Llyr Gruffydd: I didn't ask you to deconstruct CAP and the basic payments; I asked you whether what you're proposing will actually deliver the outcomes that you're critical of the current system of not delivering, because, of course you don't know, do you? And that's the reality, because you haven't done the modelling, you haven't done the piloting—there's no evidence that your never-before-tried...
Llyr Gruffydd: So, when that modelling, when that impact assessment and when the piloting will have been done, if that eventually shows that retaining a form of basic payment is actually necessary to achieve some of the outcomes that you've listed, or at least to keep farmers on the land in order to achieve the environmental, the economic, the social and the cultural outcomes that you've been at pains to...
Llyr Gruffydd: Adam Price.
Llyr Gruffydd: I want to use this opportunity to congratulate the community of Llangollen on securing the status of being a plastic-free community from the Surfers Against Sewage organisation. The thanks go to the untiring work of volunteers such as Mair Davies and groups such as Friends of the Earth in Llangollen. This was the first community in north Wales to secure this recognition, but I’m pleased to...
Llyr Gruffydd: As part of the programme, local businesses have pledged to reduce plastic use in a wide variety of ways, from ditching the straw, to changing to paper bags, bulk buying, refilling containers, removing single-use serving items, ditching plastic cutlery and the removal of plastic packaging. There have also been a variety of events in the town to help reduce plastic, from coffee mornings to...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you. I appreciate you accepting this intervention. I just wanted to have it on record, actually, that our concerns in relation to this proposed legislation reflect those of the children's commissioner. So, it's easy enough for you to stand here and say that we've got it all wrong; it's not just us, and I am surprised that you're taking such a dismissive attitude to some of the comments...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Llywydd. And may I also welcome this motion from the Member and say that myself and Plaid Cymru will be fully supportive of this? Indeed, Plaid Cymru tabled a similar motion ourselves last year, so it’s no surprise that we will support the principle today. We do need urgent action in order to prevent plastics from further polluting our rivers, seas and environment. It’s...
Llyr Gruffydd: The polluter pays principle, of course, which means that if you create the waste, then you should be the ones who pay the cost of dealing with its consequences. And in this case, I think it's right that we should introduce extended producer responsibility, and require the companies who are responsible for producing so much of our waste to contribute to the costs of treating that waste. We've...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'll start by referring to St Asaph in my region. Many of you will know St Asaph—a very small, perfectly formed city, famed for its cathedral and its music festival. But I was quite taken aback, actually, in 2014, when St Asaph was revealed as Wales's sewage-blockage capital—you don't see that on the road sign when you drive in, clearly. [Laughter.] But, the fact...
Llyr Gruffydd: I'm pleased to hear what the First Minister has said. Of course, there is an economic question here too, because, although there are planning and environmental implications, what we have seen is an explosion in the number of units of this kind that have developed across Wales. We may not be far off the point where we are over-producing. And while it is right that we encourage farmers to...
Llyr Gruffydd: 5. What are the Welsh Government's plans to sustain rural communities? OAQ53155
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. It's almost five years now since the Wales Rural Observatory was drawn to an end. Now, that, of course, contributed dozens of very substantial reports that contributed to the development of rural policy here in Wales. The relevant Minister at the time, in scrapping the funding, said that the work would continue in less costly ways. Now, I'm not sure if that work...
Llyr Gruffydd: Just a very brief contribution from me as Chair of the Finance Committee, just to express disappointment that the Government has decided to proceed with this debate today, because, as we've already heard earlier, we are to have a debate tomorrow on the cost of caring for an ageing population, which is a report compiled by the committee on this very same topic. I did ask the Government to...
Llyr Gruffydd: One of the major frustrations that I hear expressed by teachers, parents and schools is the shortage of devices in classrooms—the number of tablets or laptops that are available for pupils to use. I know from personal experience that many schools are now reliant on the voluntary efforts of parents and PTAs in raising funds to buy tablets and laptops. Now, that, of course, would account to...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm very pleased to speak in this debate today, as Chair of the Finance Committee, on our inquiry into the cost of caring for an ageing population. And although I wasn't a member of the committee during the evidence sessions, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to those sessions, and to the previous Minister for Children, Older People...
Llyr Gruffydd: We heard of a crisis in the recruitment and retention of social care staff, with low pay and perceived low social status being contributory factors. The social care sector is especially susceptible to additional workforce pressures, as a high proportion of the staff themselves are ageing. And we are also particularly concerned about claims that staff, after being trained by care providers,...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Could I thank everyone who has contributed to the debate? I won’t refer to every contribution, please forgive me, but I’ll just endorse a couple of the points that have been made. Certainly, in the contribution made by Nick Ramsay, the reference to the level of salaries within the sector compared to those stacking shelves—I think that is...
Llyr Gruffydd: Nick mentioned the references that were highlighted during our work around the need for a UK-wide resolution, and I think that probably reflects the view of the committee or its preference in that respect, but, of course, if that isn't forthcoming then we need to get on with it and do it ourselves. I'm hopeful that the Government is of the same belief, because, as Nick said, we're in an...
Llyr Gruffydd: I also want to thank Dai Lloyd for his contribution this afternoon. There is an opportunity here, as Dai suggested, for us to be ambitious and to be innovative. We need to show the same ambition, the same innovation and the same bravery and courage that we saw when the NHS was created, and not throw money at a failing system. That’s not the answer, as Dai said. We need to change the system...
Llyr Gruffydd: What criteria does the Welsh Government use to measure the success of the health service in North Wales?
