Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywyd. I’m pleased to contribute to this debate. As this Chamber will recall, of course, we discussed the general principles of the Bill on 10 July, and the Counsel General agreed to the request from the Finance Committee not to seek the Assembly’s approval of the financial resolution until the Finance Committee had had an opportunity to consider the draft amendments...
Llyr Gruffydd: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on how the Welsh Government will improve disabled access to railways in Wales? OAQ54423
Llyr Gruffydd: It was November of last year when there was a picture of you in the local paper, The Leader, announcing investment to improve disabled access to Ruabon station, in your constituency, of course. It’s almost 12 months since then, and that investment hasn’t yet happened. Constituents tell me that they feel that they’ve been misled in that regard. So, can I ask you whether you regret being...
Llyr Gruffydd: 8. What discussion has the Counsel General held with the UK Government regarding safeguarding Wales's interests in the Brexit process after 31 October 2019? OAQ54443
Llyr Gruffydd: You’ll be aware, of course, of the warnings—and we heard some from the agricultural sector over the summer—of the possibility of civil unrest as a result of the circumstances arising from a ‘no deal’ Brexit. So, can I ask you what preparations and discussions you’ve had with the relevant authorities in light of those possibilities, because the closer we come to a ‘no deal’...
Llyr Gruffydd: Will the Member take an intervention?
Llyr Gruffydd: The only question I have is, procedurally, the committee brings a report to this Assembly in the same way as any other committee would do, so that the Assembly as a whole can come to a decision. Surely you have to recognise that we're all within our right to vote whichever way we wish to vote on this.
Llyr Gruffydd: There’s no doubt, of course, that Extinction Rebellion and the school strikers have transformed the narrative around the climate emergency that we’re currently facing. And I agree with you entirely that we should congratulate and support those people for their efforts. But, of course, Plaid Cymru did table a motion here a fortnight ago doing exactly that in the context of the school...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Minister, back in 2013, when the former rural affairs Minister, Alun Davies, maxed out on the modulation, if you remember, taking the maximum 15 per cent out of pillar 1 into pillar 2, it was touted at the time as something that would lead to, in his words, 'transformational change'. Has it?
Llyr Gruffydd: So, five years later, you're not sure; you don't know. Maybe that suggests that somebody needs to do a piece of work looking at the use of that particular money, because farmers were, of course, told, at the time, that the money taken out from their direct payments would actually come back to them through the rural development programme. The reality, of course, is very different, because...
Llyr Gruffydd: We must max this out as much as possible—that doesn't sound like a categoric assurance to me that that money will be used in full and effectively. And, of course, the worry is that if the money is late being allocated then, of course, as is very often in other spheres, it's going to be a case of that money being pushed out of the door in blind panic at the end just in order to make sure...
Llyr Gruffydd: I do apologise, Llywydd.
Llyr Gruffydd: Gathering my thoughts—.
Llyr Gruffydd: 3. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure the conservation of farming land in Wales? OAQ54489
Llyr Gruffydd: Denbighshire County Council's scrutiny committee's report into the Llantysilio mountain fire raises a number of questions directed to a number of different agencies. I'm wondering if you could tell me what lessons the Welsh Government has taken from this whole episode and, particularly given that a number of the recommendations in their report refer to Natural Resources Wales, what advice...
Llyr Gruffydd: I just wanted to pick up on something that Leanne Wood raised with you earlier, which you didn't directly respond to, so I just wanted to try again and ask for a simple 'yes' or 'no', if possible. I was just wondering whether you could confirm that the well-being of future generations Act should be used as a material consideration by planning committees when making decisions on planning...
Llyr Gruffydd: Is that a 'yes' or a 'no'?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you. That's all I want.
Llyr Gruffydd: Okay, thanks.
Llyr Gruffydd: Fake news.
