Mabon ap Gwynfor: I'd like to take the opportunity today just to raise a few concerns regarding the regulations laid before us. As the Minister explained, the fee that can be charged for the appointment of an independent arbitrator has not been updated since 1996, so it's proposed that it will rise from £115 to £195. While we're not talking about big bucks here, it's still a huge percentage increase,...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Could we have a statement, please, from the Minister for Economy on what financial support is available to businesses who find themselves in financial difficulty? There are relatively major employers now in contact with many of us talking about their concerns that they will have to make their workforce redundant over the next days and weeks. To date, there's been no real financial support...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: —made in Wales for Wales, as a matter of urgency.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Thank you for your patience.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Trying to shoehorn a piece of English legislation into current Welsh law without passing a Welsh Act is not how things should work. But we can't let the Welsh Government off the hook here; it's been a year and a half since the election, and we haven't seen legislation in the area. The Welsh Government can talk of time constraints, a full legislative programme and a lengthy legislative process...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: I'd like to thank Janet Finch-Saunders for presenting this motion today. Let's remind ourselves why we're still debating this issue today, nearly five and a half years after the terrible tragedy at Grenfell. The damning fact is that the current building safety system is a system that has allowed a culture of cutting corners at the expense of public safety. I'll never forget seeing that...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Thank you to the committee, ably chaired by my colleague Llyr Gruffydd here, for this report. It's a report that is particularly relevant to Dwyfor Meirionnydd. I want to focus specifically on the section that mentions connecting those who have been left behind. I must express my great disappointment in the rather dismissive attitude of some providers and others in the field towards the 1...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: I thank the Minister for that response, but I want the Minister to explain what exactly the purpose of Cwmni Egino is now, given this development. Previously, the Minister for Economy and the First Minister have talked of other plans for Trawsfynydd, such as nuclear medicine. Egino itself, in its discussions with me, has made it clear that they have an open mind and are looking at different...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: 3. Will the Minister make a statement on Rolls-Royce's announcement regarding new nuclear power plant sites and how this relates to Cwmni Egino? OQ58711
Mabon ap Gwynfor: There is no doubt that tourism is an important contributor to the economy. Visitors spend £17 million a day, and that equates to over £6 billion a year, in the economy here. But this is just part of the picture, because what use is a strong economy at the expense of our communities? And if this money flows out of our communities, and, indeed, out of Wales, what use is that? We must pursue...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: So, what should be done? Well, as Saint David said, we should do the little things. In order to reduce our dependence on imports that are driving climate change and the nature emergency, we must ensure that our supply chains are local, and in order to do that we need to develop a solid local food strategy. There are many examples of successful community food initiatives, and at a time when we...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: It was Martin Luther King Jr. who said, 'Before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you've depended on half the world.' Our daily actions, the decisions we take, and the way we decide to spend our money have far-reaching consequences for other countries and people across the globe, as Delyth mentioned at the top of this debate. Estimates show that we would need over 1.7 Earths to keep...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: I thank Delyth for moving the motion. Now, for such rural country, it seems strange that we, as a nation, import agricultural commodities and forestry products from countries all over the globe, but that's the truth, of course. From fertiliser to feed to construction timber and much more, a large number of these commodities are produced in other countries. And each of these countries has...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: 'Having analysed the available scientific evidence, we are not introducing mandatory housing of poultry in Wales at this time',
Mabon ap Gwynfor: as you've already mentioned. Now, following today's statement, I would like to hear more information about the risk to the public posed by this flu. Last week, for example, we heard about two poultry farm workers from Spain who tested positive for bird flu. Since 2003, there have been 868 cases of people getting bird flu and 456 deaths in 21 countries, according to the World Health...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Thank you for the statement, Minister. Well, bird flu has been worrying the sector for some time now, and like COVID, it seems that Wales is lagging behind England by a few weeks. Following the announcement of the cases discovered in Flintshire yesterday, and the 3 km control area that has been imposed, bird farmers are naturally concerned that stricter measures will be introduced with...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Can I say that I enjoyed that response from the Minister to Janet Finch-Saunders, apart from the last sentence? I welcome that response. It is now almost a cliché to say that we are living through a period of unprecedented change. From Brexit to COVID, and now the war in Ukraine, this is all having a detrimental impact on the supply chain, with the costs of raw materials, production and...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Thank you for the response. Well, carrying on on the theme of funding for fishing and aquaculture, the UK seafood fund has funds of £100 million under three pillars: science and innovation, infrastructure, skills and training. The Welsh fisheries funding scheme rightly highlights the need to maximise leverage of the £100 million UK seafood fund into Wales. In principle, this sounds...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Diolch, Llywydd. The new ministerial advisory group for Welsh fisheries met for the first time in July. Among the priorities discussed was the fisheries funding scheme—the replacement for the EU fisheries fund. But there are concerns that the proposals for a Welsh fisheries funding scheme fall short of the previous European maritime fisheries fund scheme and the equivalent fisheries and...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: I thank the Minister for that response.
