Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, acting Presiding Officer, and may I thank everybody else who has participated?
Llyr Gruffydd: The upcoming draft budget will inevitably be affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, the end of the Brexit transition period and the delayed UK spending review. Last week, we had a summer statement from the UK Government, which included further funding consequentials for the Welsh Government. However, we still have no forward funding figures for 2021-22. It is clear that, for effective planning...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, temporary Deputy Presiding Officer, and, as Chair of the Finance Committee, I am very pleased to be opening this debate today on the future spending priorities for the Welsh Government. As this Chamber will know, of course, for some time the Finance Committee has expressed its concern that the Senedd does not have a formal opportunity to debate and, hopefully, as a...
Llyr Gruffydd: Plaid Cymru will support this Bill this afternoon. Plaid Cymru has been committed to legislating on this issue for a number of years, and it's good to see that that will be delivered today. I will echo the thanks to everyone who's participated, particularly through the committee's work, in ensuring that the Bill gets on to the statute book, it is hoped, in a little while. The only thing that...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. One does accept, in the circumstances that we face, that it's inevitable that jobs will be lost. But what we are seeing now, and what I've noticed recently, is that we are seeing companies choosing to close sites in rural or coastal towns—the more peripheral communities—and to centralise jobs where there are headquarters, or where they have a greater presence...
Llyr Gruffydd: A number of rural businesses over the years have been receiving business support through the rural development programme, for example, and we saw a recent report from Audit Wales that had highlighted maladministration by the Welsh Government on certain aspects of that—£53 million-worth had been distributed in a way that didn't have measures in place to secure value for money. We received...
Llyr Gruffydd: 2. How is the Welsh Government planning to support the recovery of Welsh towns following the effects of Covid-19? OQ55467
Llyr Gruffydd: Move.
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch, Llywydd. Well, thank you for the contributions to this discussion around this first group of amendments. I'm slightly saddened, Minister, by you sort of grudgingly accepting that wild animals could tour with circuses in Wales in the autumn, when actually we could legislate now, today, to stop that from happening. And you referred to the 'peaceful enjoyment of possessions', to quote...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to move the two Plaid Cymru amendments in this group. At the moment, of course, the Bill only prohibits the use of wild animals in performing or being exhibited for entertainment in a travelling circus environment. For me, that definition is far too narrow, and Members, of course, will have received messages from organisations...
Llyr Gruffydd: Under the legislation, a wild animal can still legally be taken on tour with a travelling circus and trained for performance in Wales— perhaps, of course, for later exhibition in a country without a ban. Now, this would still subject those animals to many of the issues that compromise welfare and make itinerant circus life so difficult for them. The legislation presently fails to address...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Minister, for your statement this afternoon. I'll just start by maybe asking you to explain a few inconsistencies that I think I'm spotting in your statement and in the associated policy response document that you published to go with the statement today. You tell us in your statement that you'll be undertaking a range of economic analyses to understand the impact of moving from...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for your response. Of course, the success of any such initiative is very much dependent on the initial testing, and we've seen as we have this week with some cases relating to pubs in England that immediate tracking based on quick testing is the most effective way to identify those who should be self-isolating. At the same time, we're still hearing of cases where people with...
Llyr Gruffydd: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on the effectiveness of the track and trace regime in North Wales? OQ55428
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, tree planting wasn't disappointing, Minister—it's quite embarrassing, to be frank. But there we are. And there's a lot of catching up to be done, and I'm not convinced that the current trajectory that you're offering is going to be enough. But I hadn't appreciated that we're limited to such an extent on time, so I'll have to move on. You talk a good game very often, and you've been...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Minister, for your responses so far. It certainly is gut-wrenching news, and I very much align myself to the comments you made around looking at the four-day week and extending the furlough, and, certainly, the importance of the apprenticeship provision at Airbus. It's renowned and highly coveted across north Wales, and we really need to do everything we can to try and retain as...
Llyr Gruffydd: What steps will the Minister take to protect the interests of Welsh businesses in any international trade deals after the end of the transition period with the European Union?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. It's my pleasure to speak in this debate today on behalf of the Finance Committee. The committee met to consider this supplementary budget on 4 June. I note the positive opening remarks by the Minister in terms of the report recommendations, and we look forward to receiving the formal reply. But as the Minister has said, this supplementary budget is being...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for your answer. I hope that the translation equipment is working by now. We're all aware—. No, it isn't.
Llyr Gruffydd: We're very aware that the requirements of social distancing, whether it's 2m or 1m, actually, are causing a great deal of problems for many businesses that either have reopened or, of course, hope to reopen soon. Now, I'm sure we all know of examples where wide pavements outside of shops could be utilised in terms of cafes and coffee shops. There are parking spaces that could be used to...
