Llyr Gruffydd: Sorry, I just suspected that you were winding up. You haven't addressed the closed periods, which have been raised by about three or four different speakers.
Llyr Gruffydd: He supported Liz Truss.
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for your statement, Minister. I have to say that this mess shows once again the extent to which we here in Wales are just at the mercy of the whims of Westminster Ministers. It underlines again how the current devolution settlement leaves us effectively fiscally impotent when it comes to protecting our interests, and protecting the people who are vulnerable amongst us, from damaging...
Llyr Gruffydd: Would you take an intervention?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you. You and your party colleagues and ourselves, have been very critical of the Welsh Government when it comes to condensing the scrutiny period for the single-use plastics Bill. You were quite rightly vocal that we weren't given enough time; we were only given three, four, five, six weeks to scrutinise that piece of legislation. Why is it therefore that you're happy with no scrutiny...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. It's an honour to present this report of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee, because at the beginning of the sixth Senedd the committee agreed to undertake a short inquiry into renewable energy, recognising the crucial role of renewables in tackling the climate emergency. Now, we looked at what the Welsh Government is doing and what more...
Llyr Gruffydd: So, as the domestic response to the crisis continues to unfold, we know it could, of course, set us on course to either make or break our commitment to reach net zero by 2050. The package of measures announced by the UK Government last month may provide some reprieve for businesses and households, although, following Monday's announcement, this reprieve may actually be very short lived. But...
Llyr Gruffydd: We're encouraged by the Welsh Government's future energy grid project, which seeks to proactively influence future grid investment in Wales. The Welsh Government has told us that the action plan produced by the project will set out actions for networks, for Ofgem and the Welsh Government, 'to enable optimal, long-term whole system network planning and operation.' Now, this all sounds very...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you to everyone who's contributed. I won't rehearse everything that everyone has said; there's a danger of doing that in closing a debate like this, but I just want to pick up on some of the main themes. Certainly, the messages on licensing and permissions are coming through clearly. Just on marine licensing, I am aware that, in England, the Government is...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I thank the Member for opening the debate, although I think that today’s debate shouldn’t really be about which part of the UK has the highest or the lowest business rates level? I think, and you acknowledge, that it needs to be a wider, more sophisticated discussion, really, around whether in the first place, in my view, the business rates system itself is the best...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Llywydd. Afternoon, Minister. Cumulatively, the financial pressures building up in the local government system, of course, are beyond anything, really, that we've probably ever seen before, even though pressures in the current financial year were offset somewhat by a better than expected settlement for this year. That feels a different world away, doesn't it—only, what, eight months...
Llyr Gruffydd: Okay, well, that was very nearly everything that you're prioritising, so I'm not sure whether that's possible, but I am glad that that engagement and that discussion is happening, because the message is coming through clearly that they need to know what the Government's priorities are in terms of what you're asking them to deliver under these circumstances. I'm glad that you said that...
Llyr Gruffydd: We will be supporting these regulations. We feel that they are acceptable rates. It's quite right that Welsh needs are reflected in this way, very different to other parts of the UK, of course. That's the purpose of devolution. It is disappointing, as the Minister highlighted, that there hasn't been co-operation from the side of the UK Government in preparing for these changes. It raises the...
Llyr Gruffydd: What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the Royal Mail dispute on its workers and services in Wales?
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'm glad, Counsel General, that you've referred to the recent publication, The Welsh Criminal Justice System: On the Jagged Edge, by Dr Rob Jones and Professor Richard Wyn Jones, and I would heartily recommend it as a good read to the Conservative spokesperson—it might even help open his eyes somewhat to the reality of the situation. Because you're absolutely right...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that. You've listed engagement with the UK Government. I'm still waiting for something in relation to your own UK Labour Party; maybe you could expand a little bit in a moment. I wanted to ask you about something else as well, because the UK Government has announced that its Bill of Rights Bill is to return to the Westminster Parliament in the coming weeks. And we know that that...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I'm delighted to open this debate in the name of the committee. First of all I'd like to thank all of those stakeholders who contributed to the committee's work, and I'm also very pleased that the Minister has accepted all of the committee's recommendations.
Llyr Gruffydd: As a committee, our starting point is that everyone in Wales should be able to access fast broadband. More and more of our lives are lived online—that's how we make appointments; we manage our bank accounts online, many of us; we talk to friends and family online too. And living without access to the internet means a life that is less rich, with less choice, and, very importantly, less...
Llyr Gruffydd: One of our main concerns was, and is, digital inclusion. Although more and more people can access superfast broadband, the cost of access will often be a barrier for many, particularly again during a cost-of-living crisis. There is a risk that broadband access will become a luxury that many will not be able to afford. So, what can be done? Several broadband providers offer lower-cost social...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch yn fawr. Can I thank everybody who has contributed? And at the risk of becoming embroiled in this debate as to who's responsible for what, I think it's pretty clear; the first substantive section of our report as a committee, on page 2, starts with the words 'Telecommunications is a reserved matter', so it is clear. But that doesn't absolve the Welsh Government from some...
