Janet Finch-Saunders: Counsel General, thank you, but I have to disagree with you at this point because I was actually quite happy to read today that £8 million will be coming forward to Wales to help with our free-port initiative. Now, Ynys Môn would be the ideal place because it has one of the lowest GVAs in Wales—£1,050 compared with £11,769 for Cardiff. And too often here, as a north Wales elected...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Llywydd, I'm sorry, but I have to dismiss the Counsel General again. Eight million pounds coming to Wales to help us with our free ports is a good news story, and, you know, it does get tiring to keep hearing the whining and the moaning and the constant groaning about when money is available to come here to Wales. Why don't you ever say 'thank you' to the UK Government? Now, the development...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. I thought we were going to have less doom and gloom, but here we go. I'm actually quite happy with the UK Government's budget today and I just thought that we could've shared some of that happiness. Now, as I hope you'll agree, the announcement of the new £110 million Turing Scheme was excellent news. The pioneering project will support students from across the UK and from all...
Janet Finch-Saunders: I thank my colleague, Llyr Gruffydd, for bringing forward this motion to annul the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021. And this, of course, follows on the Welsh Conservative debate from last week, where, it's fair to say, the vote was very close indeed. Now, Minister, I've asked you, we've debated, we've discussed, both in the Chamber and in...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Okay. You have got it wrong. Reverse this decision today. Diolch.
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer—diolch. I want to start by thanking the Business Committee for agreeing to the debate requests that the Petitions Committee has made in recent weeks. It is fair to say that they've had a very difficult job, given the number of debates that have come forward for requests and the number of petitions that we've received with very, very large numbers. Now,...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you, Minister, and Members, for your comments here today. As has already been noted, the recent advice from the JCVI will have been disappointing to many people who have campaigned for prioritisation to be given to police officers, teachers, childcare staff and others, on behalf of the work they do. However, the commitment being shown in Wales...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. Again, on behalf of the Petitions Committee, I’d like to thank the Business Committee for agreeing to schedule this debate. Like the one we've just held, this debate also concerns two petitions. These relate to the proposal for a new Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff. Velindre University NHS Trust is proposing to build a new centre on land to the north of its current site in...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Llywydd, and thank you to all Members who have contributed to this debate, and to the Minister for his response, notwithstanding the fact he highlights he does have a prejudicial interest. I was still grateful for the information he brought forward. In concluding, though, it is a point of regret that an issue of such importance has become such a divisive issue in the local area and...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on delivering a COVID-19 recovery plan for businesses? OQ56423
Janet Finch-Saunders: 6. Will the Deputy Minister make a statement on protecting the human rights of older people in Wales? OQ56424
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. Our strong Prime Minister has provided much certainty and support for our businesses. Only last week, our UK Government extended the coronavirus job retention scheme size and the VAT reduced rate of 5 per cent to the tourism and hospitality sectors. I am sure you will be enthusiastic to join with me and acknowledge that our UK Government's action has saved jobs and businesses in...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Yes, and I would implore you as the Welsh Government to listen to Helena Herklots, our outstanding older people's commissioner. In her manifesto for 2021, she has set out the action that's needed immediately and in the longer term to ensure that older people are not left behind. This includes putting the right legal framework in place to protect and promote older people's rights, so it should...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 8. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales on efforts to encourage local authorities to support local economies in north Wales? OQ56412
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Llywydd. Firstly, Minister, as this is the last spokespersons' questions of this term, I just wanted to thank you. We've had some lively and robust scrutiny and challenge and just to thank you for your answers along the way. Thank you, Lesley. Now, according to the White Paper on the clean air (Wales) Bill, we may not see regulations set until spring 2024—that would be a quarter of...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. Whilst you rightly admitted to the Senedd in January that you would have liked to have brought the White Paper on the clean air Bill forward sooner, there is no escaping the fact that quick legislative action would have benefited public health. The long-term mortality burden attributable to air pollution exposure is between 1,000 and 1,400 deaths in Wales each year. More than 57...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Now, further evidence of the lack of prioritisation that you have given to air pollution is the budget for 2021-22. You admitted to our Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee that there is still no detailed cost estimate of the clean air plan that was published seven months ago. The £3.4 million revenue funding and £17 million capital funding allocated for air quality...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, Deputy Minister. Tourism, of course, as you will know, is usually worth around £900 million to the economy of Conwy county annually. That resource has been almost completely wiped out, and Conwy county has seen one of the highest furlough take-up rates in Wales. On the ground, the economic situation is even worse, with hospitality businesses now heavily in debt, and extremely...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. So, thank you for the opportunity to hold a debate on this petition today. This petition was submitted by Laura Williams, having collected 5,159 signatures. It calls for increased funding for mental health services and improvements to crisis care, and follows a previous petition that Laura submitted to our committee, which also sought to improve access to...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this debate, including the Minister for responding. I also want to say a huge thank you to Laura Williams for her continued campaigning on this vital issue. We need people like Laura to continue raising their voices and to tell us when they believe that things need to change. I also actually want to put on...
