Mike Hedges: The 60-day period comes to an end tomorrow. This debate is the second we will have had on the draft NDF, following a Welsh Government debate very early in the 60-day period. The purpose of today’s debate is to give the Senedd and Members a final opportunity to consider the draft NDF. This is not a debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee's report, although I...
Mike Hedges: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm pleased to be able to speak in this committee-led debate on the draft national development framework, which is now called 'Future Wales: the national plan 2040'. Members of the Senedd will be aware that the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 set out scrutiny procedures for the draft NDF. The Act refers to a Senedd consideration period that lasts for 60 days after the draft NDF is...
Mike Hedges: First of all, can I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for bringing this before us? I am a long-term advocate of a deposit-return scheme. I remember the 5p and 10p deposit on a glass bottle of Corona pop, which was then taken away, washed and reused. That would be a wonderful way of going forward. It worked. People dumped them; we as children would collect them and get the money. We are suffering...
Mike Hedges: I'm sure Tŷ Hywel has got opening windows somewhere; I'm not convinced that it's in every room that Tŷ Hywel has those opening windows. What I would like to suggest is that the Commission ensured that all windows open so that people could open windows and we could not have the situation that used to be called sick building syndrome, where somebody sneezes on one floor and that is circulated...
Mike Hedges: I accept that it would be very difficult to bring in new taxes before the end of this Senedd term, which is only four or five months away, but the Welsh Government can make changes to existing taxes. Will you consider adding more, higher bands to council tax? It seems to me ridiculous that somebody paying £400,000 for a house, or has a house in the £400,000 bracket, is paying the same...
Mike Hedges: 2. Will the Commission make a statement on air circulation within the Senedd and Tŷ Hywel buildings? OQ55936
Mike Hedges: Will the Minister make a statement on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on school budgets?
Mike Hedges: I'm speaking as someone who spends a lot of his Saturdays, normally, watching football and rugby—mainly local teams. Can I just talk about the two most popular winter team sports—football and rugby? When do the Welsh Government believe they can realistically expect to be able to commence competitive fixtures? And I realise that football will be able to start before rugby, because rugby...
Mike Hedges: 2. Will the First Minister produce a road map for the return of amateur team sports in Wales? OQ55907
Mike Hedges: Can I say I share Siân Gwenllian's concern about second homes, especially when we have a homelessness problem, as we discussed earlier? I will again urge the ending of council tax exemption of houses registered for private holiday letting, which then get business rate exemption and that means people don't pay anything. That doesn't need primary legislation; that just needs action. But...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the Minister for her statement? My second supplementary budget speeches for the last nine years have up until now been very similar, and also very short. The second supplementary budget traditionally dealt with small in-year changes, and very little has happened. That is definitely not the case this year. Some general comments. I do not underestimate the difficulty in dealing with...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the Deputy Minister for her statement and can I say you'll be pleased to know I'm not going to repeat anything that Dai Lloyd said, but I generally agree with everything he just said? As the Deputy Minister said, Interfaith Week celebrates the contribution people of faith across the country have made to our communities and the importance of some of the work done by our faith...
Mike Hedges: Can I also thank the Minister for her statement? Can I just explain to Rhun ap Iorwerth that borrowing rates are low in Britain, they're not low in the rest of the world? In Armenia, it's over 6 per cent; in Egypt, it's over 10 per cent; in Argentina, it's over 30 per cent. So, although we have low interest rates, it's not low all over the world, because the British economy is considered to...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? Like I—sorry, I had to cough there. We all remember when employment used to be the way out of poverty, but we know now there are a lot of families with people working—in some cases, both parents are working—who are living in poverty. We also see the £20 per week uplift in working tax credit being ended in April by the Westminster...
Mike Hedges: 6. What action is the Welsh Government taking to alleviate poverty in Wales? OQ55856
Mike Hedges: I just want to make two very brief points and ask three questions. I think it's important that the Commission, excluding items outside of their control set by the remuneration committee, are not treated more favourably than the public sector as a whole. This is a presentation issue, but I do not understand why we cannot receive the costs set by the remuneration committee separately to...
Mike Hedges: Analysis from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board suggest that World Trade Organization tariffs could add anything from 38 per cent to 91 per cent to the price of British sheep meat for European buyers, as well as the non-tariff barriers for trade, which we all know. China, the world's largest importer of sheep meat, impose an ad valorem tariff of 12 per cent to 15 per cent on...
Mike Hedges: I would like to ask for two education statements. Firstly, a statement on free school meals expanding into school holidays. I know the Welsh Government has made a decision on Christmas and Easter of this year, but I think it's something we need to look at being done all the time, rather than just as a one-off. It's something I've been calling for since I was elected. And also, what...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for his answer and clarification of where powers reside? Firstly, I have no problem with fireworks on 5 November, an organised fireworks display, either on 5 November or for events like the Chinese new year and Diwali. My concern is around the all-year use of fireworks, which affect some young children, some elderly, and especially some military personnel, who...
Mike Hedges: 4. What powers does the Welsh Government have to control the use of fireworks? OQ55813
