The next item is the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Trefnydd to make her statement, Rebecca Evans. 

Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to this week's business. 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. 

Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement on parking arrangements at Welsh hospitals? Obviously, I am aware and fully support the free parking initiative that we have at hospitals across Wales, but this is causing some considerable problems in terms of parking at many of our hospital sites, not least Glan Clwyd Hospital, which serves many of my constituents.

In a bid to alleviate some of those problems, the health board in north Wales has provided a park-and-ride facility that has been extremely popular with patients and staff using the new parking arrangements for that hospital. But it is set to be withdrawn at the end of this month, and I'm very concerned about the stress that that might cause, particularly for those people who are frequent users of hospital services because of conditions like cancer and other chronic or life-limiting illnesses. I wonder whether the Government could bring forward a statement and whether there's any financial support that might be made available to support these park-and-ride schemes, which are, as I say, extremely popular with patients, extremely popular with staff and very, very useful in easing the congestion problems around our hospital sites.

I thank Darren Millar for raising the issue. The health Minister is aware of the issue at Glan Clwyd and the park-and-ride facility in particular. I know that it's been raised with him by the local Member, Ann Jones, and the health Minister has agreed that he will write to all Members providing an update.FootnoteLink FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary

Information further to Plenary

I want to express my deep concern for the safety of Kurds in northern Syria. Despite being outgunned in many battles, the Kurds not only put a halt to the advance of Islamic State forces, but forced them to retreat. The Kurds did what western forces were unwilling to do on the ground, and they've paid a heavy price for that sacrifice. They're now running the prisons that hold thousands of captured IS fighters. The reward for such bravery and unstinting work: being left hung out to dry by the President of the United States, despite assurances that they would be afforded protection.

Trump has given the green light to Turkey to launch a military offensive in northern Syria by signalling his intention to pull US troops out of the region. We know what the plans of the Turkish Government are. Time and time again, the reward for Kurdish bravery and a justified campaign for autonomy, often encouraged by the west, has been a brutal put-down and no help from the international community. I'm well aware that foreign policy is not the remit of this Senedd—not yet anyway—but this Welsh Government can and should send a clear message to the Foreign Office that this treachery, which will cost thousands of Kurdish lives and put all of us at risk, will not be tolerated. We have a significant Kurdish community living in Wales, who are active in their local communities and are a force for good. The Kurdish people and anyone else in Wales wanting a fair and compassionate foreign policy want clear leadership from the Welsh Government on this matter. Will you therefore agree to a statement from the Government on this, outlining what can be done to help to protect those people who are families and friends of the Welsh Kurdish community, who are currently being badly let down?

I thank Leanne Wood for raising this serious issue with us this afternoon. I will speak directly with the Minister for international relations to explore what's the best way in which we can make the UK Government aware of the concerns that you've raised this afternoon, but I know they're concerns that are shared by many Members in this Chamber.

Last weekend, I, along with my colleague Chris Elmore MP accepted an invitation for a drink by Bridgend council leader, Huw David. We were delighted to do so because he offered to buy the first round, which is unheard of, quite frankly, but also because of the special nature of the pub that we went to. Two years ago, a group of villagers in Cefn Cribwr raised, with only one day to go, enough money to buy at auction the last pub in the village—a 150-year-old pub called the Three Horseshoes. They managed it. They've spent the last two years gutting it and totally refurbishing it and turning it into a community-owned and community-managed pub. It is beautiful, it is gorgeous inside. It serves coffee as well as beer, and so on and so forth. But I wonder if this is the right time, now, to ask for a debate on community-owned facilities. There is a rising tide of these facilities right across Wales—shops, cafes, pubs—and very often they become the beating heart of the villages and the towns that they are in. So, could I ask for that debate, as we go forward? I'd certainly celebrate it as a member of the co-operative party as well, who believes in co-operative models of ownership and management as well, and if the Minister, the Trefnydd, would like to discuss it further, I'm more than happy to do so, and I'll happily buy the first round at the Three Horseshoes so that we can discuss it further.

I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for that invitation that I'm certain that I can't say 'no' to. The importance of communities taking over local assets is very much recognised by Welsh Government, so I was really pleased, just last week, to publish an updated community asset transfer guide, which gives local authorities and others with interest in this area some concrete examples of community asset transfers that have gone very well. It explores as well some of the pitfalls and barriers that could exist in terms of successful projects, but also provides almost a route-map, really, in terms of how this kind of thing can be turned into a real success. And I'd be happy to share a copy of that with Huw Irranca-Davies, perhaps over that pint.

May I ask for a statement from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs on further measures to protect animals in homes, farms and in the wild? The UK Government has announced it is to consult on a step to ban the keeping of primates as pets, bringing in the compulsory microchipping of cats and on improving the welfare of live animals during transport. Please could we have a statement from the Minister, confirming that the Welsh Government will carefully consider the results of these consultations and implement any recommended measures in Wales to ensure we maintain the highest standard of animal welfare? Thank you.

I thank Mohammad Asghar for raising that, and good standards of animal welfare is something that the Welsh Government is particularly passionate about. I know that the Minister for environment and rural affairs has this very, very high on her agenda. Obviously, we'll be looking at UK Government consultations in this area to see what we can learn from the responses that come forward to that, but I know that the Minister has her own very ambitious programme in terms of animal health and welfare and is advised by the experts on the animal health and welfare group in terms of the most effective things that we can be doing in Wales in this area.

Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from the Minister for environment, please? Last week, residents in my constituency, particularly in the Margam, Port Talbot and Taibach areas, experienced large noise pollution plus visible huge, black dust clouds coming from the blast furnaces as bleeders were required to ease the pressure. Now, when Tata put out their announcement on this, they actually blamed waterlogged products as part of the input. Now, they might be living in their offices in Tata, but I'm sure they understand a lot of rain comes into Port Talbot and it's not unique, but residents have had to put up with quite a large proportion of pollution and nuisance dust as a consequence of some of the recent events in Tata. Now, I appreciate the Minister actually visited Tata in the summer and had a discussion with them as to what works were going on, but this is getting to a stage now where we need to take some more action to ensure that they behave as a reasonable and responsible neighbour, to ensure that the residents of the area are not suffering through this unwarranted, unsolicited pollution.

Yesterday, we had a new statement from the Minister for transport, talking about M4 junctions 41 and 42 and the levels of nitrogen dioxide that have been reduced as a consequence of the actions, but if people travelling that road look to the sea, the see Tata and they see the emissions coming from Tata. So, it is important we address the emissions from our industrial industries and, in this case, Tata. So, can we have a statement from the Minister as to what discussion she's having with Tata to ensure that this does not happen again and they continue to act as a responsible neighbour, ensuring that people in that area can actually live in their houses, without, on going into the garden, being covered in black dust?

So, the Minister for environment's been here to hear your concerns on behalf of your constituents this afternoon, and I know that she'd be very happy to meet with you within the next week to discuss the concerns that you've raised in more detail.

Trefnydd, perhaps I could request two statements, please, the first one from the health Minister regarding the provision of minor injuries units in Wales, especially in view of the Choose Well message that I hope we're all hearing. As a constituency Member in my own region, of course, you'll be aware that the GP-led minor injuries unit in Singleton has been temporarily closed—some reconfiguration, but also some issues over staffing. In response to my recent freedom of information request, the new health board confirmed that they'd asked 430 GPs in the health board area if they would consider contributing to the rota as the existing handful of GPs there can't manage it themselves. That's over 400 GPs, and not one of them said 'yes'. I think that needs some direct ministerial investigation, as well as an up-to-date statement, perhaps, on the current state of the service across Wales.

The second: perhaps I could request from the environment Minister on the back of the state of nature report and the role of Welsh Government in protecting privately owned nature reserves of national importance. Kenfig nature reserve in my own region has been under the management of the local authority, by virtue of a lease that expires in December. Local residents and volunteers have naturally been very concerned about the future of this nationally significant reserve, as the council will not be renewing that lease. The corporation trust that owns the land has been anything but communicative and transparent about its proposals to ensure good management of that land from January, and, bearing in mind that the wider community of Kenfig is the beneficiary of the trust, I'm a bit worried about observance of fiduciary duties. But I would like some clarity, please, concerning the role of NRW in situations such as this, where these certainly nationally important sites appear to be in jeopardy. Is it just advisory, for example? And I would like confirmation of any powers that Welsh Government may have, directly or indirectly, as they do under the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016, to compel owners to maintain officially designated nature reserves to a particular standard, or to protect a particular identity. Thank you.

Thank you very much. On that issue of the Kenfig nature reserve and the importance of the management of nationally important land, there were some quite detailed aspects to your question there, so I'll ask the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to write to you in response to those particular concerns.FootnoteLink 

Again, on the issue of the minor injuries unit at Singleton, and your concern more generally about minor injuries provision, and the survey that was done of GPs in terms of seeking their agreement to become part of that rota to provide the service, I know that the health Minister will be interested in what you've outlined this afternoon and, I'm sure, will look into it further. 

Information further to Plenary

Trefnydd, last week a planning application for 111 houses on the edge of Raglan in my constituency, which had been called in by the Welsh Government, was refused by the independent planning inspector, and I received a copy of the report and the letter, primarily on the grounds of conflict with the well-being of future generations legislation. It strikes me that this legislation and the growing body of Welsh legislation in this area is having an increasing impact on planning decisions for local authorities across Wales, and I wonder if they are fully versed in all the aspects of the complexity of that legislation, because I've certainly been brought up to speed on it. So, I wonder if we could have a statement from the Minister for local government and planning on advice that's currently being given to local authorities so they are completely up to speed with issues such as the legislation that I've mentioned, and other areas—the climate emergency as well is having an increasing impact. It seems to me that the authorities would benefit from clarity surrounding the new framework that we're in.

Secondly and very quickly, in terms of Welsh-medium education, the Welsh Government obviously has the admirable intention to create one million Welsh speakers by 2050. However, in my neck of the woods there simply isn't currently the provision available to help increase the number of Welsh language learners. I think we have one Welsh-medium primary school in Monmouthshire. There is a plan for a second, but it's unclear where that will be. I wonder if, in light of that, we could have an update from the Welsh Government on how the Welsh Government intends to deliver on this promise and make sure that local authorities in south Wales can provide that Welsh-medium education where parents and pupils and teachers want it. 

Thank you for raising the issues. In respect of the first issue, the context was a particular local planning application and, obviously, I'd be unable to comment on the specifics of that. But I will explore with the Minister for Housing and Local Government how we're ensuring that local authorities and planning departments have all of the access that they need to information, advice and potential expertise in terms of undertaking the roles that they have and the considerations that they have to make in terms of planning. I'll also explore opportunities to discuss in further detail with local authorities whether they've identified any gaps in terms of access to information or expertise that we can potentially support them with in the undertaking of those roles.

I know that the Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language will be very keen to provide an update on Welsh-medium education to Members, and I will speak to her about the most appropriate and opportune time to do that. 

Thank you, Trefnydd.