James Evans: Part of rural development, Minister, is also the Glastir scheme, and I recently met with NFU Cymru in my constituency and the deputy chairman of NFU Cymru in Brecon and Radnorshire, Rob Blaenbwch, who wanted me to put a question to you directly about Glastir funding. We're seeing the Glastir funding being rolled on a yearly basis, with contracts being renewed. What my local NFU would like to...
James Evans: What assessment has the Minister made of the number of personnel within local authorities who are paid under the IR35 off-payroll working rules?
James Evans: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Powys County Council are looking at making education cost savings of over £1.7 million. Proposals for schools from the council include turning off laptops and ceasing photocopying. I'm not exactly sure how much of £1.7 million will be saved from stopping photocopying in schools, but this seems an inadequate way of treating our teachers and our children,...
James Evans: 7. What assessment has the Minister made of potential cost-saving measures for schools? OQ59092
James Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to thank the Minister for his statement from the commission, or as I like to call it the independent commission for independence sympathisers, judging by who the commissioners are. I've never read, I don't think, such a biased document against the UK Government and against the union of the United Kingdom. I think, Minister, that we all agree and recognise that there...
James Evans: Thank you very much for that, Deputy Minister. After meeting with charities, a lot of them have told me about data not being regularly available, and that one way we could strengthen this area is by relooking at the Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010 to make sure that there are more targets that the Government can actually implement upon and can be reported back to this Senedd. So, do you...
James Evans: Thank you, Deputy Minister. Having access to information is important, as you've just realised, for the people we serve, and it also shines a light on the performance of the Welsh Government and health boards. For example, information that was only received via freedom of information requests to health boards shows that 7,258 children are waiting to have an autism diagnosis. Forty per cent of...
James Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. Deputy Minister, do you agree with me that having public access to mental health data on all mental health conditions is vital to improving mental health services across Wales?
James Evans: I'd like to thank the Deputy Minister for your answer. I could have addressed this question to the Minister for Social Justice earlier as well. The recent and developing reports about the Welsh Rugby Union are deeply alarming. We've been told that, at the heart of the organisation, there is a toxic culture of sexism. We've heard allegations that a male employee made a comment in front of a...
James Evans: 2. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the Welsh Rugby Union regarding the claims of a sexist culture reported by the BBC? TQ714
James Evans: I'd like to thank Janet Finch-Saunders for bringing this important debate to the Senedd. The hydrogen sector is hugely important to my constituency, as Janet has mentioned. A few years ago, a company called Riversimple moved to Llandrindod Wells to build a prototype hydrogen car there on the site, aptly called the Rasa. Even His Majesty the King took a spin in a hydrogen car, and he was very,...
James Evans: I'd like to thank you for that answer, Minister. The Welsh Government do hold all the levers here to prevent the strikes, and it's time that the Welsh Government did take some responsibility for this, by, for example, not cutting the education budget in real terms and rising it in line with inflation. Under Welsh Labour, children in Wales are being left behind. Not only did they miss more...
James Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I didn't think I had a question today. [Laughter.]
James Evans: No, that's fine. I've already been called once. I'm thinking of others.
James Evans: Minister, I share the concerns of my colleague Cefin Campbell around this, and obviously the rising costs for the disposal of sheep dip. I do recognise your comments about sheep dip being disposed of in a safe and environmentally friendly way. Your sheep scab eradication policy includes sheep dipping as a way of eradicating sheep scab. It has proven to be the best way of getting rid of the...
James Evans: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on his expectations of his meetings with the teaching trade unions later this week in terms of avoiding school closures? TQ711
James Evans: I'd just like to thank the Chair of the LJC committee for quite eloquently removing 99.9 per cent of my speech, so thank you for that. My contribution, Llywydd, will be extremely short, because I don't think we need to go over old ground. Now, I did take part in the scrutiny of this Bill, and I'd just like to pay tribute to the Counsel General for his attendance at committee, and the openness...
James Evans: I'd like to thank you, Minister, for your statement today. A major, long-term strategic capital investment programme with the aim of creating a generation of sustainable schools is something that is important for schoolchildren across Wales, and very important for my party. Having sustainable learning environments is one of the most important things that can help children learn and achieve...
James Evans: I'd like to thank my colleague Russell George for opening this debate and his efforts in this campaign of highlighting it on a national stage. The air ambulance is an essential part to the people of mid Wales, and it's a lifeline to the people who live there. As a rural area, we don't have many of the things that people in more densely populated parts of Wales take for granted. You know, it's...
James Evans: Diolch, Gweinidog. Minister, you said this morning in the education committee that there is money available in the Welsh Government budget to establish new Welsh-medium education. That's really welcome. A political choice was taken in Powys County Council by the Liberal Democrat administration not to establish a Welsh-medium primary provision in Dolau. Minister, narrow-minded decisions like...
