Gareth Bennett: 1. What assessment has the Minister made of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism to Wales? OQ55783
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, Minister. Tourism has taken a major hit during the past few months, for obvious reasons. Although the sector was bound to be hit hard by the pandemic, I do worry about the long-term effects. Tourism has traditionally formed a big part of the Welsh economy and we want it to recover from the shock of this year, but it is going to be hard to get tourists, particularly from England, to...
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to the Commission for this report.
Gareth Bennett: I wasn't speaking a bit of Welsh just for the effect.
Gareth Bennett: I am a Welsh learner.
Gareth Bennett: So I am making a bit of an effort with the language, and I would point out that I do have an O-level in Welsh from my school days. I'd rather say it was a GCSE, because the O-level does age me a bit, but I'm afraid it was an O-level. So, can I say that efforts to boost the usage of Welsh are generally to be welcomed, albeit the best use of Welsh is as a living language, and resources are...
Gareth Bennett: Thank you very much and thank you once again for the report.
Gareth Bennett: Will the First Minister make a statement on hate crime in South Wales Central?
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Llywydd. I'd like to congratulate the Wales darts team on winning the world cup of darts. In Salzburg over the weekend, Wales beat England in the final in order to win the trophy for the very first time. Therefore, congratulations Gerwyn Price from Markham near Caerphilly and Jonny Clayton from Pontyberem, near Llanelli, for playing superbly well in Austria over the weekend....
Gareth Bennett: Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's priorities for the economy in South Wales Central?
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. Thanks to Plaid Cymru for tabling today's debate and thanks also, Llywydd, for accepting amendment 1, which I hereby move. The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party will be voting against Plaid's motion today, not because we don't agree with some of the measures that they are proposing, but rather because we disagree with the focus of their motion. Plaid propose a whole raft of...
Gareth Bennett: I will develop this point again. Just to conclude, this is the nonsense we now have with devolution. Can we please get rid of this constitutional chaos—
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Lywydd.
Gareth Bennett: Thank you to the Minister for bringing the report forward.
Gareth Bennett: When a Government tries to implement a policy, there are different methods that can be used in that cause. These can sometimes be divided into two basic elements, namely the carrot and the stick. I think that the Minister has been quite consistent in advocating the carrot rather than the stick in furthering the campaign of boosting the use of the Welsh language, and I am encouraged, after...
Gareth Bennett: I thank the Minister again for her report.
Gareth Bennett: Will the Minister provide an update on the return of fans to sporting events?
Gareth Bennett: I think it's good that we are finally having this debate. One of the problems of the pandemic is that we are constantly having measures passed by the Welsh Government that have never been approved by this Chamber. Caroline Jones made the point that, here in Wales, in our devolved institution, we are, far from being a democracy, actually becoming an elected dictatorship. Now, I appreciate what...
Gareth Bennett: Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s priorities for promoting economic growth in South Wales Central?
Gareth Bennett: 5. What funding has the Welsh Government provided to businesses in South Wales Central during the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ56071
