Mike Hedges: Will the Minister make a statement on supporting the economy of the Swansea City region?
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I believe, if at all possible, we should have an election on 6 May. But postponing an election would not be unique. Can you remember the general election of 2001 had been expected on 3 May to coincide with local elections? But, on 2 April, votes were postponed to 7 June because of the rural movement restrictions imposed in response to the foot and mouth...
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Chair. I welcome the Minister's statement. I know from experience that learning a language as an adult is not easy. If Welsh is to become a community language, then the best place to start is in the home and from the cradle. For anyone interested in the future of the Welsh language, the 2011 census results were very disappointing. They showed a reduction in the number of Welsh...
Mike Hedges: Can I express my support for the Minister and my belief in the importance of mental health support, and can I go along with what Dai Lloyd said about using everybody who can help? I think that excluding any one group of people will only be to the detriment of mental health in Wales. My question is: from my experience, bereavement is a major cause of mental health deterioration—what...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the Minister for that response? I wish to stress the important work done by homecare. Sometimes, efficiency and transformation is confused with poorer service and poorer working conditions. Will the Minister support greater direct service provision by local authorities of homecare?
Mike Hedges: 2. Will the Minister outline the effect of the pandemic on the provision of homecare by social services? OQ56130
Mike Hedges: I might be on mute. No. Sorry. Diolch—it took rather longer to unmute than I expected then. I agree with the Minister that this topic should be a priority for the Government; it is for very many of my constituents living down in SA1. For us to successfully achieve the vision at pace, I also believe there needs to be a shared vision that transcends party political lines. I'm very pleased to...
Mike Hedges: Can I also, like Huw Irranca-Davies, request a ministerial statement regarding supply teachers? I believe it is fundamentally wrong that they are not directly employed by councils or groups of councils. I would like to ask specifically about financial support for supply teachers, because there's very little supply teaching available at the moment. Some have been furloughed and some have not....
Mike Hedges: Very briefly, as we're all aware, people are concerned regarding the wait for the vaccine. Will the Minister unequivocally commit that vaccines will be provided as fast as is possible?
Mike Hedges: I was very interested in the question from Michelle Brown. Councils in England have borrowed far in excess of 100 per cent of their annual income in terms of commercial properties, which is certainly a cause for concern for all of us, because it effects the British economy. What I would say to the Minister is: do you agree with me that the best way of dealing with Government debt is to grow...
Mike Hedges: This budget achieves three things. Firstly, it provides the necessary funding to deal with the pandemic; secondly, it supports the economic recovery; and thirdly, it supports vital public services. The aim of this draft budget is to protect health and the economy, build a greener future and create a change for a more equal Wales. The pandemic has speeded up trends that have been occurring...
Mike Hedges: I'm very pleased that this issue is being debated today. I have previously asked for a Welsh Government statement or debate on this issue, as children going hungry or relying on foodbanks is not what I and, I believe, most Members here want to see. I also submitted many written questions this year on free school meals. For many children, the free school meal is their major meal of the day. To...
Mike Hedges: The one area where the public get engaged is planning applications. The big problem is that unpopular planning applications, such as houses of multiple occupation over the limits set by supplementary planning guidance are refused by the council but allowed by planning inspectors. Does the Minister agree that ending planning inspectors overruling councils' planning conditions and making failed...
Mike Hedges: A number of people have bought pets for the first time because they're working from home due to COVID and they feel they've got time to look after them. Should training in animal welfare be offered to people purchasing their first pet, because, to be quite honest with you, if I actually bought a rabbit, I wouldn't have the faintest idea what to do with it?
Mike Hedges: Can I say I fully support the decisions of the First Minister? But we are moving into the most dangerous seven days of the year: office party time. What is the Welsh Government doing to try and stop these parties taking place? Some will have food, some will have drinks, some will take place in the office, but these office parties—we've got to try and stop them happening. Whilst families...
Mike Hedges: She's allowed to parade her ignorance.
Mike Hedges: Can I ask for a Government debate on regional policy in Wales? And whilst the Welsh unionists are unable to identify the needs of the different parts of Wales, I would like a debate to discuss how we can improve the economy in the different regions of Wales, identified by the four economic deals in the national development framework. Can I ask for the following statements, which, due to lack...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank you for calling me, Deputy Presiding Officer? Whilst we cannot go back, allowing the Cheltenham Festival and Liverpool versus Atlético Madrid to go ahead earlier this year was a very serious mistake by the Westminster Government, which in normal political times would have led to ministerial resignations. I'm going to quote from a peer-reviewed paper in The Lancet: 'Severe acute...
Mike Hedges: Sorry, I've been having computer problems all afternoon. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Local area co-ordinators in Swansea are the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic, their mission to help anyone who needs support in the community they cover. Local area co-ordinators have responded to over 20,000 enquiries during the pandemic. When Swansea went into lockdown, the local area co-ordinator...
Mike Hedges: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I thank Members who've taken part in the debate? And I'd also like to again thank the Minister. I don't think anybody agrees with 100 per cent of it, but lots of us like bits of it, and I think that's what you end up with with a document this size. This is important to everyone in Wales. To reply to Mark Reckless, we have one day left, because, when we're on recess, it...
