The next item is the business statement and announcement. I call on the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd, Rebecca Evans.

Diolch, Llywydd. There are two changes to this week's business. Tomorrow, the Government seeks to schedule a debate on the prospects for a Brexit deal following the House of Commons vote. To enable this to happen, I will propose a motion to suspend the necessary Standing Orders as the final item of business this evening. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.  

Can I call for two statement today, please? It may not have escaped Members' notice that today is Safer Internet Day, and, as we all know, there are dangers lurking online, particularly for our young people. I'd be grateful if we can have an update on the work that's been done by the Minister for Education and any other Ministers in Government regarding internet safety for young people, and will you join me by putting on the record your recognition of the good work that's being done by Childnet, the Internet Watch Foundation and others in bringing this matter to our attention yet again this year?

Can I also call for an update from the Minister for Health and Social Services in relation to perinatal mental health? It's been reported to me that the number of individuals working within the perinatal mental health team in north Wales has fallen in recent months, and that, as a result of that, access to the perinatal mental health team has been restricted so that only women with babies up to six weeks old are currently getting access to that team. Clearly, that is not an acceptable situation, and I know that that's not the Government's intention either. So, I'd be very grateful if we could have an update either by written statement or oral statement in this Chamber from the health Minister just to tell us what is being done to improve the capacity of that team so that mothers can get access at what is a very desperate time, very often, in their lives.

Thank you for raising both of these important issues this afternoon. Certainly, on the issue of internet safety, I know the Minister for Education would be pleased to provide a statement, and I would certainly put on record the Government's thanks to organisations such as Childnet and the Internet Watch Foundation for the important work that they do in this area, and of course we have the short debate at the end of Plenary tomorrow, which has been tabled by Bethan Sayed, and we'll have the opportunity to look at issues relating to internet safety there as well.

On the matter of perinatal mental health, it's clearly a hugely important issue, and I know that the health Minister will be pleased to write to you with the update that you require.

Trefnydd, I've had to raise the issue of pay inequality for medical histopathology trainees in Wales on a number of occasions in this Chamber. You will recall I first raised this issue in a written question back in November 2016, yet the issue remains unresolved. Over the course of the five years of training as doctors between ST1 and ST5, histopathology doctor trainees in England will earn £60,000 more than their Welsh equivalents. Now, I'm sure that we all agree that doctors who decide to train in Wales deserve parity with their counterparts across the border doing the same training, doing the same work. Trainees have told me that they feel that, by deciding to work in Wales, they are being financially punished for that decision. The workforce are disillusioned and demoralised because of the way that they're being treated and ignored by this Welsh Government.

We hear so often of the need to attract medics to Wales due to shortages, yet this is how we treat those who actually choose to study here. Despite being aware of the gap, the Welsh Government has done absolutely nothing about the situation. It is disgraceful. Back in October 2018, when I last raised this issue, the then leader of the house said that the health Minister would be prepared to bring forward a statement on the matter. The frustration among the trainees is palpable, and, having had to wait more than two and a half years for action, I would respectfully suggest that action needs to be taken sooner rather than later. Could I therefore ask the Minister for health to bring forward a statement, be it written or oral, on this issue, and take action on this matter by putting Welsh medical trainees on an equal footing to those in England?

This issue is very much tied up with the doctors contract negotiations that are currently under way, and I know that the health Minister is meeting with the British Medical Association in the next few weeks and would certainly expect this issue to be discussed at that meeting.

Very good news on the announcement on the first round of funds with the new Welsh success of the landfill tax, but could we have a statement on what could be done to actively encourage those areas that are within those five-mile circles around landfill areas that have not yet applied for funding, including places in my own patch such as Llanharan, Llanharry, Cefn Cribwr and Coytrahen and others? And, on that matter, it's good to see that the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, who administer the fund on behalf of Welsh Government, are, in fact, taking part in Chris Elmore and I's fundraising event in Maesteg Celtic on 15 March, so people can come there.

Could we also have a debate on how we can encourage people to use public transport to actually leave Cardiff to go back to the Valleys after seeing events late at night? Because, at the moment, anybody living in Pencoed who's been to the Welsh National Opera, or me having been to see Stiff Little Fingers in Tramshed or whatever, we have to catch the train at 10:30, or sometimes earlier, to get back. Well, that means the choice is, frankly, leave the concert early or it's a taxi or get a friend to run you back. It's not good enough, when you can go to Bristol at 01:30 in the morning, or Swansea at 01:20 in the morning, or Pontypridd at 11:30, but at 10:30 you have to leave to go anywhere on the line to Maesteg. So, could we have a debate on that? Because the Welsh Government's drive to get people out of their cars into public transport is laudable; we need to make it happen with timetabling. 

Thank you for raising these issues and, certainly, it is exciting now that we're being able to see the fruits of the landfill disposal tax benefiting community schemes in the areas that are eligible. The first window, as you know, has been announced this last week, but the application now for the second round of funding has just closed, so we will be looking to make some announcements on that in due course. And the number of applications that we had in that second round has increased, and I would certainly hope that there will be in increases in future rounds as well. The WCVA is monitoring the applications that are made and they're certainly targeting those eligible areas where there have been smaller numbers of applications received in each of those funding cycles, in conjunction with the local county voluntary councils. So, there will be certainly communications going out to those areas, to ensure that communities that can be making the most of this scheme are benefiting. And I know that the Minister with responsibility for transport will be bringing forward a statement on railways very shortly, so there will be opportunity to explore some of the issues that you've described. 

Trefnydd, I'd like to request two statements today. Firstly, I'd like to thank the Minister for health for his written statement updating AMs on maternity services in Cwm Taf. I'm also grateful to the Minister for meeting with me and other AMs to discuss this, and I've also had frank and useful conversations with the chair of the health board. However, could we have an oral statement in Government time so that AMs can really scrutinise what is, after all, such an important issue for my constituents, who should be able to expect safe, good-quality maternity services?

Secondly, at lunchtime today, I attended the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers campaign event for better pay, and I was horrified to find out there that people on universal credit could lose out on a week's rent during 2019-20. This is due to the way that the Department for Work and Pensions and social landlords calculate in different ways the number of weeks in that year, due to the financial year having 53 Mondays. Now, the net effect could be that, if you are on UC, you could lose a week's rent, and this could have serious repercussions, for example, for tenants of Trivallis, a social landlord in my constituency, who pay their rent weekly. Could we have a statement from Welsh Government on its response to this and how it's working with social landlords to make sure that people on universal credit don't lose out?

Thank you for raising both of these issues. With regard to the first, on Cwm Taf maternity services, I know that we're now currently awaiting the full recommendations within the full report, which are due in the spring, and the health Minister has committed to updating Members with more information on receipt of that report and those recommendations. 

On the second issue, of universal credit, as you know, Welsh Government has time and time again raised our concerns with regard to the fundamental flaws of universal credit, and this is another example of how it is failing people within our communities in Wales. The Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government has committed to raising this issue with the Minister for employment in the UK Government. 

Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Welsh Government on proposals to relax planning laws to allow taller mobile phone masts to be built in Wales. Restrictions on mast heights were relaxed in England and Scotland in 2016 so that masts up to 25m do not have to go through the full planning process. The Welsh Government promised more than two years ago to look at the evidence before deciding whether to increase the limit in Wales from its current 15m. The lack of mobile coverage is causing great frustration and annoyance to people in many areas in Wales. May we have a statement from the Welsh Government on when they are likely to come to a decision on this important issue to improve mobile coverage in Wales, please?

Thank you for raising this issue. Changes to permitted development rights, as you recognised in your question, certainly does require an evidence-based approach, which is why we published 'Planning for Mobile Telecommunications: An Assessment of Permitted Development Rights In Wales' in January of last year, to inform work on revising permitted development rights for telecommunications. Amendments to permitted development rights on telecommunications are expected to take effect towards the end of spring this year. However, it's important, I think, to recognise that taller masts do not provide a single solution to the issue of improving mobile service and coverage across Wales, because, of course, our topography and our population distribution does make complete mobile coverage very challenging, and I'm sure that we all recognise that on our travels around the country. 

I concur with the points made earlier about the maternity services at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital and I would support the calls for a statement. I also agree with the point made earlier about the late night trains to the Valleys, and I'd like to add my weight behind that statement as well.

But I'd like to bring another matter in relation to public transport to your attention, and that's an incident that occurred last Friday evening at Pontypridd railway station. A group of women were waiting on the platform for their train home to the Rhondda, when they were approached by a gang of around 30 or more young people. The gang are purported to have intimidated, harassed, and insulted this small group of women on the platform, and, at one stage, they are said to have surrounded one woman and moved to push her towards the track as the train approached. Now, the intimidation and abusive behaviour is said to have continued on the train and it culminated with rubbish being thrown at the women, and it only stopped when the people got off the train. Now, I was alarmed to hear about this account, which I discussed at length yesterday with a concerned employee of Transport for Wales. I've written to Transport for Wales about this, but I'd be grateful if we could receive a statement from the transport Minister to let us know what measures can be taken to improve passenger, as well as train employee, safety during late-night services.

I'd also like to raise the issue of homelessness with you once again. Following my raising of this issue with you in Plenary last week, a Tory councillor in Cardiff has come under considerable criticism—and rightly so, in my view—for posing next to some tents in the city centre and calling for them to be torn down by Cardiff Council. Now, this view found some support from the Labour cabinet member for housing, Lynda Thorne, who said,

'The charities giving out tents need to understand they are putting rough sleepers at risk.'

What Councillor Kelloway and Councillor Thorne fail to realise is that hostels, for various reasons, are not always suitable for everyone, and that these tents, especially in weather like this, can mean the difference between life and death when someone has nowhere else to turn. So, I would urge you to condemn criticism of anyone who is giving out tents to homeless people, and I would be grateful if you could clarify Labour's position on this.

And lastly, it has been brought to my attention that UKIP has apparently been distributing a leaflet on the Tory withdrawal agreement in England that is beyond the pale even for their usually extremely low standards. At the foot of this leaflet, there is the inflammatory paragraph that says,

'We would classify anyone prepared to vote for this agreement as a national traitor, or state enemy—and we're watching you.'

It seems that lessons are still to be learned from the tragic death of Jo Cox MP. Now, this may be a matter that has occurred in England, and I have asked Sussex Police to look into this matter, but there are members of this party sitting in this Chamber. So I would urge you to send a strong message that language of this kind will not be tolerated. And, further, can we have a statement from a Government representative to encourage people that, if they do receive a leaflet from UKIP, containing these threats, to report it to the police because this kind of threat-based politics should not be tolerated?

Thank you very much. I hear the former leader of UKIP shouting 'pathetic' from his seat in the Chamber, which I think doesn't come as a surprise, but I completely condemn what was written in that leaflet. Leanne Wood is entirely correct to remind us all of the tragedy that happened not very long ago. And the language of 'traitors' and the language that is threatening and inflammatory just has no place in politics at all. And so I would certainly commend the Member for taking the matter forward with Sussex Police.

And, of course, compassionate Conservatism is alive and well in Cardiff as well, because, again, we think that it's an entirely inappropriate response to call for these tents to be torn down—I think that was the phrase. Again, it doesn't reflect the fact that we are talking about human people who have had, in many cases, the most difficult lives imaginable, which have found them in that place. The Welsh Government is keen to support in any way we possibly can. We recognise that different types of hostels and different types of accommodation are needed because there is no one type that is suitable for everyone. And the Minister, I know, answered your questions on this last week, but she will be bringing forward a statement on homelessness and rough sleeping in Government time to the Assembly next week.

And, again, I'm very alarmed to hear what you say about the issues in Pontypridd on the railway station. I mentioned in response to a previous request for a statement that the Minister with responsibility for transport would bring forward a statement on railways, so this might be an appropriate time to have that discussion with him. 

Trefnydd, or leader of the house, last week, I'm sure you were as appalled as I was about the reports in the media about children being refused school dinners simply because the dinner payment card hadn't been topped up in time. In fact, there was a report about one child who had acquired their school dinner, gone to the till to find out that there was no money available for that individual child to have a dinner, and that dinner was removed from that child. Now, that is the most appalling treatment of any child in school, and I'm sure it will live with that individual for some time, should that be the case. 

Now, I've raised this before—cashless payment systems—and I have to be fair, in that Powys County Council have now taken some action to alert parents when their money is diminished or running extremely low. But we cannot repeatedly hear stories like this. So, I would ask, leader of the house, whether you could have further discussion with the Minister for Education, who I know has worked on this, to do some further work and provide some further education to both parents and also school staff so that these situations do not keep repeating themselves. 

Thank you for raising this important issue, and I have already had some discussions with the education Minister on this issue, and officials will investigate with the WLGA and the local association for catering in education just how widespread this issue is and consider whether we need to be providing additional advice and guidance to local authorities and schools on how to work with families, should these circumstances arise.

I think there are two different circumstances that families might find themselves in. For example, they just forget to top up the money, because life is busy and people forget things, or there could be families who are really, really struggling and unable to pay. So, I think there is a role for schools to understand where this family is in terms of that situation and be able to signpost on to advice, or certainly offer up contact to somebody within the local authority should they know that a family is struggling, and there is support available for them.

But you're point really about not holding children publicly accountable is an important one, because by stigmatising children in any way for unpaid school bills, well, that's completely unacceptable. 

I call for two formal Welsh Government statements on interrelated matters. The British Polio Fellowship marks its eightieth anniversary this month—January 2019—and I call for a Welsh Government statement on its support for the estimated 12,000 people in Wales who had polio, and the many more who perhaps never knew that they had it.

I'll take this opportunity to thank the British Polio Fellowship also for having asked me to become their Welsh Assembly patron. Three months ago, I called for a Welsh Government statement on post-polio syndrome, highlighting the need for improved awareness, with only 7 per cent of people surveyed recognising the syndrome at all. The fellowship wants to raise awareness amongst parliamentarians of all parties and develop this awareness in this National Assembly, as do their group leader in north Wales, Joan Deverell, and their group leader in south Wales, Coral Williams. They say, 

'The end game is now tantalisingly within our grasp, but that we are still here supporting 120,000 living with Post Polio Syndrome...in the UK'— including those in Wales—

'shows we will not truly have consigned Polio to the history books until every last survivor with PPS is no more. British Polio has invaluable world leading knowledge of how to treat PPS; with careful self-management and defined care pathways, independent living is possible.'

As their national UK chair states, 

'what a wonderful present it would be if the charity’s 80th anniversary in 2019 is finally the year the world sees the global eradication of Polio, with the end game now seemingly within reach.'

And I call for a statement accordingly.

Now, when I recently met the group leader for the British Polio Fellowship in north Wales, she also raised with me concerns about a cluster of cases of a new virus, flaccid myelitis, in Glasgow and the need for Wales to prepare for this, because parents are already asking them about this and raising their concerns. Now, acute flaccid paralysis and acute flaccid myelitis cause weakness of the arms, legs or face. In the past, the acute flaccid paralysis was commonly due to poliovirus infection. Public Health England has seen an increase in reports of acute neurological conditions linked to this, with the majority of cases in children. Increases have also been reported in Europe and the USA. Public Health England declared a national incident last November—November 2018—to investigate this apparent increase in cases, but all cases had been investigated to exclude polio and also identify other potential causes, including non-polio enterovirus infections. But we've been unable to find any reference to any discussion of this issue in Wales. Given the rising concern in England, in Scotland, in Europe and the USA, I call for a Welsh Government statement accordingly.

Thank you very much for raising this issue, and we would certainly share that aspiration that, in the eightieth year of the British Polio Fellowship, we could see the endgame being in reach, as you described it. I know that you will do sterling work in terms of raising this issue amongst Assembly Members right across the Chamber, as you are doing this afternoon.

With regard to the cluster of cases of a new virus that you've talked about, can I suggest that the health Minister has some discussion with Public Health Wales to explore the issue as to how it might be best addressed in Wales and then to write to you with the conclusions of that discussion?

May I ask the Trefnydd to discuss with the Minister for the economy whether it's possible to issue a further statement, preferably an oral statement, to this Assembly, following the announcement made that the Schaeffler plant in Llanelli is in fact going to close? I'm grateful to the Minister for his written statement yesterday, but we'd appreciate an oral statement, because I and, I'm sure, other Members, particularly those who represent that area, would like to be able to ask more about the specifics of the support that's going to be provided to the 220 workers and their families who are facing redundancies. I'm sure that the Welsh Government is very well aware that these are not the kinds of jobs that we can afford to lose from Llanelli, or indeed from anywhere in Wales. So, we'd appreciate the opportunity to ask more about the specifics of support and of what work the Welsh Government will be doing with the local authority and with others to try and find suitable replacement employment, both for individuals, but employment opportunities.

I'd also appreciate the opportunity to ask the Minister what lessons may have been learnt from this process. Was there anything more that the Welsh Government could have done to work with this company, perhaps at an early stage, to persuade them to stay and to explore further what may need to be done in a post-Brexit environment to work with international companies to make sure that jobs of this quality are not lost?

Thank you very much, and obviously the news that the Schaeffler plant in Llanelli will now, it seems, definitely close is extremely upsetting for the workforce and their families and, indeed, the wider communities in the area, and our thoughts, of course, are very much with those who have been affected by what is a really big blow to the area and to individuals.

As a Welsh Government, we are committed to doing all that we can to retain good-quality jobs in the area, so we, as you say, have specially convened a taskforce, which will continue to work closely with the local authority and with the other partners you describe to explore every possible avenue to secure the future manufacturing potential of the site and also to ensure that Schaeffler workers can readily access a competitive package of advice and skills and training support. I appreciate that you'd like some more detail on that, so I will have a conversation with the Minister with responsibility for the economy to find out what would be the best way to provide that.

I'd like to ask for two statements, Minister. Firstly, I was glad to sponsor the launch of Usdaw's Time For Better Pay campaign at lunchtime to end in-work poverty. Usdaw surveyed over 10,500 members to understand the issues that they face as a result of low pay, shorter hour contracts and insecure work. Some of the results in this report are quite shocking. For example, two thirds of workers feel worse off now than they did five years ago. Three quarters of workers are relying on loans and borrowing to pay essential bills. Two thirds of workers say financial worries are impacting their mental health, and six in 10 workers have been unable to go away on holiday in the past year. Would you be able to meet with me, Minister, to discuss this report? And I'd be grateful for an update on the work that Welsh Government is doing to tackle in-work poverty.

Secondly, this week is Independent Venue Week, and these venues give artists their first experience of playing to live audiences and they're the backbone of the live music scene. Newport's Le Public Space is a music and arts centre based in the heart of the city centre and it's the largest independent space in the city for creative arts. Le Public Space is proudly born from Le Pub, which was a small but brilliant music venue in Newport that went for 25 years. Since it opened in 2017, Le Public Space has put on a full programme of live music, arts, comedy and is currently developing plans to expand. It's run by the inspirational Sam Dabb, and with the support of a dedicated board, the venue is a not-for-profit community benefit society run by the community for the community. Their mission is to provide a vibrant arts space that is open to all and everyone involved works to encourage diversity and to connect existing and new audiences with outstanding live music, art and cinema. So, could we have a statement on what Welsh Government can do to support local independent venues across Wales? And could the Minister suggest that the culture Minister, who I note is here, looks at Le Public Space as a fantastic example of an independent venue?

Thank you very much for raising both of these issues and, certainly, grass-roots music venues are a crucial part of our talent pipeline here in Wales in terms of the music industry. I think Le Public Space is a perfect example of how these businesses can not only adapt but also thrive as well in quite challenging circumstances. But also, it really contributes to the cultural life of our urban areas as well in giving Welsh talent their first opportunity to access their first audiences. So, we've really identified the value of grass-roots music venues to the cultural life of Wales.

Creative industries officials are commissioning a mapping exercise of grass-roots music venues across Wales, and that research study will provide a geographical map of these venues across the whole of the country, identifying clusters, for example. They'll consider their viability in terms of transport, access and audience, and consider the role in the night-time economy in the areas as well, and make some recommendations for potential interventions or improvements that Welsh Government can make. I know that Le Public Space will be one of those venues that will be looked at.

With regard to the report that has been launched today by Usdaw, and thank you very much for allowing this to happen here in the Assembly through your sponsorship of it, I'd like to pay tribute to the work that Usdaw does in terms of being a really strong voice for its members. I think that this report is particularly hard hitting. It tells us the impact that low pay has on people, unsteady jobs have on people and unfair contracts have on people. So, in terms of what we can do to it to respond to it, I would very much look to our commitment to making Wales a fair work nation and the work that we're doing through the Fair Work Commission to make recommendations to us on how we can improve what we're already doing, how we can use the levers that we have, but also to explore what other additional steps might be needed, for example, including legislation in future. So, this report will certainly be an important consideration for that commission that is due to come forward with recommendations in March of this year.

Could I request that in light of today's publication of the Health Inspectorate Wales report into how ABMU health board handled the Kris Wade investigation and review, the health Minister initiates a debate in Government time on this issue and not only a written statement, which we were given today? After all, we were told that it would be ready in December, and it wasn't, so, I, if nobody else, have waited a long while for this report to come out. In it, it shows that there were clear governance failures that have not been addressed in several other reviews and reports. And this review has repercussions, not only for ABMU, but for other health boards. So, I would like to see a debate on the floor of this Chamber so that we can scrutinise the leadership of ABMU under its current chairmanship and also understand what exactly the Welsh Government is going to do differently that it hasn't done to date in all the other reviews that have happened in relation to this case and also to very serious cases in ABMU.

I'd also like to request a second statement from the health Minister on the independence of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales. Yesterday, a member of staff at Healthcare Inspectorate Wales told my office that a copy of the review would be made available under embargo from 6.00 p.m. yesterday, which it was. My staff asked HIW why the report was not being given to us until 6.00 p.m. and we were told that it was out of respect for families so that they could see the report first. However, today, I've been shown an e-mail from a journalist that showed that they were sent the report at 9 o'clock yesterday, before Assembly Members in this national institution, using the families and those suffering as a ruse not to show it to AMs to evade scrutiny. I find that shocking. I find that totally unacceptable. Therefore, I would like to have a statement from the Welsh Government to show how this happened and why AMs are not being respected when these reports are coming out.

Thank you very much. You'll be aware that the Minister has made that written statement to which you refer today. The report does make 24 recommendations, three of which fall to Welsh Government to implement on an all-Wales basis and the Minister has accepted all three of those recommendations for Welsh Government in their entirety. He also expects all health boards to take full account of the findings and the specific health board to take full account of the recommendations for it, ensuring that they are addressed and that those changes are embedded in the policies and procedures.

He's also asked the National Independent Safeguarding Board to work with the NHS to further improve the mechanisms for sharing safeguarding learning, and work is well progressed with the safeguarding boards in Wales, supported by the Welsh Government, to deliver safeguarding procedures that do build on the existing statutory guidance. And he will be asking those safeguarding boards to take account of the findings of the reports as well. He expects all of the health boards at this stage to consider these findings.

Clearly, this is a very difficult day for the women involved in the case and for their families, and our thoughts are with them, and I'm grateful to the Member for raising this. Of course, probably the earliest opportunity that she would have to raise it on the floor with the Minister would be through topical questions and the Minister would be happy to take one should it be agreed.

And I will decide if it is agreed. 

And finally, Alun Davies.

Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Minister, I'd like to ask for three statements from the Government, please. I'd like to ask for a statement from the Government on urban traffic management. I attended a public meeting in my constituency in Beaufort on Friday evening, and I was astonished to hear people talking there about the dangers they face in their daily lives along the roads through the community. I heard about children being knocked over, about people being unable to walk on pavements and about people being afraid to cross the road. Clearly, people can't be expected to live in these circumstances. And so, I would like to understand from the Welsh Government: what policies and what processes does the Government have in place to prioritise and manage traffic in urban environments? The people of Beaufort can't be expected to live the lives they are living and it's important the Government is able to create the structures and frameworks within which decisions can be taken to enable them to live their lives.

I'd like to ask for a statement from the Government on the future of buses and bus policy, as well. I heard the news on the weekend about the cuts to services in Cardiff. This is something we've seen a number of times in Blaenau Gwent, and bus services serving the communities of Blaenau Gwent and linking Blaenau Gwent with communities elsewhere and with social, shopping and work opportunities are simply falling to pieces. Now, it appears to me that if we're unable to run a bus service serving the capital of Wales in an urban, densely populated area, then the crisis facing bus services elsewhere must be so much greater. I would like to see a statement from the Government on what it intends to do to solve, to react and to respond to this crisis. I'm aware that there is a consultation being undertaken at the moment and I'm aware that the Government intends to legislate on this matter before the end of this Assembly. But that's going to be three, or possibly four years before we have a resolution of this matter. I don't believe that we can wait that long. I believe that we need a response from the Government early and within the next few weeks or months to respond to what I believe is a real crisis facing bus services up and down Wales.

I would also ask for a statement from the Government on the designation of sites of special scientific interest and other special places. I attended a public inquiry on Friday morning in Blaenavon alongside the Member for Torfaen, my good friend Lynne Neagle, and we both spoke at that public inquiry about the potentially disastrous and destructive application to quarry in an area called the 'canyon', which borders both our constituencies. Now, whilst I wouldn't expect the Government to comment upon any live planning inquiry, what I would expect the Government to be able to do is to give an estimation of its policy and approach to the designation of areas in general. It isn't so long ago that I was standing here launching the Valleys regional park and talking about the Government's ambitions and wishes to see us being able to enjoy the landscape and the heritage of the Valleys of south Wales, and now we see a business that wants to destroy that heritage and that landscape. The two are completely incompatible. So, I hope that the Government will be able to make a statement on this matter as well.

Thank you for raising these issues. On the last issue you raised regarding the designation of SSSIs and other special areas, I'll certainly ask the Minister to write to you with the clarity that you're asking for in terms of the explanation on the policy and the approach to designated areas.FootnoteLink

Again, on the issue of bus services, I had a conversation with the Minister for transport to explore when he might seek to bring forward a statement that would answer the questions that you've raised and also point you to some of the answers that, I think, the First Minister gave during First Minister's questions today, which did address some of those issues about urban traffic management. But if you wanted to write to the transport Minister directly with the specific area where you have concerns, I'm sure that he'd be keen to explore them further.

Information further to Plenary

I thank the Trefnydd.