Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, I have had some conversations with justice Ministers in the UK Government on their vision for justice services. I've also taken time to ask my officials to continue to have those conversations with officials in the Ministry of Justice.
Alun Davies: I will, very much so. I think the Member for Cardiff North is absolutely right in the basis of her question and the assumptions that she makes. I do welcome the different expertise that the voluntary sector can offer and the benefits that can be accrued from working in such an open way. I would also say to her that, as a member of the Co-operative Party myself, I would like to see...
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, the Member was doing quite well up until that last sentence. She represents a political party, of course, that is almost removing the rate support grant from all local authorities in England, and in the last seven years has seen the spending power of local authorities in England fall by 49 per cent. So, I suspect she's on very, very thin ice there. However, let us take...
Alun Davies: Llywydd, I believe that everybody is very pleased that the Member for North Wales remembers the address I gave to the Labour Party conference in Brighton. I was clear there, and I will be clear here today, too, that the way we deliver our services here is by ensuring the best deal for citizens, and also, of course, for the public workers themselves. It is a matter for the authorities...
Alun Davies: The Welsh Government believes public services are best delivered by engaged and supported public servants who are fairly paid for the essential work that they do. The Government also recognises the important role of the third sector and businesses in supporting public service delivery to secure the best outcomes for citizens.
Alun Davies: You really don't understand it, do you?
Alun Davies: I am committed to working to professionalise and raise standards of behaviour in the property and estate management sector. It is disappointing that the Law Commission’s project on leasehold will not cover this topic, but I am considering alternative ways to progress this work in Wales.
Alun Davies: The Welsh Government is committed to social partnership with public service employers and trade unions in promoting fair pay and conditions.
Alun Davies: I regularly meet the police and crime commissioners to discuss a range of matters in relation to community safety.
Alun Davies: The Equality and Human Rights Commission undertakes monitoring of how Welsh public bodies are meeting the public sector equality duty. All public bodies in Wales, including local authorities, will be monitored this year. This will include how local authorities are addressing any gender pay gaps they have identified.
Alun Davies: Local authorities have the responsibility to offer training and development opportunities to members. They are also obliged to appoint a head of democratic services to provide all members with support and advice on their role and on the scrutiny function.
Alun Davies: We are continuing to provide funding to promote positive engagement for young people in addition to funding an additional 500 community support officers who work with young people on diversionary initiatives and providing guidance.
Alun Davies: Some fascinating questions. Yes, I hope that we can ensure that best practice—. You know, local government delivers some fantastic services. We tend to debate these issues when there are issues with those services, and I think we should also celebrate the successes of local government in delivering services to millions of people day on day. And we should recognise that, where there are...
Alun Davies: Deputy Presiding Officer, I'm grateful to the leader of UKIP for his kind remarks and the tone in which he's addressed the Chamber this afternoon. I seem to be starting every contribution today by answering the final questions first. How often will we report? I think I'm very happy to report on a termly basis to Members here, and I'm sure that the Minister for Children and Social Care, who...
Alun Davies: Now, you've asked several questions, and, unfortunately, I think I'm going to answer most of them in the same way. Yes, the situation has improved, and there is improvement happening in Powys, but that doesn't mean that we can step back and think that we've reached the kind of ambition and objectives that Russell George suggested in his contribution. So, I agree with you that we need an...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Member for the way that he has given his contribution this afternoon—a very constructive and positive contribution, and I very much hope that there is the agreement across the Chamber that we do need when we are dealing with some of these issues in Powys, to have that kind of approach.
Alun Davies: I'd like to thank the Conservative spokesperson for his kind words at the beginning of his contribution, and also on his ingenuity at engineering local government reform into the final contribution of that speech. I'll start, perhaps, most easily, by answering some of your final questions first. The Welsh Government does not have a role in appointing the chief executive of Powys or any other...
Alun Davies: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Following a critical inspection by Care Inspectorate Wales of Powys County Council’s children’s services, my colleague Rebecca Evans, the then Minister for Social Services and Public Health, issued a warning notice to the council under Part 8 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. On 16 April, my colleague Huw Irranca-Davies, Minister for...
Alun Davies: One of the issues I have to address later this evening is that of looking at Merthyr and the crucible of the industrial revolution. Gwyn Alf Williams, I think it was, spoke about the arc of fire from Blaenavon to Merthyr that forged the modern world. We're still living in that world, of course, and that world, today, is facing challenges that are not of its own making and not of the making of...
Alun Davies: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It's a pleasure in lots of different ways to reply to this debate. David Rees started his contribution describing the social and economic history of the communities of the Valleys, and I think a mistake that's quite often made is to see the Valleys as one homogenous whole, whereas, in fact, all of us here who represent Valleys constituencies will know...
