Adam Price: The garden has submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery fund to create a regency garden on the site. It appears that that bid has been successful and has attracted the possibility of private contributions on top of that, but this, according to the fund, is conditional on confirmation from the Welsh Government of Government support for the garden. As we are talking about an investment of...
Adam Price: 10. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's support for the National Botanic Garden? OAQ(5)0218(FM)
Adam Price: Obviously, as the Minister has said, this is clearly very unwelcome news in deeply uncertain economic times, and will be of great concern to the employees affected and their families. And, of course, it’s a serious blow to the aerospace sector, which is a major source of high-skilled and highly paid jobs throughout Wales, but, obviously, particularly in this enterprise zone in which the...
Adam Price: Well, may I ask the Minister to review this again because we’ve seen, in the merger of Tai Cantref and Wales & West Housing, a process that was entirely deficient, in my view, for a number of reasons, but, in this context, because of a total lack of consultation with tenants? He made reference earlier to the process of stock transfer. A ballot is held in terms of stock transfers, but, in...
Adam Price: 14. What assessment has the Minister made of the different rights afforded to tenants of a local authority and tenants of a registered social landlord? OAQ(5)0048(CC)
Adam Price: What is the Welsh Government’s response to reports that British Airways is looking to cut 66 jobs at its maintenance facility based at Cardiff Airport? EAQ(5)0054(EI)[W]
Adam Price: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement this afternoon, and also for the telephone conversation that we had early on Friday morning and her willingness to visit the area on Saturday afternoon. She mentioned that she was content with the speed of the response, but may I ask for a little more information about the timetable? When exactly was NRW informed by the company of the reduction...
Adam Price: I obviously welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s statement, but I have to take issue with him that the course of this period from 2000 to 2014 has been somehow an unalloyed economic success for those of us who live in west Wales and the Valleys. He was very selective in the figures that he quoted. Because we’re talking about a European programme, if we look at where west Wales and the Valleys...
Adam Price: May I, for once, share some positive news with the Cabinet Secretary? The number of visitors over the past year is up by 5 per cent, the number of family visits is up by a third, the sale of memberships is up by 41 per cent, and there has been a surplus for the garden over the past two financial years. May I ask the Cabinet Secretary to add to this positive news by confirming the long-term...
Adam Price: I would gently say to the Cabinet Secretary that it would be helpful if he answered the questions that were actually put to him and not simply read out his notes. I take it from his answer that he wasn’t aware that Finance Wales is breaking the spirit of the recommendations of his own Government’s access to finance review by continually bidding to run funds outside of Wales. He will know...
Adam Price: It seems to me, Llywydd, a bit like the tax cut that we were offered the other day. This is a not-for-profit operator in name only. One of the other commitments in the programme is to create a Wales development bank, which was born out of dissatisfaction with the way in which Finance Wales was being run. We now know that Finance Wales is bidding to deliver the new Wales development bank. One...
Adam Price: The programme for government has a commitment to develop a new not-for-profit rail franchise for Wales. I’m not only the one, I think, that’s tried and failed so far to understand what this actually means. The policy director of Arriva Wales, speaking to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee recently, said, ‘I do not feel I have ever seen an explanation of what this concept was’. There...
Adam Price: 7. What recent discussions has the Minister had with representatives of the National Botanic Garden of Wales? OAQ(5)0046(EI)
Adam Price: Leave us alone.
Adam Price: Will the First Minister commission independent research on the economic impact of the various post-Brexit models on the Welsh economy?
Adam Price: I hope the Member will understand why—. I don’t want to do that, because, of course, we support our own programme for opposition. But I’m happy to confirm that we will support the Conservative motion, because we do have to hold this Government to account for a poor programme for government—a programme that is vacuous when Wales deserves better. To put it in very simple terms, there...
Adam Price: Thank you, madam Deputy Presiding Officer. I agree with the leader of the Conservatives: this is a very flimsy programme, given that all the power and ability of the civil service is behind the Government. We have produced our own ideas in the programme for opposition and there is reference to that in our amendment. There are more ideas contained there than in the Welsh Government’s...
Adam Price: Well, I think that what we’ve just heard from the Minister must fill us all with a sense of despair. Because I realise there are different positions in this Chamber in terms of the best Brexit for Wales, and they’re held for legitimate and sincere reasons, but I think that most of us would agree that we need clarity and leadership from the Government that we’re currently lacking. Now...
Adam Price: Will you give way?
Adam Price: He’s just telling us that membership of the single market doesn’t actually exist outside the EU. So, why was the former shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Owen Smith, saying that that is his policy? Was he making it up as well?
