Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Llywydd. I’m pleased to see that we have at last reached the point where we have a debate on this long-awaited report, and I look forward to the fact that the hour we have today is only the start of the debate, because, as the Minister has just outlined, we need to consult more broadly on these issues, and we will need some discussion of them too. I’m sure like many other...
Mr Simon Thomas: Diolch, Cadeirydd. I am pleased to speak as the Chair of the Finance Committee to this Bill, but also, as a previous member of the Children, Young People and Education Committee, I’m pleased to see the Bill make some progress. Before I talk about our committee’s consideration of the financial implications of the Bill, I must firstly address the Minister’s letter of 25 May, which Lynne...
Mr Simon Thomas: Well, according to the leaflet I received from the Liberal Democrats on Monday in Aberystwyth, we, Plaid Cymru and Labour, are in bed with the Tories and UKIP on a hard Brexit deal. I would be interested to know what kind of Cabinet discussions you have had with the Liberal Democrats on achieving this extreme Brexit. But, in the hope that you're not going to deliver that, can I ask you how we...
Mr Simon Thomas: Well, it’s a mix, to be honest with you; some of it is that, but that’s only a continuation of the previous tax breaks that were for exploration. So, they’ve simply just changed it the other way round. I wanted to conclude just on that, actually, and just to thank Members for at least acknowledging that this debate has been engendered not only by Plaid Cymru policy, but also using the...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I thank everyone who’s taken part. I think if we can try and come to at least one thing we’re all decided upon and agree upon, which is that it is an imperfect market and it is not delivering the efficiencies that you would expect a good market to do—that’s why it needs such heavy regulation. I think I could test that by asking Members to raise their...
Mr Simon Thomas: Oh, we agree there. [Laughter.]
Mr Simon Thomas: Would the Member just give way on that point?
Mr Simon Thomas: Just briefly, if I could put it to him, if I was a Conservative I would have thought that an energy cap was also a very heavy-handed intervention into the market. [Laughter.]
Mr Simon Thomas: I agree with the general point that he’s making. I don’t know if those are the projects that the Welsh Government has also given support to. But I think the point that I’m making is that a more national infrastructure would be a way of delivering those benefits more directly to the local consumers. So, I think that point is that it’s something that’s frustrated many of us over many...
Mr Simon Thomas: Thank you, Llywydd. I’m pleased to move the motion in the name of Plaid Cymru, which puts forward evidence on the establishment of an independent energy company for Wales. In beginning the debate, I’d like to highlight the fact that we, as Plaid Cymru, have published a research paper on the issue and have used the Assembly’s research and communication policy fund. The paper is attached...
Mr Simon Thomas: Affordability, of course, isn’t just about buying a home or renting a home. It’s also about affordability of maintaining and being in a warm and safe home. That’s particularly true of Mid and West Wales, where a lot of homes are off-grid and don’t have access to the gas grid in particular and are reliant on solid fuel or oil or imported gas. What are you doing therefore to ensure that...
Mr Simon Thomas: This is indeed true of what you’re doing as a Cabinet Secretary, and I welcome it insofar as it goes, but it does underline the fact that, as a party, you don’t seem to be serious about taking control at Westminster at all. I don’t really have firm proposals or financial securities and commitments for how you’re going to support these actions going forward. However, let’s look at...
Mr Simon Thomas: And so will I, but I thought you wanted to become the UK Government and therefore were seeking to make financial commitments for the next Westminster Government, because it’s there that the 8 June is being fought upon. The one thing that you do state in your manifesto, however, is this: The Conservatives were dragged to court and forced to publish their draft nitrogen dioxide plan. But...
Mr Simon Thomas: Diolch, Llywydd. I also welcome the Cabinet Secretary back to this place. I’m sure the Cabinet Secretary, like me, welcomes the report from the National Farmers Union Cymru, published yesterday, ‘Farming—Bringing Wales Together’. I know that she was present at the report’s launch. It sets out how farming contributes to the seven well-being goals that the Government has in its own...
Mr Simon Thomas: What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the impact that the wider use of electrical cars will have on air pollution in Wales?
Mr Simon Thomas: Can I thank the business Secretary for her statement and just say that, obviously, we will try and co-operate as much as possible in re-arranging the business as necessary, following recent events, and understand very much why the Government has sought to do so? It may be of assistance if I can share with her, and also the Chamber, that we have a debate in Plaid Cymru’s name, tomorrow, on...
Mr Simon Thomas: First Minister, you will know that the people of Pembrokeshire are very eager to return to a situation where paediatric services are available in Withybush during the night-time hours so that they’re available 24/7, and that a petition is soon to be presented to the Assembly to that end. Just for clarity, do you agree that that is the ideal position that we should aim towards, and do you,...
Mr Simon Thomas: Rhodri Morgan was born to be First Minister, not only because he had the names Rhodri and Hywel, but because of his character and personality. It wasn’t apparent to his own party on two occasions, but, at the third attempt, as Lesley Griffiths has reminded us—three tries for a Welshman—he became leader of a party, an Assembly, a Government and a nation. We needed someone in the early...
Mr Simon Thomas: What income tax rate does the First Minister expect people in Wales who earn over £80,000 a year to pay from April 2019 onwards?
Mr Simon Thomas: No, I’m not. You’ve had your chance. No. [Interruption.] Yes, well the truth is in the cash-for-questions inquiry, and everyone can read it. As an MP, I revealed that the BAE Systems had paid millions of pounds in secret commissions to sell Hawk jets to South Africa. I think both of us appeared on the front page of ‘The Guardian’ for our inquiries as Members of Parliament, but I know...
