Andrew RT Davies: Minister, when you were giving your evidence to committee some months ago, and then the education Secretary came in just after you, there seemed to be a little bit of confusion as to exactly how the money would flow around the system to provide this provision when it is universally rolled out from the pilot scheme. How are you taking this across Government because, from my understanding of...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, last week, the Welsh Government presented its waiting list figures for the Welsh NHS, and the figures showed that, in Wales, one in seven people is on a waiting list, or 450,000 people. In England, that figure is one in 14. There are pressures across the United Kingdom when it comes to NHS services, and everyone acknowledges that. As we go into...
Andrew RT Davies: You’re quite right, First Minister; you and I could trade statistics, and the gallery upstairs and those watching on TV would just get bamboozled by those statistics, but the figures do show that, in Wales, for example, there’s been a 400 per cent increase in people waiting 12 months or more for a surgical procedure. In the best health board, Cwm Taf Local Health Board, no-one waits 12...
Andrew RT Davies: I agree with you, First Minister; the NHS is about acronyms and, obviously, statistics. But, very often, we miss the actual patients who are waiting on the clinicians who are under pressure, and they just want a straight answer. When you do have so many health boards in Wales, as I said, four of them—. And it’s worth repeating the deficits or the projected deficits that they do have, such...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for the statement that you’ve presented this afternoon. I think I said on your appointment as Cabinet Secretary I wished you well. You have a very important job. Children go through our education system, or students go through our education system once. They get one chance at it and it is vital they have the best environment possible to learn and thrive in that...
Andrew RT Davies: In light of Transport for London’s decision to revoke Uber’s private hire operator licence, will the Cabinet Secretary outline the Welsh Government’s position on the firm’s presence in Wales? (TAQ0046)
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for that answer. I appreciate licensing is a local authority issue, but obviously you have Cabinet responsibility for transport and it is important that there is a choice—a choice for consumers to actually engage with—whether it’s the more traditional taxi model or the Uber model that is available in some parts of Wales. So, is it your belief that that...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It’s my pleasure to rise and move the motion in the name of Paul Davies on the order paper this afternoon, in relation to the document that the Welsh Government brought forward last week, ‘Prosperity for All’, which the First Minister introduced as a statement in the National Assembly here. And, obviously, we had the education tranche statement...
Andrew RT Davies: Two figures I put to you—and I identified that you said you’ve got the skills, or ‘We’ve got the skills here in Wales’—one was on GVA, and nationally, we only contribute 3 per cent of the wealth of the UK but we have 5 per cent of the population. On take-home pay, Scotland and Wales had parity 20 years ago; there’s now a £43 difference per week. So, where will Wales be in 2021...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, recently the Cabinet Secretary for Education delivered a speech that highlighted that there were secondary schools in Wales that until recently had not been entering a single pupil for a GCSE science exam—not a single pupil in secondary schools in Wales. Also, there had been a tendency for many schools to enter pupils for the easier BTEC...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, that was a pathetic answer. On your watch—[Interruption.] On your watch—[Interruption.] On your watch, we have had secondary schools in Wales—. And these aren’t my comments, because we can’t get the data—we’ve applied to the Welsh Government to have the data that the Cabinet Secretary based her speech on. Here’s the speech—. The speech is here; it’s her...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, David Melding is most probably getting annoyed by your performance this afternoon, because it is a very laissez-faire attitude, I have to say. You can’t defend a system that has not—[Interruption.] You cannot defend a system that has not been entering GCSE students for the sciences, and then stand there and try to defend it. I want to have confidence, First Minister, that...
Andrew RT Davies: Leader of the house, could we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health, please, in relation to a report about the realignment of district general hospitals in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Local Health Board area and the Cwm Taf Local Health Board area? To date, I do not believe a statement has been forthcoming. This does have quite large implications for people in the...
Andrew RT Davies: Will you take an intervention?
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you. I’d be grateful to understand from the Plaid finance spokesperson—. I appreciate the finance Secretary, when he outlined the budget, said he was looking to explore specific tax measures within the tourist sector to raise money. He wasn’t looking to alleviate taxes in the tourism sector; he was looking to raise money. Given that you’ve had in-depth discussions with the...
Andrew RT Davies: We wouldn’t have a tourism tax.
Andrew RT Davies: Minister, thank you for your answers to date on this. I take the point that there’s a body of evidence out there that is worth exploring, but I agree with the sentiments that you’ve put that proportionate action is what is required. As someone who likes to think he’s benefitted from contact sport over the years and whose children have been involved in all sorts of sports as well, I see...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, last year, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported that they’d seen nearly a 10 per cent increase in animal cruelty cases that they’d had to investigate. The legislation and the ability to regulate in this area firmly rest with the Welsh Government. Following that 10 per cent increase in complaints, there was a 35...
Andrew RT Davies: It is a fact that one case that was highlighted by the RSPCA was how a man fed his dog cocaine and then cut the ears off that particular animal, and had a 24-week sentence imposed on him. That cannot be right, First Minister. That’s the most that could have been attributed to that particular individual. There are plans afoot in other parts of the United Kingdom to substantially increase the...
Andrew RT Davies: I agree with you, but what is firmly in your court is the ability to make progress in this area. So, I welcome that you will be writing to me with more information in this particular area, but what is quite clear from the evidence that’s before us all of the crimes that have been perpetrated against animals that are defenceless—they can’t defend themselves—the number of investigations...
