Samuel Kurtz: Thank you, Minister. Access to NHS dentistry has been a perennial problem, and the last 18 months has only exacerbated the problem due to COVID. Like many colleagues, it is an issue that I receive a regular amount of casework on, and it is an issue that causes a great deal of frustration and concern for many of my constituents. Like everything, to better understand how to tackle a problem, we...
Samuel Kurtz: Diolch yn fawr, acting Llywydd. I would like to thank all Members for their contributions this afternoon, but I am left somewhat frustrated, as is the Member for Monmouth, given the need for co-operation, partnership and teamwork in tackling change and bringing about a green economy, that, when we bring forward this motion, which looks to do all of those things with the Welsh Government for...
Samuel Kurtz: Will the Member give way?
Samuel Kurtz: I note that you mention support for veterans. Would you join me in congratulating Barry John MBE of the VC Gallery in my constituency? He leads a team of volunteers helping veterans and the wider community dealing with mental health issues through art and crafts, which is a fantastic support in my rural community.
Samuel Kurtz: Minister, the new curriculum places an expectation on teachers to be able to teach to a certain degree through the medium of Welsh. For the benefit of the pupil, we need high-quality teachers here in Wales, with a wide broad range of experiences and backgrounds, in our schools. In areas such as south-east Wales, where staff are often recruited or even commute from over the border in England,...
Samuel Kurtz: I'm grateful to the Member for Arfon for tabling this afternoon's motion on behalf of the Plaid Cymru group. Last week, I stood here and championed the need for co-operation, partnership and teamwork in tackling some of the biggest challenges facing this country. And indeed, today, I and my Welsh Conservative colleagues are here with that very same attitude of collaboration. That's why we'll...
Samuel Kurtz: I'm eternally grateful to the Member for Aberconwy for giving me a minute of her time this evening. There are many towns around Wales built on rivers that are fighting a regular battle against the increasing extreme rainfall events often taking place further upstream. The ancient town of Carmarthen in my constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire is one such town, which suffers...
Samuel Kurtz: I would like to thank the Minister for giving me advance sight of today’s statement, and I refer to my register of interests. I’d like to begin, firstly, by paying tribute to our farmers across Wales for continuing to feed a nation even in the face of the physical, mental and economic stresses caused by bovine TB. Unfortunately, for some farmers, that continued battle against this...
Samuel Kurtz: Minister, you mention in your statement a 48 per cent decrease in new TB incidents since 2009, but I'd be interested to know what the statistics say about the re-occurrence of the disease within infected herds and how many herds have been classified as TB free after a prolonged period of being under restrictions. Preventing new herds from catching the disease is important, but for those...
Samuel Kurtz: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, in yesterday's bovine TB eradication strategy statement, you stated that one of the reasons you're stopping the trap and test of badgers is, in your words, because it proved unpopular with farmers. However, it could be argued that one of the reasons that contributed to the programme failing was that a list of participating farms was made public in 2018 in a...
Samuel Kurtz: Well, Minister, that will be disappointing, as NFU Cymru believe that it's a row-back, having this trap and test removed. But moving away from TB and focusing on financial support, last week, the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee took evidence from the farming unions, who were asked about their concerns regarding rural development programme funding being unspent by the end of the...
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you. You mentioned those environmental projects, and on the topic of effective and transparent RDP payments, figures released by the Welsh Government have confirmed that a growing proportion of the Welsh Government's Glastir woodland creation fund is being used to finance tree-planting projects on Welsh farmland purchased by foreign businesses, with no benefit to Wales or our...
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to read the statement before hand, and I'd like to declare a personal interest in this issue.
Samuel Kurtz: Today’s statement was previously scheduled for last week, however it was delayed. It’s now evident from today’s statement that we were in fact waiting on the final details of the Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition before you made any formal announcement in relation to your Welsh language communities housing plan policy. There is a unique problem in certain areas of Wales where local people...
Samuel Kurtz: Home building across Wales hasn't kept up with demand. Although the Government promises to build 20,000 low-carbon homes, from what I see, it doesn't note where in Wales these new homes will be built. We need to build homes where there is demand for them, not where it's easier to do it.
Samuel Kurtz: I would also point out that, throughout Wales, there exist more empty properties than second homes, and so I would be interested in knowing what the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues plan to do in addressing these issues. What will be done to get these properties back into use, allowing more people to have a home? Properties that are permanently empty 24/7 and that are not adequately...
Samuel Kurtz: Over the past 18 months, working patterns have changed, with many people returning to those areas where they grew up, and, as we transfer out of the pandemic, it's unlikely that we will return to the traditional forms of working at an office desk. There are examples of young professionals returning to those areas in which they grew up to continue with their city jobs from the comfort of their...
Samuel Kurtz: Another issue I’ve raised in this Chamber is the buying of Welsh farmland for tree planting by organisations and businesses from outside of Wales. Therefore, I would welcome it if the community-led co-operatives and social enterprises element could be extended to include agricultural land. Agriculture has a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than other industries, and supporting that...
Samuel Kurtz: Minister, in conclusion, ensuring that rural Wales has a sufficient number of homes and quality jobs for local people, and that there is support for the Welsh language and culture, is a challenge, and we need to tackle that challenge. I very much hope that the responses to the consultation will provide a long-term strategy to ensure that we're not talking about this issue in years to come....
Samuel Kurtz: I welcome today's debate on the two reports from the Welsh Language Commissioner, and I'd like to declare an interest. This is the first opportunity that I have had to comment on the work of the commissioner, and I would like to pay tribute to the hard work that both he and his team have put into fulfilling their roles, not only over the past 18 months, but before that. As I and many of us in...
