Mr Simon Thomas: I'm very pleased to contribute to this debate and to have been part of bringing together the report as well. We're sometime accused of making policy on the hoof—we actually made policy on the foot, walking the woodlands of Wales, in this regard, and I think we were all better for it. It was a very good demonstration of what forestry can do for Wales—it's good for our health, good for the...
Mr Simon Thomas: Yes, if it's a—.
Mr Simon Thomas: I would welcome that because I think it's more honest and allows us to perhaps have that dialogue and sometimes creative tension that would emerge in a different way forward perhaps, but simply washing us in whitewash, if you like, or a bit of wool pulled over our eyes that we are being supported when we're not, I think is less beneficial. So, let's watch that one. I think one of the things...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the Minister give way? Just on the point about decarbonisation, I think we also need to bear in mind that we import a significant amount of timber. I think 80 per cent of the timber we use is actually imported, and there's a huge way in which we can meet our objectives under the future generations Act by growing more of our own timber here and using that—I welcome what you said about...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on hospital services for Powys residents?
Mr Simon Thomas: Just as an example, the Llangattock litter group in Powys, in October last year, just in collecting litter in the village, found 266 coffee cups that had been thrown away. Now, you don’t need a latte levy in Wales, because, as you said, there is a proposal for a levy on single-use plastics as one of the four possible new taxes that you’re considering. When will we hear which tax you have...
Mr Simon Thomas: It should be a national target, surely, that we shouldn’t be exporting our waste and, specifically, that we shouldn’t be exporting plastic waste. Yes, we should reduce our usage of plastics, as Julie Morgan suggested, but, when plastic is used, ensure that it is also reused even before it’s recycled. Now, reuse relies on a system of some sort of deposit-return scheme. There is...
Mr Simon Thomas: If I can say, we've been on recess for three weeks, so I think I've got one a week to raise with the business manager, if I can just about do that. First of all, can I ask for a debate in Government time on what we've just been discussing in questions, which is around the condition of the NHS at the moment in Wales, accepting there are a lot of winter pressures there? But my particular...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the Cabinet Secretary give way?
Mr Simon Thomas: Just on that point, she'll be aware that, today, some of the charities involved in marine conservation have said that her plan has significant negative consequences. Does she recognise that as a valid criticism, or does she think that they have overstated their case?
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you very much, Llywydd. If I may start by noting that we are discussing the draft Wales marine plan today and we will have another discussion tomorrow on the climate change committee’s report on this very subject, I just hope that the next time something like this happens, the Business Committee will be more creative in terms of having a debate on Government proposals applied and...
Mr Simon Thomas: When was the last time that the target of 95 percent of patients waiting less than four hours before being seen in an accident and emergency unit in the Hywel Dda health board area was achieved?
Mr Simon Thomas: I would like to ask you, Cabinet Secretary, around the mid Wales growth deal, because I was very interested in the announcement in the budget, so I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer following the budget and had a reply back on 19 December, which says as follows: that the Government is open to proposals for a mid Wales growth deal. That's not the same as a commitment, which has been...
Mr Simon Thomas: 2. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the Acts of Union 1535-42 on the Welsh constitution? OAQ51493
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you very much for that response. I’ve been waiting five centuries to ask this question, of course, and I’m glad to have an answer from the Counsel General—that’s the purpose of having these sessions with him. But what happened with the Acts of Union was that the principality of Wales was abolished, and as Wales became part of England, to all intents and purposes, and was under...
Mr Simon Thomas: 4. What discussions has the Counsel General held regarding the Welsh Government's ability to use its new powers under the Wales Act 2017? OAQ51494
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you for that response. I just wanted to ask the Counsel General in broader terms about the taxation powers that his colleague sitting next to him, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, is currently considering, namely the four new taxes and the possibility of one tax being brought forward. I support the plastics tax and I will be repeating that, and it was good to see that the Assembly...
Mr Simon Thomas: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the impact of the EU Withdrawal Bill on Wales, given that the UK Government has not tabled amendments relating to devolution to the Bill? 97
Mr Simon Thomas: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for the confirmation that the promised amendments that related around the devolution settlement and, of course, clause 11 in particular, have not been tabled in the House of Commons, as promised by a Secretary of State, albeit for Scotland, but on behalf of the whole of the UK Government? I think that's extremely disappointing. It's doubly disappointing...
Mr Simon Thomas: Can I first declare that I'm a community investor, as many hundreds of local people are, in this scheme? I do that because many people in the Swansea bay area think that this is the future, not just for Swansea bay, as you say, but for energy around the Welsh coast as well. There's much to be gained from it. I very much welcome the actions by the First Minister. I appreciate how the Cabinet...
