Darren Millar: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the amendment tabled on behalf of the Welsh Conservatives in my name. I have to say, I was a little bit disappointed by the tone of Rhys ab Owen's speech there, and it feels a little bit like groundhog day today, because, of course, we had basically the same debate just a couple of months ago, tabled by the Welsh Government. But, of course, it shouldn't surprise me any...
Darren Millar: Thank you very much for that response, Minister. It's precisely what I would have expected you to say. One thing I am concerned about is the focus that we seem to have in Wales on protecting younger children going in and out of the school premises in terms of safer routes to school and the active travel routes that are being developed. I've seen significant investment in those in recent years...
Darren Millar: 2. Will the Minister make a statement on safety in and around school premises? OQ57506
Darren Millar: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I want to thank the Minister today for her statement this afternoon. I think it's really important that the Senedd and the nation of Wales takes the time to remember and reflect upon the horrors of the Holocaust and all genocides since, and Holocaust Memorial Day helps us to do just that. I want to pay tribute as well to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust...
Darren Millar: First Minister, many seaside resorts across north Wales are, as you will know, exposed to flood risk, including Towyn and Kinmel Bay in my own constituency. Now, there are plans to improve the sea defences in Towyn and Kinmel Bay, as part of the coastal risk management programme. But the proposals that have been developed by Conwy County Borough Council to date are pretty unattractive in...
Darren Millar: Trefnydd, can I call for a statement from the Minister for health on COVID-19 self-isolation periods for hospital patients? You will be aware, Minister, that stories have emerged in recent days about the impact of the 14-day self-isolation period on a young woman, Catherine Hughes, in Wrexham Maelor Hospital, who's a mental health patient on the Heddfan unit. She's threatened to take her own...
Darren Millar: Of course, the UK Government, First Minister, has delivered a world-beating vaccination programme that has been of great benefit to people across Wales, and it's also released significant resources across the country to help businesses and individuals overcome the challenges of the pandemic. And in spite of your assertion that it's incapable of operating properly, it actually released the...
Darren Millar: I move.
Darren Millar: I move.
Darren Millar: Well, I'm grateful for your apology, Minister. Of course, there's a single line in the budget to cover this particular issue, and I did ask in previous opportunities in the Senedd for an explanation as to what the remuneration would be for both the chairs and the members of the commission, and I'm still awaiting that information. Of course, it's not contained in the budget that has been...
Darren Millar: Thank you for that answer, Minister, but I'm afraid it still doesn't explain why the commission needs to have such a large budget. When I asked you, on the establishment of this commission, what the budget would be, you said that you would write to me. I'm still waiting for your letter—I haven't received it. But, obviously, I've managed to peek at the Welsh Government's budget, which was...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, can you explain to us why the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales has a budget of £3.3 million, please?
Darren Millar: Thank you, Trefnydd, for that statement. Can I call for an urgent statement from the Minister for Health and Social Services in relation to access to NHS COVID passes in Wales for those who received their vaccinations overseas? I understand that action has already been taken in England and indeed in Scotland in order to ensure that people who have received their vaccines overseas can have...
Darren Millar: I haven't suggested at all for one moment that we shouldn't be able to scrutinise legislation. In fact, if you listened more carefully to what I said, I said that there were things that needed to be done to improve the current processes and the opportunities for scrutiny in terms of the policy and the memorandums that are produced. So, it's absolutely not the case. What I was saying was that...
Darren Millar: I'll keep my remarks brief in this debate, but needless to say that I will be voting against the motion on the order paper today. And that's not because I don't believe that devolution should exist; I campaigned vigorously for the further powers for the Senedd in the referendum back in 2011. But, having lived through an experience where we had the dreadful legislative competence Order system,...
Darren Millar: I'll be voting against the Welsh Government's relationships and sexuality education code today. As the Minister will be well aware from debates that were held in the previous Senedd, I regard parents as the primary educators of their children, not the state, and I believe that the Welsh Government's removal of the parental right to withdraw their children from sex education lessons was a...
Darren Millar: Trefnydd, I've been contacted by a member of the Welsh Jewish community with regard to access to the Cadw website. It appears that people who are attempting to access the website from Israel appear to be blocked from doing so. Now, using a virtual private network, I tried to take a look at this myself, and it seemed to me that the Cadw website was perfectly accessible from France, the United...
Darren Millar: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. I am delighted that money is indeed being awarded to improve flood defences in Clwyd West. One of those areas that is down for improvement very soon is the coastal strip between Towyn and Kinmel Bay, which of course is extremely important as far as the visitor season is concerned, and where those coastal sea defences are protecting many thousands of...
Darren Millar: 1. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the adequacy of flood defences in Clwyd West? OQ57361
Darren Millar: I'm afraid, Jenny Rathbone, we welcomed the fact that the Betsi Cadwaladr health board was placed into special measures back in June 2015. You can check the record. I was the shadow health Minister at the time and I was cheering on Mark Drakeford for taking that brave decision, because I believed, with all sincerity, that it was going to make the difference on the ground that we needed to...
