Andrew RT Davies: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Could I begin by congratulating you on becoming the Presiding Officer for the sixth parliamentary term, and also David Rees on being the Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank the two other Members of the Senedd who made the vote happen, because I think it's important that democratic action sets the tone for how we want these proceedings to go on right the...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'm sure none of us would wish to be here today, but it is truly fitting that we are paying tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh at this tragic time of his passing. We'd much prefer to be on the campaign trail, I'm sure, and the Duke of Edinburgh, obviously, still with Her Majesty the Queen, supporting her in her role like he did for so many years and so many...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and before I start and formally move the motion, can I put on record my thanks to you as Deputy Presiding Officer, this being the last debate, for the service that you've given to the Assembly, in your capacity as the Member for Vale of Clwyd, but also in your role as Chair of various committees and now as Deputy Presiding Officer over the last couple of...
Andrew RT Davies: I formally move the motion in the name of Mark Isherwood that's on the order paper today. I'll deal with the amendments, if I may, to start. We clearly will not be accepting amendment 1, which, true to form with the good old Government intention, is a 'delete all and replace with self-congratulations of the Government and its time in office', which, frankly, if you look at the way things look...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, First Minister, for your statement this afternoon. I agree entirely with the sentiments expressed within this statement. A year today, obviously, we first had the restrictions imposed on us, and the tragedy that has befallen 7,000 plus families of losing a much-loved member of that family is completely unimaginable, and the love and compassion that is shown by the society as a...
Andrew RT Davies: I noticed you didn't confirm whether there was testing at the airport. As of this morning, 45 people have currently booked to fly to Cardiff from Alicante on Thursday, and 32 people to fly the other way. Clearly, the informed decision making that will be going into the road map from Westminster is predicated on the report that will be made available on international travel on 12 April. So, it...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, it cannot be right, with the current third wave going through Europe, as we're seeing, tragically, that you can fly from Cardiff more easily than you can travel, as I said, to Aberystwyth. I, this morning, for example, was able to purchase a ticket for Thursday to fly out of Cardiff Airport, where I do not believe a quarantine hotel exists or in-airport testing exists. If...
Andrew RT Davies: Yes, First Minister. Sorry about that. Why is it easier to fly from Cardiff to Alicante than it is to drive to Aberystwyth at the moment in Wales?
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and, with your permission, as it's the last Senedd First Minister's questions of this session, I'd like to just reflect for a moment on the tragedy that families have gone through over the COVID crisis that we've just seen behind us over the last 12 months. The loss of a loved one is incalculable, and the grief that families must be feeling across the whole of...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. I am a little surprised at the importance you attached to the coronavirus control plan in last week's announcement, because the health Minister did confirm that the plan, as devised, was not being adhered to in the consideration of the plans you announced on Friday, and that update was alluded to by the Deputy Minister in his interview on the...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, First Minister. And I do welcome those positive comments, despite the negativity that is coming from other countries, and I hope that we can get back, in those countries, to a normal process of vaccination, because, as I said, unless we all adhere to the vaccination programme, we will all suffer lockdown measures going forward, as we're seeing in countries across Europe at the...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I identify myself with the comments of other leaders here this afternoon in reflecting on the year's anniversary since the first COVID death in Wales. Who would have thought, 12 months later, we would still tragically be seeing more deaths being reported from COVID, and continuing to go through the restrictions that are placed on all our everyday lives? I'd...
Andrew RT Davies: Talking of support, First Minister, Friday is a notable day, with the latest review of lockdown restrictions here in Wales. Your Minister for mental health and well-being has said that, with lockdown and people in Wales, if you give an inch, they'll take a mile. Can I first check whether this is your assessment? Do you agree with her? Or do you take my assessment that it's the hard work of...
Andrew RT Davies: I agree with you, First Minister; Liberty Steel is an important player here in Wales, and that's the reason for the question. It's important to understand what financial support has been made available to Liberty Steel in the past and whether any additional support, given that you've alluded to a letter being delivered from the company to the economy Minister, has been requested by the...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, what is your view of the situation involving Liberty Steel and its associated companies, and its likely impact on jobs here in Wales?
Andrew RT Davies: Well, we have Captain Hindsight in Westminster and Professor Do-little down here in the bay, who's not prepared to do anything with the powers that he has to help hard-pressed families across the length and breadth of Wales. One action the First Minister is proposing, though, is the imposition of nitrate vulnerable zones. Only last week, your leader in Westminster talked about supporting...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Good afternoon, First Minister. When campaigning for the Labour leadership, Keir Starmer pledged to reverse the Tory cuts in corporation tax and said there'd be no stepping back from Labour's core principles. This week, Keir Starmer said he opposes a rise in corporation tax. Which position do you support, First Minister?
Andrew RT Davies: Well, I am amazed by that answer, because you spend week after week debating points that you have no responsibility over. But an area you do have responsibility over is council tax, First Minister, and there's a huge amount of consequential funding that's come to the Welsh Government from the UK Government—£5.8 billion-worth of support. There is a cost-of-living crisis developing now, with...
Andrew RT Davies: Organiser, could I seek a statement please from the planning Minister in relation to guidance that has come out from Natural Resources Wales to planning authorities in Wales regarding phosphates and the calculations that planning authorities need to use in determining applications when it comes to phosphates on land and in building projects? I'm led to believe that many applications now are...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, you've taken your usual condescending tone. You might be the professor in the Bay, but you're the professor without a plan out of lockdown and that's a real problem for the economy and for schoolchildren the length and breadth of Wales. What you can do with the powers that are available to you is put some support in for businesses by extending the business rate relief scheme....
