David Melding: Can I thank the Deputy Minister for this very timely statement, made during the remarkable Wales Coast Path Walking Festival? Can I pay tribute too to the hard work of Ramblers Cymru, who are facilitating many of the festivities? Can I also emphasise to the Minister and the Chamber that I am a keen user of the path, especially in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and on my home patch, Glamorgan? So,...
David Melding: —and they want access to—indeed, I hear another Member, who I know has enjoyed these facilities—nearby market towns and villages, so, you know, with good transport links when you need to make that little journey from the walking path you're following. But these people spend a lot of money. They're high-end tourists. When we think of people who are walking, we could be tempted to think...
David Melding: Can I just say, following Oscar, that I thought he summed up there the feeling that carers have for the person they care for? It's an act of deep love but it's a demanding act as well. I think it's good that we remember the context in which these activities are performed. Can I start with an observation? This is the second week the First Minister has sat through the Conservative debate. We...
David Melding: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and can I thank the Minister for making her statement? I'm a little disappointed; I think I have to be candid about this, given that we've had an earlier statement, the one in March, and I had hoped there'd be more pace and purpose in the May statement, which was promised in the earlier statement. At the moment, we know that the Government accepts all the...
David Melding: Minister, it's legitimate to have a second home. However, it's only fair that you make a contribution to the community you're in, especially at times of restricted finances and housing shortage. We also need to ensure that we don't create perverse incentives for people to redesignate domestic dwellings. So, I think it is time to have a comprehensive look at this and just see how we can have a...
David Melding: 4. What consideration does the Minister give to the funding of prefabricated housing when allocating the Welsh Government's budget? OAQ53918
David Melding: Minister, you may have seen that last week it was announced that Japan's biggest house builder will move into the UK housing market with immediate effect after striking a multi-million pound deal that will see it work with Homes England and Urban Splash to deliver thousands of new homes across England. The £90 million deal comprises of total new investment of £55 million into regeneration...
David Melding: Minister, I do hope you'll have the good grace to join me in congratulating Cardiff Metropolitan University football club, which is celebrating becoming the first university to reach the UEFA Europa League after an exciting play-off against Bala Town on Sunday—I do apologise—where they won 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out. This means that Cardiff Met will move into the preliminary rounds,...
David Melding: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I think we've had a full and constructive debate mostly, perhaps with the occasional flash of partisan anger, but when we are debating the economy, I think there should be some real feeling, so that's perhaps not amiss. Russell George opened the debate I thought, as you'd expect from someone with great authority on these themes, speaking as a really...
David Melding: Well, it's clearly work in progress, and issues about shared governance require real thought, because they need to be rigorous and really like nothing we've really had before in our internal structure and in terms of how the various Governments in the union operate. So, I'd urge you to be patient, but I don't dismiss the importance of the issue. Suzy said we need to be bolder and braver. I...
David Melding: What is the Welsh Government doing to promote mining heritage as a tourist attraction in the south Wales valleys?
David Melding: Minister, the core food competences framework was reviewed by all the administrations in the UK in 2014, and 'Food—a fact of life' draft guidelines were published in February. I wonder when full guidance will now be issued, and how will it be introduced into the new curriculum?
David Melding: Can I add, Minister, to Bethan's point? We've all had casework in this area and time and again people with muscular dystrophy or other neuromuscular conditions emphasise the importance of specialist posts like specialist nurses who can train other medical staff, but also enable people to live with conditions that can last many years, decades sometimes. We really do need to see an improvement...
David Melding: I think there needs to be a reality check here. We should have had a withdrawal agreement approved by Parliament last autumn. That's obviously what the Government was aiming to do. We should have left in March and should now be in a transition period in which all the current payments would be guaranteed until the end of this cycle, and during this period we would have then constructed the...
David Melding: 6. Will the Minister make a statement on the economic importance of small businesses in Wales’s rural communities? OAQ54021
David Melding: Thank you, Minister. One such business is the Welsh Hawking Centre within my region—an attraction that's been on Barry's Five Mile Lane for the last 40 years. It's been recently reported that the business may be in danger of closing, after visitor numbers have halved in the last year. According to Jamie Munro, who runs the centre, this has largely been caused by the works ongoing on the...
David Melding: The Minister will know that the youth opportunity index consistently shows that young people growing up in deprived areas have the least access to opportunities. The index ranks each local authority in Wales by levels of educational attainment and employment outcomes for young people, including a range of measures from GCSE performance to participation in higher education and apprenticeships....
David Melding: I'm very pleased to take part in this debate—very timely; as Dai just indicated, there's a report just published by the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee on this subject, and I too thought the Chair's foreword was excellent and rather sobering, and I quote: 'Plastic pollution is now one of the greatest challenges facing our planet, and Wales can't solve this global...
David Melding: Minister, it's Love Your Lungs Week, and I know you will wish to—[Interruption.] Here it is. I know we all wish to commend the British Lung Foundation's work. Indeed, we had our photograph taken outside the Senedd earlier when we were chatting about the need for a clean air Act. But can I tell you that it's also official that the quickest way to travel in Cardiff during the rush hour is by...
David Melding: 2. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the House of Commons' Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s report on leasehold reform? OAQ54065
