Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. You've had a fair few questions now, today, on procurement. If I can use my final question to ask you about land transaction tax, but not in terms of the residential LTT, which you mentioned yesterday and the changes there, but in terms of commercial LTT, am I right in thinking that, from April, businesses greater than £1 million will be faced with rates of 6...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I'm glad you mentioned the National Procurement Service. I did raise this with you yesterday in the budget debate. I know that Andrew R.T. Davies mentioned it earlier. It is of key importance in terms of improving procurement procedures in Wales. The Wales Audit Office report into the NPS showed that there were weaknesses in the development of the business case...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, yesterday was Welsh budget day. Can I ask you, with regard to that budget, and the effect of it on—[Interruption.] I thought you'd like that, Simon Thomas. The effect of the budget on businesses and small businesses in Wales: can you tell us how you feel that the budget has been good for small and medium-sized enterprises in Wales and, when you take...
Nick Ramsay: When I'm talking about the longer term, I am thinking about longer than two years and I know that in your heart of hearts as well, Cabinet Secretary, you would ideally like to think longer than two years as well but your hands have been tied by this deal you've had to make. And I'm sorry you don't like my amendment, but I always was a Star Trek fan so I like to split the odd infinitive.
Nick Ramsay: Thanks for giving way. I'm just getting my head around what you said a few moments ago. You seem to have been saying to your constituent that you think it's right that the Welsh Government should not spend money it doesn't have and, therefore, act responsibly, but you're quite happy for the UK Government to borrow as much as it wants, so long as the money comes down the line to you. That...
Nick Ramsay: But, of course, it would've been a lot higher had the Conservative policies not been implemented, because you can't turn a supertanker around—[Interruption.] I'm not going to let you have any more interventions; I've been very generous. You can't turn a supertanker around overnight, and the deficit has come down, maybe not as much as we would've liked, I admit that, but there we are,...
Nick Ramsay: Well, it's a shame that the overspending of the previous Labour Government took place at the time it did, and perhaps—[Interruption.]—perhaps—. Go on then; I'm feeling generous.
Nick Ramsay: You're just trying to distract me, aren't you, from my budget debate. [Laughter.] I'll speak to you in the tearoom.
Nick Ramsay: The answer is that it's this Welsh Government that is responsible for running public services in Wales. I don't defend everything that the UK Government do—I never have. I'm sure you don't defend everything that the UK Labour Party—. I know you don't defend everything the UK Labour Party did. [Laughter.] So, we're probably quits on that score. But this is about the budget for Wales and...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Llywydd. I think the primary question, Cabinet Secretary, that I'd like to pose at the start of my contribution this afternoon is: what is this budget seeking to achieve? Is it simply trying to allocate funding to different budgets—in the past once perfectly acceptable? Or is it trying to do more than that, to address longer term challenges and to seek a real fundamental...
Nick Ramsay: Will you give way?
Nick Ramsay: What I actually said was that the UK Government would not describe itself as the best thing since sliced bread because I was pointing out that they're modest.
Nick Ramsay: I take it back; I thought Adam Price's contribution was bidding for the depressing element. You've just mentioned the highlands and islands of Scotland. Isn't it good that the highlands and islands of north Wales are going to get a north Wales growth deal, because we finally got that commitment?
Nick Ramsay: Diolch. Oh, Adam, Adam, Adam, I must say, I enjoyed your speech a little bit more than the motion itself. You did at least get to the glimmer of light at the end, which made it worth while me getting up in the morning, I suppose, and coming to work, and you did mention the budget at the end. Look, referring to the motion itself, I do like to be positive about some aspects of motions and there...
Nick Ramsay: Cabinet Secretary, no-one would disagree that this is a very challenging engineering project and that it will be a very fine stretch of road when it's complete, but nonetheless there are concerns across Wales and within this Chamber, but certainly locally with local residents I've met, and I think some of their fears would have been confirmed by the recent revelation about the 23 per cent...
Nick Ramsay: Can I welcome the Cabinet Secretary to his new role? I once named you the Minister Emeritus, you may remember, and it seems you're clearly fitting with that name. [Interruption.] I never called him a boomerang. You said that. Cabinet Secretary, the history of local government in Wales is one of reorganisation after reorganisation, reform after reform over very many years. I was very pleased...
Nick Ramsay: Will the Cabinet Secretary explain how the provisional local government settlement for 2018/19 will protect local services?
Nick Ramsay: Minister, can I also thank you for today's statement and welcome you to your new role? Congratulations. Also, I follow other Members in paying tribute to Carl Sargeant for his important work in this area over many years. It's not an easy area to deal with, but he did it with determination and panache. It's strange him not being in this Chamber when this issue is being discussed. I just...
Nick Ramsay: Two things, if I may, leader of the house. First of all, there wasn't time earlier for me to have my supplementary question to Neil Hamilton's question to the First Minister, despite the brevity of the answer that he received initially, on parking charges in Wales. But can I concur with Neil Hamilton's comments that it is important that councils are encouraged and given guidance to keep those...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch. I'm pleased to move the amendment in the name of Paul Davies. This is one of those debates, I feel, where the amendments say it all. The Plaid, Welsh Conservative and Government amendments are all 'delete all', seeking to delete the motion and annihilate each other in the process. It's very generous of you, Neil Hamilton, to say that you would accept most of our amendment, given that...
