Mr Neil Hamilton: We’re grateful to Simon Thomas for introducing this important debate today. It’s a pity it’s only 30 minutes. One of the reasons why we objected yesterday to yet another debate on the Government’s legislative programme for five years was that it took up valuable time that could be better spent talking about individual topics such as those that we are discussing today. Nonetheless,...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Yes, sure.
Mr Neil Hamilton: Yes, I certainly would. I agree with the Member on that point. I see the opportunity here to enhance devolution. In particular, because agriculture is a devolved matter, it now gives us an opportunity as an Assembly to have a real influence upon the policy that is going to affect farmers on a day-to-day basis in their working lives. I think that’s a massive advance. There will be...
Mr Neil Hamilton: First Minister, in the year 2000, Wales was second from bottom in the league tables amongst the nations and English regions in the UK for gross weekly earnings. In the interim period, earnings have gone up by 55 per cent in Scotland, 51 per cent in Northern Ireland, but only 46 per cent in Wales. So, we now have the dismal accolade of being bottom of those league tables. We’ve had Labour...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I don’t intend, Llywydd, to rehearse the arguments about the winter of discontent in 1979, which led to all the cuts that took place in the 1980s; we’re here to talk about the twenty-first century, not the twentieth. But, looking forward to the future, although the First Minister won’t accept his responsibility for this record of failure, isn’t it clear that we now need to create in...
Mr Neil Hamilton: My party is not against the devolution of income taxes per se, what we’re against is the devolution of income tax without a referendum, as we were promised before 2011. But, moving to the future and the opportunities that Brexit provides, isn’t it rather disappointing that the European advisory group that the First Minister has appointed, of 20 members, has lots of politicians and...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Like everybody else, I welcome the statement as far as it goes, which isn’t very far. I think there’s widespread agreement across the floor here and that the important questions have already been asked. I endorse what Adam Price said and what Nick Ramsay said. The statement is very self-congratulatory, of course, and expresses the extent to which these funds have helped shape the...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Yes, well, this is the question. I’m asking—
Mr Neil Hamilton: So, I would like to underline the importance of what Adam Price said about including more Members from opposition parties in such functions. As I said earlier on in First Minister’s questions about the external advisory group in relation to the EU, it’s unfortunate that there isn’t a broader collection of people who are involved in giving that advice, and similarly in relation to this...
Mr Neil Hamilton: UKIP supports the motion and the amendments, but I want to deal right at the very start of my short contribution with the canard that we’ve heard a few times in the debate today about the influence of Brexit upon the prevalence of hate crimes. Well, there’s no point in going back over the arguments on the numbers immediately post the referendum, because the National Police Chief’s...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, of course it’s not acceptable, if it happened, but the extent to which it happened—[Interruption.] We have no first-hand information; we are assuming it happened. You are making assumptions that it happened. We have no first-hand information as to what this—. In fact, this is the point I wanted—[Interruption.] I’m afraid I can’t give way, because of the shortness of time.
Mr Neil Hamilton: I do want to make what I think is an important point here, that, of course, hate crime, in whatever form it exists is to be deplored and not to be tolerated and, indeed, to be punished, and punished severely. But, we must keep this in perspective. Britain, and Wales in particular, are tolerant countries. We are not bigots. The number of hate crimes recorded is actually very, very small. The...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I’m not sure whether it’ll be worth it, Llywydd, but, nevertheless, I said in the course of my speech that hate crime was wholly to be deprecated and not to be tolerated and to be punished severely where it exists. All I did was to refer to the figures in the report, which the Minister himself referred to in his speech, and subject them to a little statistical scrutiny. What’s wrong...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch, Lywydd. The Welsh Government, quite rightly accepts that farmers should receive payments for carrying out environmentally responsible tasks. That’s important to all of us, whether we’re farmers or not. As the Cabinet Secretary will know, important agri-environment schemes are the Glastir Entry and Glastir Commons schemes, and that’s vitally important to many upland farmers for...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I’m grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for that reply. As she’ll be aware, there are about 1,600 farmers who will be left high and dry from this December if the scheme is not extended, and, if the policy doesn’t change, there’ll be about another 3,000 who will be affected in future years. This scheme is widely held to be a successor to the end of the Tir Mynydd scheme, and £25 million...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Thank you. Moving to another environmental scheme—section 15 agreements for sites of special scientific interest. On average, farmers get about £2,175 a year in payments under these agreements, and they are absolutely vital for the protection of landscape, wildlife and the environment. There is a budget cut from 2011 of about a quarter of the budget. In August, Natural Resources Wales said...
Mr Neil Hamilton: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with the nitrates directive for individual businesses in the proposed designated areas? OAQ(5)0046(ERA)
Mr Neil Hamilton: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer. I was going to suggest that this regulatory impact assessment perhaps ought to be produced sooner than when she currently expects, because Welsh Ministers are committed to considering the impact of subordinate legislation on business, according to their own code of conduct, and it would be much better if this formed part of the consultation...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Mark Isherwood opened this debate with a compelling and comprehensive case for this Bill, and I’ve been rather taken aback by some of the interventions by Labour AMs. I think I am right in saying that Lee Waters and I first met in a hustings in Llanelli organised by the National Autistic Society. I know him to be, of course, a very humane person. All I would say to him is: don’t make the...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch, Lywydd. As the First Minister will know, Wales has the lowest number of GPs per 1,000 patients of any part of the UK—the number being 0.6 GPs per 1,000 in 2014. He’ll know also that training places are currently not being filled, that increasing numbers of GPs are retiring early, and there’s a growing crisis in recruitment and retention. Can he tell the Assembly what plans the...
