Huw Irranca-Davies: I'm really glad to hear that you're not opposed to the idea of employee ownership and co-operative models of worker ownership. I would just say to him, don't look back at that 1980s model. Actually look at working with us on what a new model would look like to achieve exactly the same end. That brings me to Vikki Howells, who spoke to us in a tale of two halves, very like the Tower story...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'll respond very briefly. Can I first of all just thank everybody who's taken part in this debate? It's been well worth while. I've enjoyed it all, and I'll try and respond briefly to some of the contributions, finishing with the Minister. First of all, to Joel. I welcome the contribution and the criticism of this as well, because we need that challenge. But I would...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Dirprwy Llwydd, and today we’ll explore not only what more can be done to promote employee ownership in Wales, but whether indeed we can introduce a workable Welsh Marcora law. And my thanks to the Business Committee for selecting this proposal for debate and to other Members of the Senedd for supporting the request. I’m looking forward to hearing the contributions today and the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Minister, you'll know where I'll be coming to at my concluding point on this, but can I just first of all say, I think this map, the document, the statement today shows that Welsh Government is serious about changing the whole conversation about shifting towards active travel, public transport—as you just described it: the workhorse of the way we travel about our communities, get to work,...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Further to Russell's and Rhun's points, community banking is about high-street presence, which we are increasingly seeing banks walk away from over the last few years, if not decades. It's also about that free access to banking for community groups and charities. We are seeing HSBC as the latest one to take the money and run, and it is not good enough. So, I ask the Minister to make the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: So, we therefore look forward, in the spirit of building consensus, to engaging constructively with the commission and with the Welsh Government to ensure that our constitutional arrangements are fit for purpose. Thank you very much, Llywydd.
Huw Irranca-Davies: Our predecessor committee's legacy report highlighted many issues that will be relevant to the work of the commission. It drew attention to the operation and the effectiveness of the Sewel convention and indeed the tensions that have existed between Governments and the need for all Governments and Parliaments to find a shared understanding of the application of that convention. Our...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and thank you, Minister. Constitutional matters are at the heart of our committee's remit, and having questioned the Counsel General briefly about his plans for a constitutional commission in September, today's announcement is of considerable interest to us; in particular, it will be interesting to consider how it links to the Welsh Government's second edition of...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Today, in my role as Chair of the cross-party group on active travel, and after many months of behind-the-scenes cross-party work, we launched the much-anticipated active travel school toolkit at Penyrheol Primary School in Gorseinon. In Wales, we've made important steps to change the way we get to school, but the figures show we need to do so much more,...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Could I first of all, just as the salmon champion of the Senedd, ask the seals to play gently? [Laughter.] But I have a particular interest, as the Minister knows, in the partnership working that underpins both fisheries and marine management, the exploitation, sustainably, of our natural resources, alongside the ecosystem approach, which she rightly said would form the basis of Welsh...
Huw Irranca-Davies: So, I'd ask the Minister what work she is doing on social and behavioural science to actually make sure that we can get through this all together safely.
Huw Irranca-Davies: Minister, thank you for your statement. I reiterate what you say in your penultimate paragraph: everyone has worked hard to protect themselves and their loved ones, and it's working. We are changing the course of this pandemic together. It's important to say this because that reminder to people about how much they have done together and how much we have still got to do to get through this...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Whilst welcoming this statement, I note that these don’t exist in the ether. If the ambition and the actions are delivered upon in this, they’ll have a real, tangible effect on our constituents, not least those who attended the Bridgend mental health round-table organised by my good friend, Sarah Murphy, and which we co-hosted last week. They raised many of the issues that you’ve...
Huw Irranca-Davies: I thank the First Minister for that response, and I genuinely am desperately worried for the autumn and the winter for my constituents, some of whom rely on universal credit to top up their wages, some of whom are out of work, but, for all of them, this makes the difference—it's make or break—between going into debt and poverty and possibly homelessness. I would urge the First Minister to...
Huw Irranca-Davies: 8. What discussions has the First Minister had with the UK Government regarding halting the cut to universal credit, as requested by leaders of devolved Governments? OQ56987
Huw Irranca-Davies: Could I first of all welcome the investment in that charging infrastructure that we’re now going to see within the Bridgend area, which is £450,000 being invested in kerbside parking charging facilities? That is really welcome. But would the Minister agree with me that, actually, greener transport is also tied up with what we do with moving people into active transport as well? And would...
Huw Irranca-Davies: What support is Welsh Government providing for post-16 vocational education in the Ogmore constituency?
Huw Irranca-Davies: I note and welcome the response we have received from the Welsh Government on these points. While we appreciate the overall context within which these changes to the law are drafted, I remind the Welsh Government respectfully that the information provided to my committee on request should have been included in the original explanatory memorandum for the benefit of all Members of the Senedd...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Thank you very much, Llywydd. We considered these regulations at our meeting yesterday, and laid our report immediately afterwards to inform this afternoon's debate. I thank the committee's legal advisers for turning around their analysis so swiftly.
Huw Irranca-Davies: I also thank my committee colleagues for their diligent scrutiny. We've noted what will now be familiar points in relation to the instrument's potential interference with human rights and the lack of formal consultation. We also noticed that there was no equality impact assessment for the regulations, and acknowledged the reasoning for this, as set out in the explanatory memorandum. I...
