Mike Hedges: 2. Will the Minister provide an update on decarbonising housing? OQ57878
Mike Hedges: I thank the Minister for that answer. I personally would like to commend Swansea Council and local registered social landlords on the work that the have done in decarbonising their new housing. I represent a constituency that has a large number of owner-occupied and privately rented houses, which were built in the nineteenth century. What progress has been made to reduce heat loss from...
Mike Hedges: Whilst we can make regulations about the buying and selling of dogs, unless there is a paper trail—or more correctly today, an electronic trail—it will always be open to abuse. Does the Minister agree with me that a good first step would be to bring back dog licences and keep a record of dogs, their buyers and their sellers?
Mike Hedges: Can I thank Plaid Cymru for tabling this debate? I'm also pleased that I am no longer a lone voice raising housing concerns—we're talking about it more and more. Can I just say something in response to what Janet Finch-Saunders said? And I'm quite happy to be interrupted if what I say is wrong. I would say, unequivocally, that no-one wants landlords to increase rents. No-one wants that to...
Mike Hedges: I always say that, Jack Sargeant. It should be noted that this is all happening even though private rents across the UK have increased by far less over the last year than all measures of inflation. Can I agree with one thing of the Conservatives? There are too many empty properties. Having spent most of the last three weeks canvassing and delivering leaflets, it's sad to see so many...
Mike Hedges: I would like to ask for two Government statements. Firstly, many of my constituents were seriously concerned regarding a remark made by Jacob Rees-Mogg about the future of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea. I want to stress the importance of the DVLA to Swansea and the wider community. This was how the 1960s Labour levelling-up worked, by moving a Government department out of...
Mike Hedges: 6. What assessment has the Minister made of the effect of inflation on people living on low incomes? OQ57954
Mike Hedges: Quoting Jack Monroe: 'I did a £10 food shop in 2012...and re-did the exact same shop' in 2022, 'and it came to £17.11.' That's over a 70 per cent increase. Neither the minimum wage nor benefits have gone up anywhere near that level. Even with the change by the Office for National Statistics in its collection of inflation data, the huge increase in food costs is not being fully reflected in...
Mike Hedges: Will the Commission unequivocally condemn the use of fire and rehire, and will the Commission say that any funded contractor to the Commission that uses such method of reducing terms and conditions of employees will no longer be allowed to tender and be part of the Commission and employed by the Commission, whether they do it with other parts of the organisation, not just if they do it with...
Mike Hedges: Thank you very much for doing that. Will you agree that one of the other things we've got is lower rateable values in Wales so that the actual amount paid in Wales is quite often less than it would be in England or Scotland?
Mike Hedges: You meant candidates.
Mike Hedges: The Welsh economy has not performed well either before or after devolution. When the Assembly opened in 1999, online retail was in its infancy, it was eight years before the first iPhone, five years before YouTube came online, computer games generated a fraction of the income of today, and the Sega Dreamcast, the world's first internet-ready console, was a year away from being launched. Jobs...
Mike Hedges: 6. What assessment has the First Minister made of the use of fire and rehire by companies in Wales? OQ57993
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? Can I ask him to go a stage further and will he condemn the use of fire and rehire, and agree that it has no place in Wales and certainly no place in Welsh public services? Will the Welsh Government refuse to contract with firms that engage in fire and rehire and ask the Welsh Government funded bodies to do likewise?
Mike Hedges: I speak as someone who was brought up in a council house. I very warmly welcome this statement. The original Welsh housing quality standard has worked, and has worked very well. It has driven up the quality of social housing in Wales, both council and registered social landlords, or, as I normally call them, housing associations. It goes back to 2002, which is 20 years ago. Are those...
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the Minister's statement. I congratulate all councillors elected at the election, whatever party. I know all of them will do their best for their constituents over the next five years. I also believe that a number of Members here are relieved they will not have to keep on declaring an interest every time an item comes up relating to local...
Mike Hedges: 6. Will the Minister provide an update on the SA1 development in Swansea? OQ57991
Mike Hedges: Yes, I'm very much aware. The SA1 development in Swansea has been a huge success, not just the University of Wales Trinity St David and housing, but also a number of high-technology, mainly start-up companies that have developed around the university. Like Swansea vale, this is an excellent example of mixed development, and I hope to see similar developments across Wales, because this really...
Mike Hedges: 5. Will the First Minister outline Welsh Government action to combat loneliness in Wales? OQ58032
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? Since the second world war, society has changed, which has led to an increase in loneliness and isolation for some. Families are smaller and more spread out, chapels and pubs have closed and the numbers attending have fallen significantly, work has become more fragmented, with work in the local factory becoming much rarer. Some choirs and...
