Llyr Gruffydd: Can I thank the Minister for her statement? Certainly, we need action. Some of us would agitate for more urgent action than others, I'm sure, but there's no doubt that we need to tackle the plastics epidemic that we're facing as a society—a global society—these days. And as positive as the local authorities' record has been in terms of recycling over recent years, it is disappointing to...
Llyr Gruffydd: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the availability of jobs in rural areas? OAQ52811
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. You will be aware, of course, that the Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for agriculture is currently consulting on a document call 'Brexit and our Land', and there are specific proposals in that document that will have far-reaching implications for the rural economy in Wales. That consultation is happening whilst there hasn't been any kind of modelling or any...
Llyr Gruffydd: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary confirm whether her comments in the Farmers Guardian on 18 October, in which she stated that she will not consider maintaining some form of direct payment for farmers, even if the majority of respondents to 'Brexit and our Land' requested it, is the Welsh Government’s position? 224
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I have the article here. You've just told us that you will consider responses, but here you say, 'Asked whether she would consider maintaining some form of direct payment if the vast majority of respondents to the consultation requested it, she said: “No"'. Now, only last week you were trying to rewrite history about what Sue Hayman had said in comments about payments in England, and...
Llyr Gruffydd: As a brand-new member of this committee who wasn't fortunate enough to be party to a lot of the evidence received, I did thoroughly enjoy reading the report, and I did read, as well, the Government's responses to the recommendations. It's clear we are still facing significant challenges in meeting our climate change commitments here in Wales, and a reduction in emissions of 80 per cent by...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Discussing the weather is something that we as Welsh people delight in doing and, of course, 2018 has been of huge pleasure to many people when it comes to the weather. We recall the snow and cold weather at the beginning of the year, the endless rain of the spring, one of the hottest summers on record, and storm Callum in the autumn bringing a...
Llyr Gruffydd: I've talked in this Chamber before, of course, of how Plaid Cymru wants to see the establishment of a national energy company for Wales that would assist in our aim of ensuring that as much energy as is consumed in Wales is produced from renewable sources by 2035. That's ambitious but it’s also achievable. Other nations are moving far more quickly than us on this agenda. Germany, for...
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm not sure whether I enjoyed or I hated that experience, actually; it veered from one emotion to the other, from the consensus that David Melding was talking about, to something very different from Lee Waters. But, there we are, such is life. I don't think this place is boring if these are the kinds of debates that we have, but there we are. There are...
Llyr Gruffydd: The first amendment from the Government—we won’t be supporting amendment 1 because it’s an attempt to rewrite some history. It’s a simple statement, noting the conclusions of one of this Assembly’s committees, namely that the Government is likely to miss its targets on carbon emissions by 2020. We don’t need to fear that. That is, if that is likely to be the case, well, we have to...
Llyr Gruffydd: Passing this amendment from the Labour Government would make it a rather self-congratulatory motion, just listing what the Welsh Government is currently doing, and that, of course, would be in stark contrast to the central message of the IPCC report. The question isn't, 'What are we currently doing?' The question is, 'What are we going to do to go over and above what's currently happening?'...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Llywydd. I’m pleased to contribute to this Stage 1 debate to outline the Finance Committee’s recommendations in relation to the financial implications of the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Bill. The Finance Committee supports the general principles of the Bill and agrees that the provisions are necessary to sustain an accessible and affordable private rental sector in Wales....
Llyr Gruffydd: 1. What is the Cabinet Secretary's vision for the future of agriculture in Wales? OAQ52877
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. The agricultural sector is one of the key pillars of the Welsh language here in Wales, and you will be aware of the Government's responsibilities in light of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, where cultural and linguistic considerations are to be equally balanced with economic, environmental and social considerations. With that in mind, and...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Llywydd. The news that the Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales intends to scrap the role of the executive director for Wales is clearly going to come as a surprise to many people, and it will send a clear message in terms of the risk that Wales is being downgraded within that inspectorate. Can I ask the Cabinet Secretary what role she and the Welsh Government played in that...
Llyr Gruffydd: But what does that say about the relationship between the Government here, and other partners within the Planning Inspectorate, that such a decision can be considered without there having been adequate consultation with you as Cabinet Secretary and with the Government here? Our party, of course, has been calling for a very long time for an independent inspectorate for Wales. We see, in light...
Llyr Gruffydd: I think I hear you saying that the time has come for an independent Welsh inspectorate. Could you confirm whether that's the case?
Llyr Gruffydd: Excellent.
Llyr Gruffydd: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the settlement for local authorities in North Wales?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement—a bit of a scatter-gun statement, I think. You covered about 15 or 16 different policy areas within the welfare of animals subject area. I want to pick up on the £500,000 contribution, as well, to rural charities, because many of us have supported rural charities over the years, through contributions or involvement in various activities. But...
