David Rowlands: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. So, Brexit is done. The UK is no longer a member state of the European Union. In this sense, at least, a very significant if not historic one, the outcome of the 2016 referendum has finally been honoured. But how done is done? And what happens next? While Brexit to date has hardly been a walk in the park, much of the real work and hard decisions lie ahead. In the first...
David Rowlands: Companies who trade and make vast profits in the UK should be made to pay tax on their goods and services to the UK Treasury, not the Irish Treasury, which now occurs using the dog-legged tax avoidance system—a system said to be employed by Amazon, Dell, Google, Starbucks, Facebook and others to take advantage of Ireland's lower corporation tax rates. So, although the vast profits made by...
David Rowlands: Could we have a statement, Minister, with reference to comments about the new education curriculum by a number of academics and educationalists? Chief amongst these are the Welsh Local Government Association and the National Association of Headteachers Cymru. Both contend that the challenge in implementing it is enormous. This follows on from the Association of Directors of Education in Wales...
David Rowlands: 1. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that local government reorganisation does not result in higher costs for taxpayers? OAQ55148
David Rowlands: I thank you for that answer, Minister. In the Welsh Labour manifesto for the 2016 Welsh Assembly elections, there was a commitment to create stronger, larger local authorities that would lead to devolution of powers from Cardiff bay. We know that your predecessor told us that councils had to change, or he would make them change. Can you please explain why your manifesto pledge was not adhered to?
David Rowlands: I think we ought to recognise the connections we have with Italy through the Italian people who came to Wales, obviously, in the last century, and populated our Valleys, and the fact that, in Bardi, it's said that the Welsh language was spoken more than Italian at one period in time there.
David Rowlands: When we refer to looked-after children, we mean those children and young people looked after by the state in a manner described under UK and Wales legislation, whether that be in state institutions or under some form of fostering arrangement. Looked-after children and children living in state care remain, unfortunately, one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. The number of children...
David Rowlands: —removed from the care of the family, including—. Of course I will.
David Rowlands: I certainly acknowledge that, Rhianon, but it does appear from the statistics that we have in Wales, compared to those they have in England and the other parts of the UK, that there seems to be an over-zealous approach being used in Wales by those social workers who are looking after these children, and I'll come to what happens after. And I want to just look at what happens once the children...
David Rowlands: The fact of the matter is that closed family courts—
David Rowlands: —are not in the interests of the children. Sorry, I do apologise.
David Rowlands: Well, I'm not sure that that would happen. We have to have a situation where there's an acknowledgement of the fact that family courts sitting in secret is wrong. When I was a magistrate, I could instruct all journalists in a court—I could give reporting restrictions on those journalists. I see no reason why those restrictions can't be applied to family courts. I appreciate the fact that we...
David Rowlands: How will the Minister ensure that the Welsh Government's approach to farming will contribute to a sustainable farming industry?
David Rowlands: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I open by saying that the Brexit Party will be supporting the Government's motion? We will not be supporting the Conservative amendments, although there are a number that we would support, as we note the irony of their call for the Welsh Government to invest in the airport infrastructure, given their repeated opposition to the Government's past investment strategy...
David Rowlands: Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing this important debate this afternoon? We will be supporting all of Plaid's motion. Rugby is the national game of Wales and unlike England, where much is based on its public school system, it is a sport of the working classes and it is a grass-roots sport in Wales. If the BBC is to be a true public service operator, it is incumbent upon the institution to...
David Rowlands: Good afternoon, Minister. Thank you for your statement. Obviously you'll know that the farming community is particularly worried about the impact of disruption to the supply chains. This can have a significant impact on the ability of farmers to get their products to the marketplace, which, of course, impacts on the farmers' overall income. Farmers representatives are thus asking for the...
David Rowlands: Okay, I've done it myself. Fine. Thank you very much, Minister, for your statement this afternoon, but also can I thank you for the regular weekly updates we get as spokespersons, which are very comprehensive and, in fact, leave very little wriggle room for questions, if I could say that? Can I also say that I think that many of the agencies you're using for the interventions, particularly...
David Rowlands: I thank the Minister for your statement this afternoon, and I would like to welcome the opportunity to question you as an 'Aelod o'r Senedd' for the first time. Can I say that we really all appreciate the work that's being done with your interventions with the economy in Wales? But, Minister, on 14 April, the Office for Budget Responsibility produced a reference scenario on the shrinking...
David Rowlands: Can I thank the Minister for his statement this afternoon, and also to thank him for his own strenuous efforts during this very, very difficult time? I'd like to also acknowledge the broad spread of interventions by the Welsh Government and, indeed, their implementation in an efficient manner, particularly through the agencies of local government and the Development Bank of Wales. And I think...
David Rowlands: I have to reiterate, we as a group support much of what is contained in this statement and welcome this debate and the opportunity it gives to add, cross-party, to this vitally important discussion. But it has to be said, the Government's statement is rather short on detail. I want to concentrate on the economic elements of this statement and the different approach taken by this Government to...
