Huw Irranca-Davies: Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen in my constituency in Ynysawdre was put under Schools Challenge Cymru in 2015. In a remarkably short time, under a new executive headteacher, Nick Brain, with strong leadership right throughout the school, not only with Nick, but throughout the school now, under Schools Challenge Cymru, this year it had a record-breaking year of GCSE results: 93 per cent of students...
Huw Irranca-Davies: On the weekend, I attended the launch of the latest food bank in my constituency, in Pencoed, and my thanks go to the volunteers of Bridgend food bank who provide food distribution now on every day to every single part of my constituency. They will understand and agree with me that, in an ideal world, we would not need food banks at all. Could I call for a debate on the impact of changes,...
Huw Irranca-Davies: I was at a commemoration event on the weekend with miners of St John’s, Coegnant and Garth in my community and other mines that came together over 100 years ago to put their wages together to build a community hospital. They took the opportunity to speak with me and they were hopeful that the outcome that we’ve heard this week would not be the one that we have heard. They were hoping at...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Lywydd. Can I thank everybody who’s contributed to this debate? I’m struck by the degree of consensus. There may be differences in emphasis and nuance, but the consensus, as expressed by the First Minister then, is that, first, we will be back here again, and in our report, we’ve said sooner rather than later. But, also, I note that the First Minister said it’s inevitable...
Huw Irranca-Davies: I will indeed give way.
Huw Irranca-Davies: I thank Julie Morgan for that intervention, and, indeed, that is one of the areas of concern that have been raised by authoritative experts on the constitution and legislation who have given evidence to the committee. So, it is one of our areas of concern, unfortunately. These highlight some simple examples. It would take too long to explain how the complexity of the tests and the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: To be a success, constitutional reform necessitates full and open engagement by all: this builds a consensus across political parties and wider society that will underpin a durable settlement, but, unfortunately, this Bill has been characterised by a Whitehall-driven process under tight control by the UK Government, which has lost that opportunity of wider support and consensus. We believe...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I begin by thanking all of our committee members of all parties, our excellent clerking team and the support team around us and also those who’ve contributed with expert evidence to our report? Constitutional issues are often considered to be dry, incidental matters of little consequence to the average person in the street. But if Brexit has taught...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Will the Minister make a statement on his role in chairing the external advisory panel on EU withdrawal? (
Huw Irranca-Davies: Can I welcome the balance in the statement and also the evidence in the consultation that I’ve read as well? It is based on good evidence and is a sound way forward. Can I commend the Cabinet Secretary for not avoiding the difficult questions? There are some tricky areas in this: issues around compensation and penalties; issues around increased testing and more accurate testing, which will...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Thank you for the statement, Cabinet Secretary, and for the launch of the strategy yesterday. It was a busy day for you on World Mental Health Day 2016 with events at Hafal, the Samaritans and others. You will have heard, as well, the inspirational speech by Nigel Owens, talking about removing the stigma and talking openly about mental health issues, which we all need to do. Could I ask him,...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Can I welcome the statement and welcome the appointment of my colleague Julie Morgan to this important position? Could I simply note that, whilst we might disagree at the rate of progress, we cannot ignore the fact that in this generation, the communities that Adam and I represent were thrown into the seven pits of hell, down to the deepest in terms of economic and social ills, and we had to...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Will the First Minister make a statement on whether the Wales Bill meets the UK Government's stated aim of providing an enduring settlement for Wales?
Huw Irranca-Davies: Yes indeed, boss.
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Lywydd. Last week there was a packed meeting in Heol-y-cyw community hall. I guess there were over 150 people because, as well as every seat being full, people were standing in the aisles and around the walls. People, young and old, voiced their concerns over a fire that had raged in the Heol-y-cyw premises of South Wales Wood Recycling Ltd, causing a thick, unpleasant smog to billow...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Now, there are some practical, legislative and regulatory proposals that would make a real long-term difference, way beyond the immediate issues in my own constituency. But to return finally to South Wales Wood Recycling, it appears to residents that it has either grown too fast and beyond its capacity to manage its operations effectively or it’s grown greedy. Cabinet Secretary, the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Oh, my apologies. Will the Minister—[Laughter.]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Thank you very much, Cabinet Secretary. It’s the second time I’ve done that; I’ll try not to do it again. It’s great to hear about the work going on on the ground, and much of that has been pushed by local residents and also the leadership of local individuals like councillors Geraint Hopkins, Roger Turner and others. But could I ask him to keep a particular eye on this, because the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, I know that you’re aware that, on the ground, in Llanharan and Pencoed, there are growing calls, particularly—
Huw Irranca-Davies: Cabinet Secretary, telemedicine is an important aspect of modern healthcare, which helps to get the right treatment and the diagnosis to the right people at the right time, in the right place, but it can also, as you said, help minimise the need for patients to physically attend their GP surgeries in a remote area, or even to wash up into A&E as a last back-stop. So, could I ask him, on that...
