Llyr Gruffydd: May I also echo the Minister's thanks to the police for the work that they have done and do, particularly during the very challenging circumstances over the past year or two? We won't be opposing the motion before us today, but I do have a few comments to make, mainly around the fact that we do feel that the formula doesn't deliver for Wales as it should. The formula, for example,...
Llyr Gruffydd: We mustn't look at it in isolation. We need to look, of course, more broadly beyond the settlement at the wider role that Welsh Government has in tackling some of the root causes of crime, and the core budgets from Welsh Government really need to make sure that we do provide sufficiently for youth services, for substance misuse programmes, and for better career pathways for those who might be...
Llyr Gruffydd: Would you take an intervention?
Llyr Gruffydd: I'm just wondering whether you feel that if the police were properly funded by the UK Government, then the Welsh Government wouldn't need to bail them out and provide that?
Llyr Gruffydd: The question the Conservatives should be asking isn't how do we stop cars from idling, it's how do we stop cars getting on the road in the first place. And the Deputy Minister is right. It's the broader question here of: are we serious about climate change? And if we are, then are we serious about modal shift and reducing people's overdependence on cars? Are we serious that that is part of...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I first of all thank everyone who has contributed to this debate? I am aware that the clock is against me, but I will try and respond to some of the points that haven't been covered. It's good to see that Gareth Davies has returned to the Chamber, having left for most of the debate, having made his intervention. It would have been handy for you to be here to hear the fact, of course, that...
Llyr Gruffydd: Do I have time for an intervention, Llywydd?
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I can quote back to you the LSE, but I'll share the link with you, and it's pretty clear that the first claim often made is that the use of STV led to low turnout, and that's palpably untrue. So, I suppose it's lies, damned lies, and statistics on both of our accounts, then, isn't it? I hear what people are saying about the sizes of wards, but, do you know what, look at what happened in...
Llyr Gruffydd: The Act that—
Llyr Gruffydd: No, sorry, Mike—I am up against time, I'm afraid.
Llyr Gruffydd: The Act that allows the move to PR has been passed, I understand that, but the question I ask, and what I haven't heard from the Minister in her response, is: so, what's going to drive that change? Where is the incentive for councils to really tackle this issue? We heard the term 'turkeys voting for Christmas', and it's true. It's an option, and I fear that it's unlikely to happen and, where...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I thank everyone who's contributed to the debate so far? I think it's a valuable debate, and I'm sure Mike must feel it's Christmas come early. He has a debate on PR and the funding of local government; you’d only need a debate on Swansea City AFC, and you'd be living the dream. [Laughter.] But, on a more serious note, I want to echo the thanks that we've all paid to council workers and...
Llyr Gruffydd: What is the Welsh Government doing to bring partners together to improve nutrient management in Welsh rivers?
Llyr Gruffydd: I just want to contribute to this debate as Chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, just to take the opportunity to inform the Senedd of the committee's recent work in this area. The frequency of sewage spills and their impact on the environment and public health is an area, as we've heard, of serious public concern. And in response to this concern, and on the...
Llyr Gruffydd: How is the Welsh Government improving the social infrastructure of town centres?
Llyr Gruffydd: We are hearing now, of course, that there is humanitarian aid that is meant to go to Ukraine stuck on the UK border because of the additional red tape to export goods as a result of Brexit. Now, according to the charities affected, they say that there is additional paperwork needed because it's gifts that are being transported rather than products that will be sold on after crossing the...
Llyr Gruffydd: I just want to say a word about our track, trace and protect staff, who have been a huge part of the effort to keep us safe over recent years. They're now being discarded at what feels like a moment's notice. I know of workers, for example, who've just had 48 hours' notice that their hours were being cut. They, frankly, did a job that not many people wanted to do, and they're being paid back...
Llyr Gruffydd: We will not oppose this motion either, and along the same lines, I would ask for greater clarity on the Government's intentions here, because in the last Senedd you refused to vary taxes, or ruled out varying taxes for the rest of the Senedd. Now, as we've heard, you are saying that you won't be varying tax levels while the economic impact of the pandemic remains. The question is, well, what...
Llyr Gruffydd: Just a few brief comments about the process maybe, initially. I think we're all looking forward to the budget returning to its normal timetable of eight sitting weeks of scrutiny. We haven't had that for a long time, and I think these condensed periods of scrutiny really don't help. And I'd make the point again: ministerial responses to committee reports on the budgets are arriving late in...
Llyr Gruffydd: This budget does deliver on many of Plaid Cymru's main pledges in our recent manifesto. Two hundred million pounds in the budget to ensure free school meals for all primary school children, and that includes over £20 million in addition to extend free school meals over the summer holiday this year. Sixty million pounds to extend childcare to children of two years of age. Over £100 million...
