David Rowlands: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I say, I’m delighted to open this debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee? Earlier this year, the Petitions Committee and the Business Committee agreed to introduce a new petitions threshold whereby any petition that gathered more than 5,000 signatures would be considered for a debate here in Plenary. At the time I was a member of the Business Committee, and...
David Rowlands: Many Members here will be familiar with the specific local background to this petition, which concerns Womanby Street in Cardiff city centre. A vibrant campaign has been undertaken during the first half of this year, in response to local concerns about the implications of new developments planned in the heart of one of the cultural centres of our capital city. Womanby Street, in the centre of...
David Rowlands: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I thank all those who’ve contributed to this debate? And, if I may, I’d like to highlight some of the comments Members made. Mike Hedges—can I belatedly echo Mike Hedges’s comments on thanking both the Business Committee and Plaid Cymru for allowing this debate to take place? And I concur with all of his supportive comments. Suzy Davies spoke about the therapeutic...
David Rowlands: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the ability of Torfaen's education department to support Cwmbran High School?
David Rowlands: 1. When will the report on the investigation into the sale of land to South Wales Land Developments Ltd be published? OAQ(5)0735(FM)
David Rowlands: I thank you for that reply, First Minister. First Minister, you’ve set up an inquiry into what was described by a committee of this Assembly as a cavalier approach to disposal of public assets, which was scandalous. And this deal has also been described as one of the greatest blunders of recent times in Wales. Therefore, does the First Minister not agree that this inquiry is a test of the...
David Rowlands: Let me in the first instance reiterate UKIP AMs’ total and unconditional commitment to having any devolved powers that return from Europe passed in total to this Assembly. However, I find it quite incomprehensible that there are two parties in this Assembly that have become so vociferous with regard to this land grab of powers that are to be devolved to the UK from Europe, when they were...
David Rowlands: Of course.
David Rowlands: Well, wait a minute. There’s only one in 27 as far as the Commission is concerned with the UK Government in Europe, and the Commission, as you know, makes all the decisions with regard to powers that will come out of Europe and affect the Welsh people. This despite the fact—and I’ll go on to make this point—this despite the fact that we had only four representative MEPs in an...
David Rowlands: I’m sure all of us in the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee will welcome the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary of the funds for the addition of new rolling stock, particularly as we’ve heard many times in our inquiries the problems of shortages of suitable rolling stock. Cabinet Secretary, as you know, the central Valleys lines are a crucial part of the jigsaw that will...
David Rowlands: First of all, can I congratulate the Cabinet Secretary and the Welsh Government on their success in attracting both CAF and the world technology cluster to Newport? It is not only good news for Newport, but also for the whole of South Wales East. Unfortunately, of course, there has to be a ‘but’ somewhere along the way, and, in this instance, it is this: as laudable as it is to attract...
David Rowlands: Diolch, Llywydd. I’m not sure whether the Cabinet Secretary recalls it, but as long ago as yesterday I questioned you on the availability of funding, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises in the research and development sector. In evidence to the EIS committee last week, you indicated that the development bank of Wales would be moving away from direct grants to repayable...
David Rowlands: Well, forgive me if I show some continuing frustration, Cabinet Secretary, but I have personal involvement with a constituent who is seeking funding for what seems to be a project that fits all the Welsh Government criteria, in that it involves cutting-edge nanotechnology, will have a hugely beneficial environmental impact and has massive growth potential, and yet although some funding has...
David Rowlands: Thank you.
David Rowlands: 5. What is the Welsh Government doing to change Wales’s status as the poorest part of the UK? OAQ(5)0212(EI)
David Rowlands: Well, thank you for that answer, Cabinet Minister. I asked the question because it appears that, after many years of this institution, we are now relatively poorer than we were at the start of devolution. Why, after billions of pounds of so-called European structural funding, do we find ourselves in such a position? Surely, it is time to address this situation with fundamentally different...
David Rowlands: What infrastructure is being put in place to attract businesses to north Torfaen?
David Rowlands: First Minister, some time ago I brought to your attention the plight of those immigrants who are forced to work in the car valeting trade. I highlighted that they were working for less than £3.50 an hour, 10 hours a day, seven days a week—in effect, under slave labour conditions. Your reply at the time was that this did not fall in the remit of the Welsh Government. Well, given that the...
David Rowlands: Until very recent times, slave labour was virtually unknown in the UK. Is it therefore true to say, Cabinet Secretary, that slave labour is the direct result of uncontrolled mass immigration? The sexual exploitation of women and children has dramatically increased over the last two decades—almost all controlled by immigrant gangs, exploiting immigrant workers. Does the Cabinet Secretary not...
David Rowlands: It must be acknowledged by all parties in this Assembly that the intransigence of the UK Government in both the commitment to funding and the devolution of the necessary powers to the Welsh Government is making procurement and the franchise award infinitely more difficult for the Welsh Government to realise its ambitions for rail services in Wales and the delivery of the metro. This must also...
