Jeremy Miles: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that reply. I’m aware of an NRW tender for a single turbine project in south Wales, which is an ideal scale, really, for a community project. The criteria for the tender really are prohibitive for community projects at that scale, requiring track record of delivery and several years’ worth of accounts. I obviously understand the need for due diligence and...
Jeremy Miles: The foundational economy, whilst not a complete analysis of our economy, is a very important analysis of a key part of it. Given the needs that the sectors meet, the foundational economy is here to stay, but public policy in all parts of the UK hasn’t adequately addressed how we can help it to flourish and to deliver jobs that support a decent living. I want to focus in my speech on the...
Jeremy Miles: I was pleased to hear the Cabinet Secretary put this measure in the context of a suite of policies designed to preserve social housing stock, and increase the supply of affordable housing. Does he share my worry about what the effect would be on the supply of affordable housing in Wales if Plaid Cymru, the Tories and UKIP had succeeded last week in their attempt to block the Welsh Labour-led...
Jeremy Miles: May I welcome the Minister’s statement? He will know that I was one of the joint signatories to the letter to him asking him not to settle for unambitious plans. So, I am pleased to hear such a clear statement today on the issue of ambition. May I ask two questions of you? The first is on the relationship between this process and the process of introducing the new strategy. This process...
Jeremy Miles: I share the remarks about Wales. We should congratulate ourselves on being third in the world. That is actually a very, very significant accolade and obviously presents an opportunity to maintain our leadership position in terms of recycling as a contribution to our environmental goals, but also it provides us with an opportunity to grasp to put sustainability at the heart of our economy....
Jeremy Miles: Can I echo the thanks that my fellow committee members have already extended to the committee Commission staff and everyone who’s engaged with the work of the committee? I think there is some very useful evidence in the transcripts that may not have made its way through to the report, which it would bear reflecting on. I also welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s response. I wish he had felt...
Jeremy Miles: 2. What is the Welsh Government doing to tackle rough sleeping in Wales? OAQ(5)0518(FM)
Jeremy Miles: I thank the First Minister for that response. Last week, press reports highlighted the experience of people sleeping rough in Neath. The people who were interviewed had been through job loss, difficulty in claiming benefits, prison and addiction, and they spoke movingly about the impact on their health and their sense of loneliness. The legislation that the First Minister has referred to is...
Jeremy Miles: The leader of the house will know that Public Health Wales this morning has confirmed that multiple sources of evidence show that pre-exposure prophylaxis is highly effective at preventing HIV infection. PrEP is already prescribed in the US, Canada, France, Norway and Israel. So, can I ask the Cabinet Secretary for health to bring forward a statement, confirming the earliest point at which he...
Jeremy Miles: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. I welcome the opportunity today to bring forward this debate on the blue economy in Wales, together with Jayne Bryant, Lee Waters, Angela Burns, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Simon Thomas. The ‘blue economy’ refers to a broad range of economic activities linked to our seas—marine renewables, maritime transport, ports, tourism and marine sports, fishing and aquaculture,...
Jeremy Miles: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the role of the creative industries in developing the Welsh economy?
Jeremy Miles: Will the Member give way?
Jeremy Miles: I note he’s keen to present himself as a friend of the Welsh language. Will he take this opportunity to condemn comments by Gareth Bennett, who described Welsh language campaigners as ‘loonies’, which was offensive on several levels?
Jeremy Miles: What priority does the Welsh Government attach to digital inclusion?
Jeremy Miles: Let’s be clear about one thing, that there is little to celebrate—nothing to celebrate in fact—about the actions of the UK Government in the last couple of weeks. The only virtue of serving the article 50 notice is that it puts to bed the question of whether or not we are embarking on a process of leaving the European Union. What we now have an opportunity to do is to fight for the kind...
Jeremy Miles: Yes.
Jeremy Miles: I don’t know if it’s a federal system, but I’m advocating a system that has a statutory fair funding mechanism to protect Wales. And I believe that, coming out of the Brexit argument, people understand the need for that, and we should argue for that future.
Jeremy Miles: Can I thank Lee Waters for bringing forward this important debate today? These debates are a valuable opportunity to look at the bigger picture and also, occasionally, to scan the far horizons of an issue, which I hope to do in these remarks. The advance of technology presents opportunities for our economy, and that’s doubtless. The city deal for the Swansea bay city region is predicated on...
Jeremy Miles: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement about his decision to approve the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis in Wales as part of a study? TAQ(5)0155(HWS)
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. The Llywydd has shown great wisdom in selecting questions, as usual.
