Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, my question was relatively straightforward: why didn't the Welsh Government offer the support when it was requested back last September? I've used two of my three questions and I don't feel that we've advanced any further forward in trying to find out why the Minister or the director general did not respond to that direct—and these are the words of the chairman—that direct...
Andrew RT Davies: I don't believe that was the point that the chairman was making in his opinion piece. Bear in mind, this was a chairman who was a former chief constable, had served the public for 30 years plus, and then chose to do another public service role by being chair of the health board that covers the whole of north Wales. And he made, in his column in the press last week, that clear categorisation...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, last week, the former chairman of the Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board wrote an opinion piece for the press. He's also written to you, to which he says he hasn't had a response; he might have, by the time I'm asking you this question, had that response. But some of the assertions within that opinion piece do deserve a public answer from you,...
Andrew RT Davies: I'm grateful for the Minister taking an intervention. We heard from the Member from Islwyn about the tragedy in England, obviously, with the headteacher taking her life. What discussions have you had with the Welsh inspectorate to make sure that there is that pastoral care and that understanding? I appreciate we do have a different system, but there are various pressure points and stress...
Andrew RT Davies: When it comes to cladding, you don't make the decisions to benefit people who are in tinder boxes and frightened to go to sleep at night. And when it comes to business rates, you won't bring the tapering relief that's available in other parts of the United Kingdom, but we have the highest business rates of any part of the United Kingdom. And now when it comes to childcare, you refuse to bring...
Andrew RT Davies: 'Actual delivery', I hear your backbenchers saying. What people want to know is: will there be a universal childcare offer for one and two-year-olds that will capture people that do not benefit from that 30 hours of free childcare? You actually have the money coming to you to do that. A simple answer could have been, 'Yes, we will deliver it, and people across Wales will enjoy this benefit.'...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, it was a simple question: are you going to bring a provision forward for one and two-year-olds here in Wales? You're getting the consequentials for the moneys that are being spent in England. It is a realistic proposition that people want to see delivered here in Wales. So, a simple answer could come from you, 'Yes, we will deliver it, because we're having the money, and we...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Last week, First Minister, the Chancellor presented his budget. A centrepiece of that budget was the childcare offer that will be exclusive to England, because, obviously, those powers and responsibilities reside here in the Senedd and with the Government. Many people have come up to me over the weekend—it's quite surprising the amount of people who have taken...
Andrew RT Davies: You and I can debate the merits of the free-school-dinners policy that the Government have brought forward, but what is important is to understand how local authorities and schools in particular have been supported in rolling out this policy. The Vale of Glamorgan Council, which is the area that I come from, clearly has had to fund some of the capital expenditure themselves to the tune of...
Andrew RT Davies: I couldn't concur more with the sentiments expressed by you and the previous questioner about the amount of litter that's available to be witnessed on highways and railways, especially in South Wales Central. On the link road coming off Culverhouse Cross, there's a bed on the side of the road there that's been there for three weeks. There are also about 12 black bin bags in the nearest lay-by...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, you said that a Government Minister has not said that and doesn't support it. I gave you a direct quote of what the Deputy Minister said. That is a matter of fact. It is a matter of record, and people will see what the Minister said in the context of the Royal College of Nursing. Last week, you voted with the Conservatives—which was very pleasing, thank you very much for...
Andrew RT Davies: I'm pleased that you clarified what the Government's view is on what the RCN stands for—it is a view that I have—and also I declare an interest in having family members who are members of the Royal College of Nursing, a dedicated professional body of people who look after us in our time of need in hospitals and community settings. But do you not think it would be appropriate for a...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. With your permission, Presiding Officer, I'd like to put on the record that our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the man who was killed yesterday in the tragedy in Swansea, and, also, I'm pleased to hear that two of the three people who went into hospital have now been discharged, and thank the emergency services and first responders at what must have...
Andrew RT Davies: Will you take an intervention, Mike?
Andrew RT Davies: Would you agree with me that the second Llandeilo bypass is pork-barrel politics, and nothing else?
Andrew RT Davies: Just for clarity, we do not propose shutting Cardiff Airport. In fact, we've brought two strategies out that have highlighted what the Welsh Conservatives would like to see of Cardiff Airport, which is a profitable airport, internationally connected but run in the independent sector.
Andrew RT Davies: I identify myself with the statement that the Presiding Officer made, and my group, as well, identifies with that statement, and our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families. I just want to raise with you, Minister, if possible—I understand, obviously, the referral to the police complaints authority, but this is a part of the trunk road agency, the road, the A48 is, close to the...
Andrew RT Davies: Wales hasn't been sold short; £2.5 billion extra in this comprehensive spending review available to the Welsh Government. But you've spent your time going around mid Wales telling Welsh sheep farmers that their markets would collapse. Last year, they went up by 17 per cent—17 per cent. There's no-one more misleading in this Chamber or in this country than a Liberal Democrat.
Andrew RT Davies: It is vital that the developers step up to the plate and do the work that is expected and commanded of them to make sure that the leaseholders and the householders aren't put in a disadvantaged position through no fault of their own. In Westminster, Michael Gove has been very forthright in saying that if the developers do not come forward with the proposals and start the remediation work and...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, a part of Welsh law that would accommodate those sections, in the rights of leaseholders and home owners, surely is something that must be welcomed, to give rights to those leaseholders and home owners in their actions against the house builders, in this case multinational house builders who have deep pockets indeed? And now, six years after Grenfell, many leaseholders and...
