Hannah Blythyn: The nature recovery action plan sets out our strategy and actions for wildlife, strengthening our approach for species and habitats across Government. This has, for example, seen us invest £4 million, securing an additional £11 million of EU funding, for three successful LIFE projects for important Welsh habitats.
Hannah Blythyn: Subject to planning and permitting controls, incineration is widely used to deal with difficult materials such as clinical or hazardous wastes. In the waste sector, the Welsh Government supports the limited use of high-efficiency energy from waste plants for the treatment of non-recyclable materials, in line with the waste hierarchy.
Hannah Blythyn: Mark Drakeford.
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I first thank Jenny Rathbone for bringing forward this proposal and everybody who's contributed to this debate? I think my colleague Hefin David was correct that you can tell the strength of a proposal by the amount of people who want to contribute to it. It's such a shame, on this occasion, that we do only have a short amount of time to discuss it. But I'm sure that...
Hannah Blythyn: Formally.
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I start by thanking Members for bringing forward this debate and everyone that's contributed? Nothing screams Christmas more like a debate on sewer blockages, but, in all seriousness, though, we know that a significant rise in the use of wet wipes and other hygiene products in recent years has resulted in an increase in the flushing of such items down the toilet, where...
Hannah Blythyn: The Minister for Housing and Local Government wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in December, expressing our deep ongoing concerns regarding the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reform policies, particularly the roll-out of universal credit, and our opposition to their damaging two-child limit cap.
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd like to start by thanking my colleague, Hefin David, for bringing forward this short debate on what is a prevalent topic, both prevalent now, as we said, in the public and political consciousness, but also in terms of the problem of plastic pollution. As we've all said in the Chamber, plastic is everywhere and we use it every day, and in some aspects it has a...
Hannah Blythyn: We know—and I know I keep repeating this—that we do lead the way in the UK when it comes to recycling, so we're coming at this from a different starting point from our counterparts in both Scotland and England, but we are not complacent. We want to be first in the world on recycling by both complementing the work that is already being done here and building on it with a system that works...
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. This Government is acutely aware of the pressing need to tackle air pollution, both for current and for future generations. We've committed to delivering vital improvements in air quality to support healthier communities and better environments. So, I do welcome this debate on air quality legislation today, and I know and welcome the Member's ongoing interest and...
Hannah Blythyn: Any future policies or targets need to be underpinned by evidence to ensure that they deliver the most effective change. This includes assessing the associated practicalities, such as the social, economic and technical impacts. We need to gather evidence to make sure we are targeting the right areas in the right way. The Member almost precipitated some of my lines by referring to the First...
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. I move the motion for the Household Waste Duty of Care (Fixed Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2019. These regulations will allow local authorities in Wales and Natural Resources Wales to issue fixed penalties for household waste duty of care offences. Householders have a responsibility to ensure, when they pass their waste to someone else for disposal, that they check...
Hannah Blythyn: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm actually quite surprised. From what you say, you acknowledge that there's a problem with fly-tipping, yet don't support these regulations, which are aimed at not only enforcement, but as a deterrent. We are proud of our recycling record in Wales; that's why we're first in the UK and third in the world. And we want to build on that, which is why we will...
Hannah Blythyn: The delivery of additional homes is a key priority for the Welsh Government, as set out in the national strategy. We're using all levers available to us to encourage house building and are making a record investment in housing during this Assembly term.
Hannah Blythyn: The Member will be aware that a revised national planning policy for Wales has already been published, which is aimed at helping address housing delivery issues by introducing more rigour and challenge into the plan-making process in terms of allocation of housing sites. Both myself and the Minister did meet with the federation recently, to talk through those concerns that you've raised, but...
Hannah Blythyn: Thank you, Mike Hedges, for your question. You make some incredibly valid and interesting points. As I've already referred to, the latest iteration of 'Planning Policy Wales', specifically, now requires local planning authorities to maintain a register of small sites. And as I've previously mentioned, we've announced £40 million to support new and innovative Self Build Wales schemes, and as...
Hannah Blythyn: Thank you, Vikki Howells. Absolutely, I certainly welcome the efforts and the work of Rhondda Cynon Taf and other authorities in terms of how we actually create new homes by bringing empty buildings back into use. And it's something I particularly feel passionate about now in my role of leading in terms of regeneration, how we can link that up holistically, not only regenerating and bringing...
Hannah Blythyn: Our commitment to tackling homelessness, including rough sleeping, is supported by significant additional investment of £30 million. This includes investment for Housing First and support for a range of initiatives as part of our rough sleeping action plan.
Hannah Blythyn: As a Government, our first objective is to support intervention that aims to support people in avoiding rough sleeping as a course of action in the first place. Out of the additional £30 million, £12 million is provided to the local authorities to increase their support to people who present themselves as homeless. As the Member rightly says, there are many reasons why people may not feel...
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch. The Member is absolutely right in terms of, particularly within HMP Cardiff, the impact that short-term sentences can have in terms of particularly the 56 days, because if you're in prison for an incredibly short term, it's a short enough period to have an impact on your previous accommodation and potentially that of your family. And actually, then, there's a challenge in terms of...
