5. Statement by the First Minister: The Legislative Programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 15 July 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:12, 15 July 2020

(Translated)

Acting Deputy Llywydd, may I thank Adam Price for those questions? A number of those will be coming before the Senedd in the legislation that we will bring forward. And so, as regards the renting homes Bill, which will be coming before the Senedd in the autumn, there will be an opportunity for people to see what's in the Bill, and, if there are amendments that people wish to raise, then, of course, there will be an opportunity for the Senedd to consider those amendments. 

As regards the Welsh language, the Minister for Education has already stated that she is open to listening to the points that people raise during Stage 2 to see whether it's possible to have discussions between the parties to be able to resolve some of the concerns that some people see in the curriculum. And so she wants to do that in a constructive manner, and I'm sure that she will receive a constructive response. 

In the environmental field, we will proceed with the Bill—not in this term, but we will prepare the way for the future. As I said when I responded to Paul Davies, we have agreed amendments to the Bill in Westminster to reflect devolution and the responsibilities that we hold here. In the interim, we will put steps in place; to be clear with people in the field in Wales, they will have an independent means of raising any concerns they may have, and, in case coronavirus has been a very difficult issue, we have proceeded with a group that has been convened, and we are almost ready with the pro forma and the practicalities to assist them. As I said, we wish to appoint an independent assessor, and we also have a panel of specialist experts ready to be appointed. So, these are just interim measures to fill the gaps before we can bring forward—well, whoever will be in Government will be able to return, after May, with a new Bill in the new context that we will face post Brexit.

On on-street hospitality, I believe that we have found another way forward without bringing a Bill to the floor of the Senedd, but we are still working with the local authorities on that.

We have changed the situation as regards people purchasing homes as second homes and then making them into small businesses to avoid paying the rates, or the taxes, allegedly. So, we have revamped the rules and regulations to assist in that regard.

As regards the history of Wales, and the history of black people in Wales, the Minister has established a group to assist us to draw together resources within the curriculum and to prepare to train people to be clear about how we wish them to approach the teaching of the history of black people in Wales. It's one thing to talk about it; it's another thing to secure the resources to promote the skills of the people who do that work.

In Stage 2 of the Bill on local government I'm sure there will be an opportunity to discuss STV once again on the floor here. Our policy is one of permissive PR, to give those local authorities that want to use the system the opportunity to do so, but we won't make it compulsory.