Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Llywydd.
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, if they have finished barracking across the Chamber, I will ask my question. Nursing students at Bangor are concerned about a possible threat to their courses because of cuts at the university. At a time when we need far more nurses in north Wales to fill hundreds of vacancies, there are questions arising as to whether departments within the Government here are speaking to each other,...
Llyr Gruffydd: 2. What assessment has the First Minister made of the impact that leaving the EU without a deal would have on the Welsh Government's legislative programme? OAQ53402
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. There is a perception, certainly, that the Welsh Government has now become overly reliant on allowing the UK Government to legislate on our behalf. So, can you confirm that the Government's policy is that this place should legislate on behalf of Wales unless there are specific reasons for not doing so, and not, as some are suggesting, that there is an...
Llyr Gruffydd: 8. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the effectiveness of the inter-governmental agreement on the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018? OAQ53401
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I’m not sure what your definition of working within the spirit of the agreement is, because I sit in committee after committee listening to the environment Minister, for example, complaining that there has been no collaboration on developing things such as the fisheries Act of the UK and the UK agriculture Act. In written evidence—paragraph after paragraph saying things like:
Llyr Gruffydd: 'the provisions relating to Schedule 1 were drafted by parliamentary counsel following instruction from UK Government. Welsh Ministers were not consulted on the instructions',
Llyr Gruffydd: and then going on to complain about the legislation expected of us here in Wales. So, isn’t it now apparent that the experiences of this Government, and the Ministers of this Government, particularly in the context of the two Bills that I referred to, demonstrate that the UK Government has no real desire to collaborate with the devolved administrations in order to develop legislation in...
Llyr Gruffydd: I'm grateful to the Public Accounts Committee for its report. To me, it raises two far more fundamental questions, perhaps, than some of the details that we have been discussing. Both are questions—one related to the scope of the responsibilities of NRW, and the other related to the ability or the capacity of NRW to deliver against those responsibilities. Now, the scope of the...
Llyr Gruffydd: Now, the non-flood grant in aid allocation from Welsh Government is down 5 per cent in this financial year, and that followed—[Interruption.] Oh, go on.
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I'm quoting the figure from the environment committee this morning. It's down 5 per cent in this current financial year, not in the next financial year. That's where we differ on that figure. But that's against, as well, a flat settlement last year—there we are, you've got me confused now as well—last year. So, we know exactly what that situation is. And those difficulties are now...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I thank Mike Hedges for his comments? He has reminded me of the irony here that Plaid Cymru has had to table a motion in order to try and persuade the Labour Government to commit themselves to their own policy. So, that tells us something about where this Government finds itself at the moment. And this is the party, of course, that claims to be 'for the many'—no. 'For the many, not the...
Llyr Gruffydd: This proposal to scrap the Welsh independent living grant was nothing more, as we've heard, of course, than the Welsh Government following the lead of the UK Government. And the pause announced yesterday is certainly a step in the right direction. And we can do things differently here in Wales. We can show that we value the most vulnerable in society and that we look after each other as a...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I thank the Minister for her statement? And may I say at the outset that I, of course, recognise the contribution that the Warm Homes programme and Nest and Arbed have made in seeking to tackle fuel poverty? But I will say what I always say when I refer to these programmes: the scale of the programmes doesn't correspond to the scale of the challenge facing us in Wales, from the point of...
Llyr Gruffydd: So, this Government is spending £25 million per year on tackling fuel poverty when it's costing the NHS at least £100 million a year to deal with some of its consequences. And, of course, that £100 million doesn't include the cost of tackling the respiratory consequences of living in a cold and damp home, the mental health consequences of fuel debt et cetera, et cetera. So, what does it...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, we're a matter of weeks now away from leaving the European Union. As things stand, it seems that we may leave without an agreement or a transition deal even. This, of course, places a clear threat to the environment in Wales, and to our rights as citizens. Because, to date, we haven't seen any Welsh Government proposals on the environmental governance structures...
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I have to appreciate some things, but I think you need to appreciate as well that you've had well over two years to get ready for this, and now we've got 37 or so days left until we leave the European Union, until our environment is exposed to all of these threats that many of us are concerned about. Our current environmental governance structures through the EU provide a free and...
Llyr Gruffydd: But why is it taking so long? I say again, you've had over two years to ready yourself for this. It seems to be tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Maybe we should call you the 'maniana Minister', because where is the finishing line on this? Well, I'll tell you where it is: it's in 37 days time when we leave, potentially, the European Union, and without these arrangements in place our...
Llyr Gruffydd: 5. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that developers keep to planning obligations? OAQ53468
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I disagree with that because there are regular examples now of cases where developers, even once they’ve been given planning consent, refuse to provide the necessary percentage of affordable homes that they have agreed to provide as part of the planning conditions, and the reason, very often, is because they can’t make sufficient profit. Now, if there isn’t a requirement for them...
