Mike Hedges: Can I also thank the Minister for her statement? Can I start off by saying that I have serious concerns about how climate change is affecting the weather? Anyone who went to school in the 1970s will remember almost continual drizzle. Now, when it rains, we have torrential rain and flooding. There have been more British floods this year than the first 50 years of the last century, putting it...
Mike Hedges: What has the Welsh Government done to support older people who are living on their own during the pandemic?
Mike Hedges: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for professional sport? OQ55449
Mike Hedges: First Minister, thank you for your response. I want to stress the importance of professional sport. Since March, professional sport in Wales has either not been playing or been played without spectators. Professional sports clubs like the Ospreys and Swansea City football club are major employers in Swansea, as well as their importance as ambassadors for the area and the provision of...
Mike Hedges: 9. Will the Counsel General outline the effect on Wales of trading with the European Union on World Trade Organization terms? OQ55450
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Minister. Can you confirm that, without a deal with the European Union, under World Trade Organization rules each member must grant the same most-favoured-nation market access to all other World Trade Organization members, not just cherry-pick those they like? My understanding is that, if we have zero tariffs on European steel, that would mean we'd have to have zero tariffs on...
Mike Hedges: I'm also very pleased we're having this debate prior to the publication of the draft budget. This means we're not replying to a draft budget, but putting forward suggestions for consideration. It also means other political parties can produce their own budget proposals. Unfortunately, up to now, all we get is demands for reduced taxation here and increased expenditure there. Can I urge the...
Mike Hedges: 6. How is the Welsh Government ensuring support for voluntary groups working with the deaf community? OQ55482
Mike Hedges: I thank the Minister for that response. For the record, my sister is profoundly deaf, and I am also president of the Swansea Hard of Hearing Group. COVID has had a serious effect on the deaf community, as masks stop the ability of deaf people to lip-read, or even know that somebody is talking to them. What is being done to promote sign language and sign language interpreters to support the...
Mike Hedges: Can I first of all welcome the statement by the Minister? It amazes me how little money was needed to protect those who were homeless at the beginning of the pandemic, and I think one good thing that's come out of the pandemic is the idea of trying to deal with homelessness. I'm very pleased that the Minister believes that preventing and ending homelessness in all its forms is a priority for...
Mike Hedges: First of all, can I thank David Melding for not only giving me a minute in this debate, but for actually raising this very important issue? I would like to raise two very quick points. Firstly, is there any reason why transaction capital cannot be used for funding the necessary work, with a claim made against the value of the property on sale? This is money going to the private sector that I...
Mike Hedges: Will the Minister make a statement on Welsh Government policies to protect hen harriers?
Mike Hedges: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on promoting the Welsh language among young children? OQ55536
Mike Hedges: Thank you for that response, Minister. I, like many others here, am aware of how difficult it is to become fluent in Welsh as an adult. So, what discussions has the Minister had with colleagues on the importance of starting learning Welsh at a young age, particularly in terms of support for Mudiad Meithrin and Ti a Fi and ensuring that they have a positive start through the medium of Welsh?
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I also welcome the report by the Finance Committee. Can I say I agree with almost everything said by Nick Ramsay and by my friend Alun Davies? The only thing I would hold with Nick Ramsay—. If we were to drop the top rate of income tax by 10 per cent, does he not think that England, across the border, would do exactly the same thing, as we engage in a...
Mike Hedges: I believe there's something fundamentally wrong in a society where there are some people with no home, or are living in completely inadequate housing—overcrowded, damp, cold—and others who have two or more homes, at least one of which they use infrequently. I think that's morally wrong. Can I say I support the Welsh Government's amendments, one of which welcomes the Welsh Government's...
Mike Hedges: Can I ask for two oral Government statements—the first one on the provision of free school meals? We've had a number of written statements on the provision, of expanding it, and I'm very pleased with those, but could we have a full statement on exactly where we are? It's well known that my view is that free school meals should go through every holiday and, when children are not in school,...
Mike Hedges: Thank you, acting Presiding Officer. This debate draws us one step nearer to agreeing transitional arrangements for the agricultural sector in Wales. It has been a long journey. Scrutiny of the UK Agriculture Bill has been a central plank of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee's work on Brexit. Our first report in relation to a UK Agriculture Bill was published back in...
Mike Hedges: I generally welcome the national development framework proposals. The changes proposed greatly improve the draft. As Chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, I'm pleased that the Welsh Government accepted 47 of the committee's 50 conclusions, although again disappointed that 22 of them were in principle only. And as Llyr Gruffydd said, we'll come back with further...
Mike Hedges: 5. What action is the Welsh Government taking to tackle the problem of loneliness among older people? OQ55583
