Lee Waters: So, I think there are a number of very helpful and constructive points there. On the first on the availability of technical expertise, then Delyth Jewell is quite right, that is a challenge, and that's one of the reasons why we are supportive in principle of the idea of an independent body, because we do need to have the heft and capacity to do the task ahead of us, and working out a way to...
Lee Waters: Thank you for those comments and the constructive tone. I think that there is much that we can agree on and work together on. We will, of course, be responding in full to all the recommendations in the commission's report, as well as publishing our own White Paper after the local government elections. I'm not going to respond in detail to the proposals today, because we want to do that in a...
Lee Waters: Our priority, Dirprwy Lywydd, is to ensure that people living and working near coal tips feel safe and secure now and in the future by reducing the risks of further landslides. I am able to inform the Senedd that we have made significant progress in the last two years. Our first task was to establish the scale of the problem. The job of identifying and assessing the status of all disused coal...
Lee Waters: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for the opportunity to update Members on the measures we are taking to improve the safety of coal tips. We have made significant progress in the last two years since the First Minister established a coal tip safety taskforce, and last week marked a significant step forward in putting measures on a long-term footing, with the publication of the Law...
Lee Waters: Well, thank you for the opportunity to reply to the debate.
Lee Waters: I'd just like to set out how the Government is supporting communities at risk of flooding and whether we feel it's time to establish a flood forum for Wales. We have in place, through the flood strategy that was published in 2020, a comprehensive strategy that sets out our long-term measures for reducing flood risk across Wales. The strategy itself drew on learning from the February 2020...
Lee Waters: You don't like it when somebody heckles you, do you?
Lee Waters: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm sorry I'm not in the Chamber with you; you sound like you're all having a very jolly time there. The way that we use towns and our reasons to visit them have changed and our town centres are adapting to a new set of demands. Past reliance on retail has been undermined by the growth of online shopping. The trends were clear even pre pandemic, and COVID has...
Lee Waters: And that's why we've put in place the first Welsh marine plan, which we will be reviewing in the autumn, and it will be reviewed every three years, and the Government will report on its finding to the Senedd. So, the Welsh Government already has extensive and progressive marine planning powers granted through the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, as Huw Irranca-Davies mentioned, and we've...
Lee Waters: Thank you very much for the opportunity to respond to the debate this afternoon.
Lee Waters: It's an important debate, and it's centred on the importance of planning for development, while protecting and restoring our marine environment. And the Government is very supportive of this sentiment, and, as noted by the committee, urgent action is needed to achieve net zero, while also cherishing our seas and marine biodiversity. Indeed, many of the areas with the greatest potential for...
Lee Waters: Well, I'd need to examine the register of interests to see what the relevant register is, and I'm still awaiting an apology from Janet Finch-Saunders for misleading the Chamber about myself. But if I have misled, I'd be happy to. She looks puzzled; I've written to her about it, and she hasn't responded. But the point I was making was a public policy point. She made a point about sand on the...
Lee Waters: Yes, I think it's an area we need to do better at. I don't have the answers today. It's an area of vulnerability. As I said, Vaughan Gething and I held a joint session with officials on it not a month ago. I'd be happy to write to him and the cross-party group, setting out what we are doing, and I'm happy to have an open conversation with them about some practical ideas of how we might make...
Lee Waters: Well, thank you for the comments, and I thank him for taking on the role with the cross-party group. I think it's really important that there is a cross-party group, and it continues to hold the feet to the fire. One of the problems with this agenda is it's seen as a technical agenda. He mentioned my personal interest in it. I know nothing about digital. I know nothing about technology. I...
Lee Waters: Thank you. I think that's a very timely question. There is no doubt that we are seeing increased activity on the cyber-attack front. Certainly, as state actors, this is something the UK Government—and we work closely with them—is taking seriously and doing an awful lot about. And as you can imagine they prefer to keep it secret exactly what they are doing, but this is a very serious issue...
Lee Waters: I agree with that. The digital divide is real. We saw it during the pandemic and it's a complex divide. It is about poverty, it's about access to equipment, it's about ability to afford a broadband connection, it's about digital and data poverty. That is no different from any other inequality we have in our society. The pattern is similar and it holds people back. I think we did great things...
Lee Waters: Those were an excellent and fair set of questions, but I'm not a robot, so there's no way I can possibly answer all the detail in the time that's available to me. I'd be very happy to send a comprehensive reply to the Member, to work through those very fair and challenging questions, and I welcome the spirit in which he posed them. I think they are all good challenges, and we are doing work...
Lee Waters: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and now for something completely different. [Laughter.] A year ago, we published a new digital strategy for Wales, a strategy that sets out how we want to use digital and data in a better way to improve people’s lives and help businesses and communities thrive, and we've just been discussing the use of digital and data in the mapping of flooding and the monitoring of...
Lee Waters: On the confusion of responsibilities, I think there is an issue here in that there are overlapping responsibilities and there isn't always clarity, and that is one of the things I think the section 19 review that we agreed with Plaid Cymru as part of the co-operation agreement will look at, because that certainly was a factor in the Rhondda Cynon Taf incident. And I think through analysing...
Lee Waters: Thank you. Yes, and we are aware of the report. We've seen the report and our technical team have been analysing it. It's a matter for the local authority, as the responsible body here, and I understand that Gwynedd are also considering the report, or have seen it, and I think they in the first instance need to discuss that with the authors to make sure that there's a common understanding of...
