Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Conservative spokesperson for his remarks. I will say at the outset that this is the first opportunity that I've had as Cabinet Secretary to outline my approach and the Government's approach to this area since the statements were made and those commitments undertaken. So, I will, with your patience, Deputy Presiding Officer, seek to outline the approach that I would like...
Alun Davies: Although the partnership principle of the original Act still holds, today’s social, political, economic and environmental conditions in Wales are clearly very different to those in which community safety partnerships were established in the 1990s. Today’s challenges include a range of new types of crime, including modern slavery and hate crime, the escalating threat from international...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Next year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 that puts statutory partnership working at the heart of efforts to address community safety issues.
Alun Davies: I understand the point the Member's made, and he has made that point to me in our private meetings. I'm grateful to him for repeating it this afternoon. Clearly, the measures that have been taken and the debates and discussions that have taken place do not presume a successful planning application, nor do they presume the sale of the land. No actions that have been taken by the...
Alun Davies: Of course.
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I've listened carefully to the debate that's taken place this afternoon, and I'm very grateful to Members for the time that they've taken to participate in the debate, and grateful also for the Petitions Committee and the petitioners, who have taken the time to bring this matter to the attention of the National Assembly. The motion in front of...
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, I think Members across the whole Chamber paid tribute to the work of Carl Sergeant during our debate last week, and I was certainly very happy to add my voice to those tributes. Carl, in many ways, led the work of the whole Government on this area, and the fact that Wales is recognised as the leading country in the United Kingdom in terms of providing support to veterans...
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, I've given an undertaking that I'll discuss this matter with the all-party group, and I will certainly make a statement to the National Assembly after I've had an opportunity to have those discussions with the group.
Alun Davies: The Member makes a very good and important point. It's a point that's also been made by the Member for the Cynon Valley. I accept the point that he makes. Current research points to community-based treatment close to an individual's home and community as being the most effective method of treatment. The Member will be aware that, earlier this month, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social...
Alun Davies: The delivery on the covenant was something that I debated last week, and I'm happy to reiterate the points that I made last week. The covenant isn't simply delivered by a speech or by a gesture or by a debate. It's delivered by public service workers and the whole community, day in, day out. We ensure that we monitor the delivery of all of our commitments—the commitments that we've made in...
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, in replying to the debate last week, I gave an undertaking that I would consider all of the recommendations of the cross-party group with an open mind. I reiterate that undertaking this afternoon. I have also agreed to attend a meeting of the all-party group on the armed forces, and I reiterate again my commitment to doing that, and to continuing the conversation that we...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the Member for her kind remarks, and I'm sure that all of us will join you in congratulating RCT council in their award. I know it's a prestigious award, which recognises the outstanding support that the council has given to our armed forces community. I'm sure that everybody is very proud of the work that RCT does, and I'm sure that we would wish to extend our...
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, I understand that you have given permission for questions 6 and 7 to be grouped. Our priority is to ensure we provide effective services that meet the needs of service families in areas such as health, housing and employment. Examples of these are the housing pathway, Veterans' NHS Wales and the development of an employment pathway for service personnel leaving the forces,...
Alun Davies: I very much agree with the Member's observations. I will say that I see digital opportunities as a means of extending, deepening and broadening the opportunities we have to serve the public and to enable the public to access services more easily than is possible at present. I would urge all service providers to look at how they can positively and proactively approach service delivery to...
Alun Davies: Can I say, Presiding Officer, I'm very happy to do that? I'm very happy to look at how our public services can deliver through digital and ensure that those opportunities are maximised. I'd be very happy to continue the conversation with the Member if he has ideas on how that might be achieved. I know he interviewed the Permanent Secretary on this matter in the Public Accounts Committee last...
Alun Davies: There are significant opportunities for digital to support service transformation in the public services in Wales. Consideration of digital or automated solutions should be built into the development of new policies or services.
Alun Davies: Well, let me say that I am responsible for the delivery of the plan as a whole, and you can scrutinise me on that. But, let me say that Bridgend County Borough Council have been very quick to tell me what their expectations are of me as well. I don't think there was so much a sense of me telling them what I wanted from them; they were certainly very anxious to tell me what they expected of...
Alun Davies: The meeting that was held in that area, I think, was a lively meeting where you had a lot of those views expressed. We are seeking to continue to ensure that we do hold public events across the whole of the Valleys region, to ensure that we are able to listen to and to move forward on the basis of what we hear. One of the issues that we've found through the last year or so of public...
Alun Davies: I'm rather surprised at the question from the Member for South Wales West. He's been a long-standing Member of this place, and he knows that scrutiny is what is actually taking place at the moment. I'm surprised he doesn't recognise that. He can scrutinise me at questions and in committee, at the time of their choosing. I attend all committees whenever I'm invited to do so. I will say to him...
Alun Davies: I hope that all of us will be generous enough to see and appreciate what others are seeking to achieve, and I think seeking tabloid headlines probably undermines that ambition. I hope that Darren Millar will reflect on his contribution to this question and will reflect also on the ambition that we all share, which is to have the best possible leadership across all of our public services. That...
