Steffan Lewis: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I formally move the motion in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth. This is a timely debate, coming as it does on the day in which we’ve had a Brexit-heavy Queen’s Speech, and in the week where formal negotiations between the UK and EU begin. It is also the week when the Welsh Government has elaborated further on proposals first announced in ‘Securing Wales’...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer. Recently, a constituent came to see me who’d been waiting an unacceptably long time on a waiting list for cardiology care. I noticed upon further inspection that the maximum waiting time in cardiology in Aneurin Bevan has increased from 34 weeks, I believe, in 2011, to 105-plus weeks last year. So, given the seriousness of conditions that...
Steffan Lewis: Diolch. Llywydd, I declare an interest, that my sister is an employee of Network Rail. The Cabinet Secretary, as mentioned previously, has published his priority list for new stations to be constructed, and I was surprised that Crymlyn was not among those priority stations, given the key location that it provides for a multimodal interchange point and its potential as a cycle and...
Steffan Lewis: 8. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on investment in the rail network? OAQ(5)0181(EI)
Steffan Lewis: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on waiting times in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area? OAQ(5)0179(HWS)
Steffan Lewis: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I formally move. Amendment 49 puts the stated objective of this Bill, which is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, on its face. From its introduction, this Bill has been described as having an environmental purpose rather than a fiscal one. So, the Cabinet Secretary has said that the Bill is intended to help the Welsh Government achieve their goal...
Steffan Lewis: Very briefly, just to say that we, on these benches, are very supportive of the principle underpinning amendment 52 in the name of Nick Ramsay, namely to ensure that a communities fund works for the benefit of communities, but, on this occasion, we will abstain on the vote because we do think it’s important that we keep the Cabinet Secretary to his word that he wants to collaborate with the...
Steffan Lewis: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I thank the First Minister for his statement today. Wrth gwrs, does dim amheuaeth bod yn rhaid i drefn llywodraethu'r DU yn y dyfodol newid ar ôl inni adael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd. Byddai llawer ohonom yn dadlau bod angen iddi newid beth bynnag oedd canlyniad y refferendwm y llynedd, wrth gwrs. Mae'r ddogfen a gyhoeddwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru heddiw’n...
Steffan Lewis: The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply has recently concluded an extensive survey of businesses in the UK and on the continent in light of the EU referendum last year, and it found that nearly half of continental businesses expect to reduce their use of UK suppliers. The survey also found that 65 per cent of UK businesses have seen their supply chains become more expensive as a...
Steffan Lewis: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the future of Welsh supply chains? OAQ(5)0661(FM)
Steffan Lewis: I’m grateful to the Member for giving way. It’s often repeated in this Chamber, by the Member in particular, that our membership of the European Union has restricted our ability to trade with the rest of the world. Can he acknowledge that, through our membership of the European Union, we have 53 trade deals with other economies outside the EU? And can he explain to me what the status of...
Steffan Lewis: You tease. You’re such a tease.
Steffan Lewis: Will the First Minister make a statement on relations between the Welsh and Qatari Governments following the severing of diplomatic ties with that country by its neighbours? TAQ(5)0649(FM)
Steffan Lewis: I thank the leader of the house for that answer. On Monday, several states in the middle east, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with, and imposed economic sanctions on, Qatar, alleging that that country had paid up to $1 billion to blacklisted groups in the region, including an al-Qaeda affiliate. This, of course, is a matter of great concern for...
Steffan Lewis: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer. He’ll be aware of recent developments undermining benefit reforms at a UK level, such as the National Audit Office report in England demonstrating that benefit sanctions actually cost more than they save—another example of the ideologically driven and cruel cuts that have been meted out on people in this country. In other devolved...
Steffan Lewis: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on plans to mitigate the negative impact of current and future reform of social security? OAQ(5)0146(CC)
Steffan Lewis: I thank the First Minister for that answer, and I declare an interest that my sister is an employee of Network Rail. I wonder if the First Minister can provide updated figures on the amount of profit made by the current operator of that franchise. I have figures for 2012 that show that that company made a profit of £13.6 million, and of course, that’s a company that is entirely owned by...
Steffan Lewis: 3. How much public money was invested in the Wales and Borders rail network in the last financial year? OAQ(5)0613(FM)
Steffan Lewis: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move amendment 1 in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth. International aid makes a difference. It alleviates human suffering when humanitarian crisis strikes. It saves lives and strengthens communities. By working together, for example, we have halved extreme poverty in the last 40 years, and have halved child mortality since 1990. In developing countries, 91 per cent of...
Steffan Lewis: I think, the Member for Islwyn, I would agree that the austerity agenda has been self-defeating, that it is wrong and that the poorer communities of the UK, including the Valleys communities, have suffered more than any others as a result of it. Of course, the infrastructure project around the metro is something that we fully support. Where I have an issue with Welsh Government and others is,...
