David Melding: I assume you've given way. [Laughter.]
David Melding: I apologise. In our view, it's simply not plausible for a UK EU withdrawal Bill to operate if it doesn't get the express consent of this place and the Scottish Parliament. That's the reality of the political situation, and that's what we should rely on.
David Melding: I will if the Presiding Officer—
David Melding: Look, there's no way around this. What's been proposed today is that, in whatever it is—20-odd days, or less actually—we would pass some form of continuity Bill. It's going to take nine or 10 months through the Westminster procedure, and we're supposed to do it in 14, 15, 16 days or whatever. I think you need, Rhun, if I may be so bold to say, to look at the big picture here. We should...
David Melding: There wasn't unanimous support. There was a take-note motion that we did not want to divide the Assembly on because, in the tactics of this, we have been keen that the Welsh Government's attempts to negotiate effective frameworks and effective framework governance get the maximum support from the Assembly. So, we took a very pragmatic decision, but that was not a decision to approve a...
David Melding: I start by saying where we do agree with the Welsh Government on this side of the Assembly, and that's as has been outlined in a statement, and I quote, 'It remains the Welsh Government’s view that the best approach to this issue remains an amended EU Withdrawal Bill which can be given legislative consent by the National Assembly.' And I do agree that this should be approached on a UK basis...
David Melding: First Minister, perhaps you've noted that, in Scotland, in the referendum on Scottish independence, the number of 16 and 17-year-olds who voted was 75 per cent. That compares to 54 per cent for the age group just after that—18 to 24—and a very similar differential was present in the 2017 Scottish local elections. Do you agree with me that engraining a habit to vote early offers great...
David Melding: Can I commend the work of our Chair, Mick Antoniw, his predecessor, Huw Irranca-Davies, and the whole secretariat, particularly the clerk? I think this is an excellent report. It's succinct, and I think it's already had some impact and leverage. But it requires an awful lot of effort to produce something as powerful as that, and to draw some sort of reasoned argument out of the whole range of...
David Melding: I agree with what you just said in terms of promoting positive behaviour is absolutely key, and that we do that in schools—amongst other places, but schools are really important. But I think most public agencies are in a very good place to detect poor behaviour and attitudes, and then also signs of actual violence, because there's such under-reporting in this area. And that's got to be part...
David Melding: Can I just start by saying that this is largely positive news? Wales does have much to be proud of, and I do think it is a success for devolution. I remember all the debates way back 20 years ago about what sort of policy differences could emerge, and even in areas where the policy direction is largely agreed, comparing different jurisdictions and their performance could be key to the...
David Melding: Can I just—? Because we've had a very interesting statement. I think the CLAC report that we'll discuss tomorrow is one of the best reports CLAC has ever produced and we do some heavy lifting or, if I can change the metaphor, we get pretty dirty down in the engine room. But tomorrow's debate I think is very significant and that really is about the governance arrangements we will need for...
David Melding: I think this was always going to be a tough negotiation, but the way I read it is that we are moving decisively towards agreement. And I have to say, in terms of how this will be viewed by the historians, I think it will be seen as a classic federal-type discussion, because, whatever you think about the UK Government, it is not treating the devolved administrations—unfortunately, as they...
David Melding: Diolch, Llywydd. Leader of the house, can I ask for a statement on the progress that is being made with the cladding safety tests in high residential buildings in Wales? You may know that, last week, a report to the south Wales fire and rescue authority stated that a hotel and a block of flats in Cardiff had not met, I quote, 'combustibility requirements'. This now brings the total of failed...
David Melding: Leader of the house, I'm sure you'll welcome the decision by the BBC to eliminate by 2020 all single-use plastics from their premises, and the royal family, which is an institution nearly as grand and august as the BBC, has said that internal caterers at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyrood will have to use china plates and glasses, or...
David Melding: I'm very grateful to Mark Isherwood for giving me a minute. I just want to focus on the potential we have to drive even more change through social housing. There's already good, indeed best, practice, emerging in this sector, because they can build at scale. So, we can be looking at homes that potentially generate more energy than they consume. That ends fuel poverty in those homes. It's...
David Melding: Yes.
David Melding: Thank you for that. I'm delighted to refer to my friend and colleague Jonathan Morgan, who I greatly miss here, if I might be indulgent. But I think, absolutely, and that was a shift in our practice and aspirations in Wales. Can I just finally, in conclusion, say that I do welcome the Plaid Cymru amendment? I think it does add to the motion, and just to say, in terms of some recent...
David Melding: It's a pleasure to take part in this debate. It's one of a series we've had this afternoon when there is cross-party support for better services in a particular area. Last week, I sponsored for the Time to Change Wales campaign an event here in the Senedd. As you will know, the goal of that campaign is to end mental health stigma and discrimination in Wales. Only a week before—I'm sure many...
David Melding: I think we've heard two outstanding speeches that covered most of the ground and done so, I think, with great eloquence, because I think we all have experience of this issue and it is a matter that really does affect our constituents. It affects day-to-day life and can leave them in a very exposed financial situation. Like others, I've been very concerned to find that we're way short of best...
David Melding: Cabinet Secretary, what are the chances that the rates will actually diverge between Wales and England? Or, do you feel that the problem of the border is always going to be insuperable in terms of having a more nuanced and specific policy in Wales to meet our own needs?
