Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. This legislative proposal, which I hope the Assembly will support today is for a Bill to amend the planning system so that there’s a presumption against planning permission for hydraulic fracturing or fracking. This is aimed to protect public health, the environment and the landscape of Wales.
Mr Simon Thomas: The situation at the moment, following a Plaid Cymru motion tabled in February 2015 is that the Welsh Government has in place a moratorium against planning for fracking. Many argue that this position is open to legal challenge, but that, in any case, will soon change, because under the Wales Act 2017, both the National Assembly and the Welsh Ministers will soon have powers in relation to...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you for that response. As we looked at the Commission’s draft budget, it became apparent that many of the policing security costs are paid through an agreement between the Commission and South Wales Police. Given that policing is non-devolved, and given that we are a legislature within the UK system and that we are not an independent parliament, and given that a number of the...
Mr Simon Thomas: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer, but, bearing in mind that these new taxes and any new tax introduced does have to have the consent of the Westminster Government too, and in looking at the four taxes currently being considered, each with their benefits and disbenefits, how important is it for the Government and the Cabinet Secretary that at least one of those taxes, the...
Mr Simon Thomas: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the principles that steer the Welsh Government’s consideration of new taxes? (OAQ51244)[W]
Mr Simon Thomas: 3. Will the Commissioner make a statement on how security costs are allocated in the Assembly? (OAQ51247)[W]
Mr Simon Thomas: Plaid Cymru supports the regulations before us today, but I just wanted to ask a few questions and make a few comments. First of all, I’m disappointed that the explanatory memorandum, which is only 10 pages long, explaining these regulations, is only available in English. In my view, if you bring forward any kind of legislation, including secondary legislation, which places penalties on...
Mr Simon Thomas: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Clearly, the Minister and the Government have made a compelling case for taking action in this area and the problems that we have with alcohol abuse within our nation, though it is worth putting on record, I think, that this is not simply a question of cost. There are countries with cheaper alcohol than we have in Wales today that do not have the problems we have....
Mr Simon Thomas: I see, First Minister, that Denbigh plums are to be served as a dessert tomorrow, so everyone is welcome to contribute by eating those wonderful plums. But as we leave the common agricultural policy, which has never given any support to horticulture in Wales, what steps will you take as a Government to ensure that there is support to develop the infrastructure to ensure that farmers can now...
Mr Simon Thomas: I have to say that, in debates like this, I find myself on very abstract ground, and sometimes I wonder where north Wales starts and ends. But this time I just followed the discussion, and I’m wondering which world an which Wales I live in, because that was unreal compared to the world that we live in, particularly in discussing a tax that doesn’t exist yet and hasn’t even been proposed...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the Member give way?
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you to the Member. Just on the point about a national network, I think it’s important to bear in mind that today, for example, Shell have announced that they’re going to install fast electric charging points in some of their forecourts. But they’re concentrated in the south-east of England, and this is why it’s important to have a national infrastructure here in Wales, so that...
Mr Simon Thomas: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales’s recent report on safeguarding children in Powys? (TAQ0054)
Mr Simon Thomas: I thank the Minister for that response and for the opportunity to be able to discuss these issues with her yesterday. Since the statement of yesterday and my questions to the First Minister, a couple of questions have arisen in Powys’s response to this situation. May I firstly ask, specifically, what steps the Welsh Government is taking or will ensure will be taken to ensure that services...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you very much, Cabinet Secretary, and I look forward to discussing the details of the agreement between us to establish a young entrants scheme of about £6 million. The last time the Welsh Government had a similar scheme, there was £7 million in that scheme and it supported 520 young people into the agriculture industry. Perhaps somebody present would actually remember that scheme,...
Mr Simon Thomas: I think they have engaged because they were concerned, to be honest, that you were suggesting so many changes in such a short time frame. This is not to criticise some of the individual ideas in some of these consultations; it’s the way that your Government is now approaching consultation—a constant stream of new initiatives and no sign of actually delivering on previous ones. So, let’s...
Mr Simon Thomas: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, can you tell us why you consulted on 56 different proposals on the management of natural resources over the summer?
Mr Simon Thomas: But it wasn’t quite the Heinz variety but you almost got there. [Laughter.] One other and you would have made it. Many people suggested this looked like clearing the desks before Brexit. Can I suggest to you that surely it would be better to deliver on previous consultations before opening up new ones? For example, last autumn, you consulted on nitrate vulnerable zones; ten months later,...
Mr Simon Thomas: 9. What steps is the Cabinet Secretary taking to encourage young people into the farming industry? (OAQ51191)[W]
Mr Simon Thomas: It moved it on.
