Alun Davies: It's a non-devolved function; [Inaudible.]—spend money on it.
Alun Davies: Like others, I want to thank the committee for this report and for this short investigation. I thought the points made by the committee Chair in opening this debate were well made, and established a very clear group of findings, which I’m glad the Welsh Government has responded to. But the reality is that we need the UK Government to respond to this as well. And I'm participating in this...
Alun Davies: Janet, Janet, Janet, don't—
Alun Davies: I don't deny anything; I don't need to. It's a failure I'm describing. It's not about expenditure; it's about delivering on the objectives of policy, and that is where the failure lies. And you don't need to defend everything the UK does. Sometimes, it fails, and this is an example of failure, and it isn't just Government failure, as I've said to you—it's market failure, and a failure of...
Alun Davies: I remember debating this with Ieuan Wyn Jones long before 2011, and Angela Burns led the work on that at that time. So, this goes back for many, many years. But I'm not here simply trying to allocate blame in the way that you are simply trying to describe here, because I think there's a failure, a systemic failure, here of the system that delivers broadband. And although we can point fingers...
Alun Davies: I was one of those lucky people to back Norton's Coin at 100:1 in the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Unfortunately, I wasn't in Cheltenham—I was in Bangor—but it's fair to say we had a very good night on the basis of that 100:1 shot, and it helped me fall in love with the sport. I've just booked my ticket for the Tingle Creek meeting in Sandown at the beginning of December, and I will be...
Alun Davies: 7. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the UK Government's autumn statement on the work of public services boards? OQ58773
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Minister for that response. Despite the best efforts of the Conservative Party this afternoon, anyone with any basic understanding or any financial understanding at all will appreciate the cuts that are being made in the Welsh Government's budget, both this year and in future years. However, what we're seeing is public services facing salami cuts year after year after...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, Presiding Officer, for accepting this. The Minister, in providing a very good and full answer to my earlier question, referred to another Member, Cefin Campbell, in terms of delivering an executive role within the Government. We all understand the co-operation agreement, and as Members will know, I fully support the co-operation agreement. However, Members in this Chamber...
Alun Davies: Will you take an intervention?
Alun Davies: You spent finance questions emphasising the importance of the quantum of cash available to local government. I've got no argument with that. You now seem to be proposing an argument where the quantum of cash is less important than other matters. Who is the real Peter Fox?
Alun Davies: I'd like to start by very much agreeing with the Welsh Liberal Democrats on rejoining the single market and the customs union. I think the damage done by Brexit is going to be a disaster not just for our generation but for future generations, and I hope that all political parties will recognise that. I don't expect the Minister to reply to me on this point, but I hope that she and her...
Alun Davies: I've always stood up—and you, of course, as a Conservative, will be familiar with the work of Edmund Burke, the father of modern Conservatism. And what he said very clearly in his speech to the electors of Bristol is that an elected Member owes his allegiance to the people represented by him, not just by his labour but also by articulating what he believes. And that is what I've done, and I...
Alun Davies: I'll start my remarks where Tom Giffard left off. I want to thank the committee Chair and the committee secretariat for all the work that they've done in producing this report. It was one of those really enjoyable, actually, committee investigations, because you're always learning things on committees, and listening to the lived experience of different people is always an important part of...
Alun Davies: —that boys and girls have that opportunity to be the stars of the future. Thank you.
Alun Davies: Will you take an intervention on that?
Alun Davies: I accept the point you make about austerity. Clearly, you and I would agree and could spend the rest of the afternoon agreeing on it. But the Welsh Government has responsibilities as well on these matters, and the budgets that we are debating here today are budgets of the Welsh Government, and so I think it is important that the Welsh Government recognises its own role in addressing these...
Alun Davies: There we are. You've heard the First Minister reply to the debate this afternoon, and I felt he made a very generous proposal in terms of working as a Parliament together on these matters. Would it not now be in the interests of this Parliament for opposition parties to discuss with the First Minister some of the proposals that he's made today, rather than to push this issue this afternoon?...
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, I did ask during the debate on that—
Alun Davies: Oh, come on. We've got to know why the Government can't table business.
