Darren Millar: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm very grateful for you giving me the opportunity to make this personal statement today. It's a statement that I'm making after much soul searching, but which I feel a moral obligation and duty to make to the National Assembly so that it appears on our Record of Proceedings. Last Tuesday, during First Minister's questions, I indicated that I would be seeking to present...
Darren Millar: I'm very grateful for your response, Cabinet Secretary and leader of the house. I'm also grateful for the fact that you're going to be visiting my constituency to talk about the Superfast Cymru roll-out in rural Denbighshire in particular, where, as you will be aware, the current statistics suggest that it's lagging behind significantly in terms of progress when compared to the rest of Wales,...
Darren Millar: 3. What action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that appropriate digital infrastructure is available for businesses? OAQ51392
Darren Millar: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement today and for advance notice of that statement, and, indeed, all of the individuals who responded to the public consultation on the White Paper? As the Cabinet Secretary knows, the proposal to establish a tertiary education and research commission for Wales is one that we Welsh Conservatives fully support. And whilst I appreciate the notice...
Darren Millar: Can I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health on the situation faced by emergency departments in north Wales? The leader of the house will be aware that there were reports in the media over the weekend about tweets from the emergency department at Ysbyty Gwynedd, which claimed that some people were spending up to two days or more in the emergency department whilst waiting...
Darren Millar: As you will be aware from our exchange, First Minister, last week, I hope to provide evidence to the independent investigator looking at the allegations of bullying in the Welsh Government. What assurances can you provide to this Assembly, Carl Sargeant's family and others that any AM with information will be able to contribute without fear of reprisals and that the collective responsibility,...
Darren Millar: 1. Will the First Minister confirm the process for addressing complaints regarding the First Minister's adherence to the ministerial code? OAQ51393
Darren Millar: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank the Minister for his response to the debate, which I thought did acknowledge in a greater way than has been the case before that there's still a serious need to improve things in the Betsi Cadwaladr university health board? You've heard the comments from Assembly Members from all parties this afternoon, which have spelt out in very clear terms...
Darren Millar: Cabinet Secretary, thank you for that response. Like you and everybody else in this Chamber, we were appalled and shocked at the allegations that have emerged in recent weeks of abuse by a monk on Caldey Island. Eleven women so far have come forward to say that they were abused by Father Thaddeus Kotik when they were children, and of course they are all suffering lifelong consequences as a...
Darren Millar: Cabinet Secretary, one of the recommendations in the report that we discussed last week was the suggestion that Wales ought to have an armed forces commissioner in order to identify the sort of best practice that Vikki Howells just referred to, and to ensure that that was shared widely across the country, and that people were held to account for their delivery against the armed forces...
Darren Millar: Cabinet Secretary, we all want high-quality leaders in public service. However, I'm afraid a school for bureaucrats is something that I think is completely unnecessary. We've got some excellent leadership schools already in our high-quality universities here in Wales, and I think we ought to take advantage of the opportunities that they present. Can I ask what sort of budget you have...
Darren Millar: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on Welsh Government support for the armed forces and veterans in Wales? OAQ51351
Darren Millar: 3. What consideration has the Cabinet Secretary given to commissioning an independent inquiry into allegations of abuse on Caldey Island? 76
Darren Millar: Leader of the house, I'm sure that you were shocked, as everybody in this Chamber would have been, by the news yesterday of a 17-year-old from Rhondda Cynon Taf who was radicalised online and then went on to plan a terror attack at a concert in Cardiff here in June. We had a debate in the Senedd back in May of this year, and the Cabinet Secretary for Education, at that time, announced that...
Darren Millar: One of the entrenched inequalities in Wales is the disparity between the quality of the health service and the timing of the health service in north Wales versus other parts of the country. Why is it, First Minister, that my own constituents are twice as likely as constituents in Cwm Taf health board, for example, to be in an emergency department for four hours or more, and why is it that,...
Darren Millar: 7. Will the First Minister make a statement on action the Welsh Government is taking to reduce inequality in Wales? OAQ51350
Darren Millar: Will you take an intervention?
Darren Millar: I'm very grateful for your taking the intervention. I don't disagree with you that devolution does give us that opportunity to try new things and, in fact, many of those things I've been a passionate supporter of, that you listed, but you do accept that sometimes when you raise the prospect of a new tax, there is the potential to cause some reputational damage to either a Government or a...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank everybody who has taken part in what I think has been a very important debate on some very decent and good-quality recommendations in a report that was the result of significant work from the cross-party group? I believe that this is a report that has the potential to add to the tremendous work that has already been done here in Wales to...
Darren Millar: No, I haven't.
