Mr Simon Thomas: I have no question.
Mr Simon Thomas: Well, indeed, it might be seen as an environmental issue, but it's as much a public health issue as anything else. In fact, the Assembly voted, in that debate that you just referred to, again for a Plaid Cymru amendment that called on the Welsh Government to treat air pollution as a public health issue as well as an environmental issue. You're not responsible for public health, I know, but...
Mr Simon Thomas: The Member is right. Air quality is something—. Actually, the first debate in this portfolio that I led was on air quality. It is a commitment and remains a priority. You refer to the ClientEarth case. I can't comment on that in detail at the moment, as it's an ongoing case. But, actually, in terms of our aspirations in the clean air plan that we've set out, it's not just about meeting...
Mr Simon Thomas: I don't think I'm going to get a commitment to a plastic tax out of you today, so I'll change tack, if I may, to something else that you as a Minister are also responsible for, which is air pollution. ClientEarth is taking the Welsh Government to court by 23 February, due to concerns of illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide in towns and cities, often emerging, of course, from diesel vehicles. Do...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I will remain on the topic of plastics as it is all around us. Just to pick up on what David Melding said, I think it is true to say that citizens and communities are ahead of some politicians in this area. I look at communities such as Aberporth who have declared themselves to be plastic-free and are working across small businesses and across the community to...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the continuation of capital funding under the Glastir scheme?
Mr Simon Thomas: Would the Cabinet Secretary give way?
Mr Simon Thomas: I'm grateful. You mentioned the waste transfer grant. Of course, that was taken from the portfolio of his fellow Cabinet Secretary and given directly to local authorities. It could be said that that's been one of the most successful direct grants of Welsh Government in driving very high recycling targets and has been quite rightly praised by the Government itself as being one of the...
Mr Simon Thomas: Would the Member give way on that point? I'm very grateful, and I agree with her; I've met also with Supporting People projects, and I think we share a similar value in ensuring that the money is available. She'll know there's been some confusion or discussion, at least, around how the money gets spent. Does she at least agree that we need to monitor now how the money is spent to make sure...
Mr Simon Thomas: Would the Cabinet Secretary give way? I'm grateful for what he's just said and, of course, this is the first time we're looking at a budget that has income generation as well as expenditure within it—and that's a positive change for the development of this place. But has he made any estimate of what would have happened on the expenditure side had we not had those seven years of austerity...
Mr Simon Thomas: The final thing, if I may—and I don't even know if this is really for the business manager, perhaps possibly for the Presiding Officer, perhaps possibly for us all as an Assembly, but I think it's important to raise it. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I have for the second year in a row tried to get the Secretary of State for Wales to come to the Finance Committee to give, in open,...
Mr Simon Thomas: The leader of the house was very generous last week in responding to requests from me, and I'm hoping she will be as generous this week too. May I start by welcoming the fact that there's been a written statement this morning from the First Minister on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, stating that unless something happens by the end of the month, it's the Government's intention to...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you for your response to questions today, but I have to say that I was surprised to hear that a contract had been awarded in north Wales on the A55 once you had heard about the news about the status of this company, because that of course is exactly what Jon Trickett was criticising the Conservatives on very harshly in the Commons yesterday—giving contracts once the problems had been...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the Member give way?
Mr Simon Thomas: I just wondered if the Member had had any feedback on the consultation that Newport City Council is doing now on some kind of dispersal orders for homelessness and to stop homeless sleeping in city centres. That seems to me to be the wrong approach, rather than working with groups of people. Clearly the Member wants to work with them and has done that in his local constituency, but has he got...
Mr Simon Thomas: And the final point, if I can conclude on this, is that there is a lack of clarity about how we take this forward now for the future. Due to that lack of data, due to the lack of resources over a large period of time, there is complete confusion, it has to be said, about how we take forward marine protected areas, and the interaction of those marine protected areas with other areas in...
Mr Simon Thomas: I’m sure it is appropriate that, as we discuss marine issues, tides come and go twice a day—I don’t know whether it’s ebb or flow today, but I just want to highlight the fact that I’m not going to repeat what I said yesterday on the marine plan. So, if people are more interested in Plaid Cymru’s marine policy, then they should read both transcripts together. I just want to focus...
Mr Simon Thomas: Can I first declare that I'm a community investor, as many hundreds of local people are, in this scheme? I do that because many people in the Swansea bay area think that this is the future, not just for Swansea bay, as you say, but for energy around the Welsh coast as well. There's much to be gained from it. I very much welcome the actions by the First Minister. I appreciate how the Cabinet...
Mr Simon Thomas: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for the confirmation that the promised amendments that related around the devolution settlement and, of course, clause 11 in particular, have not been tabled in the House of Commons, as promised by a Secretary of State, albeit for Scotland, but on behalf of the whole of the UK Government? I think that's extremely disappointing. It's doubly disappointing...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you for that response. I just wanted to ask the Counsel General in broader terms about the taxation powers that his colleague sitting next to him, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, is currently considering, namely the four new taxes and the possibility of one tax being brought forward. I support the plastics tax and I will be repeating that, and it was good to see that the Assembly...
