Rhys ab Owen: Will the Minister make a statement regarding rural development fund spending in South Wales Central?
Rhys ab Owen: What discussions has the Welsh Government had about seeking powers over the determination of the local housing allowance?
Rhys ab Owen: 4. What assessment has the Minister made of the effectiveness of Welsh Government policies to ensure community safety in Cardiff? OQ59173
Rhys ab Owen: Last month, the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced that a Labour Westminster Government would bring in respect orders, a new form of anti-social behaviour orders popularised by Tony Blair in the late 1990s. Does the Minister agree with me, therefore, that the announcement by Yvette Cooper is likely to mean that the jagged edge of different approaches to policing and justice will...
Rhys ab Owen: 4. Will the Counsel General please provide an update on the tendering process for the level 7 legal apprenticeship programme? OQ59170
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Cwnsler Cyffredinol. Could you please outline, perhaps, the process you used in the first tendering process and how this can be changed to ensure a wider audience for the re-tender? Diolch yn fawr.
Rhys ab Owen: 7. What discussions has the Counsel General had with UK Government law officers about ensuring that Wales has the powers to make St David's Day a public holiday? OQ59171
Rhys ab Owen: On the first St David's Day of the National Assembly, back in 2000, there was a debate proposing that St David's Day should become a bank holiday. Like the debate last year, this we supported by all Members of the Assembly, as it was then. However, in 2002, Paul Murphy rejected the bid, and Peter Hain did likewise in 2005. Would a future Labour Secretary of State give a different response to...
Rhys ab Owen: Trefnydd, I'd like two statements, please, on housing issues, and I'm glad you've indicated already the willingness to give one. But firstly, could the Welsh Government provide an oral statement on the impact of the local housing allowance in Wales? The Bevan Foundation recently found that there's a significant gap between local housing allowance and rent, this leading into poverty and...
Rhys ab Owen: What discussions has the Welsh Government had with other public authorities regarding poor housing conditions in Cardiff for students from Africa?
Rhys ab Owen: 1. What assessment has the First Minister made of the impact on Wales of the two-year delay on the Birmingham to Crewe leg of the HS2 railway line? OQ59295
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Brif Weinidog. I don't want to dwell on the great train robbery that is HS2 for Wales, and I don't want to dwell on the comments of Keir Starmer at Llandudno recently, when he refused to commit to giving Wales its fair share of HS2. I don't expect you, Prif Weinidog, to write the next UK manifesto—albeit I'm sure it would be much better if your thumbprints were on it than...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I also welcome the commitments made in this statement as part of the co-operation agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government. I also agree with the comments made by Mabon ap Gwynfor. In visiting many of these developments, it's incredible to see how many other problems some of these developments have, outwith the problems in terms of fire safety....
Rhys ab Owen: I was very pleased to see that you've asked developers to sign legally binding contracts to complete the work. That was one concern that had been expressed to me with regard to the pact—that the pact itself would not be binding. I notice that you didn't give a timetable to my colleague Janet Finch-Saunders, but when do you expect all 11 developers to have signed the contract? And can I just...
Rhys ab Owen: We often discuss, in this place, about devolving justice, and you'll hear arguments being said that we can't possibly have a Welsh justice jurisdiction, but here we have it. Today, we have proof that there is a small Welsh jurisdiction within the Welsh Tribunals service that deals with—as Jenny Rathbone reminded us—very important aspects of daily life: mental health; education; housing....
Rhys ab Owen: There is no hearing fee in terms of the tribunals' cases; there is no need for a solicitor for cases in the tribunals. They've been designed so that it's easy for people to understand. It's done in a way that people are advised a great deal. It's much less adversarial than the courts system. So, what are the Counsel General's plans to expand that and to make it even easier for people to...
Rhys ab Owen: Just to finish with the independence point—and I think this is important—as Sir Wyn Williams did say, justice must be seen to be done. The Welsh Tribunals unit—as you mentioned, and as has been stressed in every annual report by Sir Wyn—is independent, but the fact is it is based in Cathays Park, in the headquarters of Welsh Government, which could be a party in a tribunal. If this...
Rhys ab Owen: 7. What assessment has the Minister made of the effectiveness of rural development fund spending on the Down to Earth project? OQ59296
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Trefnydd. A number of constituents in the Whitchurch area of Cardiff have contacted me on the Down to Earth project. What they want to know and what I also want to know too is whether the Minister can explain why rural development funding is being used to build on one of the green sites in the north of the capital city, and how an urban area such as our capital qualifies...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. My colleagues Janet Finch-Saunders, Mike Hedges and Jane Dodds have asked for a minute each in this debate. Oh, I think Mike has gone, so maybe Mike doesn't want a minute now. We are discussing building safety in this place because of the Grenfell tragedy. Unfortunately, it took 72 people, and the homelessness and the trauma of many others, to expose the building...
