Andrew RT Davies: That is awful, First Minister. This is your biggest infrastructure project. The negotiations around VAT are still ongoing. Without VAT—and these are the words of your own civil servant in that committee—the costs of this project are in the region of £1.3 billion to £1.4 billion. Only two years ago, you were trying to convince people that this project was going to come in at £800...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, do you still believe that the Welsh Government's preferred black route option for the M4 will come in nowhere near £1 billion and will be way below the figure that you prophesised back in 2015?
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, this is First Minister's questions, and that's why we ask you questions and we look for answers from you. We don't seem to get many answers on a week-by-week basis. But, last week, in the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, the senior civil servant who was dealing with this in the Cabinet Secretary's department indicated that the project cost was somewhere near £1.4...
Andrew RT Davies: I thank the Minister for his answers so far. I want to make it quite clear that we're very supportive of Government support for companies, especially when they offer exciting and dynamic propositions. Where we do have concern is where other businesses point to support being given to companies, and they themselves are refused support. In particular, they draw attention to the last set of...
Andrew RT Davies: Cabinet Secretary, I heard your exchange with the leader of UKIP earlier about CCTV in abattoirs, and it is correct to say that all large abattoirs do have CCTV. There is an issue that it should be rolled out in the rest of the abattoir sector, and we on these benches support that. From your findings and your deliberations on this, would it be correct to say that funding could be...
Andrew RT Davies: Do you stand there and feel ashamed of the record increases in the council tax that have happened since the start of devolution here in Wales, and the little respite you've given, in particular, to rural authorities to meet the demands of extra services you've placed on them?
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, leader of the house. Could I ask for two things today, please? Last week, I raised with you the issue around residents who were facing traffic blight in their area around the northern access road in St Athan, and you kindly indicated that the Cabinet Secretary would be in touch with my office and also engage with the residents locally. I'd be grateful if you could get me a...
Andrew RT Davies: I've had it put to me that that's the 'ladybook' analogy of what you want for the economic future, First Minister, because, in fairness, there are 17,000 words in this document. I had hoped that you would have given us something firm, a road map, which would lift Welsh wages. As I've highlighted, over the 20 years, a Scottish worker is taking home £49 more in their pay packet than a Welsh...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, you raise the issue about wages. If you take Scotland as an example, back in 1999, a Welsh worker and a Scottish worker took home the same take-home pay. Today, a Scottish worker takes home £49 more in their pay packet each week than a Welsh worker does. That's a fact. In this document, wages are only mentioned twice. Taxes, business taxes, are only mentioned once out of...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, the Government, before Christmas, brought out their new economic action plan, 'Prosperity for All'. This is the fourth action plan that the Labour Party have brought forward since devolution started. The first one was 'A Winning Wales' in 1999, 'Wales: A Vibrant Economy' in 2005, and 'A new direction' in 2009. If you actually look at the document,...
Andrew RT Davies: Will you take an intervention?
Andrew RT Davies: I'm grateful for the Minister taking an intervention. Could he explain what he thinks is an 'age-friendly community'? In what sense would an age-friendly community operate under what the Minister has outlined there? Because very often we talk about care and looking after older people, but as my colleague Angela Burns touched on, they're something to be celebrated, older people, and we know...
Andrew RT Davies: Will the Cabinet Secretary give way?
Andrew RT Davies: I'm grateful for the Cabinet Secretary giving way, and he's quite right—obviously we do need a more joined-up transport policy, and do need to move people out of their cars and into other modes of transport. But it is a fact that, for many people, roads are the main conduit for their travel, both for work and for leisure. The recent figures say that congestion's costing the Welsh economy...
Andrew RT Davies: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the Welsh Government's economic policies will improve take-home pay in Wales?
Andrew RT Davies: Leader of the house, is it possible to have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for transport in relation to the northern access road in the Vale of Glamorgan, coming from the St Athan enterprise park? Today, Members who represent that particular area have had an e-mail from residents of the residential park on Millands road—Millands caravan park—who have highlighted how the road is...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, First Minister. I, too, pay tribute to all the staff who were out over the festive period while many of us were enjoying the festive period, and, without that staff, our NHS would not work in whatever section of the service they work in. But the point I made in my second contribution this afternoon, which is that if there is no out-of-hours provision whatsoever, then it's obvious...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, First Minister, for that answer. I do recognise that there are pressures across the whole of the United Kingdom as we've all seen in the news. My first question was were they predictable and were they preventable, some of the pressures unique to Wales, such as no GP out-of-hours service, as I'm led to believe, here in Cardiff over the festive period. There were chronic waiting...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Could I also extend a welcome to the new Member here today, and endorse the First Minister's comments about how welcome it is to see Steffan back in the Chamber here, and wish him well in the weeks and months ahead? And I'd also offer my congratulations to David Melding, who was recognised in the new year's honours list—a very worthy contribution to Welsh...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. This is an area I've taken a special interest in, because I think one of the most rewarding periods I had was the 13 years that I was a primary school governor. But, regrettably, in that time, I did become aware of many vacancies that did exist at that time and I have to say, in the evidence that I've seen gathered here via written questions, et...
