Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm very pleased to be speaking in the debate today, because, as you heard, the Finance Committee had an opportunity in its meeting on 3 October to consider the Assembly Commission’s draft budget for 2020-21, and we published our report on 17 October. On behalf of committee members, I would like to thank Suzy Davies and Assembly officials for...
Llyr Gruffydd: You boast here that the service is a proper service, but you only have to look at your own Twitter feed today to realise just how many complaints there are from Welsh football supporters, who have found that there is no room for them on trains from north Wales to travel down to see the game this evening. So, where is the management and the forecasting for these services, knowing quite well...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I'm pleased to contribute to this debate to outline the two recommendations that the Finance Committee has made.
Llyr Gruffydd: The committee is broadly content with the estimated cost of the Bill of £30,000, which includes, of course, external legal support to implement the Bill using the new direct indemnity scheme regulation-making powers. We accept the Minister’s assurance that external legal support was used as a matter of expediency and that costs would have been similar if the work was undertaken by legal...
Llyr Gruffydd: As I said, the committee only had two recommendations, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to express those to the Chamber this afternoon.
Llyr Gruffydd: I'm also pleased to contribute to this debate. Of course, this motion isn't a silver bullet, but it's certainly something that has an important contribution to make, first of all, as we've heard, to reduce congestion and traffic, and that will have benefits in terms of reducing air pollution. We know that we are facing a public health crisis, with some 2,000 deaths as a result of air...
Llyr Gruffydd: So, there are cross-issue benefits, I think, in this proposal. And, of course, Wales is falling behind in this respect because we now see Scotland proposing to introduce this levy through their transport Bill. And as we heard, it's already being implemented in some councils in England—Nottingham and Birmingham being two of those. So, this isn't a pie-in-the-sky proposal; it's already...
Llyr Gruffydd: Will you take an intervention?
Llyr Gruffydd: The point I'd like to make is: would it not be sensible, therefore, for those who earn more to pay a higher levy?
Llyr Gruffydd: What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Housing and Local Government regarding how the National Development Framework will contribute to the Welsh Government target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050?
Llyr Gruffydd: Will the Minister provide a statement on Welsh Government plans for introducing non-domestic rates on hydro energy projects?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to contribute to this debate. The Finance Committee, of course, has made nine recommendations. The committee heard from the Minister that the Bill is about leading cultural change and is required to introduce a series of reforms to strengthen health and social services. He said that it wasn't possible to put a monetary value on every...
Llyr Gruffydd: In regard to the duty of candour, an adverse outcome is described as one that has, or could, result in more than minimal harm and the provision of healthcare was, or may have been, a factor. The committee is concerned that the estimate of ongoing costs for the new duty of candour reflects the number of incidents classified as moderate. If the definition of 'more than minimal harm' is to...
Llyr Gruffydd: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the implications of delaying the publication of the Welsh Government's 2020-21 budget on school funding? OAQ54747
Llyr Gruffydd: You will of course be aware that many governing bodies are currently making very difficult decisions on their budgets for next year, including the dismissal of teachers and classroom assistants and so on and so forth. But they do that without knowing what their budgets will actually be for next year, and if you listen to some of the political parties in the general election, then money might...
Llyr Gruffydd: Constituents in the Bangor area have been in touch with me expressing concerns about the impossibility of accessing dentistry services. The NHS dentistry lists are closed, of course. They can't afford to pay to access private services, and there are families telling me that they haven't seen a dentist for over 12 months. So, can I ask you what you're doing to tackle that problem, and...
Llyr Gruffydd: There is, of course, a wider question here, isn't there? Because we always hear these warm words from the Welsh Government about the need for a clean air Act, but you allow a technology that sees incinerators release various air pollutants, including nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter, lead, mercury, dioxins, et cetera, et cetera. You introduce the Well-being of Future...
Llyr Gruffydd: You're asking for it. [Laughter.] I'm sure you will have read, of course, the work that was done around that, and I'm sure you will have noted as well the strong caveat that that analysis in no way reflects the fiscal situation of a potentially independent Wales. That is the narrative around the current settlement that we have within the United Kingdom, which you tell us is a union of equals,...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I don't think there was any significant announcement made in the statement, but clearly it's a useful update on what is happening. I do believe that bringing various stakeholders together through the supply chain, sector by sector, will clearly bring benefits, to build on strengths, to share experiences, and to create some critical mass that will lead...
Llyr Gruffydd: Yes, it's quite embarrassing on other sectors as well, isn't it? Their performance isn't wonderful. There were 30,000 sewage spillages in this country back in 2017, and I don't hear the Government making as much fuss about that. But, there we are—that's by the way. But do you accept that spreading during closed periods and having set dates for spreading slurry and farming by calendar can...
