David Melding: Will the First Minister make a statement on support for active travel in Wales?
David Melding: Cabinet Secretary, perhaps you'd like to join with me in congratulating the vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, Colin Riordan, who launched today their sustainability strategy and how they're going to help the staff of the university and the students to cycle between facilities—and he cycled to the barrage, where they launched this policy—and that's what we need. We also need the...
David Melding: 8. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the impact that co-operatives have on the Welsh economy? OAQ52279
David Melding: Cabinet Secretary, I note from the Wales Co-operative Centre's last annual report that they helped develop four housing co-operative schemes, and I really believe that this is a sector that needs further development. Now, we know that shared ownership harnesses innovation, and innovation accounts for 70 per cent of long-term economic growth in the UK, and I do think the use of co-operatives...
David Melding: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Indeed, I am delighted to move the motion and open this debate this afternoon. For the first time in history, most of the world's population live in urban communities. In 2010 it was calculated that around 66 per cent of the Welsh population lived in its urban areas and this percentage has continued to grow year on year. This really should be no surprise to any of...
David Melding: Sure.
David Melding: Well, it needs to be at the heart of that vision, and I certainly think that the greater scope it offers for planning and regional development is very, very important. But our vision is, as you say, set out in that paper, and we think it’s fully compatible with the co-operation we’re seeing between the UK and the Welsh Government. But we have seen, perhaps to highlight the concern...
David Melding: We've not just published a strategy for cities; it's very important that we emphasise urban areas and you can look at the south Wales Valleys area as being, potentially, a more interconnected urban area. If you're looking at Swansea and then stretching across to Llanelli and beyond, it is very important. I accept that there is a danger you can suck too much into the core of these city...
David Melding: Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this debate? I think Simon ranged far and wide and certainly beyond the wording of the motion, but, I think, outlined this whole area of policy and the challenges and shortcomings he sees in it, and it was very interesting, some of which I sympathise with. But can I just unequivocally put on record, as I did last year when we debated this very...
David Melding: I accept that, but I think the consequences, practically, of what you are proposing would go far deeper than that, and if I have time, I will touch on those. I don't talk about this lightly. Energy prices are high and they are difficult to understand, and perhaps there's a place for better co-operation between the state and the private sector. So, reform in this area is certainly required....
David Melding: As we heard, they are moving to a mixed system—more state intervention, but not excluding the private sector. I'm happy to look at the models that work, and as an empirical Tory, I can see no other policy being appropriate than one that is seen to work in practice. As I said, I'm for reform and I think that indicates that the current model dominated by the six giants is not delivering the...
David Melding: I think the real issue is the extent of what Plaid Cymru are calling for: what would it amount to? And I noticed in your spring conference, Adam Price was a bit more candid, calling for a connected Wales, creating an national energy grid with a national energy company connecting locally owned electricity-generating companies in every part of Wales. Now, it does seem to me that this company...
David Melding: First Minister, many cities around the world are striving to become carbon neutral, some by as early as 2025, and this would obviously have a significant impact on air quality. The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has brought forward their target for carbon neutrality by a decade. We in the Welsh Conservatives have recognised the need for greater ambition here and have called for...
David Melding: Can I begin by broadly welcoming this legislative initiative? It follows the operation of a similar measure in Scotland from 2012, and there's proposed legislation at Westminster; I think that was launched last month. So, there's a clear public need for reform in this area of law, and the Bill will seek to create a more transparent private rented sector and market, and we do support those...
David Melding: Could I just intervene—
David Melding: We know the initial rate the Government is setting when it comes to land transaction tax, and it does seem odd to have this debate on this hugely important principle, which I broadly support, but we can't do anything to set the original rate. So, you can go high, you can go middle, you can go low. We can't say. You'll have this power immediately from regulation to do that and that does not...
David Melding: Will the First Minister make a statement on building new houses in Wales?
David Melding: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Minister, last month I welcomed the announcement that the Welsh Government's new economic contract will require businesses to have proposals to become carbon light or free. It is crucial that the Welsh Government sets standards to improve the green credentials of businesses in Wales, especially if we're going to invest and support those companies using public money....
David Melding: Llywydd, on this side of the house, can I extend our deepest condolences to Martin's family? Minister, to demonstrate that the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 is being integrated across Government, it is vital that the resilience goals reflected in the contract by calling on businesses to demonstrate how they will contribute towards, for instance, sustainable management of...
David Melding: Minister, I'm sure you'll join with me in commending the work of WWF, which has looked at this area of Government policy and would like to see more action. They've come up with some very specific ideas, including reducing the use of resources through increasing business resource sufficiency and resourcing from sustainable certified producers. Additionally, WWF suggests that we could improve...
