Mr Neil Hamilton: Will the First Minister provide an update on efforts to support local democracy?
Mr Neil Hamilton: The Minister may recall that last October I raised with him the non-availability for patients of GPs in north Wales of the internet tool myhealthonline for making appointments. He kindly wrote to me subsequently saying that this wasn't a policy decision, but sometimes this system wasn't available because it was impossible to match patient need to GP availability in practice, in particular...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I thank the Minister for that response, and, of course, he makes some very important and sensible points in response to my question. He'll be well aware of the problems that we had faced in Wales in the NHS Wales informatics systems, and the Public Accounts Committee published a report a very short time ago that says that we believe that NWIS is primarily focused on running outdated IT...
Mr Neil Hamilton: The chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Rebecca Payne, said at the time that she was very concerned about the potential impact of this on practices in north Wales, because 89 out of 118 practices were with EMIS. It's hard to see how we have the clinical staff in Wales to mitigate the potential problems that might arise. But going on from that to changing IT systems,...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I'm delighted to follow Mike Hedges because I think he made some very important, as well as some very sensible points about the need to spend more on preventative health, so that we reduce the burden that the NHS is going to have in the future. I would like to see, as he would, the priority given to spending in this area increased within the current Welsh budget. I should also welcome the...
Mr Neil Hamilton: How does the Welsh Government intend to improve healthcare for Dwyfor Meirionnydd residents?
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch, Llywydd. Instead of still arguing over the different ways in which the Brexit referendum result can be betrayed and reversed, isn't now the time to think practically about the way forward and to revert to the offer that Donald Tusk made to Theresa May some time ago to embark upon discussions to bring about a Canada-style free trade agreement, which would have the advantage of...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I'm afraid that because the Counsel General had his back to me at the end I didn't catch exactly what he said. Canada, of course, started from a very different position to the United Kingdom. We have been a member of the EU for the last 40-odd years, and we have complete regulatory alignment with them because, obviously, we have the same code of law and regulation. There should be no...
Mr Neil Hamilton: No, not at all. Of course not. All I'm saying is that we wouldn't experience, in the negotiation, the difficulties that he alluded to, as alleged by the Canadians to whom he spoke a little while ago. We don't have to negotiate from a position where we have no agreements with the EU at all. We are actually part of it, so it should be much more simple for us to enter into a longer term...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. And I beg to move the amendment in Gareth's name on the agenda. Well, this is just the latest writhing of those who never accepted the result of the referendum two and half years ago. Tentatively at first, but now increasingly explicitly, they're coming forward with plans to first of all frustrate that result and, secondly, to reverse it, to remain in the single...
Mr Neil Hamilton: But we're massive net importers of all these products, apart from lamb. [Interruption.] Apart from lamb, where we import as much as we export—trade is in balance. We're massive net importers, so the vicious tariffs of the EU will apply to their sales to us as much as our sales to them, so they will be the ones who will lose more than us.
Mr Neil Hamilton: There can be no excuse or justification for the UK Government's failure to prepare for the possibility of a 'no deal' Brexit. I'm sure I shall carry the Minister with me in starting in that way. We've had two and a half years to prepare for leaving the EU and it's shocking that no real preparation has been done by the UK Government, because this was always a possibility. Monsieur Barnier was...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch, Llywydd. The Welsh Government has a target to eradicate TB in cattle and wildlife by 2036 and farmers accept that this involves many restrictions on the way they work and operate and imposes substantial costs upon them as well, but that's absolutely necessary in order to achieve the objective, which we all share. But there's a widespread feeling that whilst farmers are doing a lot to...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I'm rather astonished to hear that, but there it is. The results of the four-year badger cull that was licensed in England have recently been published, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as a result is now extending them into 10 other areas in England. The results closest to us in south-west England, in Gloucestershire—the incidence of TB in wildlife has been...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, that is certainly true, but this still remains a substantial problem, and there doesn't seem to have been any progress made on containing it—or not very substantial progress at any rate—in recent times. Paul Davies referred last week also to the leak of this correspondence, which could put farmers' lives at risk, given the activities of some animal extremists. So, I wonder if the...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I'm delighted to take part in this debate and to say that we broadly support the Conservative motion because we're a low-tax party as well, and whilst we accept that public services have to be paid for, what matters is the size of the cake more than the way it's split up. What we need to do is to grow the economy in Wales if we're to have better public services, and as we know, there are...
Mr Neil Hamilton: How does the Welsh Government intend to improve healthcare for patients in Mid and West Wales?
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch, Llywydd. I wonder if the Minister saw one of the attractions of her new job as taking responsibility for the complexities of local government finance in the years ahead, and whether she agrees with me that the funding formula for local government is now looking increasingly dated and requires reform. In particular, one of its defects is that the mechanism within it seems to work so as...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I'm sorry I misunderstood the complexities of the shuffled portfolios within ministries as well as between them, but rises in council tax are imposing enormous burdens upon individuals and, indeed, businesses. The average band for council tax has more than trebled in Wales since 1997 and it's gone up by two and a half times since the Assembly was created. Even the former CEO of the Welsh...
Mr Neil Hamilton: One of the features that I think does need to be looked at is that, when you look at the councils that have had an increase in funding most recently, many of them have seen a substantial increase in their reserves. So, this is money that could be spent on public services but is being held in bank accounts and not available for dealing with the current problems. Rhondda Cynon Taf, for example,...
