Adam Price: He's referring to the most regressive tax of all, of course, the council tax, which is why the reform of that is in the co-operation agreement, and we need to get on with that as soon as possible.
Adam Price: I've just precisely explained to you. It's actually those on the lower incomes that stand to suffer most from the cuts in public services right across the piece, and that's true in health as well. So, if we don't invest, it is those people on the lower incomes that will suffer falling life expectancy, shorter lives, more painful lives. That's why we have to do it. That is why we are making...
Adam Price: Yes, certainly.
Adam Price: We totally disagree. We urge you to read the report by Melin Drafod, which was drafted by members of the Labour Party, as well as members of Plaid Cymru and people of no party, and came to the conclusion that there is no fiscal impediment to Wales actually becoming an independent nation, and that there are huge advantages in terms of the kind of fair and prosperous society that we want to...
Adam Price: Diolch, Llywydd. There can be no doubt that the Welsh Government lacks the money it needs to do what is necessary to build the kind of decent society that we want to see. That is more true now than it has ever been, I think. Ultimately, that lack of money stems from our lack of power. We lack the powers necessary to grow our economy in Wales, which is one absolutely critical way by which we...
Adam Price: But you can go further than that, Minister, can't you, because you do have the ability to raise additional revenue through your tax-varying powers? Now, I understand the Government's position is that you don't want to touch the basic rate, but even if you simply matched the increases in the higher and additional rates that are being introduced in Scotland on 1 April—the 42p and the...
Adam Price: The offer now of just 1.5 per cent extra as a pay rise on top of your, frankly, derisory original pay offer, has been described by Sharon Graham of Unite as 'a sticking plaster'. For many in the NHS this real-terms cut of more than 4 per cent in their pay will rub salt in the deep wounds caused by more than a decade of austerity. When you say now that this is your last and final offer, that...
Adam Price: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. When Plaid Cymru suggested in November that you used a combination of the Wales reserve departmental underspends and unallocated funding to fund a better pay offer for NHS staff, the Minister for Health and Social Services told us there was no unallocated spending available, there were no underspends, and that you couldn't use the Wales reserve. 'Even if we did have...
Adam Price: I agree with you, Counsel General, that the existence and the work of the commission reflect the new enthusiasm that there is in Wales around our national conversation in terms of our constitutional future, and it's also contributing to that momentum. And that can be seen in a range of different ways and reflects a range of different views, perhaps. One example over the past weekend—as I've...
Adam Price: Thank you for that response, Minister. This is an issue that we've discussed on a number of occasions, and has been the subject of correspondence between us too. I must emphasise the gravity of this problem, as thousands of people in the Ammanford area particularly are reliant on a service that had been provided by the Margaret Street dentist there. I raised this issue with you in November of...
Adam Price: Thank you, Minister. I had the pleasure of visiting the NappiCycle company in Capel Hendre recently, where I was given a very interesting presentation on recycling nappies. Now, I accept that this doesn't sound like an exciting afternoon, but the level of innovation by the company was excellent. Through various processes, NappiCycle use soiled nappies and similar products and turn them into...
Adam Price: I think the Trefnydd may have misspoken here, because a 1 per cent increase, according to your own figures, in the income tax level at each band would raise £273 million. What you're referring to—the £55 million—is a 1 per cent increase in the NHS pay bill. So, actually, using your income tax powers, you could achieve a significantly higher pay offer than the one you're currently...
Adam Price: You say that you've taken a different approach to the UK Government, but the remit letter that you've sent mirrors that of the UK Government exactly in emphasising affordability. You also define what affordability means—the amount that you, as a Government, can afford to pay—because you say in the letter: 'In the absence of increased UK Government funding, any changes to NHS staff’s...
Adam Price: The Welsh Government has formally commenced the NHS pay-round process for 2023-24 by sending a remit letter to the NHS pay review body. The Welsh Government's evidence to the pay review body, along with the letter, was sent on the same day, 11 January, that the health unions said that they were no longer prepared to engage with a review body process that they no longer trusted, calling...
Adam Price: Thank you very much, Llywydd. May I, on behalf of the Plaid Cymry group in the Senedd, but also on behalf of the party more broadly, extend our sincerest condolences to the First Minister on his bereavement? It is a blow that's difficult to comprehend, if truth be told, and we want to ensure that he is aware how much support we wish to give him during this most difficult period, and that, as...
Adam Price: 9. Will the Minister provide an update on financial support available for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to expand in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr? OQ59053
Adam Price: 1. What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure sufficient provision of NHS dental services in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr? OQ59048
Adam Price: That is beneath the First Minister, to be honest with you. These are not my words; they're the words of the NHS workforce that we've been speaking to and listening to on the picket lines. We have nurses, doctors and others, through burn-out, who are crying on wards, and patients and their relatives because of the experience that they're facing. I'm afraid the state of denial that we've just...
Adam Price: Well, words matter because actually admitting that it's a crisis is an important acknowledgement of the scale, the seriousness and the urgency of the challenges that we face. I think the reason that you don't want to use that word is because the crisis has developed and deepened under you and under your Government. Health is devolved. Five Ministers in your Government—a majority in the...
Adam Price: Diolch, Llywydd. 'So for one week will he stop blaming others, take some responsibility, and just admit that on his watch the NHS is in crisis, isn't it?' I'm quoting the leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, to Rishi Sunak last week at Prime Minister's questions, but they're words that could equally apply to you, First Minister. Labour in Scotland has described the situation in the NHS...
