3. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:55 pm on 14 November 2017.

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Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru 2:55, 14 November 2017

(Translated)

I’d also like to welcome Julie James to her new role and congratulate her on her appointment and also thank Jane Hutt for the way in which she has dealt with all parties in this Chamber over many years. I very much hope that that tradition will remain in place.

I have a few questions for Julie James, if I may. First of all, I note, differently to your predecessor, you have other responsibilities around infrastructure and violence against women, and so on. I would like to know how Assembly Members will be able to question you in light of your ministerial responsibilities, rather than your responsibilities as leader of the house, and I would like to you to confirm how that is going to happen.

Secondly, I’d like to know whether it’s the Government’s intention, today, to make a statement on children’s services in Powys. This is the twentieth day since the inquiry was carried out by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, and they are supposed to be publishing their improvement plan today, and that’s been confirmed to me by the inspectorate yesterday. I haven’t seen anything published as of yet and I would like to know whether Government has received any improvement plan and whether the Government will be making a statement before the Assembly, or a written statement, on that plan, in order for us to understand whether it is robust enough, should we improve it, and whether the Government is going to take further steps to tackle what has happened in Powys County Council.

Finally, if I could draw the leader of the house’s attention to the no named day motion No. 6563, which is in my name. That motion deals with the relationship of Wales with Catalunya and what has been happening recently in that nation. We know that the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament has been imprisoned for some hours, that many Ministers remain in prison and that the Catalan Prime Minister is having to deal with the situation from another country—Belgium. It’s clear that many Members here are interested in what’s happening in Catalunya, and particularly from the point of view of the relationship between one Parliament and another; never mind whether you’re in favour or against the political decision, it's a Parliament speaking to another Parliament. And, as the motion has been tabled, will the Government make time available, even if it’s only half an hour, for that motion to be discussed in this Assembly?