Mr Simon Thomas: I’m grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for attempting to answer the question at least, but of course these events have created a great deal of concern to many people in the area and, more broadly, to people who care for animals and their welfare at zoos. Can the Cabinet Secretary confirm that the Government has been in contact with the county council over this period? What discussions and...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I thank Suzy Davies for opening this debate this afternoon, and also for appearing before the Finance Committee, so that this draft budget could be scrutinised, and responding so positively to the recommendations of the Finance Committee. It was good to hear that the recommendations were accepted, and I’m looking forward to co-operating with the Commission in...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Llywydd. Well, one thing that would transform the economy of west Wales would be to see a tidal lagoon being allowed in Swansea bay, in terms of employment, skills and in transforming the way that we deal with energy in Wales, and also creating pathways for young people so that they can stay in west Wales and stay in our Welsh communities too. Wednesday is, realistically, perhaps...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Llywydd. Your Cabinet Secretary for finance and local government told the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee yesterday that you were close to agreeing a framework for agriculture as we exit the European Union. Farmers in Pembrokeshire and elsewhere will be very interested in understanding what that framework is, and what that agreement entails. When will we hear...
Mr Simon Thomas: Is it possible to have a statement from the Welsh Government around the research done by University College London that was published in The BMJ last week on relating avoidable deaths with austerity policies? That research was England-based, but looked at the correlation between expenditure and austerity and early deaths. It saw that, in England, whereas early deaths had been falling up until...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the First Minister make a statement on banning fracking in Wales?
Mr Simon Thomas: If I could ask the Cabinet Secretary—. As he prepares himself—. One of the most exciting proposals I’ve seen for transforming transport in the region is reopening the rail line between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth. I think that’s an investment that will change people’s attitudes in west Wales, which will keep communities together and attract investment. We all know, and he himself...
Mr Simon Thomas: May I also welcome Jeremy Miles to his new post, despite attempting to prevent him from taking up his post up last week? I’m looking forward to working with him on these issues, and, certainly, Plaid Cymru has a great interest in what he has just outlined. Could he just explain, as the First Minister has established the commission, what role he will have now as the new Counsel General to...
Mr Simon Thomas: 4. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the legal basis for the transitional period that will exist after Article 50 comes into force? OAQ51318
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you for that answer. It was a comprehensive answer, considering you said you couldn’t answer. And I’m grateful to you for that, because there is a question that does have an impact on decisions in this place, especially in the fields of agriculture and environment, namely that there is no certainty at the moment that this transitional period, which everybody takes for granted will...
Mr Simon Thomas: 6. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the Assembly's ability to legislate under the Wales Act 2017 to ban fracking? OAQ51319
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you to the Counsel General for confirming the legal situation. I asked the question to the First Minister yesterday. We didn’t reach it on the list, but the First Minister answered to me that it was the intention of the Welsh Government, with these powers, to look at planning policy in order to ban fracking in Wales. May I tell the Counsel General and the Assembly that I have received...
Mr Simon Thomas: Prohibiting the grant of new licences to search and bore for and get petroleum in the Welsh onshore area by means of fracking and CBM.
Mr Simon Thomas: Therefore, it is clear to me that there are options for the Government here in terms of planning policy against fracking, or, indeed, a legal Act. So, will the Counsel General be working, therefore, with the First Minister to ensure that we have those options by the end of the new legal year, as it were, when this legislation comes into force next April, so that the Assembly can take the...
Mr Simon Thomas: Would the Member give way?
Mr Simon Thomas: I'm grateful to the Member. I also would like clarification on behalf of scores—if not hundreds—of my constituents by now who have been told, 'Everything will be done by the end of this year', and are still awaiting confirmation of that. Can he share with the Chamber whether the committee were able to ascertain the number of delayed contracts in that position, and whether it was likely or...
Mr Simon Thomas: I’m afraid that I can’t share the contentment that some have with the progress made under this contract, or in general with broadband in Wales. Vikki Howells mentioned that only one out of every 25 homes has no access to broadband, but it appears to me, through the letters that I have, that whole villages are full of these one-in-25 homes in the area that I represent. By now, letters...
Mr Simon Thomas: Now, I'm delighted to see that the Minister has retained her responsibility for this. Perhaps there's a bit of copper wire that's keeping her, around her ankles or something, which refuses to let her go. She will know, because she's signed many a letter to me, just how much correspondence we've had over the last few months, as we come to the end of this period. I could write her letters for...
Mr Simon Thomas: Would you give way on that?
Mr Simon Thomas: I don't want to detain us too much on the details of what might be the successor scheme, but is she suggesting that there could be alternatives to Openreach and BT? And secondly, is she also looking at this in a technology-free sort of way, if you like? Because we've just had an announcement, for example, in the budget today of 5G investment, and in some parts I think we could be...
