Rhys ab Owen: And in terms of the Crown Estate—as Delyth mentioned, another example of Wales being failed time and time again. And the tidal lagoon supported by the Conservatives for a while, and then that disappeared too. Counsel General, may I congratulate you on your appointment? I know of the work that you've been doing in promoting devolution since the 1970s, and I know about your aspiration to...
Rhys ab Owen: It is a real shame—you mentioned there is common ground—it's a real shame when we had our first opportunity to work together that Labour fell back again and said just 'delete all'. We have an opportunity here to get that far-reaching federalism. Why can't we say now what we want? It's nothing new. Keir Hardie was mentioning it back at the beginning of the last century and, to him—to...
Rhys ab Owen: We all welcome the long-awaited clean air Act in the programme for government. It has a lot of support here in the Senedd and beyond. In April last year, I called on our cities and towns to be more considerate of people, suggesting closing Castle Street in front of the castle to create a nice public place. I was pleased that Cardiff Council did close the street for public vehicles, but we're...
Rhys ab Owen: Does the Trefnydd agree with me that it's very odd, to say the least, that Cardiff's Labour council are using clean air funding from Welsh Government on something that will, in fact, increase pollution and affect the air quality of residents and the 45 million visitors to Cardiff every year? Could we please have a written statement from the Welsh Government on their position on reopening...
Rhys ab Owen: I'd like to focus today on housing conditions, and it is appropriate, as Janet reminded us earlier today, it is appropriate in thinking that it's four years after the Grenfell tragedy. It is clear from the meetings I've had with, and the messages I have received from, residents of high-rise apartments in Cardiff that there is great confusion about who is responsible for ensuring that those...
Rhys ab Owen: Through no fault of their own, they are facing huge insurance costs, service charges and bills to deal with the cladding issue, as well as having to deal with the mental strain of knowing that they live in an unsafe building and cannot move. Put yourself in their position, Minister; imagine what it must feel like lying in bed at night worrying about crippling financial costs, and more than...
Rhys ab Owen: Because this year's funding is by not adequate by a long way. The work so far is very slow, and the costs so far do not count the costs of hiring scaffolding, hiring hoists and so forth, never mind the cost of the cladding itself. How will the Minister be able to assure us and assure the residents of those flats that that work will be completed as soon as possible? The Grenfell tragedy has...
Rhys ab Owen: Firstly, the properties are not sellable, Minister, and their value is virtually zero as they cannot gain EWS1 certification. Prospective purchasers then can't get a mortgage, so they can't sell. Yet, their council tax remains very high, some as high as group G. As council tax is based on the value of the property, and as councils are responsible for signing off these buildings and giving...
Rhys ab Owen: 8. What action is the Welsh Government taking to reduce air pollution levels in Cardiff? OQ56658
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, First Minister. As you will be aware, on Clean Air Day, the Labour council in Cardiff reopened Castle Street in the heart of Cardiff, and the Deputy Minister for Climate Change described that as disappointing. Many Labour councillors in Cardiff have questioned the figures and the data used by the council. Every Member of this Senedd stood on a manifesto to promote a clean...
Rhys ab Owen: Minister, constituents have been in touch with me saying that they find it very difficult, in Canton in Cardiff, to travel by bike back and forth to school, because of an absence of cycle lanes. What assessment has the Welsh Government made, in terms of decarbonising transport, of funding for Safe Routes to School for councils such as Cardiff council? Thank you.
Rhys ab Owen: I move the motion.
Rhys ab Owen: Llywydd, I was surprised to see this motion from the Conservatives today. Only a fortnight ago, the Conservative chief whip accused me of constitutional navel gazing. Well, what have we had today but constitutional navel gazing? But, I think, Mr Millar, you enjoyed our debate more a fortnight ago than you care to admit.
Rhys ab Owen: The first Plaid Cymru debate was progressive; it showed the way to improve Wales and expand our powers, not hand them back, as the Conservatives want to do. Brexit has happened, we are out of the European Union, so why you have to go on and on about it so much, I don't know. But, that does not mean that we shouldn't hold the leaders of the 'leave' campaign, who made all kinds of empty...
Rhys ab Owen: We know what the 'leave' campaign meant when the rally cry was, 'Take back control'. It was take back control to Westminster. Wales wasn't on the agenda. From the beginning, Wales did not feature. We saw this in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 putting further restraints on the devolution settlement in Wales, and we see it now with Wales being ignored time and time again. Listen,...
Rhys ab Owen: Gwynfor Evans showed greater vision in the 1960s than we are seeing now from the Conservatives over there. He described Wales as a laboratory—a chance to show how to do things and for the world to follow. A number of important changes have happened in this place, social changes, some things that we wouldn't have thought possible 20 years ago, such as banning smoking in pubs, the plastic bag...
Rhys ab Owen: And I look forward to working cross party in this group to bring forward a universal basic income, so we can create, as Janet Finch-Saunders quoted earlier today, a socialist utopia here in Wales.
Rhys ab Owen: Where Wales leads, others follow.
Rhys ab Owen: Boris Johnson saw the Brexit process as a chance to grab the front-door keys to 10 Downing Street. Now that we have this hard, harsh Brexit, we, as a Senedd, need to work together to mitigate its impact. We must repel those distant drums of an English nationalist Conservative Party, a party that is intent on damaging devolution, and through that, damaging Wales and damaging the people of Wales.
Rhys ab Owen: Poll after poll has shown that people in Wales across the political spectrum want additional powers. So, my call to you, the Welsh Government, is to be unstinting in your efforts. Don't delay, don't wait for the Westminster Government to do something, because nothing from that direction will benefit the people of Wales. If we respect the referenda of the past, we need to demand additional...