Siân Gwenllian: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on local government reorganisation plans following his comments in the WLGA conference on 29 June 2018? 197
Siân Gwenllian: Some months ago, we learnt through a personal blog that the Government had made another u-turn on the reorganisation of local government, dropping Mark Drakeford's proposals for regional collaboration. Last Friday, I and everyone else who wasn't at the WLGA conference at Llandudno, learnt through Twitter that you had once again changed your mind by announcing that you were going to scrap the...
Siân Gwenllian: I too welcome the publication of the first part of this review of gender and equality policies, but we have to acknowledge, of course, that this work is restricted in its nature and the focus is on the Government processes. They are important, of course, and issues such as equality impact assessments are vitally important, but it is limited, isn't it, with regard to promoting equality across...
Siân Gwenllian: Yes. You mentioned in your statement that you want to show vision and leadership in Wales on gender issues, and of course we want to do that. I think that bringing a Bill forward to safeguard our rights as women would be an excellent way of showing that vision and leadership. Thank you.
Siân Gwenllian: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government's consultation on the proposal to consolidate and review subordinate legislation on use classes and general permitted development? OAQ52507
Siân Gwenllian: You will be aware that Gwynedd is the area with the largest number of second homes in Wales, some 5,000 in total. As a result, local people are priced out of the housing market, causing a crisis in many communities. As the Welsh Government is currently consulting on reforming subordinate legislation in planning, which includes the rules in terms of use classes and the requirement for change...
Siân Gwenllian: In May of last year, this report was published by the Member of Parliament for Arfon, Hywel Williams, and me, setting out the case for a medical school for north Wales. Your announcement on expanding medical education in north Wales is a significant and important step in the right direction, and is the result of a strong local campaign in Arfon. In your statement you say this: 'these new...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for the statement. Today's statement, of course, confirms what was reported in the press following the WLGA conference in Llandudno, which, of course, is that you are giving up on your plans to force council mergers—for the time being, at least. So, thank you for making the statement in the Chamber, which is the appropriate place for announcing important policy changes. The Green...
Siân Gwenllian: 8. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government's efforts to tackle any weaknesses in the business rates system? OAQ52557
Siân Gwenllian: Some months ago, I had an opportunity to question you on the Government’s attempt to tackle the increasing pattern of the owners of second homes registering their properties as holiday lets in order to avoid paying council tax. As they are small businesses, they qualify for business rate relief in accordance with the Government’s business rate relief scheme. You said at that time that you...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I want to talk about some of the conclusions of the ‘Rapid Review of Gender Equality 2018: Phase One’, which was recently published. The report draws attention to many areas where the Welsh Government needs to drive improvement and show leadership. One specific action that the report recommends is to tackle the low number of people who take advantage...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much, and we look forward to seeing that being implemented. Now, the report draws attention to many areas where the Government has not achieved what was intended, and the report does warn that equality is often seen as a tick-box exercise that doesn't influence policy. There is one part that is particularly critical in the report, where it talks about how, 'the current budget...
Siân Gwenllian: The report also talks about the lack of ability within your Government to turn intentions into outcomes. It goes on to say that: 'Actions and objectives within equality plans, well-being plans and national policy more widely are felt by many of those we spoke to, to lack ambition and, based on an analysis of current Welsh Government policies, there is an increasing tendency to make broad,...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for this important report. I was pleased to see that the Assembly Commission was providing bilingual papers to committees on the whole, but, as Suzy and Bethan have mentioned, I was concerned to see that the Government has presented information in English only 174 times. The report also states that 25 per cent of documents laid—as we’ve just been discussing, the explanatory...
Siân Gwenllian: Here we are, once again, discussing another committee report that’s been given a very disappointing response from Government, with only six of the 23 recommendations being accepted. The unacceptable use of 'accept in principle' is put into place 15 times in the case of this report. Although it’s eight months since the Welsh Government Permanent Secretary stated in a letter to the Chair of...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's efforts to develop the Parc Bryn Cegin business park in Bangor?
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Llywydd. One of the main action points under the theme 2, 'Increasing the use of Welsh', in your 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy, relates to the central role of the workplace in reaching the target of seeing 20 per cent of the population using the Welsh language on a daily basis. You recognise the crucial role that the Welsh Government has, as an important employer in Wales, in that regard...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. I have a copy of a report that demonstrates that you do have an internal working group of senior civil servants that has been established, as you said, and that was back in the summer of 2016. The report recommends that the Welsh Government civil service should commit to becoming a bilingual organisation, with Welsh and English as official administrative languages by...
Siân Gwenllian: So, it'll be another year and a half, it seems, until we get a definition of something that is entirely clear and simple, namely exactly what courtesy Welsh is. I've just given examples: things such as saying, 'bore da', 'prynhawn da', and being able to say Welsh words correctly. That's all it is. It's a very basic level of skills, the lowest level of Welsh language skills. So, I can't...
Siân Gwenllian: 5. Will the First Minister publish a specific timetable for the development of Parc Bryn Cegin business park? OAQ52636
