Russell George: I would like to take this opportunity to urge the whole of Wales to get behind Newtown to make it Britain's best walking neighbourhood. Newtown is the only Welsh town to have been shortlisted in the top 10 towns in the UK, and voting closes at 11.59 p.m. today. We need as many votes as possible to win the Ramblers Association award. Both Powys County Council and Newtown Town Council have a...
Russell George: Cabinet Secretary, can I thank you for your answer? I have to say, since November, I have received a significant increase in concerns reporting worrying delays in the time it takes for an ambulance to arrive following a 999 call. It seems, by the questions being put to you over the last couple of days, that that's increasing as well in terms of Members. Now, I have to say, there's one...
Russell George: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on ambulance response times in Powys? OAQ51885A
Russell George: The National Procurement Service, I would suggest, is a failed policy. It's certainly an ongoing drain on the public purse. I am going to come to some areas that are certainly in your portfolio. Welsh SMEs and Welsh supply chains are not benefiting from the Welsh Government's procurement spending. In 2015-16, only 52 per cent of Welsh Government spending on goods and services went to...
Russell George: I appreciate what you've said, and, of course, you are responsible for the economic action plan, SMEs and supply chains that benefit as well. The Welsh Goverment formed the NPS in 2013. When it did that, it was given a £5.9 million loan, and, five years later, the NPS has failed to pay that loan back. So, I would ask, Cabinet Secretary, when can the Welsh taxpayer expect that money to be...
Russell George: Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, despite being set up in 2013 to deliver greater value for the Welsh taxpayer, the Wales Audit Office has been critical of the National Procurement Service. Now, by anyone's estimation, it has comprehensively failed to deliver the intended savings in public spending. In 2016-17, it only generated about 60 per cent of the savings expected and, worse still,...
Russell George: Thank you for your answer, Cabinet Secretary. I was listening to your answers to Darren Millar earlier on and you committed £5 million from your reserves for the financial year 2018-19 to allow for the impact on urban local authorities. But from your answer to Darren Millar, it seems that that figure is now £7.5 million. How do you intend to support learners in mid and north Wales, and, in...
Russell George: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the education improvement grant for schools? OAQ51839
Russell George: Planning is.
Russell George: I very much look forward to receiving that additional information. Can I finally turn to the mobile action plan, which to date seems to be characterised by its lack of action? Are you concerned by the comments of your colleague the Cabinet Secretary responsible for planning, who in a recent letter to the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, appears to have kicked into the long grass...
Russell George: I'm grateful for that. I'm also grateful that you have previously acknowledged the communication issues that have plagued the Superfast Cymru project, and you've pledged to address them with Openreach. However, communication issues do continue. When will the information on the Openreach broadband checker finally reflect what the accurate position is for all premises, including those enabled...
Russell George: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. Leader of the house, today marks the end of the two-month extension to the Superfast Cymru project. I've repeatedly asked you and Openreach for details of how many premises were told that they were in scope of the Superfast Cymru project before 31 December, only for the project to end before they had been connected, and for a list of 2,500 premises, which...
Russell George: I'll write to you.
Russell George: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The Court of Appeal judgment in the case of Powys County Council v. Price and Hardwick overturns a High Court decision that could have wide ramifications for local authorities in relation to their liabilities under the contamination land regime. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 says that primary responsibility for the remediation of contaminated land is the...
Russell George: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the process for transferring liabilities to a successor local authority from its statutory predecessor following a reorganisation in local government? OAQ51797
Russell George: I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement this afternoon. Cabinet Secretary, do you feel that the lack of any financial and human resource is one of the reasons why eight local authorities did fall below your expectations? There is also some concern from the cross-party group on active travel that the implementation of legislation has been process heavy, meaning that the...
Russell George: Minister, the tragic case that's been outlined today, of course, clearly goes back to 2015 and predates the critical care standards inspection report into children's services that was issued last October. Will the work of the current children's services improvement board take into account the findings of this report, and what lessons do you think have been learnt in the wider context? And...
Russell George: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The Welsh Government have always had offices, since its creation, in my constituency, and there has been some concern in the past that Welsh Government plans to scale back on its commitment to basing Welsh Government staff in Newtown. In 2015, the then Permanent Secretary, Sir Derek Jones, confirmed to me that the Welsh Government is committed to a long-term...
Russell George: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the future of Welsh Government offices located outside of Cardiff? OAQ51738
Russell George: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on rights-of-way improvement plans?
