Russell George: It was the bowel screening testing for over-74s.
Russell George: Can I agree with the leader of the house that I think we must celebrate the fact that the Superfast Cymru project has been successful in delivering fibre broadband to many homes and businesses across Wales? The consequence of that improvement, of course, is that there's a sense of injustice that grows for those that are left behind, and the sense of injustice has been made worse, I think, by...
Russell George: Mid Wales Opera is soon to be celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. The idea of Mid Wales Opera was born in Meifod, Montgomeryshire, in 1988, and began with opera scenes at the mid Wales centre for opera led by music teachers Barbara McGuire and Keith Darlington. Mid Wales Opera is still going very strong today and last year put on 27 performances—the company's most ever in a...
Russell George: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the Welsh Government is seeking to improve educational outcomes for learners in mid-Wales?
Russell George: Post Brexit, First Minister, can I ask what plans does the Welsh Government have to dramatically increase Wales's economic intelligence capacity in order to improve public policy planning and delivery in Wales?
Russell George: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the future of Welsh Government offices located outside of Cardiff? OAQ51738
Russell George: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The Welsh Government have always had offices, since its creation, in my constituency, and there has been some concern in the past that Welsh Government plans to scale back on its commitment to basing Welsh Government staff in Newtown. In 2015, the then Permanent Secretary, Sir Derek Jones, confirmed to me that the Welsh Government is committed to a long-term...
Russell George: Minister, the tragic case that's been outlined today, of course, clearly goes back to 2015 and predates the critical care standards inspection report into children's services that was issued last October. Will the work of the current children's services improvement board take into account the findings of this report, and what lessons do you think have been learnt in the wider context? And...
Russell George: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on rights-of-way improvement plans?
Russell George: I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement this afternoon. Cabinet Secretary, do you feel that the lack of any financial and human resource is one of the reasons why eight local authorities did fall below your expectations? There is also some concern from the cross-party group on active travel that the implementation of legislation has been process heavy, meaning that the...
Russell George: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the process for transferring liabilities to a successor local authority from its statutory predecessor following a reorganisation in local government? OAQ51797
Russell George: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The Court of Appeal judgment in the case of Powys County Council v. Price and Hardwick overturns a High Court decision that could have wide ramifications for local authorities in relation to their liabilities under the contamination land regime. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 says that primary responsibility for the remediation of contaminated land is the...
Russell George: I'll write to you.
Russell George: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. Leader of the house, today marks the end of the two-month extension to the Superfast Cymru project. I've repeatedly asked you and Openreach for details of how many premises were told that they were in scope of the Superfast Cymru project before 31 December, only for the project to end before they had been connected, and for a list of 2,500 premises, which...
Russell George: I'm grateful for that. I'm also grateful that you have previously acknowledged the communication issues that have plagued the Superfast Cymru project, and you've pledged to address them with Openreach. However, communication issues do continue. When will the information on the Openreach broadband checker finally reflect what the accurate position is for all premises, including those enabled...
Russell George: I very much look forward to receiving that additional information. Can I finally turn to the mobile action plan, which to date seems to be characterised by its lack of action? Are you concerned by the comments of your colleague the Cabinet Secretary responsible for planning, who in a recent letter to the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, appears to have kicked into the long grass...
Russell George: Planning is.
Russell George: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the education improvement grant for schools? OAQ51839
Russell George: Thank you for your answer, Cabinet Secretary. I was listening to your answers to Darren Millar earlier on and you committed £5 million from your reserves for the financial year 2018-19 to allow for the impact on urban local authorities. But from your answer to Darren Millar, it seems that that figure is now £7.5 million. How do you intend to support learners in mid and north Wales, and, in...
Russell George: Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, despite being set up in 2013 to deliver greater value for the Welsh taxpayer, the Wales Audit Office has been critical of the National Procurement Service. Now, by anyone's estimation, it has comprehensively failed to deliver the intended savings in public spending. In 2016-17, it only generated about 60 per cent of the savings expected and, worse still,...
