James Evans: I'd like to thank you, Laura Anne, for giving me a minute of your time. Town centres in communities in my great constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire are at the very heart of the communities. It's where people gather in coffee shops, pubs, restaurants and shops for essential goods, where they recognise the great work of our high street. Rural Wales is home to some of the most deprived areas...
James Evans: 4. What is the Welsh Government doing to promote St David's Day? OQ57691
James Evans: Diolch, First Minister. And can I start by wishing you, your family, and everybody in this Chamber a very happy St David's Day? First Minister, with so much uncertainty and devastation in the world, we must be thankful on our special day here in Wales, St David's Day, gives us the opportunity to highlight some of the amazing things we do here in Wales, from the fantastic food and drink we...
James Evans: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd, and I thank the Deputy Minister for your statement and some of the comments that you've made. Obesity is a plague on the health of our nation. It's a problem; instead of declining, it's increasing. Worryingly, two thirds of the Welsh population are now overweight or obese, and, as you pointed out in your statement, the pandemic—many people have struggled to maintain...
James Evans: Minister, I've seen the benefit of biometric data in schools, as a local authority councillor. It was introduced to help reduce the stigma around free school meals. When everyone is using the same queue and the same payment system, it does reduce the potential for bullying and harassment. However, some parents and children and rightly worried and concerned about the use of the biometric data...
James Evans: I move amendment 2. Diolch, Llywydd, and I move the amendment in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. I'd like to thank Plaid Cymru and Rhun for bringing this important debate forward today on eating disorders. This is an issue that affects so many people right across our society. It does not discriminate, and it can affect anyone. This week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and it's...
James Evans: What the Minister said, Huw. Minister, can I ask for a statement, please, on why Welsh Government are removing the rural broadband scheme top-up? This is vitally important for rural communities in getting superfast broadband right across our communities, and I'd like to know exactly what that scheme is going to be replaced with, because I do worry that some of our communities will be left...
James Evans: 7. Will the Minister provide an update on any proposed changes to the land transaction tax in Wales? OQ57755
James Evans: Diolch, Minister. Taxes on properties purchased in Wales are some of the highest levied in the United Kingdom. The average house in the town of Brecon within my constituency is £261,000. Based on this price, a first-time buyer, who has struggled to even get the deposit, will be paying a tax to the Welsh Government of £3,000. This compares to a figure of £2,050 in Scotland, nothing in...
James Evans: 2. Will the Minister provide an update on TB valuations in Wales? OQ57753
James Evans: Thank you, Minister. You answered some of the questions I was going to ask in an earlier response to Peter Fox, but what I do want to touch on, Minister, is the fact that you stated that the budget for compensation has been overspent almost every year since 2015, which does prove that really important work needs to be done in trying to eradicate this awful disease across Wales. Could I have...
James Evans: The badger vaccine.
James Evans: Do you agree with me, then, Mike, it should be a priority for this Welsh Government to make sure that we have more apprenticeships for people who are going to do your bricklaying, your carpentry and your electronics, to make sure we have that skilled workforce to be able to build these houses as we go forward?
James Evans: Housing is something really close to my heart, as a previous cabinet member for housing who delivered over 250 homes in Powys. It is something I'm very, very keen to talk about. So, since the election here 10 months ago, we have frequently debated housing in this Chamber. But today, I don't think we are any further forward with any practical solutions to the current housing crisis. But it's...
James Evans: —for this Government to call for radical action. So, I ask the Ministers and Welsh Government: instead of talking the talk, it's about time you walked the walk.
James Evans: I'll be extremely brief. Minister, with the additional £100 million going into health boards to help with waiting-list times, can we have some assurances that that money will actually go to the front line to make sure we actually do tackle NHS waiting-list backlogs and it doesn't get absorbed in bureaucracy within health boards, where money actually normally does go? And I'd just like some...
James Evans: Our country has a proud military history that forms so much of our modern-day cultures and traditions. Our armed forces are the best in the world and have been involved in some of the most infamous conflicts and peace missions across the globe to protect Britain's interests at both home and abroad. I am proud of our nation's history and the role our armed forces play. I have had family and...
James Evans: Trefnydd, I would like to ask for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change, outlining that she will not be looking at the issue of the 10 per cent charge in the private sale of park homes. I have talked to park home residents right across my constituency about this. This has been going on since 2013. Park home residents have been waiting nine years for this unfair charge to be removed...
James Evans: Today, I want to speak on behalf of those genuine tourism businesses that are going to be impacted by these regulations. I've been contacted by many genuine businesses that will be affected by this, with the increase in the days that they need to be let from 140 to 252. A lot of those businesses that genuinely set up their company so that people can come to Wales to enjoy our scenery, to...
James Evans: The progress that humankind has made to date is thanks to the agricultural revolution. Without farming being able to feed the population, we would not have had our industrial revolution, which forms the world we live in today. Being able to support an increasing population with reliable good-quality food is key to a stable and prosperous society, which we all would hope to live in. I would...
