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

Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to today's agenda. Draft business for the next three sitting weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Trefnydd, I would be grateful if you could investigate the issue of written oral questions that have not been answered, dating back, in my case, as far as 2016, from Welsh Government Ministers. I know that this is an issue that has been raised a number of times in this Chamber, but I do feel now that we need to get to the bottom of why written questions are simply not answered by Welsh Government Ministers. Can you please investigate? According to the Table Office, some of my questions haven't been answered dating back as far as 2016. I'd be grateful if you could investigate this, business manager, with the Table Office and provide a statement to Members of this Senedd with an explanation of why this has occurred.

I'll certainly investigate why those responses haven't arrived, certainly going back to such a date. If you let me have the numbers that would be helpful, otherwise I can liaise directly with the Table Office to get that information for you.FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary

Leanne Wood. You need to unmute yourself again, Leanne Wood.

I don't have a question, Llywydd.

Oh, that's okay. Mick Antoniw.

I wonder if it would be possible to have a Government time debate on the planning system in Wales, and in particular with regard to the role of the Planning Inspectorate. It's becoming increasingly clear to me and many other Assembly Members that there are real question marks about the fitness for purpose of the Planning Inspectorate and whether we should now be moving towards a system whereby local decisions by councils on planning matters should be prioritised to a far higher degree, rather than the way in which it seems to happen at the moment with the way in which the Planning Inspectorate seems to override local interest. It seems to me that it's an important and long-overdue debate, and I wonder if Government can make time for such a debate. 

I thank Mick Antoniw for that suggestion. Over the summer, I'll be having some discussions with colleagues about the debates that they would wish to bring forward, and I know that they'll be considering the requests that colleagues bring forward today, and have done in recent times as well, in terms of setting out that agenda of Government business for the next term, which I hope will, to a degree, allow us to return to more usual and more normal kinds of tabling of business. But, obviously, we will see where we are in the autumn term.

Trefnydd, will you ask the Minister for economy to come forward with a statement to confirm who exactly is entitled to receive a business support package from the economic recovery fund during the pandemic? There is still much confusion as to who qualifies, as in the case of my constituent who has three businesses, is paying three lots of tax for them, but because they're run from the same address, he has been given assistance for only one business, saying that he does not qualify. So, before his other two businesses, employing several people, are beyond repair, what financial assurance can my constituent be afforded?

I thank Caroline Jones for raising this. I do think that the criteria for the grants related to non-domestic rates are quite clear, in the sense that they are set out on the Business Wales website. The situation you describe certainly sounds as if it would only be the one business that would be eligible for the business rate related grant, because those grants are directly related to those businesses that are paying the non-domestic rates.

That said, other businesses are being asked to look to the economic resilience fund, which opened for phase 2 earlier on this week, to seek support for businesses that aren't eligible for the non-domestic relief-related grants. So, we've tried to put in support, as the First Minister's said, in order to plug those gaps as far as is possible.

Leader of the house, could I have two statements, if possible? I appreciate that they'll be done in a written form. One in relation to the Government missing its deadline for farm payments yesterday—30 June itself is the deadline to make all farm payments other than complex payments. I'm led to believe that the Government has missed that deadline and will be subject to EU fines for missing the deadline. We now need to understand what the new timeline will be for farm businesses to receive this money, especially with the COVID crisis impacting on many farm businesses, and the flow of cash into those businesses.

And secondly, the Auditor General for Wales's report yesterday touched on a very pertinent issue that has been plaguing the rural development plan and its delivery right the way through its lifetime since 2014. The auditor general did a report in 2018 that highlighted the same problems that were highlighted by the report yesterday. And, sadly, it does seem as if much of this money goes to favoured companies, individuals or Government agencies themselves, as the auditor general highlights. It is vitally important that the Minister responds to this report in a timely manner and that Members see that response so that, with the remaining time for the rural development plan, we can have confidence that the remaining money will not be frittered away and will be used to best effect.

I will certainly make sure that the Minister is aware of your request for a statement and clarity on farm payments, particularly in the timing of those payments within this financial year.

On the second issue that you raise about the Wales Audit Office report, obviously, we're grateful for the work that was done there, and we'll ensure that officials respond to them in due course. I do know that officials will need to provide evidence to the Public Accounts Committee in respect of the approach taken to the assessment of value for money through the RDP, and I think that that is a proper forum for those issues to be discussed and explored.

As part of our ongoing review of the delivery of the RDP, officials had already identified the issues described by Audit Wales and have taken action to remedy them. The report's conclusions provide some helpful guidance to ensure that all the necessary actions have been implemented. And I can add that officials have reviewed the projects concerned to ensure that they do, in practice, deliver value for money, and, where appropriate, have taken action to ensure that we do achieve value for money, including retendering some of those projects. So, I hope that that's helpful as an interim update before officials give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee.

Finally, Darren Millar.

Diolch, Llywydd. Trefnydd, can I call for a Welsh Government statement on when driving lessons, theory tests and practical tests will be able to recommence in Wales? There are a lot of people across the country, particularly young people, who were in the middle of taking their driving lessons and have been unable to complete their courses. In addition to that, there are those who've passed their theory tests, and the validity of those can expire before they're able to take the actual practical driving test, because of the coronavirus shutdown. And, of course, there are many driving schools with instructors on the English side of the border who are losing out to business to driving schools on the other side of the Welsh border, simply because of the current situation.

The UK Government has announced that it's going to be recommencing these things on 4 July, and I think it would be great if we could get to a situation in Wales where we were able to announce the same as soon as possible.

Well, a really wide range of circumstances are considered throughout our three-weekly rolling review of the regulations, and, clearly, we are considering many different types of employment and employment circumstances. So, obviously, there are circumstances across Wales—I've had guitar teachers who teach at home, for example, wanting to know what the rules mean for them. So, I know that we do need to provide as much clarity as we can, which we're seeking to do through our three-weekly reviews, but I will make sure that I express your concerns particularly about driving instructors and people undertaking driving lessons, with a view to taking tests, in those discussions that we'll be continuing to have this week.

I thank the Trefnydd.