Mike Hedges: Will the Minister make a statement on the number of dwellings expected to be built by councils this year?
Mike Hedges: Firstly, can I just say to Dai Lloyd, if we hadn't had reorganisation and the merger of district and country councils, we wouldn't have had the Assembly? That made a huge difference, because it would have added another layer of government, and, if you look at how close the election result was, it wouldn't have happened. I want to talk about local government—I always want to talk about...
Mike Hedges: I welcome the statement. One of the problems we have is that PM2.5s and PM10s cannot be seen, but they do damage to lungs by irritating and corroding the alveolar wall and, consequently, impair lung function. We need clean air. Will the Minister, in conjunction with ministerial colleagues, consider the following: banning new incinerators except for medical incinerators to deal with pathogens;...
Mike Hedges: Thank you for that answer. In order to deal with climate change, we need to reduce carbon emissions and, more importantly, increase the number of plants, especially trees, in order to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When will specific annual targets for Swansea be set?
Mike Hedges: 8. What actions is the Welsh Government taking in Swansea East following the declaration of a climate change emergency? OAQ54030
Mike Hedges: I want to highlight the work of the Calon Lân Society in Swansea. The sixteenth of March 2020 is the hundredth anniversary of Daniel James, who was was better known as Gwyrosydd, the writer of one of, if not the favourite Welsh hymn, 'Calon Lân'. Daniel James came from Treboeth in Swansea. His father died when he was young. He became a puddler at Morriston ironworks, and then worked at...
Mike Hedges: Will the Minister make a statement on what the Welsh Government is doing to work with universities in Wales to develop employment in the high paid and growth sectors of the economy?
Mike Hedges: It's not a new problem, but universal credit has made it worse for the unemployed. We all did—or most of us did—fought an election and we had a month off work when we didn't have any income. And how did we survive? Savings and credit cards. How do people who haven't got those survive when they have to go on for months without universal credit? They don't. They either fall victim to...
Mike Hedges: Certainly.
Mike Hedges: Well, it's very difficult, because people actually can tend to work, some weeks, 40 or 50 hours. Unfortunately, in other weeks they're working 10 hours. They can't plan anything. Childcare becomes a nightmare; they've got huge problems across the whole of their lives. So, yes, it's very difficult to be involved in helping to run the local football team if you don't know if you're going to be...
Mike Hedges: I’d like to associate myself with the remarks of both Lynne Neagle and John Griffiths and most of what Leanne Wood said. I think that we’re in almost total agreement on these issues. There are far too many people in Wales, including many children, living in poverty, which means they’re inadequately fed, they live in houses that are going to be cold when they should be warm, and they...
Mike Hedges: I'm normally pretty good, Presiding Officer—
Mike Hedges: Can I welcome the decision? The traffic problems around Newport at peak times need addressing, but the M25 gives us an example of what happens with new roads: first of all it gets built, then it gets made wider, then it gets turned into what people have described as the biggest car park in western Europe. I want to put forward some suggestions of what can be done. The Heads of the Valleys...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? I welcome the declaration of a climate change emergency. I believe that climate change is the most important issue facing us today. I'm probably in a minority but I think it is, very much, the most important issue. Will the First Minister produce a road map of planned Welsh Government actions? This could include things such as the annual tree...
Mike Hedges: 2. What discussions has the First Minister had with cabinet colleagues following the declaration of a climate change emergency? OAQ53936
Mike Hedges: The post-war Welsh economy was initially based upon agriculture, coal and metal manufacturing and processing. We then had a growth of light manufacturing and, by the late 1980s, Wales was attracting more foreign direct investment than any other region or nation in the UK. This flowed particularly into light manufacturing. A combination of proximity to markets, cheap labour, and often direct...
Mike Hedges: Students from the age of three to 18 are taught through the medium of Welsh. They learn all the technical words through the medium of Welsh and therefore they don't know the technical words in English. It's not that they can't speak English, but the technical words are words that are specific to the subjects—they only know the Welsh versions of them. Will you work with the education...
Mike Hedges: I believe that the best way of encouraging children to learn Welsh is to start at an early age. Will the Minister outline the support that’s being provided to Ti a Fi and Mudiad Meithrin in Swansea?
Mike Hedges: Well, I'd like to add a third suggestion, not disagreeing with either of the first two. We've got a blanket rate relief scheme is the problem, and I don't believe houses should be part of a blanket rate relief scheme. So, why can't the Welsh Government exclude houses from rate relief and refuse to accept housing except in designated holiday villages as businesses so they would then have to...
Mike Hedges: I very much welcome the Government's statement today, and can I say that I'll avoid saying anything that John Griffiths and David Melding have said up until now, but I agree with everything that both of them have said? The minimum that we should expect from a dwelling is that it is windproof, waterproof, and most importantly, safe. I think that's what we all have to expect. Welsh Government's...
