Mr Neil Hamilton: Sorry, I wasn't aware that the First Minister had finished as there was so much noise coming from other parts of the Chamber. The whole point of my question was not about social care, but about beds in hospitals and hospital care. The consultants who wrote to the First Minister last week said that emergency departments in Wales were, in some ways, worse than in England. Staff are arriving for...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I, too, welcome the statement by the Cabinet Secretary. It's a good news story, and I welcome the initiatives that the Government has taken to increase the scope of Welsh branding and also the scope for exports of our products. The Cabinet Secretary once described herself to me as a glass-half-full rather than a glass-half-empty person, and I'm glad to see, therefore, the note of optimism...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. We're all awaiting with interest the Cabinet Secretary's decision on the shortlist for new taxes to be published shortly, but does he agree with me that, whilst no tax is ever going to be popular, there'll be greater acceptability amongst the public if they can directly relate the costs that they will incur with the benefits that they will receive? Some of these...
Mr Neil Hamilton: The Cabinet Secretary, like myself, is perennially youthful—we're seeing the horizon recede further from us as we get older—but I accept the general point that he makes. Given that adult social care costs are, on the Health Foundation's predictions, likely to rise by 4 per cent per annum for the next 20 years, and that costs should rise probably to about £2.5 billion by 2030, clearly...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Another way in which the national insurance fund has been described, of course, is as 'the world's largest Ponzi scheme', as it has developed. I hope we will never recreate something in that image here in Wales. What we have the opportunity to do here, I think, is something similar to what Norway has done, for example, in relation to the windfall that it obtained when North Sea oil came on...
Mr Neil Hamilton: The health Secretary is a kind of professional fire blanket for the failures of the health boards all over Wales and Hywel Dda is no exception to that. Of course, Withybush isn't going to close in the immediate future, but the real question is: is it going to close in due course following a death by a thousand cuts? What we've seen in recent times is the progressive diminution of health...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Has the First Minister seen the report from the Centre for Cities entitled 'Cities Outlook 2018', which estimates that 112,000 jobs may be at risk in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea as a result of automation? There are those who unkindly say, of course, that Welsh Labour has led the way in robotics, but there is a serious point here as well, because the areas that are most likely to be affected...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I have no difficulty in agreeing with the First Minister on that, and, indeed, in paying tribute to the role of Lee Waters in raising this issue in the Assembly, but there are other things that can be done as well. The areas that are most likely to be affected by this, again, according to not only this report but also one by another organisation called Future Advocacy—it says that one in...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, I certainly don't agree with that at all. It's not the case that trade will suddenly seize up if we leave the single market. It'll affect certain sectors more than others, that's certainly true, but there's massive scope for import substitution given the huge trade deficit that we've got with the EU—but I don't want to pursue that line any further now. The other point that I want to...
Mr Neil Hamilton: 10. Will the First Minister make a statement on the governance of NHS Wales health boards? OAQ51686
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, one of the areas of governance that perhaps needs to be reconsidered as a result of today is the maintenance of confidentiality between health boards and Assembly Members. Perhaps the First Minister will address that in response, but the question I wanted to raise, prompted by what's going on in Hywel Dda at the moment, is the level of public dissatisfaction with the method by which...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I welcome the statement and I'm happy to commend the leader of the house for the energy and commitment that she has brought to this part of her duties. I think it's fair to commend Ministers when they have been successful at what they're doing, and I appreciate the practical difficulties that she's had to grapple with. At the end of the day, no reasonable person could disagree with what she...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Broadly speaking, I welcome what the Finance Secretary is doing in these regulations. I support the devolution of taxes to Wales because I see it as one way in which we can make Wales more competitive and attractive for people to come and live and work here. If the taxes are used in a sensible way, then they can help to boost the size of the Welsh economy and the tax base that that brings...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I agree with the Cabinet Secretary that transparency is a good thing and that there's no reason why studies of this kind should not be published, because we can then draw our own conclusions, as he says. But would he agree with me that an attempt to predict what the world's going to look like in 15 years' time, especially when those predictions come from economists, is likely to be about...
Mr Neil Hamilton: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the financial support that has been provided to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board? OAQ51731
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, I thank the First Minister for that succinct reply. The health Secretary said recently, in effect, that things have got worse in 2017-18 for Betsi Cadwaladr, despite special measures. He said in particular it's been disheartening and unacceptable that, during 2017-18, issues have escalated in relation to the financial position and some key areas of performance. Betsi Cadwaladr has now...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I'll have my apology next week, shall I, at the start of questions? [Interruption.]
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'd like to follow up the last question that was asked by the leader of Plaid Cymru a moment ago. She referred to this excellent report from the external affairs committee on how the Welsh Government is preparing for Brexit. In the Chairman's introduction to the report, as she said, there is a need for the Welsh Government to be doing more in terms of scenario...
Mr Neil Hamilton: But the First Minister is still fighting the referendum campaign. My question was a practical one—that other Governments and regional Assemblies are doing something to prepare for the possibility of a 'no deal' Brexit. That will not come about, if it comes about at all, because of what the UK Government wants; it will come about because the EU will irrationally decide to cut off its nose...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Thank you. Exactly. Why is the Welsh Government not doing anything at all, so far as I can tell, to prepare for the possibility of a 'no deal' Brexit, to help Welsh businesses to cope with the transition period that is inevitable, whatever the outcome?
