Darren Millar: I was a little alarmed as well to see this announcement being made this morning not in this place but in another Government-owned building down the road. Can I ask you—[Interruption.] Can I ask you, Minister, with specific reference to the investment that has been announced in north Wales, you’ve made a suggestion that it’s a simple reheat and microwaving of previous investment that has...
Darren Millar: Can I call for two Cabinet Secretary statements—the first from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs in relation to the future of the timber industry in Wales? Members will have noticed that there were some concerns raised by Clifford Jones Timber, an organisation that is based in Ruthin in my constituency, about the failure of the Welsh Government forestry land to secure...
Darren Millar: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on plans to improve educational attainment in Wales?
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, the Programme for International Student Assessment results showed that Wales has an education system that is lagging behind the rest of the UK and that we’re in the bottom of the international league table for literacy, maths and science. You and I both know that that isn’t good enough, and want to make a difference. Science, in particular, has slipped...
Darren Millar: I’m glad that you’ve been able to shed a little bit more light on the national network of excellence for science and technology, because, of course, it was an announcement that you didn’t make in this Chamber—you made it in a press release, and we still haven’t received a written statement or a letter from you, as Assembly Members, to inform us about this important development. But,...
Darren Millar: I’m very pleased that you are reviewing the incentives available. We all know that, if you want to go into a career in teaching science in England, the bursaries are much more generous than they are here in Wales. In fact, if you want to be a physics teacher in England, you can get a bursary of up to £30,000, compared to getting as little as just £11,000 here in Wales. I wondered if I...
Darren Millar: I’m sorry that you feel so humbuggy about the Coca-Cola Christmas truck. Will you join me in congratulating Coca-Cola, however, for the way that they have reduced the sugar content of their drinks and expanded the promotion of the zero-sugar alternatives, which now account for over 50 per cent of their sales in the UK?
Darren Millar: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I also want to thank the Plaid Cymru representative for introducing this important debate today. I move the amendments that have been tabled in the name of my colleague Paul Davies on behalf of the Welsh Conservative group. I think everybody in this Chamber agrees that the higher education sector is of enormous importance to Wales. We know that our universities,...
Darren Millar: Yes, of course, I do recognise that, and I also recognise that it’s possible to participate in Horizon 2020 post Brexit, and I think that’s the point that Llyr Huws Gruffydd is making, which is a very important point. These things should be discussed and should be on the table, but the point I’m making is that there are opportunities for universities to develop other relationships...
Darren Millar: I am not accusing any one of those students of fraudulently applying for visas. I am simply making the point that there was some fraud identified in the system that needed to be addressed. The previous system was not working. There are still opportunities under the current visa arrangements for people to apply for visas and access them.
Darren Millar: Can I call for two statements, please? The first is a statement request from the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs into the state of the sea defences in Old Colwyn in my constituency. The Minister will be aware that I’ve raised this issue on many an occasion in the Chamber, and I’m very concerned at the state of those defences. Just last week, there was a further...
Darren Millar: I’m pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this debate today. I’m very pleased that it’s a Bill that we are discussing that is going to confer more powers upon this Assembly, and that that Bill is being delivered by a Conservative Government at UK level and a Conservative Secretary of State. I want to pay tribute to them for standing by their words to deliver a Bill that is going...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to everyone who has taken part in this debate, although, I have to say, I’m very disappointed that the Welsh Government are refusing to step in to prevent local authorities in Wales taking further this experiment, which is being trialled, of four-weekly bin collections around the country. And let’s face it, the reason that you can’t find any...
Darren Millar: I’ll happily take the intervention.
Darren Millar: I’m sure that they will have their rose-tinted spectacles on in terms of the way that the trial is going. But let me tell you this: in terms of the evidence—[Interruption.] In terms of the evidence, local residents are extremely dissatisfied with their waste collection services. They’re extremely unpopular indeed. In fact, in terms of fly-tipping, in terms of litter, they have never...
Darren Millar: I accept what you say, Minister—thank you for taking the intervention—about the revenue raised in taxation and the way that is spent, but of course, what we’re facing here is some communities being disproportionately hit by a significant increase, and not seeing any significant increase in their local services as a result of that additional taxation. Do you accept that that in itself...
Darren Millar: Will the First Minister provide an update on the follow up work conducted in light of the Ockenden report into care in the Tawel Fan ward?
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. Minister, can I call for two statements please? The first is from the Cabinet Secretary for health and social services in relation to the use of consultants by the national health service. The Cabinet Secretary will be aware that, over the weekend, concerns were raised in the media regarding expenditure of over £1.5 million by the Betsi Cadwaladr university health board over...
Darren Millar: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement? I know that she’s got some long-standing views on this issue, and it’s probably the hook by which she cornered Carwyn to get into his Cabinet—it surely helped to broker their deal. But when it comes to evidence-based policy making, I really cannot understand why the Cabinet Secretary is pursuing this particular issue. We heard...
Darren Millar: This is my final, final point. I have to say, Cabinet Secretary, I’ve been an Assembly Member for 10 years now and not one person has ever, on the doorstep, and not one teacher, either, has ever spoken to me to say that class size is the pressing issue that we need to address in Wales. And I have to say, I agree with Julie Morgan on that: no-one has spoken to her, either, in the years that...
