Mike Hedges: Thank you for your response.
Mike Hedges: The difficulty my daughter had in getting Lloyds Bank to accept the form in Welsh is well-documented. What discussion has the Minister had, or intends to have, with banks, building societies and insurance companies regarding accepting correspondence in Welsh, because otherwise we're going to have a two-tier system, where the public sector responds in Welsh and the private sector doesn't?
Mike Hedges: 2. Will the Minister make a statement on the preparedness of large private sector organisations, such as banks, to accept correspondence in Welsh? OAQ53697
Mike Hedges: 5. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the role of Welsh-medium Flying Start programmes in increasing the number of Welsh speakers? OAQ53714
Mike Hedges: Will the First Minister make a statement on helping local firms gain more public procurement contracts?
Mike Hedges: Normal service resumes now though, Andrew. [Laughter.]
Mike Hedges: Not only do I think it should, I thought it did. I think that part of the formula was percentage of population above a certain age, percentage of population at school age, so I think it does. I think that, really, councils protect social services and education, and one of the saddest things about local government is that most local authorities are getting very much the same. Swansea used to...
Mike Hedges: Please.
Mike Hedges: I'd make it more 4 to 5 per cent, but, yes, I agree with your general premise. Some council areas are net contributors to the national business rates, most notably Cardiff, which pays in roughly twice as much as it gets back. Just looking at Swansea in terms of income, the rate support grant reached a stage where it's paying less than 60 per cent, on its way down to 50 per cent, of the...
Mike Hedges: I welcome this opportunity to discuss local government. In fact, I welcome any opportunity to discuss local government and I wish we had more of these debates on local government. I might not agree with what's been said by Mark Isherwood, Suzy Davies and Russell George, but I think it's important we get this debate and discussion taking place in front of everybody. Can I say, first of all,...
Mike Hedges: Would you accept that Powys has far more per head than Cardiff does?
Mike Hedges: The same thing.
Mike Hedges: Of the 20 best-supported rugby teams in Europe, Wales has got none.
Mike Hedges: It's always difficult when you come third to speak on one of these debates. Can I just say I agree with everything Andrew R.T. Davies and Dai Lloyd have said? That's a good place to start. Can I talk about three positives of Welsh rugby? We've got a very successful national team and a very well-supported national team. The Millennium Stadium can sell out for all internationals, even if the...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank you for that answer? Swansea has been described as the knotweed capital of Britain. And whilst we have other non-native species, such as Himalayan balsam, it is knotweed that is the big problem. Could the Minister give an update on the use of a natural predator that is being trialled on a number of sites, and also on the use of pesticides that are being developed at Swansea University?
Mike Hedges: 8. Will the Minister make a statement on the effect of non-native plant species in Wales? OAQ53646
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I won't repeat anything that Dai Lloyd or Suzy Davies have said, but can I say that we've oft spoken as one on this for the whole period of time? There are not many other issues that you can say that about. But we really have stood together, because we realise how really important this is to the economy of the Swansea bay city region. Will the Welsh...
Mike Hedges: Dawnus was actually in my constituency, in Swansea vale. It was a medium-sized construction business, and if there's one thing that we need in Wales it's medium-sized private businesses. Employing 700 made it, in Swansea East terms at least, a large employer. And if you look at the list of companies in Wales, it was in the top 50 in the Western Mail list up until the last list. It's going to...
Mike Hedges: I couldn't agree more. In fact, most of what I was going to say was on that—that we do need to make sure that people have equivalences, that people can move from country to country in order to carry out skilled work and that the qualifications are treated as equal. That is incredibly important. How is the Welsh Government, working with either the Minister for Education or with the...
Mike Hedges: 4. What discussions has the Counsel General had with the Minister for Education on the future of standardised qualifications in Europe? OAQ53590
