Mark Isherwood: Although the UK Government's European Union (Withdrawal) Bill doesn't actually take back existing competencies from the Assembly, there is no end date for the restriction on devolved competency created by the retained EU law model it would introduce. We, Welsh Conservatives, instead believe that any common framework in any area must be agreed and not imposed by the UK Government, and further...
Mark Isherwood: In October, the leader of Conwy council wrote to you stating that the Welsh Government's removal of the past building rate methodology from the calculation of land supply process had significantly undermined local development plans across Wales, rendering councils unable to defend speculative development applications that put the wrong houses in the wrong places. The only reason Wrexham...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Reducing emissions from our housing stock is key to meeting our broader energy and climate change targets. Given that 90 per cent of today's homes will still be in use in 2050, will you, as Cabinet Secretary, commit to working with the cross-party group on fuel poverty and energy efficiency to consider introducing a revised fuel poverty strategy and action plan to outline new...
Mark Isherwood: 2. Sut y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn helpu pobl mewn tlodi tanwydd yng Nghymru? OAQ51539
Mark Isherwood: Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the role of the third sector in the delivery of public services?
Mark Isherwood: Will you give way?
Mark Isherwood: How can you justify a situation where, for example, Flintshire in nineteenth position gets £368 less per head in revenue for local government than the best funded authority? Wrexham is eighteenth. Conwy is fifteenth, despite it having the largest oldest people population in Wales. Even Anglesey, the poorest or least populous part of Wales, is the eleventh lowest funded. That is an...
Mark Isherwood: Would you also agree that removing the ring fence for things like Supporting People and the Welsh independent living grant will also further risk damaging prevention and intervention?
Mark Isherwood: Can I call for two statements? The first is an update on Welsh Government proposals for Gypsy/Travellers in the light of two outstanding consultations, the first being the consultation on the draft circular for the planning of Gypsy/Traveller and show-people sites, which closed, I believe, on 23 May, almost eight months ago; and secondly, the draft circular on enabling Gypsies, Roma and...
Mark Isherwood: Although children who gain experience of budgeting, spending and saving from an early age are more likely to be able to manage their finances as they take on financial responsibilities as they grow older, research from the Money Advice Service on the financial capability of children, young people and parents in Wales, launched during last November's Financial Capability Week, found that many...
Mark Isherwood: Will you give way?
Mark Isherwood: Do you share my concern that, on 24 October, the Welsh Government wrote to the local authority chief executives, saying they will be funding flexibility on Supporting People, with seven given 100 per cent funding flexibility and the remainder given 15 per cent funding flexibility? So, as things stand, if the budget goes through as proposed, there is no ring fence.
Mark Isherwood: As you will be aware, the north Wales growth bid from all councils and all partners was submitted early in our Assembly recess. Not only was it proposing measures to strengthen the economy in the north-east, but to spread that prosperity at last westwards. It includes proposals for investments to extend Parc Cefni in Llangefni, Parc Cybi in Holyhead and £50 million for the Holyhead port...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. We're pleased to note the publication of this delivery plan and we share both the key priorities identified by the ministerial taskforce for the south Wales Valleys and the Cabinet Secretary's reservations as expressed at the beginning of his speech about the creation of a new delivery body. However, I also move amendment 1, noting, with regret, that the value of goods and services...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd, a blwyddyn newydd dda. Can I call for two statements, please? First, at the beginning of the Christmas recess, Members received a written statement on transport vision for north Wales, and I call for an oral statement so that we may further question the Cabinet Secretary to fill out some of the gaps that, clearly, a written statement alone cannot address. Particularly, it...
Mark Isherwood: I'll do it without. The first recommendation in this committee report states: 'The Welsh Government must, as a matter of urgency, refresh its woodland strategy with the aim of significantly increasing planting rates.' And its final recommendation states: 'the Welsh Government must ensure that future funding should be based on sustainable outcomes.' However, Confor, the Confederation of...
Mark Isherwood: Sorry, my hearing device is trapped—I'm being strangled here.
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. The curlew is special. It is one of our largest waders with a beautiful haunting call, but this bird species is in serious trouble across large parts of Britain. Between 1994 and 2016, the curlew population declined by 68 per cent in Wales. The UK regularly hosts up to one quarter of the global curlew breeding population and the curlew is now considered the most pressing...
Mark Isherwood: What funding support does the Welsh Government give to Welsh universities to enable them to support the business sector in Wales?
Mark Isherwood: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on complications caused by mesh implants in Wales?
