3. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:57 pm on 15 October 2019.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 2:57, 15 October 2019

If I could endorse the sentiments raised by the Member for Cardiff Central, I too have come across this in the Vale of Glamorgan, where surgeries have not so much withdrawn the service, but when their equipment has become antiquated and dilapidated, they haven't replaced that equipment and therefore they say that they cannot perform the procedure at the surgery. And the point that the organiser made to the Assembly just now in her response, that you can get thrown into the system of the local health board making arrangements and referred to the hospital, surely this is the very thing that the First Minister was talking about, which was developing more community-based solutions so that people don't go into the acute sector to have these basic problems sorted. It has to be done and I would hope that that communication between you and the health Secretary will reinforce what the Government expects.

Two things if I could ask from you today, organiser: one is Tomlinsons Dairies Ltd, which has gone into administration. I'm speaking in my role as spokesperson on rural affairs for the Conservative group on this particular issue. Whilst it is deeply, deeply troubling for the workers, the farmer-suppliers and everyone involved with this major employer in the area and production facility that it has gone into administration, it is slightly disappointing that a statement hasn't been forthcoming to date from the Welsh Government over what support is being afforded to the facility, and importantly what the Welsh Government knew about the precarious situation this dairy found itself in.

If press reports are to be believed, Welsh Government has been involved in a turn-around plan at this facility for 18 months, and yet, overnight, obviously supplies were withdrawn or suppliers were instructed not to send their supply in and employees were left in a very precarious situation with little or no information, as well as obviously substantial sums of money—I believe in excess of £5 million has been pumped in by the Welsh Government to support the expansion of the facility. So, it is very important on a number of fronts that a statement is forthcoming. In the immediacy that statement should deal with what support is there for the workers at the facility and the farmer-suppliers, but secondly, there should be clarification as to the level of involvement the Welsh Government had with this key facility in north-east Wales, which was a key supplier of Welsh milk. And as I understand it, in the short term, that milk now is going to be branded British milk, because, obviously, there aren't facilities to produce Welsh milk in the area at the moment, as Arla have indicated in the e-mail to Members today.

Secondly, I would hope that the organiser will make time available in Government time so that we can have a debate—a debate on the need for a general election, organiser. The First Minister said that we needed a general election in response to the first question today. You are very often organising debates so that this Assembly can speak with one voice. I would hope that Members around this Chamber want to speak with one voice and say that it's a matter of urgency that we have a general election and that you will commit to bringing forward a Government debate so that we can endorse the creation of an environment for a general election so that the Conservatives can endorse what we want to do for the country, with a manifesto that will be supported by the people the length and breadth of Wales and beyond.