Lee Waters: Well, Llywydd, this is clearly very disappointing news for the company and its workforce, and our thoughts are with the families and the employees at this difficult time. Welsh Government officials spoke to the business yesterday and are ready to support all affected staff through our Working Wales programmes, Jobcentre Plus, and the citizens advice bureau.
Lee Waters: —on the performance of devolution.
Lee Waters: I haven't progressed very far, but I'd be happy to take an intervention.
Lee Waters: Actually, what I said was I think the Members who were here 20 years ago would have accepted some of these achievements as reasonable achievements given our starting point of 100 years of economic decline. The litany of challenges that were recited by many Members through the debate are not in dispute. Wales remains a poor economy. We have a number of challenges. This is not something that we...
Lee Waters: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I thank most Members for that cheery canter through the Welsh economic scene. I think if we'd said to those in the Chamber this afternoon who were here 20 years ago that, 20 years on, rates of economic inactivity in Wales will be now broadly comparable with the rest of the UK, they'd have thought that a significant achievement. If we told them 20 years ago that we...
Lee Waters: Formally.
Lee Waters: Thank you for those questions, and, again, can I echo my comments about the dynamic role that he's playing as chair of the cross-party group? Because I think it does bring together not only people from different parties, because this is a cross-party agenda, but it brings the local authority people, along with the local campaigners, all in one room, where there is a will to make change...
Lee Waters: Thank you. To take those two questions in reverse order—on Transport for Wales, the Member's absolutely right, and, as I said, I met with them yesterday, along with Sustrans, to see if we could encourage them to create a strategic partnership to make sure that we could deliver this in a way that was both integrated in terms of the package of train work that they're doing, and potentially...
Lee Waters: Thank you. A number of questions there I'll try to address. On the planning point, I think we took a big step forward in the late autumn, with the publication of the latest edition of 'Planning Policy Wales', which made some significant strengthening of the planning guidance for future developments on creating an active travel environment. It'll take some time, I guess, for that to work...
Lee Waters: Thank you for the comments. I'm not sure there were any particular questions, but I welcome the tone of what he said. But, just in terms of the final point on the ambition of local authorities, I think we need to be frank that there is unequal ambition. There are a number of local authorities that have demonstrated a woeful lack of ambition, and that partly goes back, I think, to the capacity...
Lee Waters: Thank you very much for those comments. I don't think it's fair to say that we haven't seen action in recent years. I think we have seen action and we've seen a significant amount of money for a number of years from successive Welsh Governments in this agenda. But I think, as the evidence to the committee demonstrated, it's making sure the underpinnings are correct, so that the money is going...
Lee Waters: We have developed highly regarded guidance on how to design infrastructure that will make walking and cycling a more attractive option, but we need to do more to train and upskill professionals in its use. So I can today announce, Llywydd, that we will be setting aside some of the £30 million to invest in improving skill levels and spreading good practice. I have met with most of the...
Lee Waters: Diolch, Llywydd. We have a climate emergency, an obesity epidemic and an air quality crisis. Getting more people travelling in ways that improve their health and our environment is key to tackling all those problems. Transport accounts for 13 per cent of Wales’s climate changing emissions, and almost all of them come from the private car. Our recently published low-carbon delivery plan put...
Lee Waters: Absolutely. It is being trialled, and they are certainly having issues about the stability of the connection, but the level of intervention is minimal—it's just a small aerial on the side of the house. Similarly, using 3G and 4G is a way of getting broadband to lots of people, which could be a lot more realistic and doable than fibre to the premises. So, we would certainly be keen to work...
Lee Waters: Now, unfortunately, the UK Government have not taken the view of treating broadband as a key utility. I agree with what Paul Davies said: in modern times, we expect the ability to connect quickly to a fast online service to be able to reach the services that we all now take for granted. That is why there should be a genuine universal service obligation. Just as Royal Mail has to deliver a...
Lee Waters: Thank you very much. I'm delighted to be invited by so many Members to be shouted at by their constituents in village halls across Wales. I've already had the pleasure in Carmarthenshire, and in the next couple of weeks I'm going to Breconshire, where I shall also meet very frustrated people, and I completely understand their frustration. The Minister for housing very generously recounted...
Lee Waters: Oh, get hold of yourself.
Lee Waters: Well, we are certainly reviewing the work of the taskforce. My colleague Alun Davies published a delivery plan just before Christmas that captures the range of activities going on across Government in the Valleys taskforce area. As a result of that, a great deal of work has been taking place and progress is being made. So, for example, the work in developing the metro has been heavily...
Lee Waters: Thank you. I can assure my colleague that I'm continuing the work that he began to make sure that we make the most of the Heads of the Valleys road. I discussed this with the leader of the council last week, and I've been grateful to him for the conversations that we've had around it too. the work that he commissioned from the University of South Wales has reported, and it's been a valuable...
Lee Waters: Thank you. Yes, I visited Blaenau Gwent last week to meet with the council to discuss their priorities for the Valleys taskforce. I'm expecting them to submit proposals for Parc Bryn Bach though the Valleys regional park this week.
