Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 25 February 2020.
The first statement that I wanted to ask for was from the Deputy Minister for Culture, actually, in relation to the soundings that we're hearing from the UK Government that there may be changes to the BBC licence fee, and that it may potentially change to a subscription service. Now, I know that this all has not been confirmed, but of course this will have implications for Wales in relation to BBC Wales and also S4C, whose whole funding stream will be moved imminently to the licence fee. Would we be able to have a statement about what conversations the Deputy Minister has had with the UK Government in this regard, and then potentially in relation to how they may be looking at alternatives to how Wales and broadcasting in general may be looking for the future here in Wales.
My second request for a statement is with regard to a request to the environment Minister for a statement on opencast restoration. I ask this because, in the last week, it's not directly to do with flooding, but the Kenfig Hill void that was left by Celtic Energy is that—it's water that has been contained because Celtic Energy left without restoring the whole site. Bridgend council has said that they can't afford to fully restore it, and they have said that, in light of the floods, it's safe, which I've written to NRW to confirm, but the wider point is that we need to ensure that all of these opencasting applications are restored, which they're not being, and I would urge the Government to give us a statement as to what future planning they have in mind to help these areas become naturalised again so that we are not left with these big holes in the ground.