Alun Davies: 5. Will the First Minister make a statement on the economy of the Heads of the Valleys? OQ55336
Alun Davies: 2. Will the Deputy Minister make a statement on how the Welsh Government is monitoring levels of domestic abuse during the emergency period? OQ55340
Alun Davies: I was elected at the same time as Oscar, as two regional Members, back in 2007. And, of course, we meet each other as we go about our business in the Chamber and in the Senedd, but you get to know each other on the committee work and when you visit places and understand what your work is. Like Nick Ramsay, I first got to know Oscar on the Finance Committee and on a visit to Sweden, where he...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, and I'm grateful, Presiding Officer, to the First Minister for the clarity of his statement this morning. I think the clarity with which he's spoken is something of a comparison with the continuing chaos that we're seeing across the border in England, where we see promises made, promises broken. We're seeing poor leadership and collapsing public support in the policies...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, the overwhelming majority of people in Blaenau Gwent are fully supportive of the approach that you have taken and the Welsh Government have taken over the past few months, and they recognise the importance of continuing with a very cautious approach. I'm interested in understanding how you see this moving forward. You said at a press...
Alun Davies: The three groups of businesses that I wanted to ask you about include children's play centres, social enterprises and those small businesses that aren't registered for VAT and don't necessarily pay business rates, who really are the lifeblood of local economies and are the people that we need to invest in, both to maintain our social infrastructure and to ensure that they have the best...
Alun Davies: I've asked two questions.
Alun Davies: I'm grateful, Presiding Officer, for the statement the First Minister has made this afternoon. I have to say, I think overwhelmingly the people of Blaenau Gwent fully support the approach that he has taken and the Welsh Government have taken over the last two months. They overwhelmingly agree that his calm and cautious approach, and putting people's lives first, is the approach that is best...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Minister for his statement this afternoon. In answers to questions, the Minister has majored on some of the themes that he intends to follow, and I hope he does follow those themes. I was very taken with the way he dismissed the nonsense from Mark Reckless about equality. I think it's got to be fundamental to where we are as a Government and as a country. But in terms of...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Minister for his statement this afternoon. Could I ask him about the sort of support that the Welsh Government has made available to people who are self-employed or rely on microbusinesses for their incomes? I'm thinking particularly of taxi drivers, I'm thinking of people who have started up as self-employed painters and decorators, who are working at the moment without...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, First Minister, for that. I asked you two weeks ago how committed you were to the four-Government approach, and you said that you remained absolutely committed to that. And, in principle, that's something that I agree with—I would always prefer to see the four Governments of the United Kingdom working together, sharing information and sharing experience and working to...
Alun Davies: I'm very grateful to the First Minister for his statement and for his openness in answering these questions. I'd like to return to the subject of procurement, if that's possible. We saw yesterday the absolute chaos of a Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office being forced to write to a House of Commons select committee to retract evidence that he'd given yesterday afternoon to that same...
Alun Davies: Can I press you on the supermarkets? I think many of us are concerned as well for employees. A number of people have contacted me quite upset, overnight, who have been told that they have to go to work. It's clear that their work is not essential in any realistic way at the moment. Are there powers, or do powers exist, to enable either this Government here or the United Kingdom Government to...
Alun Davies: I support the legislative consent motion, I support the powers, I support the use of these powers, and I hope that at the end of this dreadful period of time we're living through, we will have learned some lessons and we will be able to again review where we stand as a Parliament and the powers that Ministers have to keep us safe. Thank you.
Alun Davies: I think all of us, when we're considering these matters, consider our values, our positions, both within this Chamber, but also our responsibilities to our families and to the people we love. There are many of us who have watched our tvs over recent weeks and have seen what is happening to friends across the way in Italy and Spain and elsewhere, who have seen the suffering of people who have...
Alun Davies: That was very kind, Deputy Presiding Officer. First Minister, I think many of us wish to echo the thanks that have been extended across the Chamber this morning to all those people who work within the national health service and in other parts of the public sector, ensuring that we are all safe and our families are kept safe, and also to you and your team of Ministers and officials who have...
Alun Davies: Will you take an intervention on that subject?
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, I'm grateful to you, and I know I'm testing everybody in this. The matter we discussed under the topical question is a matter of grave public significance, because it is about the resources and how the resources are allocated both to the Welsh Government and how the Welsh Government manages those resources at a time of crisis. It is essential that our committees are able to...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Minister for that answer, and I think all of us welcomed the fact that the United Kingdom Government has woken up to the crisis facing many people across the country. Members will be aware that it's over a decade now since we bailed out the banks—now it's time to support our people. Many of us feel that the Chancellor, in his statement yesterday, failed in three ways....
Alun Davies: 1. Will the Minister make a statement in response to the UK Government’s announcement on support for business and the economy made on 17 March 2020? 408
