Llyr Gruffydd: Well, thank you very much, Llywydd. It's clear that Plaid Cymru has arrived, because the Conservatives spend more time discussing the Plaid Cymru manifesto and policies than they discuss their own policies, and again that underlines, I think, how increasingly irrelevant the Conservatives are becoming in this place. I'm pleased that Sam read the Plaid Cymru manifesto. I hope he read the rest...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, First Minister, for the statement. I welcome this expanded and reformed programme of government to reflect those areas where Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government have been able to find that common ground where we can collaborate. And, of course, we've kept an unflinching focus in those discussions on securing the well-being of the people of Wales and transforming the lives of the...
Llyr Gruffydd: I asked whether the First Minister agreed with me.
Llyr Gruffydd: I didn't understand that there was a time limit.
Llyr Gruffydd: The Tories are clearly pretty exercised by the co-operation agreement, and I wonder what the First Minister's assessment is of why that may be. Because we all remember, as you referred to, the Tory £1 billion bung—is it that we've shown the proper way of negotiating a parliamentary agreement with full transparency in terms of the workings of this agreement that you think that they're so...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Look, we have it in our power in this Chamber to radically reform what is one of the most regressive taxes that we have, actually. It's a legacy of the Thatcher era. It's grossly unfair, because it levies almost four times as much as a proportion of wealth on the poorest as it does the richest. Now, that's not something that we should tolerate, and that is something...
Llyr Gruffydd: In order to assess the real implications of a land value tax, we need more data, of course. That's become clear in some of the work undertaken by the Bangor University report. The first recommendation in that report was to go about gathering the necessary data in a more meaningful way, perhaps. So, can I ask you what work the Government has done or intends to do to gather that data in order...
Llyr Gruffydd: 5. What assessment has the Minister made of the quality of rail services in Wales? OQ57338
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. I'm a very regular user of train services. In my 10 years here in the Senedd, I've driven down some twice a year. I use the train almost without exception, but I have used the train three times in the last three weeks. Three weeks ago, I was two hours late getting back to north Wales. A fortnight ago, I was caught up in the difficulty and shambles of train...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for the opportunity to once again discuss this issue. We've had a number of opportunities over recent weeks and months, and indeed recent years, to discuss the scandal of the Hergest unit and the scandal of not publishing the Holden report in full. And every time I get up to speak about this issue, I still can't believe that the board tried to evade accountability in the way that...
Llyr Gruffydd: The culture of resistance to scrutiny, to change and challenge led, of course, to Betsi's hierarchy refusing to release this report, despite, even, the requests of the information commissioner. Grieving relatives had to wait unnecessarily due to a bureaucracy that didn't put people first—it put its own interests and its own reputation first, and, of course, in doing so, tarnished that...
Llyr Gruffydd: 7. Will the First Minister make a statement on the future of the 111 service in north Wales? OQ57392
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for your answer, First Minister. I have to say, there are serious concerns being expressed to me that the service is unable to cope with the volume of demand. The sense among nursing professionals is that the service is being overrun, with patients having to wait hours for a basic response. I've been told, for example, that, in the past few weeks, calls have gone unanswered, and one...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I thank the Minister for her statement. Just to pick up on some of the previous comments on a finance Bill or an annual budget Bill, I still feel as I did when I chaired the Finance Committee in the previous Senedd that that is something I would certainly want us as a Senedd to move towards. I accept the Minister's comments on how quickly we...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Yes, omicron is casting a long shadow over Wales this Christmas, and although we can't predict exactly what the implications of the variant will be for the NHS and for public health, we are already seeing its impact, for example, on the hospitality sector, as you recognised earlier. So, to expand on your previous response, can you explain why you, as finance...
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, thank you for that reassurance. I think each and every one of us hopes that we can provide the necessary support as soon as possible. But we all, of course, remember how the Westminster Government ignored Wales's request to extend furlough payments when we entered the firebreak last year, and it was only after England went into a firebreak that they actually provided that support to us...
Llyr Gruffydd: But it's not just rejecting furlough when Wales really needed it that worries me, Minister; the arbitrary way in which the Conservatives treat Wales in other areas of funding is also apparent. The HS2 scandal and the rejection of billions of pounds that should come to Wales—money that Scotland and Northern Ireland are receiving, of course—is another example, as is the way they've broken...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, you'll be aware, of course, that a shortage of vets in Wales is still a problem for us here, and that's been exacerbated by Brexit and the pandemic as well, of course. Now, the British Veterinary Association says that more vet school places are part of the answer, and the official opening last week of Aberystwyth University school of veterinary science is...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Minister. I think it's important that we don't presume that it's 'job done', because, clearly, it's the beginning of a journey, and we'd like to see it pursued as swiftly as possible. Diolch. Now, mental health support, of course, is also a crucial aspect of support for young people in the agricultural sector. In October, in response to a question from my Plaid Cymru colleague...
Llyr Gruffydd: That's very welcome. I think 'longer term', I suppose, is a better description, maybe. Again, developing on a theme of younger farmers, really, concerns have been raised with me recently by tenant farmers, particularly, and the Tenant Farmers Association, that younger farmers are facing difficulty in acquiring land under succession rules. Now, I'm aware, through casework, of situations where...
