Mike Hedges: We know that the large house builders benefit from scarcity of housing as it increases the prices they can charge for new builds. And as Paul Davies outlined, we've got a small number of very large builders who dominate the market. One method of increasing housing supply is self-build and self- managed build. Will the Government ask local authorities, outside the local development plans, to...
Mike Hedges: 8. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government support for co-operative housing? OAQ53424
Mike Hedges: I also call for the Llansamlet incinerator to be called in, as I believe Suzy Davies also did. There's no political argument over the fact that we're all opposed to this incinerator being built there. I've got two questions apart from that. On the first one, I'd like to ask for a statement. As school budgets are being set, the increased cost of employers' contribution to teachers' pensions is...
Mike Hedges: I'm used to parents complaining about having mixed-age classes and demanding that their children are taught with children in the same year group as them. And I believe that at below a certain size of school, education suffers, and more than two year groups taught together in primary school disadvantages the learner—the reason why we have education. And secondary schools need to be above a...
Mike Hedges: I think this is because some people have—local authorities had their needs reassessed and downgraded, and this is an opportunity for them to get reassessed and upgraded. It is something that disabled people themselves want to see. It's not perfect, and I'm sure we wish we weren't here. I wish that, last April, the Labour Party conference decision had been implemented in this place, but it...
Mike Hedges: Can I finish this sentence? There would be no questions of changes to a care and support package being a cost-cutting measure. Certainly.
Mike Hedges: I heard Helen Mary Jones say she's making a different speech to the one she expected, following the statement by the Minister. I'm going to do something different—I'll be voting a different a way than I expected to, following the statement by the Minister, because I was going to vote in favour of the Labour Party policy if the Minister hadn't made the statement that was made there. I'll...
Mike Hedges: Can the Minister state how much of the investment in the Welsh development bank comes form transaction capital, Europe, borrowing on the open market and other sources, including recycling money?
Mike Hedges: Will the Counsel General outline the steps being taken by the Welsh Government to ensure the continuation of funding for the further education sector post-Brexit?
Mike Hedges: Can I join with Nick Ramsay in talking about the importance of sign language, not just to parents but also to siblings—an opportunity to be able to talk to other members of the family? I said last week, it's the first language of many deaf people. Following on from what Nick Ramsay said, it's not only just about cost, it's about availability, and there is a serious problem of having people...
Mike Hedges: I'm hoping my party will sign up for endogenous growth, because I think that's the only way we're going to take our economy forward. Do you agree?
Mike Hedges: Will you take an intervention?
Mike Hedges: They also have two universities, and perhaps they could start using the benefit of those universities to help drive wealth.
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I again welcome this debate; I don't think we talk about the Welsh economy enough. We have, in Britain, London and the south-east of England amongst the wealthiest regions in Europe, and west Wales and the Valleys amongst the poorest. The only regions and nations to make a net contribution to the Treasury are London and the south-east. We also know that...
Mike Hedges: First of all, can I declare an interest in that my sister is profoundly deaf and a user of British Sign Language, and also, as president of Swansea Hard of Hearing Group? And before anyone says, 'Why not Welsh sign language?', sign language is descriptive. You translate the sign into any other language you are familiar with. It does not use an alphabet, but has signs to describe what someone...
Mike Hedges: Will the Minister make a statement on the effectiveness of the education consortia in Wales?
Mike Hedges: When launching the mutual investment model, the First Minister, when he was finance Minister, said: 'The mutual investment model includes important obligatory long-term provisions to secure community benefits, to create apprenticeships and training places for Welsh workers and for sustainable development, in which the private sector partner supports delivery of the well-being of future...
Mike Hedges: First, can I welcome the ministerial statement? Can I also welcome some of the comments made by colleagues earlier? I especially welcome distinguishing between homelessness and rough-sleeping. Homelessness includes those of no fixed abode who sofa-surf thanks to the kindness of friends and family, but in many cases they are just one night away from sleeping rough. There are also those who are...
Mike Hedges: I would like to raise two issues and ask for two statements. Firstly, can we have a statement from the economy and transport Minister regarding road safety on the M4 between junction 44, which is in my constituency, and junction 46, which I believe is in the Minister's? There have been a large number of accidents, and locals have said about water drainage and the road surface in that area. ...
Mike Hedges: As has been said, there are substantial benefits to swimming in terms of health—fighting obesity, reducing the number affected by type 2 diabetes and, something we don't talk about often enough, helping people build muscular strength, especially after they've left hospital. It is, along with other exercise, an excellent way of reducing current and future health problems, and aren't we...
