David Melding: I think, on the latter point, you should follow the scientific evidence—I would commend that. I think it is slightly perverse for a Member to quote the need to follow scientific evidence and then throw into the debate something that has certainly not been examined by the committee, or the Welsh Government by the sound of it. But, as I said, evidence has to be taken seriously when it’s...
David Melding: Llywydd, can I join with the Cabinet Secretary in expressing our deepest sympathy for all those bereaved and to say that the victims are in our thoughts and prayers at the moment? The Grenfell Tower fire was truly appalling and must lead to a comprehensive review of fire safety regulations. Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for making such a prompt statement? I definitely think that was the...
David Melding: First Minister, the frequency and reliability of services is crucial, and in terms of Arriva’s services, I really think that we need to see a dramatic improvement in such practices as cancelling services or stopping a service half way up the valley. If you want to get to Aberdare, it stops in Mountain Ash and you have to get off and wait for the next train. These are really important tests...
David Melding: Cabinet Secretary, on a slightly different tack, but still in the mainstream of this question, encouraging enterprise in schools, amongst the pupils, in particular, I think is a marvellous thing to do. I’ve many times previously called for social enterprises to be encouraged—I think each secondary school ought to have at least one—and why not use the model of co-operatives? What better...
David Melding: I want to concentrate on the literature part of your statement, and in particular that great source of innovation and entrepreneurship, and I’m talking about the small independent bookshop. Now, this sector has been cut back over the years as the likes of Amazon have come on, but those that survive are outstanding businesses, with great connections to the local community, involved in all...
David Melding: First Minister, many older women have a problem with mobility—they are quite frail—and we need to shape certain public policies with that mind. For instance, with transport, the improvement in bus services, free bus travel, et cetera, is a help, but really we need to focus on things like community transport schemes as well, which allow people who would otherwise be excluded from at least...
David Melding: First Minister, can I say that, like you, I’m glad that the voter turnout last Thursday was much closer to the historic trend that we’ve had in the United Kingdom, and that is something that we should all be very grateful for? One thing that’s always struck me as very peculiar is why we vote on a Thursday. There have been a couple of occasions in the twentieth century where general...
David Melding: I’m keen at this stage of the afternoon to help build consensus. We do need a range of models. I think that’s very, very important. Mike Hedges said that, for the foreseeable future, many people will not be able to become home owners, and co-operative models, I think, give that—it is a bit of an in-between situation, in many ways, because you have responsibility for setting policy and...
David Melding: I do thank the Minister for putting on the record that we do not build enough houses in the United Kingdom. He's right on that, and, you know, I've heard his reflections on past Conservative Governments. In the current Conservative manifesto, there's a commitment to build 1.5 million homes between now and 2022. That would mean 75,000 more homes in Wales in that same period. You will build...
David Melding: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I’m very pleased to move this motion in the name of Paul Davies and look at the housing crisis that currently exists in Wales. Successive Welsh Governments have failed to tackle the housing needs that have been quite apparent now for a generation or more. An increasing requirement for social housing, underinvestment since devolution, and the post-2008 economic...
David Melding: I want to talk about a more rational estimate of housing need. And here, I do, at least, commend the Welsh Government for commissioning an effective report that really looked at this, and I refer to the ‘Future Need and Demand for Housing in Wales’, which was authored by the late Professor Holmans. That report estimated that Wales needs up to 240,000 new housing units between 2011 and...
David Melding: Cabinet Secretary, in the latest year for which we have figures in Wales, 6.6 per cent of all road traffic casualties are cyclists. This is a slight reduction on the previous year, but still the second highest recorded figure since 1984. Do you agree with me that councils, and indeed the Welsh Government in its budget allocations, have to take safe cycle routes seriously, and we need to...
David Melding: Can I just say that we are content to note the report, and we do hope it starts a process of policy development that protects our designated landscapes while seeing their wider economic, cultural and social potential being extended? I think that’s an appropriate way to go forward. The report sets out a new proposition for designated landscapes to go beyond their current purposes of...
David Melding: First Minister, I’m sure you agree that we should be aiming for a good deal—a good deal for the United Kingdom, a good deal for Wales, and a good deal for the European Union—and I’m very confident that that is what will happen. But, can I just refer you to the UK economic outlook that was published in November 2016, which did identify—and this was on the trends before Brexit—that...
David Melding: Well, it brings me nicely on to the point that it is not an efficient or perfect market.
David Melding: I can hear a UKIP Member muttering, ‘There’s no perfect solution either’, and that probably does sum up the difficulty we’re in. But energy prices are high and they’re also very difficult to understand whenever you get your energy bill. Unless you did double maths at A-level, I don’t think you’ve got a hope, and perhaps you need to have studied it at university as well. But, in...
David Melding: Yes.
David Melding: Can I start by being polite and commending Plaid Cymru’s initiative in using the new flexibility in Assembly resources to commission research projects? Generally, I think it’s a good idea and, in fairness, you’ve put your ideas out and we can have an excellent debate, I’m sure, on this proposal. So, I think we need more of this, and you deserve a serious response to your central...
David Melding: Many, many months.
David Melding: Can I thank the Counsel General for his statement? The proper enforcement of animal welfare, food production and fisheries law is very important—these are serious responsibilities. And of course, with effective enforcement, self and natural compliance is increased. That, presumably, is the objective of what we want. These powers have been held by the Welsh Government for some time, but, as...
