Neil McEvoy: Diolch, Llywydd. I've introduced a simple amendment today, stating that, where necessary, compulsory purchase should be used by local authorities to meet the needs of social housing. I've advocated compulsory purchase for some time. I've also long advocated a simple concept for housing, which is local housing based on local need. It's a position that the Labour Party just does not understand....
Neil McEvoy: I strongly urge the Minister to have discussions with Gwynedd Council, because local government can do a lot. In Gwynedd, 7,000 homes are owned by people who don't even live in Wales. Ten per cent of homes in Gwynedd are used as second homes—more than any other county in Wales. Almost 40 per cent of properties sold in Gwynedd from March 2019 to April 2020 were purchased as second...
Neil McEvoy: Thank you. Thousands of people in Wales live in flats that are at risk of fire. The properties are worthless. There is a Welsh Grenfell waiting to happen. I visited Victoria Wharf and shot a video showing the incredible toll this is having on residents, and 750,000 people have viewed the video, and saw and heard residents say that they wrote to you and the First Minister and, I quote, they've...
Neil McEvoy: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on any consequential funding the Welsh Government has received as a result of the UK Government's remediation of non-aluminium cladding material buildings fund? OQ55537
Neil McEvoy: 6. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Housing and Local Government regarding the effect of second homes on the Welsh language? OQ55538
Neil McEvoy: Yes. What I'd like to know is: what is the Government going to do about this?
Neil McEvoy: I'd like a Government statement on the Westminster Government's report NRPB-M173. I understand it's no longer in the public domain, but it shows quite clearly that plutonium has leaked from Hinkley Point into the estuary for decades. What is of particular concern is that, in 1982, the report and the tests of the UK Government showed that was a huge spike in plutonium discharge through the...
Neil McEvoy: The residents of Victoria Wharf in Cardiff bought what they thought were their dream homes, but it turns out that they've bought into a nightmare. The properties are worthless now, they're unable to borrow off them, they're unable to sell them and there are real concerns about fire safety. These residents do not now sleep easily in their beds at night, and the blocks were signed off by...
Neil McEvoy: Diolch, acting Presiding Officer. This is the third time we have debated a sovereign Wales in just over two years. It took 19 years to get the first debate, so we're making progress—we're making progress. I'm really proud of Wales, I'm really proud of what we've achieved, and I'm even prouder when we go on to achieve more things when we have the powers. I support an old-fashioned concept,...
Neil McEvoy: I'd like to raise a point—
Neil McEvoy: Presiding Officer, I've been trying to raise a point of order for the last 15 minutes.
Neil McEvoy: Fine. I've got a point of order to raise, Llywydd. I've been waiting for 15 minutes.
Neil McEvoy: I'd like a statement on the testing of the nuclear mud from Hinkley Point nuclear power station, or the lack of it, really. We heard last week that an expert panel had been set up without a process of public application. I'm really concerned that some key experts in nuclear physics—scientists—have been left out of that group, which is a concern. But the very simple statement I want is,...
Neil McEvoy: Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for victims of domestic abuse whose children are removed by social services?
Neil McEvoy: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, thanks for the statement. The publication Nation.Cymru reported today that the Financial Times are reporting that the UK Government will force Wales to accept inferior agricultural products, such as chlorinated chicken, for example, and it said that the Welsh Government's senior official had said that we will be expected to fall in line. Do you not think it's...
Neil McEvoy: So, I'm looking for an assurance, really, and it's an equality issue—and I say this as an English-language-first Welshman, because I didn't know a word of Welsh until I was 32, and I remember a Danish person speaking to me in Spain in Welsh, and I thought he was speaking to me in Danish. That's how embarrassing my education was. So, I believe passionately that immersion classes should be...
Neil McEvoy: I usually contribute in English because I am more confident in English, because when I was a school pupil, I wasn't able to learn Welsh—there wasn't a word of Welsh taught until I did an Wlpan course. Now, that was an immersion course. And then, last week, I was very concerned when the Labour Party, and the Minister, and Plaid Cymru, voted against immersion teaching.
Neil McEvoy: Thanks, Minister. Crises bring opportunities and the most unfortunate circumstances can bring really positive change. The blended learning approach really is not going to work come the autumn, children are falling behind, not everybody is online and there is the issue of parents working. As a former teacher, I'm really aware of the enormous benefits of smaller class sizes: there's a different...
Neil McEvoy: I'd like a statement from the Minister for children. I had a meeting recently, the other day, on Zoom with a number of mothers, with a grandmother and one father, and all the children were in care. The common issue is that the reports that are put before courts to enable children to be taken into care are inaccurate, time after time after time. I've seen the inaccuracies; they're not picked...
Neil McEvoy: 5. Will the Minister make a statement on class sizes in schools in Wales? OQ55411
