Mike Hedges: I just want to thank the First Minister for that response. The 1980s enterprise zones were not successful in Wales, with the largest in Swansea becoming a large out-of-town shopping area. In fact, the term ‘enterprise zone’ in Swansea is used to define an out-of-town shopping area. When are the current zones going to be reviewed, and what will constitute success?
Mike Hedges: 4. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for enterprise zones? OAQ(5)0732(FM)
Mike Hedges: Can I thank my successor as Chair of the Petitions Committee for bringing this forward today? As was said earlier by my successor as Chair of the Petitions Committee, this came from a Standing Order change that allows consideration of any petition that has more than 5,000 signatures for debate on the floor of the Chamber. It’s an excellent example of the direct involvement of the public in...
Mike Hedges: That’s rather more than I expected, actually, and an improvement on your predecessor, who would have stopped after the first three words. Can I perhaps raise a supplementary question to the answer you gave to Simon Thomas, where you said that the great repeal Bill must be subject to a legislative consent motion from this Assembly? What happens if we don’t say ‘yes’?
Mike Hedges: 4. What discussions has the Counsel General had in respect of the legal implications for Wales of the UK Government’s repeal Bill? OAQ(5)0043(CG)
Mike Hedges: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on regional educational working?
Mike Hedges: Do you find it ironic that somebody who got 34.7 per cent of the vote in an election wants a 40 per cent ballot threshold?
Mike Hedges: Can I ask for two statements? I make no apology for asking for one on the tidal lagoon. I know the tidal lagoon has been mentioned twice this afternoon in questions to the First Minister, but I think it is of such great importance to those of us who live in the Swansea bay city region that I think we would like to have a statement on it, covering two points: one is the marine licence that the...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? The first supplementary budget provides an extra £20 million for the Cardiff city region. Will the Swansea bay city region get the same financial support from the Welsh Government when it needs it?
Mike Hedges: 5. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government’s support for the Swansea Bay city region? OAQ(5)0712(FM)
Mike Hedges: I wouldn’t think so, because you can’t get that much diesel into most cars, and therefore the cost of traveling to get the diesel—[Interruption.] The cost of travelling to get the diesel will actually be more than the savings possible. Each tax needs to be considered against unintended consequences so that they would affect behaviour in a positive manner. What are the dangers of it...
Mike Hedges: I welcome the opportunity to start engaging in this debate today, and I welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s opportunity to start thinking. It’s not so much of an opportunity for thinking, but thinking aloud, which I intend to do. Any proposal to introduce a new tax in Wales will be assessed against a range of criteria, including the extent to which a tax affects UK macroeconomic or fiscal...
Mike Hedges: But, surely, with corporation tax, it’s almost like a voluntary donation by major companies when they can decide where they’re going to repatriate their profits to, where they decide to pay for intellectual property rights et cetera. So, it’s a voluntary contribution—the rate doesn’t matter, it’s the size of how much they actually want to pay.
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the First Minister for that response? I think we all—or most of us really enjoyed Wales’s success last year at the Euros, and that we really did see Wales being promoted as a major player in Europe because of it. I think it is, of course, crucial that Sport Wales also realises the importance of professional sport in Wales. Does the First Minister agree with me, regarding...
Mike Hedges: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the importance of sporting success in promoting Wales to the world? OAQ(5)0694(FM)
Mike Hedges: Not all of us.
Mike Hedges: Certainly.
Mike Hedges: Thank you very much. Jenny Rathbone—post Brexit—. Well, the starting pistol has been fired. Our dependency on immigrant labour, we know. The effect of tariffs on lamb exports, we won’t have—well, we will have very, very few. And the quality of food is important. I think that something we all we all need to think about is what we’re putting in our stomachs. Eluned Morgan said it was...
Mike Hedges: Can I say I agree with you entirely? What I was going to say was we could have got round it from the very beginning by saying all instructions had to be in Welsh, and make everybody in Spain, Portugal, and other people who wanted to export to us, produce Welsh packaging with Welsh instructions, and that would have stopped it. Neil Hamilton—with Brexit, there are lots of different views;...
Mike Hedges: Please.
