Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm really missing that digital clock in the Chamber. Maybe I need to get a mini one on the screen here. Can I thank all the Members who've contributed to today's debate, and also the Minister for her excellent comments there? As I said in opening, it's really important that this Act continues to be scrutinised in the next Senedd. As Delyth Jewell said, we started that...
Nick Ramsay: I should start by saying that this has been a complex inquiry. The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 affects all public services in Wales, and different public bodies face different challenges. There might be one thing that makes it difficult for health boards to implement the Act, but that same thing might not affect local authorities. We had to take a step back and look at...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to speak in this debate today. Over a year has passed since committee Chairs began discussing how the Senedd should approach its scrutiny of the statutory reports of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and the Auditor General for Wales, which reflect on the implementation of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act...
Nick Ramsay: That was a very comprehensive answer, Minister. Can I also take the opportunity to commend Jack Sargeant for the huge amount of work he's done in this area of mental health, which is so important, particularly during the months of the pandemic and lockdown? It was a pleasure previously working with Jack's father, Carl Sargeant, in the Senedd on a range of issues. He was passionate about those...
Nick Ramsay: Minister, thank you for your statement and for your thoughts on how we can promote better and more sustainable public transport in the future. By the way, you mentioned electric bikes earlier in your statement and it reminded me of a bike ride that we both went on down the Wye Valley some years back, when you were working with Sustrans. I remember us talking then about the potential in the...
Nick Ramsay: Jayne Bryant has raised a really important issue. Minister, in November, academics at Cardiff and Swansea universities published the results of a joint survey. They spoke to around 13,000 people; half of those were identifying with some degree of mental health issues, and 20 per cent said they were severely affected. This was particularly relevant to younger people and women and, of course,...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch. Thanks for those answers, Minister. According to the Welsh Retail Consortium, the industry has been losing £100 million in revenue every week during the lockdown. I'm sure you'd agree with me that we cannot underestimate the enormity of the economic hardship that this has caused small businesses—people who've spent a lifetime building up their enterprises, employing local staff and...
Nick Ramsay: Thanks for that answer, Minister. I think Mark Reckless has raised a very good point in terms of how we get the housing market going in Wales. I hear what you're saying about the housing market being different here from across the border, but nonetheless it still needs that stimulus that the UK Government are seeking to do by applying the nil rate band until the end of 2021. Can I ask you,...
Nick Ramsay: 9. Will the Minister confirm how much the Welsh Government has raised in revenue since 2016 through non-domestic rates? OQ56445
Nick Ramsay: First Minister, can I ask you about positive steps that you can take in working with the UK Government to make Wales a safer place for everyone? I, along with many other Members and people across Wales, lit up my doorstep on Saturday evening to support the Reclaim the Streets campaign, not just to pay my respects to Wenjing Lin and Sarah Everard, but also to show a commitment to making our...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I wasn't expecting to be called quite so quickly, but I've got my papers together. Can I thank the economy committee for bringing forward this excellent report, with the daffodil on the front, as Russ George said? It's a really good read. I'm obviously not a member of the committee, but as a former Chair of what was then the Enterprise and Business Committee back in...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Minister. I don't think there's much I can add, really, to the previous questions by Rhun ap Iorwerth and Angela Burns, but I'm pleased that the debate that I brought forward to the Chamber last week has kicked the ball rolling, or raised the profile of this issue. As you know, last week I led that debate in the Senedd Chamber, and you answered very comprehensively. Something I...
Nick Ramsay: Minister, can I widen out this question as to the way in which you use evidence in policy decision making? You'll know that the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has called on the Welsh Government to be more transparent in showing the carbon impact of all Government policies and spending decisions. How have you responded to that? Do you keep accurate figures in terms of the carbon...
Nick Ramsay: 2. What progress has been made in delivering home adaptations for people with disabilities? OQ56399
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I wasn't going to speak in this debate, but it would have been the first final budget in living memory that I hadn't contributed to, so Mike Hedges spurred me on. Mike Hedges said that reducing tax and increasing expenditure are incompatible. Of course, he will agree with me that they can be compatible over the longer term, providing that the economy is stimulated and...
Nick Ramsay: Two issues, if I may, Trefnydd. Firstly, can I add my voice—including Darren Millar, actually, last week—to those calling for the reopening of garden centres across Wales? Now that COVID-19 cases appear to be below the number that originally triggered the lockdown, if we are going to look for businesses to reopen first in the shorter term, then garden centres, I think, should be at the...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Deputy Minister, I would agree with that. Throughout Wales we've seen acts of true heroism, with people getting involved in their local communities, supporting those who have been lonely and isolated. According to Age Cymru, loneliness and isolation are a daily reality for many older people: 75,000 older people in Wales have reported always or often feeling lonely. I've raised the...
Nick Ramsay: Can you hear me now?
Nick Ramsay: Good. I'm not sure what is going on. [Laughter.] Gremlins in the system. Okay.
Nick Ramsay: Can I concur completely with the sentiments just expressed in terms of the need of providing a sustainable steel industry across Wales? Can I widen this out into the fortunes of the wider Newport economy and south-east Wales economy—the Monmouthshire economy, I should say—both of which are dependent on a modern sustainable transport infrastructure? I wonder if you could update us on the...
