wales, it is a problem across the UK. You said to myself and colleagues on the Children, Young People and Education Committee that you're due to set out a new delivery plan for 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' between 2022 and 2024 on 1 March, which is due to be a cross-departmental effort, with seven national priority...
James Evans: Thank you, Deputy Minister. And I do agree that these documents should be live, working documents that do change and adapt, but it is nice to see what delivery comes from those sorts of measures that are in those documents. Finally, you mentioned last week that the diabetes prevention programme was now live in Wales, and I'm really, really pleased to see that. But I am concerned that we have...
James Evans: The Welsh Labour Government's most recent restrictions have been controversial, contradictory and full of loopholes that have caused untold damage to the economy of our country, as well as our vital hospitality industry, individuals, businesses and organisations, who have all been hit hard by these sets of restrictions. After weeks of Welsh Conservative calls to ease these restrictions, and,...
James Evans: Minister, I'm sorry if this sounds a bit like repetition, but we all do know just how important public procurement is and what an actual big economic lever it is for the public sector to help our businesses right across Wales. And, Minister, my question is: what engagement and discussions have you had with the Welsh Local Government Association and the economic forum that they have there to...
James Evans: I want to thank the Deputy Minister for her statement. I welcome your commitment into this very important area, and I want to put on the record my commitment to ensure that we do all we can to help people to recover from substance misuse. We need to move to a place where we treat the person, not the offence, where we give everybody a second chance and where treating drug and alcohol...
James Evans: Diolch, Llywydd, and I'd like to move the motion in the names of my co-submitters and myself. This debate is an issue that all MSs know all too well about. We are contacted by residents in our constituencies all the time who are having issues with accessing local transport and ask us what we can do to improve the services. I was overwhelmed to get wide-ranging, cross-party support for this...
James Evans: Thank you, Hefin. No offence taken. I'm glad you used to use those buses; I wish more people would use public transport to help us reduce the climate crisis. But one question I would ask you: do you then agree that the Labour Government failed then, between 1997 and 2009, in not re-regulating the bus service, and Gordon Brown and Tony Blair both failed in this sphere?
James Evans: From the outset, it must be noted that there has been chronic underfunding from the Welsh Labour Government in our schools and education system. For every £1 spent in England, Wales receives £1.20. As a result, education spending per pupil in Wales should be at least £1,000 per annum more, compared to England. However, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, every young person in...
James Evans: Yes, two seconds. Children in Wales deserve to live in an open and inclusive environment. I will take an intervention from Jenny Rathbone, yes.
James Evans: I'd like to thank Jenny for her intervention. However, we do need to start to learn to live with COVID. We don't put masks on in school for any other type of infection or disease that comes forward, so I don't think that is needed at the moment. And I echo the words of the shadow Minister for education, Laura Jones, who's been vocal against the decision by this Labour Government to make...
