Andrew RT Davies: 5. What discussions has the Minister had with Meat Promotion Wales in relation to the red meat levy? OAQ54033
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Minister, for that, and I'm very pleased to see a successful outcome of those negotiations and the passage of the Agriculture Bill at Westminster, obviously, with the transfer of these responsibilities coming here to Cardiff. Will the Minister confirm that she won't use any uplift in levy income to make up any shortfall in Welsh Government funding that might occur in the future,...
Andrew RT Davies: I declare an interest, obviously, being a partner in a farming business. Minister, one of the things that is so frustrating, very often, is the complexity around, in particular, the woodland grant schemes that have been made available. Given that there's been much conversation in this Chamber tonight—this afternoon, I should say—about increasing woodland uptake, can you commit the...
Andrew RT Davies: 2. What discussions has the Minister had with Allied Bakeries in light of the company's announcement that it's to halt production at its Heath site in Cardiff, putting 180 jobs at risk? 328
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you for that answer, Deputy Minister. As you said, this is very disappointing news to say the least in an area that has lost substantial jobs over recent years: Barclays and Tesco, for example, and now this particular site, which has been a bakery for many decades—not just years, but many decades. It is an announcement that obviously they're looking to reconfigure the site and turn it...
Andrew RT Davies: Will the Minister outline how the Welsh Government plans to improve public awareness and participation in the section 106 process of the planning system?
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, I'm very grateful to listen to that answer and the more collaborative working model that does exist within the city deal concept. One thing that has changed is Government policy, quite considerably, in the last couple of weeks with the deceleration of a climate change emergency, various statement positions that obviously the Minister has made about clean air, for example,...
Andrew RT Davies: Organiser, can I seek three statements, please, if possible? One, I'd like to see and hear what the Government's reaction is to the Deputy Minister for the economy in a speech at the Clink restaurant, where he commented on the economic performance of the Labour Party in Government, where he said, 'For 20 years we’ve pretended we know what we’re doing on the economy—and the truth is we...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. It seems as if the environment spokespeople and the Minister occupy a permanent slot on Tuesdays these days with the various statements—important statements, I might add, and very appropriate to be taken. If I could first of all begin by asking—and I did ask in business statement to the finance Minister—about the economics of all this. I sign up...
Andrew RT Davies: And do you see any role for fossil fuels in the energy mix here in Wales? Because in the decarbonisation strategy, obviously, we do have the gas-fired power station, for example, in Pembrokeshire. I'm led to believe it's one of the most modern, if not the most modern gas-fired power station in Europe. And, so, from the balancing point of view, as we understand with renewables, there's only a...
Andrew RT Davies: 2. Will the Commission outline what action is being taken to end phone scams involving Assembly phone numbers? OAQ54107
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you for that answer, Presiding Officer, and I'm grateful for the efforts of Commission staff in particular in addressing Members' concerns and staff's concerns, because it's not just Members who are receiving these phone calls—it's across the Assembly estate. I appreciate it's a very difficult one to deal with on the basis that they're coming from across the United Kingdom, as I...
Andrew RT Davies: What economic modelling has been undertaken to assess the impact that the declaration of a climate emergency will have on the Welsh Government's annual budget?
Andrew RT Davies: Organiser, could I seek a statement, please, off the health Minister, in light of yesterday's inspectorate report into the accident and emergency department at the Heath hospital? This isn't a politician saying this; this is obviously the inspectorate themselves in their report identifying how patients were moved from beds into chairs so that the health board could be compliant with health...
Andrew RT Davies: Will the Minister take an intervention?
Andrew RT Davies: Can the Minister confirm whether it is still Welsh Government policy, outlined by the previous First Minister, that if the power was devolved, you would cut APD to zero from Cardiff Airport?
Andrew RT Davies: I'm glad to contribute to this debate today, because the devolution of air passenger duty is something that I've championed long and hard for many years, and I can't find a coherent argument to say why air passenger duty should not be devolved to this institution. In fact, I was on point in the negotiations on Silk for the Conservative group here, and when all the leaders were sitting around...
Andrew RT Davies: I'm sure that you have better access to the Member for Cardiff Airport than maybe I do these days. [Laughter.] So I'll leave you to pose that question, and maybe you'll listen to the answer. But, generally, this is a tool that can come into the hands of this Assembly and, by extension, to the Welsh Government, that can drive opportunity. I personally would like to see what the First...
Andrew RT Davies: Minister, obviously, automation is an opportunity for us. Figures do show that up to 35 per cent of the workforce will have to retrain, remodel, their skills and, indeed, many of those jobs might disappear altogether. So, the demands placed on the further education sector in particular and part-time learners are going to be considerable in the next decade or so. What efforts has the...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, you were quite right to identify that this is public money, and scrutiny is required to make sure that it delivers value for money, but one scheme that has proved problematic with the rural development scheme—and I have raised it with the Minister as well—is the woodland grant scheme. It is a very bureaucratic scheme. People have open windows when they can plant in the...
