David Melding: Like Jenny Rathbone, I’m very concerned about congestion in our cities, particularly Cardiff, and the sheer inefficiency with which we allow current traffic flows. Obviously, we need to do more in terms of public transport. We need to build on what we have and ensure that other schemes are there to get people off the roads. Not driving single journeys with just one passenger would improve...
David Melding: I declare my interest as the Chair of the ministerial advisory group on outcomes for children. Can I welcome the decision of the Public Accounts Committee to carry out a comprehensive piece of work on services for looked-after children? I think this will help the ministerial advisory group in its work to advise on how a national plan and programme can be developed, with the aim of producing...
David Melding: Cabinet Secretary, it’s often said that play is the work of children, but, in deprived areas, many children just do not have access to safe playing areas. A generation or so ago, they would often have played on the street. Even that is now not an option. And, you’re right—the Welsh Government has a really good record in this area. But I think one weakness is perhaps that it hasn’t got...
David Melding: The crucial thing here, Cabinet Secretary, is that this power station will now keep generating power into the medium term to meet peak demand. So, it’s part of the power-generating infrastructure and people must be reassured that these high standards—or higher standards, anyway—are followed as a matter of course, and don’t just suddenly come into the public domain when particular...
David Melding: Thank you for that, Cabinet Secretary. The Welsh Government supports the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and that commits us to halting the decline in biodiversity by 2020, and then starting to reverse that decline. I read just recently about the fall in the numbers of sewin in Welsh rivers and seas. A mark of Wales in many ways—sewin. It does bring home how vigilant we need to be in...
David Melding: And it should be a priority and I think we’ll all be reassured when you deliver on that. Many experts and stakeholders believe that MPAs need a more spatial approach rather than being species or habitat specific. Furthermore, many also argued for non-extraction areas. Is this going to be the likely direction of policy?
David Melding: Thank you for that very pithy answer, Cabinet Secretary. [Laughter.] It was—[Inaudible.] The last piece of work done—. You did commission, or your predecessor commissioned it in March 2014, so it would have taken them a little over three years, alas, and the last major piece of work was done by Natural Resources Wales’s predecessor, the Countryside Commission for Wales, and that said...
David Melding: Cabinet Secretary, when do you expect the marine protected areas steering group to publish its report on improved management?
David Melding: 5. What policies are in place to increase biodiversity in marine environments? OAQ(5)0090(ERA)
David Melding: Can I make it clear I’m speaking as an individual, rather than representing the Welsh Conservative view on what I’m going to say? It’s not particularly interesting, I suspect, but—[Interruption.] I’ve now obviously—[Interruption.] I’ve now raised expectations. [Laughter.] Can I just say, on extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds, I warmly welcome this, if it’s going to...
David Melding: First Minister, can I welcome what you’ve just said there about preserving the service. You are actually leading the way in the UK, and I commend you for that. But as we now review this service that has had a lot of initial success, I think we are perhaps too reliant on self-referral—that seems to be one of the things that has come through—at the moment. And I think one key objective...
David Melding: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the provision of bespoke mental health services for former armed services personnel? OAQ(5)0408(FM)
David Melding: Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. Can I thank everyone who has taken part in what I think was a very constructive, insightful debate? And lots of common themes have emerged. Can I just start with Jeremy Miles? I think this point that technology can out-trump geography is correct, but I think the other side of that is that it has made all of our urban areas a part, then, of the actual cities we’re...
David Melding: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I say that we brought this motion in a constructive spirit? We want to examine the place of our cities and urban areas in our national life, particularly as a driver for growth and something that should be at the very heart of our ambition for a future prosperous, more sustainable Wales. Can I say that we accept the Government’s amendment, which adds...
David Melding: Liveability and citizen engagement are key to the success of modern cities and urban areas in general. All over the world, cities are enjoying a renaissance, people are moving back to cities, their place in national life has never been more emphasised. One notable trend is a growing preference for smaller and medium-sized cities. We hear mostly about the mega cities and their challenges and...
David Melding: I think skills are key to productivity, and an often overlooked area is the skills of management, particularly middle management. There’s a lot of evidence that that’s a key sector, both in the public and private sectors, and perhaps more initiative needs to be invested there to get the best quality management we can have.
David Melding: Can I commend Julie Morgan for raising this issue about community transport? Because for the most disabled people—those that are most vulnerable and least likely to take any sort of journey—community transport is vital. I think it’s fair to say there was a lot of innovation until about 10 years ago when the grants system changed a bit, and it’s not quite been taken forward with the...
David Melding: 9. What measures are in place to improve the productivity of the Welsh economy? OAQ(5)0109(EI)
David Melding: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I say that we welcome this debate and that we will be supporting the motion? With the concentration that we’ll have this week on, broadly, liveability issues, combined with our debate tomorrow—the minority debate the Conservatives have put down on the urban environment—I think it’s right that we spend a lot of time on these quality-of-life...
David Melding: I have to say, Counsel General, that I’m not surprised by either of these judgments. I was expecting the judgment laid down by the High Court and Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and the most senior Welsh member of the judiciary. That judgment has been upheld, and the various arguments that we might have—or the Scots might have, anyway—had a veto,...
