Mike Hedges: Please do.
Mike Hedges: I'm about to say that. Thank you, Sam. My preference is that all houses are revalued and that council tax is a fixed percentage of the value of the property. I will again call for either more bands and a change to the multiplier, or a spot-price valuation, with each property paying the same percentage of its value. Moving on to standard spending assessment, which is where we get our aggregate...
Mike Hedges: I am very pleased to see that we have cross-party support for recognising the vital role that local authorities play in delivering public services across Wales and the funding challenges they face. The rich, and their representatives here, the Conservative Party, dislike two taxes above all others: rates and council tax. There are a very limited number of ways of avoiding these taxes. Whilst...
Mike Hedges: I thank the Minister for the response. The deaf and hard of hearing community consists of those who are born with hearing loss and those who have lost their hearing as they’ve got older. Many deaf people use British Sign Language as their main means of communication. Phone-only services do not work for people with hearing loss.
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Mark. Perhaps that could be passed on to some GP practices who demand that people ring when it’s basically impossible for them to do so. How can the Welsh Government ensure that those with hearing loss who are dealing with Welsh Government-funded bodies either deal with someone who uses BSL or has access to an interpreter?
Mike Hedges: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the provision of public services to those with hearing loss? OQ59329
Mike Hedges: I very much welcome the statement today. The access commitment introduced in April last year, requiring a GP practice to adopt a planned approach to meeting patient need, moving away from the, 'Release all appointments at 8 a.m., and if you happen to be eighty-first, and they're only taking 80 appointments, then tough, no matter what was wrong with you'—. But how is this being implemented?...
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the statement today. Anything that helps the economy of the Swansea bay city region I will support. Using the site of Port Talbot to build and then take out to sea offshore wind turbines will benefit our fight against global warming and create well-paid jobs. I agree with the Minister that, as well as maximising the growth potential of the local...
Mike Hedges: I would like to ask for a Government statement on the future of the Heart of Wales railway line. I'm told by constituents that trains are regularly cancelled, and that, during summer, they are overcrowded. Can the Government outline its plans for the Heart of Wales railway line? I would also like a Government statement on how the Government decides on funding to support tourist businesses....
Mike Hedges: Well, first of all, I disagree entirely with what you just said, Jenny. I didn't say anything about having 22 individual boards; what I said is that primary care and secondary care don't work well together, and we've had a serious problem with it, and the very big board in north Wales hasn't worked. My advice is to keep Betsi Cadwaladr for back-office functions and primary care, not the 22,...
Mike Hedges: Oh, thank you, Presiding Officer. You caught me out there.
Mike Hedges: Russell George and I were both elected in 2011. Eluned Morgan is the best health Minister we've had in that time. This is the most difficult job in Government. The structure we have now is the one that she inherited. As merger mania hits the Senedd across parties, big is always better, isn't it? I've had Conservatives tell me that we should only have two health boards in Wales, and a former...
Mike Hedges: It is very expensive to be poor; almost everything costs more. If I'd been having this discussion about 20 years ago, I would have said that everything costs more, but the German discount-rate retailers arrived, so not everything does cost more, but very few things don't cost more, for being poor. It makes good business sense for the energy suppliers to have prepayment meters. They get a...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the Minister for that response? I know that, at one time, it was being used by Natural Resources Wales to fill their gaps because of the cost of the merger. But, generally, I believe it's a very good thing, invest-to-save, and it is an opportunity to help the Welsh public sector and get as much as we can for what we spend. The question I've got is: how do we ensure that what works...
Mike Hedges: 11. Will the Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's invest-to-save programme? OQ59284
Mike Hedges: I'm very pleased we're having this statement today. As the Minister is aware, it's been a cause of concern to my constituents living in Altamar and South Quay, and it's generated many e-mails and requests on the business statement from me for a long period of time. I welcome the statement today and the progress being made with the developers. Everyone should feel safe and secure in their...
Mike Hedges: The second supplementary budget is a relatively minor movement of money, and completes the budget system for the year. I want to just make three very brief points. I welcome the areas prioritised by the Welsh Government in this supplementary budget and the approach taken by the Minister in managing the resources available as we near the end of the financial year. I would like to agree with...
Mike Hedges: Can I welcome that answer? When the Swansea tidal lagoon was rejected by the Conservative Westminster Government, gas prices were low, and expected by the Government to remain low for ever. As we all know, they got that wrong. We know that tidal energy is reliable and capable of solving some of our energy needs. We also know that it does not involve expensive decommissioning or have a limited...
Mike Hedges: I would like to ask for a Government statement on co-operative housing. Co-operative housing is popular in places as diverse as Scandinavia and New York, but has failed to become a standard form of accommodation in Wales. It's not accommodation only for poor people; John Lennon lived in the Dakota building, which was co-operative housing. The development agency, Cwmpas, the country's co-op,...
Mike Hedges: 5. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government support for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon? OQ59237
