Mr Simon Thomas: Counsel General, as well as the great repeal Bill, which we’ve just addressed, one of the concessions made by the Government in taking forward the current Bill on triggering article 50 through the House of Commons was a further vote in the House of Commons on the final detail of any agreement that was made with the other European Union countries. In your view, would that also involve the...
Mr Simon Thomas: I think, given the position that we’re in, that this has been a very measured debate. The banks, at present, are depriving many communities and many individuals of important services, and it’s now not possible to be a full citizen unless you have full access to banking services. That’s what the modern world entails. If you don’t have access to a banking system, you will lose out...
Mr Simon Thomas: In just a second, I will, yes. [Continues.]—such as bank branches without an assurance that broadband should be available to everyone served by that branch. I will give way to Mike Hedges.
Mr Simon Thomas: I certainly do. I bought my mother an iPad for Christmas. I don’t know how she’s getting on with it. I think she’s Julie James’s constituent, not yours, now, Mike, but she’s in Swansea trying to make use of an iPad. However, she was very reliant on the bank to help her get a head start on some of the things that you can do now in digital. So, there’s a real commitment there, a...
Mr Simon Thomas: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on recent discussions with the UK Government regarding agriculture and countryside policies following the decision to leave the EU? OAQ(5)0468(FM)[W]
Mr Simon Thomas: I thank the Minister for her reply. I’ve been interested in what happened in that meeting in Edinburgh. The Scottish rural economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, said ‘Today’s meeting did not achieve anything. There was no factual information whatsoever on any of the serious matters that have been raised by farmers.’ Roseanna Cunnigham, who is the environment Secretary in Scotland, said...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m very pleased to return to education and the OECD in the unavoidable absence of my colleague, Llyr Gruffydd, and I’d like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement. Can I say, first of all, that Plaid Cymru, at least since the initial OECD report and ‘Qualified for Life’, has taken a broadly supportive view of this path that has been set...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m sure it’s a sign of how important public health is that three committees are to report on this Bill as we discuss it this afternoon. I think it’s important for me to say initially that the committee welcomed the fact that there had been a general improvement in the presentation of this Bill as compared to the previous Bill in terms of the way the...
Mr Simon Thomas: I’m particularly concerned, of course, in my region at the proposal in Llanelli, which will take out a significant number of workers from the town centre who really need support. But there are wider questions around the way that this process has been undertaken by the UK Government, and I’d like to raise two issues with the Government that I think impact on devolved aspects as well. I was...
Mr Simon Thomas: I, and I’m sure other Members, welcome the statement made this morning by Government that there is going to be support for Yr Egin as part of the Swansea bay city region proposal, and I look forward to everyone collaborating to ensure that Yr Egin is a success and that S4C moves successfully to Carmarthen. Unfortunately, this morning’s statement didn’t mention how much money the...
Mr Simon Thomas: 2. What conclusions has the Cabinet Secretary reached in light of the report on the state of orthodontic services in Wales as discussed in the Assembly on 7 December 2016? OAQ(5)0123(HWS) [W]
Mr Simon Thomas: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his reply. I’m not quite sure if we’ve been reading the same report, and I obviously looked at the report from the particular aspect of the area I represent and Hywel Dda in particular, where it says there is a real problem in accessing orthodontic services. I had confirmation this week from the British Dental Association as well that waiting lists in...
Mr Simon Thomas: Well, in fact, I did want to give a very uplifting view of Wales’s future and how we can, for all the wonders that we’ve achieved in the past, as teachers and preachers, become a nation of scientists and technologists and move our nation onwards. I think that I want to describe us as an energy nation. One of the earliest ecological poems in the Welsh language, ‘Torri Coed Glyn Cynon’,...
Mr Simon Thomas: I wonder if it’s the Government’s intention to bring forward a debate in Government time on the issue of broadband for Welsh communities, and specifically the Superfast Cymru programme. Many questions have been asked of the First Minister during questions, and, had the Llywydd been patient, I think every one of us could have asked a question about communities that are having difficulty at...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I speak, of course, on behalf of the Finance Committee, which has reported on the supplementary budget, and the full report and the recommendations are available to Members. I want to focus on four areas here where the Finance Committee were looking for more information or more work by the Government. First of all, you will remember, I hope, that I have...
Mr Simon Thomas: Cabinet Secretary, you remember the visit to Pentre Solar in Glanrhyd in Pembrokeshire, where you and I both saw how local Welsh timber had been used not only for house construction, but also for skills and increasing skills in the local workforce to work that timber. What further steps can you take, because I think there’s a great potential for timber for house construction in particular...
Mr Simon Thomas: Cabinet Secretary, we were reminded again yesterday, in evidence from Public Health Wales, about the fact that air pollution is a public health crisis in Wales, causing something in the region of 2,000 deaths per annum. Six per cent of all deaths in Wales are as a result of air pollution, which is second only as a cause of death to smoking. So, what is the Government doing to ensure that our...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you for that response. I am pleased to hear that you are putting this at the top of your list of priorities, because there is nothing more prominent in your own portfolio that also has an impact on the daily lives of so many of us living in areas where air pollution is a problem. You’ve mentioned that this needs to be done across Government. The Public Health (Wales) Bill is currently...
Mr Simon Thomas: I hope that those discussions do lead to a little more joined-up thinking on that Bill, and, of course, the whole Assembly will get the opportunity to amend it, if necessary. But can I also return to the issue of Aberthaw power station, on which, when I last questioned you and the First Minister on this, I was told that Natural Resources Wales had now contacted the owners of Aberthaw and had...
Mr Simon Thomas: I’m sure, Cabinet Secretary, you share my disappointment that the budget today did not include a positive statement around the tidal lagoon. That’s something that would be extremely welcome here in Wales. What further steps can she take now to press the UK Government to come forward with a positive decision on the tidal lagoon? Also, bearing in mind, for example, that we had a very good...
