David Rowlands: Can I first congratulate the Chair and the members of the EIS committee for their work in identifying the necessary steps that may be necessary to restart and reinvigorate the economy post COVID-19, which are contained in all of their 34 recommendations? Before I go into the report, I wish to make the point that we are still unaware of the situation surrounding the co-prosperity fund. That...
David Rowlands: Whilst we acknowledge and welcome all the green projects you've outlined in your report, Minister, I have to return to the subject that R.T. Davies mentioned earlier on, and that's the business of tree planting. I'm not going to go into the details of it; I've got the details in front of me now. You have given a fairly comprehensive answer to R.T.'s question, but I have to say that we can't...
David Rowlands: We note with concern the Centre for Towns's report 'The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our towns and cities', which suggests that the economies of towns in the Valleys and on the north Wales coast will be amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic. As mentioned in my address during the Brexit debate, the threat to our Valleys towns from the lockdown is very real. If we do not carry on...
David Rowlands: Yes, okay. It's on lifting the lockdown, actually, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. There is no doubt that the protection of public health in response to COVID-19 is raising extraordinary economic challenges. The UK Government has tried to freeze the economy using the job retention scheme, generous business loans and various handouts. But freezing the economy is the easy part. Just...
David Rowlands: I thank the First Minister for that answer. I do understand that there can be no real definitive answers until an inquiry has been convened and the report produced, and that will, of course, take time. But I would at this time ask the First Minister to put together an interim report, one that would allow corrective actions to be put in place quickly, based on the knowledge gained over the...
David Rowlands: 3. What assessment has the First Minister made of the effectiveness of the actions taken by the Welsh Government during the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ55329
David Rowlands: Whilst we can agree with many of the initiatives mentioned by Helen Mary in her introduction to the debate, we believe that asking the Welsh Government to effectively underwrite a job guarantee scheme for the young suffering unemployment as a result of the coronavirus crisis is an ill-thought-out concept. Firstly, it could have considerable financial implications, which, given the...
David Rowlands: Can I thank the Minister for his statement today? I think there is much in it that we would all in the Chamber agree with, and also, we acknowledge the many interventions that have been going on, put in place by the Welsh Government, and we thank you for those. Despite the considerable financial help that some businesses have been able to access, many of those in my constituency are now...
David Rowlands: I thank the Conservative Party for bringing this very important debate to Plenary, and can I echo the comments made by both Joyce Watson and Angela Burns with regard to front-line staff and the work that they've done throughout this coronavirus epidemic? We are not talking about an inquiry into their behaviour; we're talking about an inquiry into the behaviour of the Governments of the UK. It...
David Rowlands: I have to reiterate, we as a group support much of what is contained in this statement and welcome this debate and the opportunity it gives to add, cross-party, to this vitally important discussion. But it has to be said, the Government's statement is rather short on detail. I want to concentrate on the economic elements of this statement and the different approach taken by this Government to...
David Rowlands: Can I thank the Minister for his statement this afternoon, and also to thank him for his own strenuous efforts during this very, very difficult time? I'd like to also acknowledge the broad spread of interventions by the Welsh Government and, indeed, their implementation in an efficient manner, particularly through the agencies of local government and the Development Bank of Wales. And I think...
David Rowlands: I thank the Minister for your statement this afternoon, and I would like to welcome the opportunity to question you as an 'Aelod o'r Senedd' for the first time. Can I say that we really all appreciate the work that's being done with your interventions with the economy in Wales? But, Minister, on 14 April, the Office for Budget Responsibility produced a reference scenario on the shrinking...
David Rowlands: Okay, I've done it myself. Fine. Thank you very much, Minister, for your statement this afternoon, but also can I thank you for the regular weekly updates we get as spokespersons, which are very comprehensive and, in fact, leave very little wriggle room for questions, if I could say that? Can I also say that I think that many of the agencies you're using for the interventions, particularly...
David Rowlands: Good afternoon, Minister. Thank you for your statement. Obviously you'll know that the farming community is particularly worried about the impact of disruption to the supply chains. This can have a significant impact on the ability of farmers to get their products to the marketplace, which, of course, impacts on the farmers' overall income. Farmers representatives are thus asking for the...
David Rowlands: Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing this important debate this afternoon? We will be supporting all of Plaid's motion. Rugby is the national game of Wales and unlike England, where much is based on its public school system, it is a sport of the working classes and it is a grass-roots sport in Wales. If the BBC is to be a true public service operator, it is incumbent upon the institution to...
David Rowlands: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I open by saying that the Brexit Party will be supporting the Government's motion? We will not be supporting the Conservative amendments, although there are a number that we would support, as we note the irony of their call for the Welsh Government to invest in the airport infrastructure, given their repeated opposition to the Government's past investment strategy...
David Rowlands: The fact of the matter is that closed family courts—
David Rowlands: —are not in the interests of the children. Sorry, I do apologise.
David Rowlands: Well, I'm not sure that that would happen. We have to have a situation where there's an acknowledgement of the fact that family courts sitting in secret is wrong. When I was a magistrate, I could instruct all journalists in a court—I could give reporting restrictions on those journalists. I see no reason why those restrictions can't be applied to family courts. I appreciate the fact that we...
David Rowlands: —removed from the care of the family, including—. Of course I will.
