Nick Ramsay: Will you give way on that point?
Nick Ramsay: Very briefly, I just think that was a very cheap shot and you're better than that. No-one is talking about merging economic Wales with economic regions of England; this is about closer co-operation, which, you know in your heart of hearts, is quite different.
Nick Ramsay: Will the Leader of the House provide an update on the Welsh Government’s policies for improving broadband coverage in rural Wales?
Nick Ramsay: Leader of the house, last night I was pleased to attend the world premiere of the new BBC drama, Requiem, a joint venture with Netflix, which has been partially filmed at Cefn Tilla house in my constituency and shows off the Welsh countryside at its very best. Could we have a statement from the Welsh Government on the promotion of Wales as an international film location? There's clearly...
Nick Ramsay: I will keep this very brief, Deputy Presiding Officer—
Nick Ramsay: —because I can see you've got that glint in your eye. Two quick questions—[Interruption.] That was a compliment, sort of.
Nick Ramsay: Firstly, leader of the house, a success—. A positive start. A success with a constituent from near Newcastle—not the Newcastle, a Newcastle just north of Monmouth—who has faced a long delay with accessing a fibre to the premises connection, which I know is complex. It turned out that the reason for the delay in that connection was that the records that were being kept by BT broadband...
Nick Ramsay: You didn't disappoint, Mick, no. Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for bringing this motion here today and these regulations? I'm pleased that Jane Hutt mentioned the charter for the Welsh Revenue Authority. It seems a while back now that I first proposed one of the amendments that has led to the creation of the charter. First there was the dream, now there is the reality. It's good to see...
Nick Ramsay: Cabinet Secretary, last week, I visited Monmouth Comprehensive's brand new school building, which is still to be finished admittedly, in the town of Monmouth, and that building is a fantastic, creative space that's designed to be open, transparent and to reduce the chances of physical violence happening in that space as much as is possible. But, of course, buildings are only half the...
Nick Ramsay: Cabinet Secretary, I think that Bethan Jenkins has made some very good points, and they're points that have been made to many others as Assembly Members from across Wales. I met with my own local community health council last year, and they were concerned about some of the possible proposals to come forward from the Welsh Government in this area. They're not averse to change and they...
Nick Ramsay: I've also been involved in the CAMRA sphere over the years, First Minister, so we have something in common that we can talk about over a pint sometime. I agree with the sentiments that Gareth Bennett mentioned. There was a CAMRA event held at the Assembly last week, and I'm pleased to see the cross-party group on beer and the pub being re-established. There are many issues facing pubs across...
Nick Ramsay: Minister, if I could take a slightly different angle to Rhun ap Iorwerth, key to promoting places in Wales once tourists and visitors get here is, of course, through signage. I remember raising with Carl Sargeant, when he was the Minister for transport, the issue of the rather outdated and, in some cases, tatty brown signage, which is found around Wales advertising our places of interest. He...
Nick Ramsay: Will you give way?
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. You moved on slightly from the point I was going to make, but I think it needs to be made. The decision of Beeching to close many railways, back in the 1950s and 1960s, is now looked back on in history as a huge mistake. That decision wasn't properly judged or futureproofed. You've mentioned driverless cars, and you've said that, in their infancy, they may need...
Nick Ramsay: First Minister, Lee Waters just rightly referred to the urban hubs of south Wales as being most vulnerable, in the first instance, to the effect of automation, and the figures that Lee Waters quoted were astounding. I agreed with your answer that we need to make sure that we are trying to get ahead of the curve in terms of competing with other countries in this respect, and making sure that...
Nick Ramsay: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for today’s statement? Particularly, I’m sure you’d expect me to welcome the news that common sense has prevailed and the Welsh Government’s much-criticised proposals for a national tourism tax, as it’s now been renamed, have been well and truly land-banked, and not before time. Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the last few months, you will...
Nick Ramsay: I wonder why that was.
Nick Ramsay: Cabinet Secretary, I'm glad that Joyce Watson has asked this question. This is an excellent report; well worth the read. I learnt a few things, such as that hedgehogs are hibernating between November and mid-March, so we're currently in a period of that hibernation—what was that about AMs? [Laughter.] I was particularly interested in the Big Hedgehog Map, which allows people to log their...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Llywydd. I refer the Cabinet Secretary to the questions already asked by the previous Member. That's the problem with coming second, isn't it, but there we are—not politically, that is, I mean in the order today. Cabinet Secretary, procurement is clearly on the lips of most Assembly Members in the wake of the collapse of Carillion, and that clearly affected services and projects...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I asked a number of written questions to the Welsh Government—some to yourself, some to the economy and transport Secretary. And, as I understand it, the Welsh Government has signed five contracts with Capita for the delivery of services in Wales. I further understand that there hasn't been any substantive discussions with Capita within the last six months. Do...
