Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, and today is a historic day, of course, because we will vote today to set the Welsh rates of income tax in Wales for the first time in many centuries. Now, the powers in question expand on the tax-raising powers devolved in April of last year, and these powers, as we’ve already heard, should provide the Welsh Government with the ability to make important decisions and...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m very pleased to speak in this debate today on the final budget, which has changed, of course, from the draft budget that we scrutinised as a committee in the autumn. The final budget does show the consequentials that came from the UK autumn budget, of course, in 2018. It also shows a reduction of £40 million in income tax forecasts, a £2...
Llyr Gruffydd: 1. What plans does the Welsh Government have to boost the economy of rural towns? OAQ53189
Llyr Gruffydd: We've seen, of course, an increase in the number of retailers who have gone into administration. I think it's up 6 per cent since 2017, and, of course, we're hearing that it's been quite a tough Christmas for businesses on the high street. Now, we need a major transformation in retail and in the way the high street operates and presents itself, particularly more challenging, I'd imagine, in...
Llyr Gruffydd: I’m sure we can all welcome the fact that there’s going to be investment in stations in the context of the Welsh railways. I don’t know if the Minister is aware, but Network Rail has been working closely with organisations trying to prevent suicides. There were 237 suicides on the British railways in 2016—4.5 per cent of all suicides within Britain. Now, research shows that people who...
Llyr Gruffydd: 1. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of any kind of Brexit on the economy of north-east Wales? OAQ53198
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much. In 2016, exports from the counties of Flintshire and Wrexham were worth £5 billion and 87 per cent of those were exported to the European Union. Now, do you agree that the best way of maintaining that level of exports and all of the jobs and economic benefits that come in their wake is to remain within the European Union? If you do agree, what’s your Government doing...
Llyr Gruffydd: The point has been made previously—there is a risk, of course, that we misunderstand the culture of Japan here, because losing face is difficult for us in the west but it’s even more difficult for the Japanese. And there is a risk, perhaps, whilst we think that the project is on hold, that, in reality, that’s their way of saying that it simply isn’t going to happen. So, I do think we...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I’m pleased to contribute to this Stage 1 debate in relation to the financial implications of the Autism (Wales) Bill. Now, on this occasion, the Finance Committee was unable to reach a conclusion on the validity of the regulatory impact assessment. This is not a position that the committee wants to take, as it does not help Assembly Members to...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I thank everyone who's contributed to this colourful debate this afternoon? I think that that, of course, reflects the strong feeling and the increasingly polarised feelings in this debate, and that is a shame, but of course that is the challenge we're facing in terms of finding a way out of this huge conundrum. And Adam Price struck a sobering note at the very outset, giving us a picture...
Llyr Gruffydd: And some of the farming concerns have been well rehearsed, of course, but particularly recently in the UK farming round-table, where a number of the major and immediate impacts of a potential 'no deal' Brexit were aired. We know, for example, that there could be huge implications for animal-based products such as meat, eggs and dairy that are being exported currently to the EU. They will only...
Llyr Gruffydd: Here we go. You're the personification of this delusion of grandeur that the British empire still exists. [Interruption.] No, it's true. And that's what gets me about a lot of this debate. It gets me because some of the rhetoric around Brexit and leaving the EU—it has echoes of that wartime rhetoric, doesn't it? The Dunkirk spirit, digging for victory. This is meant to be peacetime. It's...
Llyr Gruffydd: I hear the concerns about 'Brexit and our land'. Of course, the best way to mitigate those concerns is to not have Brexit in the first place, but there we are; that's for another statement, I suppose. I don't need anybody to tell me how bad a 'no deal' Brexit would be for Wales. I'm in the same camp as the Minister; I've been pretty clear about that from day one, and I have to say, in...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Llywydd. As the announcement on suspension of Wylfa Newydd underlines how problematic the development of the next generation of nuclear power stations is, there is a risk now that we find ourselves delaying and waiting, possibly, for years for something to happen, and nobody wants to see the island or, indeed, north Wales more broadly in a state of limbo as a result of that. So,...
Llyr Gruffydd: I find it interesting that you say that your plans in terms of renewable energy haven’t been affected by this decision. That’s exactly what should have happened, in my view. We need to redouble our efforts in this area in order to deliver the potential that we have. In his manifesto to become leader of the Labour Party in Wales, Mark Drakeford, of course, committed to creating—or to...
Llyr Gruffydd: We had a ministerial statement from you yesterday, of course, about your preparations for the possibility of crashing out of the EU without a deal and the adverse impact that would have on agriculture and other sectors in Wales. In that statement, you said, and I quote, that you're 'committed to working with key sectors to design support mechanisms around these serious challenges'. Yet...
Llyr Gruffydd: But there's an even more fundamental issue here, of course: what is the local housing need? Your Government has actually told local authorities now that your population projections are outdated, and they were the basis, of course, for the local development plans that people are concerned about, and we've seen the allocation of additional land for housing and a need that, clearly, simply just...
Llyr Gruffydd: As part of the response to winter pressures, the Red Cross has been going into A&E departments in some Welsh hospitals. They have been of great assistance in two of the three main hospitals in North Wales and have assisted almost 5,500 patients, which represents more than half of the patients that have been assisted in Wales, in Wrexham Maelor and Glan Clwyd hospitals. You may say that the...
Llyr Gruffydd: 8. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh dimension within the new curriculum? OAQ53364
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for your response. In responses to other Members, you have made it clear that, certainly, you don't want to provide a long list of subjects and areas that should be taught, and I understand the sentiment and agree to a large extent with that, but what I'm struggling with is how then are you going to strike the balance in ensuring that teachers have the flexibility to teach what they...
