Llyr Gruffydd: I just want to expand on the point that the Llywydd made on lack of capacity within the Senedd. You will know that I chair a committee in the Senedd, the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee. The remit of that committee is very broad indeed, as the title suggests. We are talking about the environment, climate change— which is a key agenda for us as things...
Llyr Gruffydd: Now, I'm not supporting additional Members because I want to see more politicians, but we all have to accept that we need greater capacity to deal with the increased powers and responsibilities that we have. It stands to reason that additional devolved powers and additional law-making powers and additional tax-varying powers mean that there will be a greater pressure on existing capacity, and...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. We undertook our short, focused inquiry into storm overflows when they were firmly in the public spotlight. There were frequent news headlines about raw sewage being dumped into rivers across England and Wales. There were reports of heated debates in Westminster on tighter laws to tackle sewage spills. Then came Ofwat’s announcement of an investigation...
Llyr Gruffydd: During the course of our work, we heard time and time again that spills from overflows are not the main cause of poor river quality, and we don't dispute that as a committee, of course, but there is a tendency by some to use that to try and underplay the unacceptable number of spills, by trying to deflect the debate to pollutants from other sectors, and that's just not helpful, because...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, and thank you to everyone who's contributed. I think some of the points that have been raised have certainly enhanced the work that the committee has done. We were reminded that one of the practical upshots of these deficiencies is that some beaches do lose their blue flags, and that not only brings environmental implications, but there are also wider economic...
Llyr Gruffydd: 8. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the increased risk to animal welfare as a result of the cost-of-living crisis? OQ58242
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that. I had the privilege, last week, of visiting the Almost Home Dog Rescue charity near Mold, and I know that other Members have been and others will do so soon. Of course, there was an increase in the number of people who took pets into their homes during the pandemic, and now, as we're returning to some kind of normality, people realise that they perhaps have to let those...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd—or, acting Dirprwy Lywydd, I should say. Thank you for the opportunity to present this report. This is the first report on NRW that the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee has published during this Senedd term, and it is something that we do intend to publish on an annual basis. And that will be followed up, as today, with a debate, and...
Llyr Gruffydd: Now, there was a 13-hour delay before NRW officials attended the scene after the alarm was raised. NRW said that the delay was due to officers attending to other high-priority pollution incidents and health and safety concerns for the one available officer. Now, an NRW investigation found that there was no realistic prospect of conviction against any company or individual for the event, and...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Llywydd. I know that there are some time restrictions, so I will not respond to all comments, but I would like to thank the Minister for her contribution. It's good to hear that the review will be completed by the end of the calendar year. The frustration for us is that if the process had started earlier, we would reach the finish line more quickly and we would then see positive...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, and we've shared some abysmal experiences, haven't we, on journeys from north to south Wales? I've listened intently to what you said. I've listened for the best part of the last hour to your colleagues explaining what the problem is. What I'm not hearing is: what would you do differently? So, maybe with the few minutes you have remaining, you could explain what would you do.
Llyr Gruffydd: I also would like to hear a statement from you as rural affairs Minister, so that we can really get to grips with some of the issues that we've already heard about in relation to, particularly, animal feed. The Welsh Government really needs to be proactive. I hear what you're saying in terms of it being a UK Government thing, and they primarily have the levers to effect real change, but just...
Llyr Gruffydd: In light of the increase that we're seeing in COVID cases, there is now growing concern that we are seeing more waste, in terms of the increasing use of face masks, and I would like to know what you, as a Government, are going to do to educate people on how to dispose of those masks in a responsible way. We remember how we saw them in our environment, all over the place, during the height of...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Llywydd. The legislative consent memorandum for the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill is due to come before this Senedd quite soon. Now, the legislation states that the bank's activities will, and I quote, provide 'financial assistance to projects wholly or mainly relating to infrastructure' and provide 'loans to relevant public authorities for such projects'. It goes on to explain that its...
Llyr Gruffydd: But my understanding is that none of those conditions are in place at the moment, and, if truth to be told, there's a real risk here that this Westminster Bill is just another example of the UK Government straying into devolved matters intentionally, riding roughshod over decisions made here, undermining devolution and the integrity of the Senedd and the Welsh Government in an effort to...
Llyr Gruffydd: Would you be happy to take an intervention?
Llyr Gruffydd: I didn't catch your description of the Welsh football team as 'separatism'.
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I just wanted to reflect a little on what Welsh football and Welsh football teams—not just a team, but teams—represent, and what the red wall has embraced. It is more than just football. This phenomenon is a symbol of contemporary Wales, a confident Wales, a successful Wales, and of an inclusive Wales, too, in all its diversity....
Llyr Gruffydd: I wrote to you recently, as Chair of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee, asking you to include legislation on environmental governance in your statement today. Clearly, that hasn't happened, although the Welsh Government said, I think back in 2018, that you will use the first possible opportunity to legislate on this issue. We're still going to have to wait into...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you to the Minister for her statement, and, clearly, I welcome what's been said, and I'm encouraged by some of the answers that you've just given, although, perhaps, we all, like you, would want to go further and more swiftly. But a journey has begun, and it's important that we go as far as we possibly can. We'll perhaps never reach the end of the journey, but it is an evolving process....
