Mike Hedges: I thank the First Minister for that response. The published rail timetable for December 2022 didn't have the 15:12 service from Llansamlet— this was added after I raised concerns under business questions. An issue I've raised previously is that First Cymru terminated the 33 bus in Frederick Place, which is 300 yd from Llansamlet station, which, in Swansea, can be a long way in the rain....
Mike Hedges: I very warmly welcome the statement. This is what levelling up looks like. This is what technological clusters and what successful economies have. It will also help stimulate the economy by attracting highly skilled jobs and create a surrounding infrastructure. The UK has no domestic supply of many radioisotopes, relying on imports from European facilities. This is an opportunity to have such...
Mike Hedges: I'm very pleased we received this statement today. The biodiversity crisis is at long last getting the same attention as environmental change and global warming, both of which are obviously affecting the biodiversity. Along with the Minister, I'm very pleased that the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity framework was formally adopted. This is a significant and truly positive achievement, with...
Mike Hedges: 4. Will the First Minister provide an update on Welsh Government support for Flying Start? OQ58938
Mike Hedges: Thank you, First Minister. I’m convinced of the benefits of Flying Start. It stops children starting formal schooling with a developmental age substantially below their actual age. We have seen in England the PM scrapping changes to the childcare system drawn up by his predecessor. In non-homogenous areas, lower super-output areas result in missed pockets of poverty. Does the Government...
Mike Hedges: I'm asking for a Government statement on basic farm payments. I'm asking for a statement providing an update on the provision of basic farm payments and explaining why the Welsh Government is opposed to the Farmers Union of Wales proposal to cap basic farm payments. I'm also asking for a statement to provide an update on proposals regarding the remediation of cladding on buildings. I have a...
Mike Hedges: The census is a very poor measure of the number of Welsh speakers. Of course, in the early censuses, the question was ‘Welsh, English or both’. It is self-choosing. Parents also make a decision on behalf of their children, so it’s not an accurate method of collecting information. I speak Welsh every day, but rarely in debates, and I only speak to people I am confident will not try and...
Mike Hedges: I'm not confident speaking Welsh.
Mike Hedges: I ticked the ‘speak Welsh’ box, but could have ticked the ‘do not speak Welsh’ box. Does the Minister agree with me that, in future censuses, after ‘Do you speak Welsh?’, you should have a question of, ‘How often? Is it daily, more than once a week or more than once a month?' I await the additional data that will identify the areas where most people speak Welsh. Where over three...
Mike Hedges: Carrying on the energy theme, I'm requesting a Government statement on progress being made by the Welsh Government on ending standing charges on days when no energy is used. When people have their first hot meal for days, which is likely to be a tin of soup, and find they have used up to a quarter of their energy credit, to me this is fundamentally wrong. I would add the word 'cruel' as well....
Mike Hedges: We cannot overestimate the importance of lottery funding to individuals. For the major team sports, such as football and rugby, player development is carried out by amateur and professional clubs, with professional football clubs having academies. Where support is needed is for younger players in sports such as tennis; players who need to travel to national and international tournaments and...
Mike Hedges: We have to move away from piecemeal devolution, with Plaid Cymru believing we can salami-slice to independence, the Conservatives that we can stop it going any further, and many looking to move devolution backwards. An example is policing: devolved to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Manchester and London, but not to Wales. We have directly elected mayors in England; in fact, Bristol has a...
Mike Hedges: I welcome the statement today and the Welsh Government's support for the LGBTQ+ community. I welcome the commitment to making Wales the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe. I fully support the vision to improves the lives and outcomes for LGBTQ+ people. I remember section 28. When I was teaching in a college, a student told me that he could bully someone who was gay and, if I tried to stop...
Mike Hedges: Will you take an intervention, Peter?
Mike Hedges: I was going to say it's based upon the standard spending assessment, the rates support grant, taking into account the ability of councils to raise money. Would you have to also change the standard spending assessment in order to change the rates support grant?
Mike Hedges: I will be voting for this budget, despite having very serious concerns about it. If the Senedd was unable to set a budget, there's no shortage of members of the Westminster Government who would be only too happy to say, 'Devolution does not work. We can set the budget for them because they're incapable of doing it themselves.' On raising income tax, as suggested by Plaid Cymru, while...
Mike Hedges: Yes.
Mike Hedges: I think you've seen just how much of a problem this is for very many of us representing constituencies. As the Minister is aware, I have two high-rise developments in Swansea East, Altamar and South Quay. In fact, the Minister might drive past them on her way in some mornings. There is serious concern being expressed to me by the residents in those blocks. In Altamar, they're concerned that...
Mike Hedges: The Minister has answered part of what I was going to raise, because the Minister is quite used to me talking about the problem of people having standing charges. I understand from The Observer last Sunday that standing charges can be up to 50p a day. Most of us don't consider having to spend a day without putting on any lights, without putting on any television, without putting on any...
Mike Hedges: No, I'm not allowed—[Inaudible.] I only asked if the MP for Ynys Môn—
