Mr Simon Thomas: ...t sense that the councils themselves are opposed to the concept of a national body. They haven’t told me that. What they have said is that what’s important is that the local voice and regional representation is maintained. So, there is a possibility here to have a national body that could merge some aspects, which may bring forward savings, if you like, in terms of bureaucracy,...
Rebecca Evans: ..., and, through no fault of their own, they've found that they are denied what they could just reasonably have expected. Members will be aware, of course, as we've heard, that pension matters are not devolved to Wales, but, nonetheless, we support the former ASW employees in their campaign for pension reinstatement. The Welsh Government is pleased to vote in favour of this cross-party...
Mark Isherwood: ...authorities derives from the relative change of overall population and school-age populations across each local authority area, an analysis of the latest published official statistics for each does not paint a clear picture in this respect for either. The local government Minister also states that the division of the local government settlement between local authorities is done by the...
Russell George: ...treatment availability. Again, this is one that fills my postbag. I’m forever replying to constituents saying, ‘This is my advice for how you deal with your particular request, and I’ll make representation on your behalf’. Then I’m going on to give them a lesson in devolution, because often one of the issues that is raised is, ‘I’m a taxpayer, we’re supposed to have a...
Vaughan Gething: ...plans, and I'll again be happy to share those with the committee for any comment that they wish to make. However, the level of detail in the amendment, to me, still appears to pre-empt the ability not just of the Government but of a future committee, or otherwise, of this Assembly to determine the greatest value and concern they would have for the evaluation, at some point, roughly, in the...
Dawn Bowden: ...early age, through our education system, then we're in very difficult territory. To go back to some of the other points that you've raised, I think what is important, particularly in the areas of representation in terms of access—access to our bodies, whether it is access to exhibitions, so it becomes more accessible for people to participate in the viewing and the involvement in...
Natasha Asghar: ...of gender balance should never be at the expense of genuine diversity and equality. I am proud of the fact that I am the first woman of colour to be elected here to the Welsh Parliament, but I did not get here and stand amongst you all today due to the colour of my skin. I am humbled every day by the fact that I got here on my own merit and through equal competition with some very...
Helen Mary Jones: ...'re clear that the arts and the cultural sector will need longer term public support, and this is why we have recommended that the Welsh Government recognises that our major arts organisations may not be financially viable for many years to come and that the Government should be prepared to extend the necessary public funding to ensure their survival. It is also why we have recommended...
Mark Isherwood: ...and that a lack of providers may be preventing young people from undertaking apprenticeships through the medium of Welsh. In accepting our recommendation on gender and careers, the Welsh Government noted that although 60 per cent of learners pursuing an apprenticeship were female, this—quote— 'masks gender disparity in some sectors.' In accepting our recommendation that they...
Angela Burns: ...views that uncertainty existed around whether Natural Resources Wales complied with principles of public law and state-aid rules. What makes these findings worse is that the lessons were not learnt, because 18 months later the Public Accounts Committee repeated its criticism. They found that there were a number of concerning issues around the awarding of these timber contracts that were...
Jane Hutt: ...clear that this is an 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan' and it's got a robust set of actions to help us make a real difference to the lives of people in Wales. Now, this is a leadership issue; it's a representation issue. This morning we had 300 people join our virtual launch and there were people signing up to, for example, the zero tolerance of racism campaign, very much led by Race...
Vikki Howells: ...Act 2011 accelerated the timetable, bringing the change forward to November this year and putting in place a further rise to age 66 by 2020. His promises for transitional arrangements were not kept. And who were these transitional arrangements for? They would have helped the millions of women born in the 1950s who now face the pushing back of the age at which they expected to claim...
Sioned Williams: ...'s an absence—there isn't a great deal of reference to the learner voice—and, for example, there's a lack of recognition of the way that there is diversity in terms of access to advocacy and representation between the HE and FE sectors. There would have been an opportunity here, for example, to give a legal basis to that, and that recognition and support for that would be a condition...
Jane Hutt: ...—working with my colleagues in Welsh Government, working as a result of our co-operation agreement as we seek to work together to tackle poverty, engaging with the UK Government, making representations and working with our partners in tackling household debt in Wales. Diolch.
Jenny Rathbone: Diolch. I am grateful to Plaid Cymru for raising this issue, because I think it’s an extremely important one. I want to talk about two changes in the law that are likely to make the problem worse, not better: one is the universal credit and the other is the new immigration rules. I fully acknowledge, as indeed has Bethan Jenkins, that the Welsh Government has made supporting communities and...
Mark Isherwood: ..., the Cabinet Secretary states that if the Welsh Government secured the repeal of section 25 of the Railway Act 1993, they would take steps to ensure that future franchises are developed on a not-for-profit model. I proudly spent my previous career working in the mutual, not-for-profit sector, and they must be allowed to compete on a level playing field. However, because of my experience,...
Andrew RT Davies: ...with the First Minister, but it is a fact that, as a country of 3 million people, everyone has played their part in facing down the virus, and, as the First Minister's pointed out, we're not out of the woods yet, but certainly we've put a lot of that dark undergrowth behind us, and the spring looks a lot brighter than it did a couple of weeks ago. With that in mind, First Minister, if I...
Paul Davies: ...European Union. However, if the deal is finally approved, then of course article 50 will have to be extended in order to get the legislation through. Perhaps the First Minister could tell us what representations he has made regarding the extension of article 50. However, I have to tell the First Minister that I think it will be unacceptable to the people and businesses of Wales for the...
Llyr Gruffydd: .... We've seen an example in Cardiff of Plaid Cymru receiving 17 per cent of the vote and gaining two seats, and the Liberal Democrats receiving 13 per cent of the vote and winning 10 seats. I'm not making a party political point here, because I know that there are other parts of Wales where Plaid Cymru would have lost out if we'd adopted a more proportional system. But would you agree with...
Julie James: Thank you for that series of questions. I think there were 24, so, I'll do my best to answer them. This proposal has been developed, I cannot emphasise enough, completely co-productively with local government. This is not something that the Welsh Government is proposing to do to local government, it is something we are doing together. It comes out of the working group. The working group...
