Alun Davies: 5. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the UK Government's economic policy on the Welsh Government's budget? OQ58251
Alun Davies: I accept that Minister, but, sometimes, I think we place too much emphasis on simply spending. My question was about how we raise funds as well. The UK Government's obsession with austerity has created real significant structural problems in the economy. But their decision to go for a hard Brexit, leaving the single market and the customs union, has meant that the UK economy and the Welsh...
Alun Davies: Thank you for raising that. Alongside the draft budget, which we published back in December, the chief economist did provide an update in terms of his assessment of the impact, which included the impact of Brexit, and I would commend that to all colleagues. We know that we have lost, or the UK, I should say, has lost many billions of pounds in tax, as a direct result of Brexit. And, of...
Alun Davies: Could I ask for a debate on our procedures here in this place? To my knowledge, we've had no review of procedures in this Senedd since the election last year, and I don't remember any serious review of such things in the previous Senedd either. We had an exchange in First Minister's questions on the single market. Now, wherever you might stand on that matter, and my views are very well known...
Alun Davies: Hear, hear. Here we go.
Alun Davies: Minister, I agree very much with the premise of the question that Brexit has been enormously damaging to the Welsh economy. I also agree, for the record, and I presume the Minister does, although I won't put him in the situation of asking him this, that he disagrees with leaving the single market and the current position of the UK Labour Party. But it's important, I think, that we recognise,...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, acting Presiding Officer. I'm grateful also to the Finance Committee, grateful to you for you coming to Llanhilleth, of course, to conduct some of your work, but also for hosting this debate this afternoon, which I think is absolutely crucial in setting the terms of the debate that we'll have on the Welsh Government's budget over the coming months. Unlike others, without...
Alun Davies: It's a privilege, Presiding Officer, to speak here today on behalf of the people of Blaenau Gwent. Blaenau Gwent, like all other parts of our country, heard the news on Thursday with a sense of deep sadness and a profound sorrow. We lost not only our monarch, but also our north star. Her Majesty was a constant throughout our lives. As the night sky turns around the north star, so we have all...
Alun Davies: Minister, I'd like to ask for two statements, if possible. We understand that there is an economic or a fiscal statement being made by the UK Government later this week. I'd like to ask for a statement from the Welsh Government on how that will impact our public services here in Wales. We're already concerned, I think, many of us on all sides of the Chamber, that economic mismanagement and...
Alun Davies: I can't be alone in feeling my blood boiling when I listen to the weasel words of the Conservative Party and when I watch their crocodile tears whilst they wring their hands at the consequences of the policies that they themselves are delivering: lifting the limits on bankers' bonuses, tax cuts for the rich, whilst cutting services for the poorest. It is appalling. And they walk away from it,...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, Minister. Members will be pleased to hear that I'll just make a short intervention this afternoon. I'm fully in support of a consultation, and fully in support of the levy that you are proposing. I believe that we do need to have a real debate about the nature of tourism and the impact of tourism on our communities. All too often in this Chamber, we make assumptions and...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Minister for her statement. I think it's clear that this was a budget for the very richest people in society. It wasn't a budget for Wales and it wasn't a budget for the people of Wales. Liz Truss has seen the economy collapse by £500 billion—or dollars, as you could say nowadays—since becoming Prime Minister. It is the most extraordinary economic failure that I can...
Alun Davies: Yes, I understand that. It's the impact on public spending, and the impact on our future ability to fund public services. Inflation is already hitting public services, and it is important that we are able to understand the impact that this budget statement will have on our ability to fund public services in the future.
Alun Davies: 2. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact the UK Government’s fiscal statement will have on people in Blaenau Gwent? OQ58496
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the First Minister for that. At one level, of course, it's possible to ridicule the chaos that exists in Westminster at the moment: a Prime Minister that models herself on Margaret Thatcher—the lady who is not for turning is spinning like a top, and, no, she doesn't herself know what decision she's going to take tomorrow. We know that the impact of her chaotic couple of...
Alun Davies: I’m grateful to you, Minister, for the statement. I'm also grateful for your continuing commitment to Tech Valleys and your previous commitments to the programme and its budget over future years. The macro situation we’re facing in Blaenau Gwent and elsewhere is far more difficult than it has been in the past. We’ve seen a disastrous Brexit that has locked us out of significant markets,...
Alun Davies: I thank the Minister for the statement this afternoon, and I also thank the Minister for his leadership in this policy area. I spent some time in the Eisteddfod over the summer, and I was very impressed with the way in which you led the discussion, but also the tone that you've adopted in leading on this here. Sometimes, the tone of the discussion can be just as important as the policies that...
Alun Davies: Deputy Minister, the culture committee visited Llanberis and the National Slate Museum in the spring, and we received presentations from people there about the work that was being done to support the world heritage status and how that's going to be built upon. I was hugely impressed by that work and hugely impressed by the presentations that we received. I was especially impressed by the way...
Alun Davies: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the potential impact of the UK Government’s economic policies on public services in Blaenau Gwent? OQ58545
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, First Minister. We woke up this morning of course to the news from the Institute for Fiscal Studies that there's an unfunded £60 billion hole in UK public finances as a consequence of decisions taken by the UK Government—not as a consequence of war in Europe, not as a consequence of COVID, but as a consequence of their own decisions. Before we'd finished breakfast, the...
