Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Minister, for the statement.
Nick Ramsay: Well, where to start? I think we are at least united in the desire to support jobs, young people, communities and our environment, and to 'grow back greener', as is the new expression that's going around. But, I must say, Minister, I'm a bit disappointed with today's statement. You point out that the UK Government has the macro-economic levers required to reignite the economy, but of course...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, First Minister. You've obviously covered a fair amount of this with previous questions, so feel free to be brief. You've mentioned discussions with local authority leaders. In answer to Laura Anne Jones earlier, you reiterated that those discussions—. I spoke with Councillor Peter Fox this morning, the leader of Monmouthshire County Council, currently an amber authority, as I'm...
Nick Ramsay: 6. What discussions has the First Minister had with local authority leaders regarding local lockdowns? OQ55644
Nick Ramsay: I'm pleased to contribute to this afternoon's debate, and I've got to say, just listening to that last contribution from Rhianon Passmore, I do find it a bit rich when the Welsh Labour Government have constantly called on the UK Government to provide more funding to this place and more funding for public services in Wales at the very time that they just received an extra £4 billion to...
Nick Ramsay: Minister, good afternoon. I'm sure you'll join me in recognising the courage and resilience of our children as they return to school in what is a very worrying time for them and their parents. What thoughts have you given to providing more pastoral support and care to children in Wales, particularly in primary schools and nurseries at this time? In recent years, there's been an increasing...
Nick Ramsay: I thank the Minister for bringing forward these regulations today. The Welsh Conservatives will be supporting these regulations as we have been calling for some time for a land transaction tax holiday here in Wales to mirror the stamp duty holiday that was originally introduced, primarily in England, as a mechanism to energise the housing market during this time of the pandemic and lockdown....
Nick Ramsay: Can I firstly concur with the comments made by Mike Hedges regarding the need for greater regulation of fireworks? Two issues if I may, Llywydd: firstly, Trefnydd, I've been contacted by a number of constituents who are very concerned about the limited number of train carriages being used to get young people to and from Hereford Sixth Form College from Abergavenny station. Despite each child...
Nick Ramsay: I'm pleased to be able to contribute to today's debate on the impact of variations in national and sub-national income tax. It's not something that trips off the tongue all too easily on a daily basis, but I welcome the Chair's excellent opening contribution, which I think explained the context within which this important piece of work was compiled. This report was a very interesting one to...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Minister. The drop in land transaction tax revenue by 47 per cent, I think you said, is indeed worrying but understandable during the lockdown, due to the massive slowdown in the housing market. Getting revenues up depends on getting the market moving, I'm sure you're aware of that. Whilst I welcome your introduction of a stamp duty holiday, I have questioned the threshold of...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, and I look forward to hearing that information later this month. I appreciate that officials' time and your own time and the Government's time over recent time has been preoccupied with the pandemic and dealing with that, but if I can, in my final question to you, ask how this whole issue of procurement can be seen in terms of the issue of building back better, and renewing the...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Minister, and I'm pleased to hear that that work is under way, because the National Procurement Service frameworks do need looking at and overhauling. Public bodies in Wales have been spending in the region of £6 billion procuring goods and services, so we shouldn't be in any doubt about the importance of procurement in getting the Welsh economy moving again. Unfortunately, as you...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, procurement is one of the key ways in which public bodies need to be able to demonstrate that they are securing value for money, something that we took evidence from you on recently in the Public Accounts Committee. Two of the Auditor General for Wales's reports in autumn 2017 concluded that national governance arrangements for procurement could be strengthened and...
Nick Ramsay: 5. Will the Minister provide an update on revenues from the land transaction tax? OQ55535
Nick Ramsay: Trefnydd, the issue of mental health has massively moved to the forefront of all our minds over recent years, and particularly during the pandemic with the associated issues of mental health that have been affecting some people. You may be aware that Mind Cymru have launched their Stand For Me campaign, calling on Welsh political parties, current Members of the Senedd and future candidates to...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, First Minister, for that answer. I'm sure you'd like to join me in thanking the construction workers who've helped keep this important project on time and on budget over the last few months and years, particularly at a time when the sector has been so badly affected by the pandemic, with construction microbusinesses making up around a third of applications to the economic...
Nick Ramsay: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on the opening of the Grange University Hospital? OQ55534
Nick Ramsay: Well, I was going to start this contribution by welcoming the consensus that was breaking out across the Chamber, but I'm not sure that's appropriate now. But, as Paul Davies said in his comments earlier—his opening comments—we're all like-minded here in wanting to see this pandemic dealt with as swiftly and as safely as possible, and the lockdowns eased as swiftly as is safely possible....
Nick Ramsay: Minister, Jenny Rathbone makes some good points. The Welsh Government often talks about building back better after the pandemic, and I think that planning reform and changing the way that the planning system is used to encourage sustainability is all key to this. All applications should be carbon proofed. I previously raised the issue of an application for an electric-car charging station...
Nick Ramsay: Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government policies to support the rural economy as we build back better following Covid-19?
