Steffan Lewis: Earlier this afternoon, in response to a question from my friend and colleague the Member of Parliament for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, the UK transport Secretary told the House of Commons that the UK Government had not agreed to devolve the Wales and borders franchise to this place. This is contrary, of course, to my understanding of the outcome of the St David’s Day process. Can we have...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the First Minister for that response. Last week, the Member of Parliament for Aberavon said that we must move away from multiculturalism and towards assimilation, and that we must stand for one group: the British people. Will the First Minister condemn these comments in no uncertain terms, and will he reassure this Assembly that such views are not representative of Welsh Government...
Steffan Lewis: 4. Will the First Minister make a statement on community cohesion? OAQ(5)0309(FM)
Steffan Lewis: Diolch, Lywydd. I thought it fitting in the week when Wales hosted the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly that this National Assembly take a moment to recognise the bond between Wales and Ireland, and the significant contribution made to Welsh life by Irish people. The flow of people between Wales and Ireland spans millennia and, of course, led to a Welshman becoming their patron saint. Of...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Minister for his answer. Following cuts to legal aid funding by the British state, there are now only three legal aid providers working in education law in Wales and England, and not one of them is based in this country. We know how hard parents of children with special educational needs sometimes have to fight to get the special education provision that their children are...
Steffan Lewis: 6. Will the Minister make a statement on how students with special educational needs and their families are able to access legal advice? OAQ(5)0051(EDU)
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Member for Neath for tabling this urgent question. Can the Counsel General clarify his view on this matter—whether the triggering of article 127 is a necessary legal step, and whether that should be done concurrently with the triggering of article 50? If so, can he also clarify whether—if there is litigation down the line—the Welsh Government will intervene in any legal...
Steffan Lewis: This is a surreal question, even by the standards of this year. But I must say, Mr Rowlands’s question is reminiscent of a chap who once had a plan to build a wall around his country and bill his next-door neighbours for the work. I’m not sure what happened to that gentleman. In terms of future co-operation between Wales and Ireland on infrastructure projects, there is a potential scope...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the First Minister for his answer. Looking ahead to proposals for new business rates arrangements post 2018, is the First Minister able to give an indication of his thinking regarding community sports clubs? I understand that, at the moment, there’s a threshold where 70 per cent of members of such clubs have to be actively participating in that club’s activities to qualify for...
Steffan Lewis: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the business rates system? OAQ(5)0290(FM)
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her answer. The south-east, like many other parts of our country, provides great potential for local energy generation that’s renewable, reliable and could benefit local communities. There are exciting plans to harness the energy potential of the Ebbw river on the site of the former Navigation colliery, and low-entropy heat recovery from the old pit too....
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer. He’ll be aware, I'm sure, of Mark Lang's recent deep place study of Pontypool, where he highlights not simply the challenges facing that once-thriving community, but also the foundations that could be built upon for future success. Ventures like the Cardiff city region and the city deal provide opportunities for towns like Pontypool, but there...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer. Wales has no specialist mother and baby unit and a constituent has recently shared with me the experience of her daughter who, on becoming a mother, suffered with postpartum psychosis but had to go to London to receive specialist treatment. Many mothers in similar situations will be separated from their babies whilst they’re treated in...
Steffan Lewis: 2. What discussions has the Minister had about budget allocations to the health, well-being and sport portfolio? OAQ(5)0050(FLG)
Steffan Lewis: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on city deals? OAQ(5)0051(FLG)
Steffan Lewis: 8. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s priorities for energy policy in the south-east? OAQ(5)0053(ERA)
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement today. Also, I extend our congratulations as a group to the Wales for Africa programme. Of course, Plaid Cymru is entirely supportive of the collaboration between Wales and developing nations and this programme is a great example of that. Such relationships are of course beneficial to us and to those nations, but from Wales’s point of view,...
Steffan Lewis: There have been allegations that the Ministry of Defence has conducted a sham competition for a £3 billion contract to supply it with armoured vehicles. It is alleged that the process has been skewed in favour of the German company Rheinmetall, and its Boxer vehicle, which will cost up to 40 per cent more than the Welsh alternative constructed in Gwent. Can we have a statement from the...
Steffan Lewis: I’d like to congratulate the Member for Caerphilly for securing the debate and being elected the chair of the cross-party group. It seem to me that we’ve been talking a long time in Wales about creating a ‘Mittelstand’ without actually moving that and progressing that agenda forward. I think that’s going to be crucial when we look to new projects on the horizon, such as the Cardiff...
Steffan Lewis: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. I’d like to express my thanks to Members for their contributions today and to the leader of the house for her response. I thank Paul Davies for indicating that his group will be supporting Plaid Cymru’s motion today and congratulate him on taking a different view to his party’s Government in London. Hefin David spoke eloquently of his memories of the 1984-85...
