5. Statement by the First Minister: The Legislative Programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:28 pm on 15 July 2020.

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Photo of Alun Davies Alun Davies Labour 2:28, 15 July 2020

First Minister, I'm grateful to you for the statement this afternoon and, like you, I share the disappointment that we're not going to be able to move forward with a Bill to reregulate bus services. Deregulation, of course, was a Thatcherite disaster that is continuing to wreck our services, especially in places like my constituency where we spend the money, but we don't get the services we require. I think we all want to see buses being reregulated to ensure that we do have the services that we require.

First Minister, there are a number of different areas where I believe we could benefit from additional legislation. I've been considering environmental legislation, the protection of our ecology and fragile environments. The First Minister will remember that I put forward proposals to create a new national park in Wales, in the Valleys, and I think it is important that we look again at how we regulate and designate our national parks. There are, of course, other parts of the country that would benefit from the designation of a national park. I remember the campaign for a Cambrian mountains national park in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire as well, and there are other parts of the country.

Could we also consider a clean Wales Act? The First Minister's referred to a clean air Act, and I fully support that proposal, but he will be aware of the littering we're seeing in our communities and the great distress that is caused to people, in different parts of the country, by fly-tipping. I've seen fly-tipping increase over recent years in my own constituency, where our beautiful hillsides and mountains are used to dump waste. It is already illegal, but we need to be able to ensure that we can increase the penalties and make more robust law to protect our communities from that.

It would also be useful to see a deposit-return scheme introduced in Wales. I remember when Corona was pop, returning my bottle in order to get my penny to buy some more pop, and I think it would be something we would like to see the return of.

And finally, First Minister, can I speak on a more personal note? Members will be aware, and I'm obviously very grateful to Members for their kind words and sympathy, but I suffered a cardiac event some months ago. I was very, very lucky that I was with somebody who understood CPR and was able to find a defibrillator within minutes. When my heart stopped beating, there was somebody there who could help me and save my life. The provision of defibrillators, the provision of training in basic resuscitation, together with a statutory path of survival, planning for all public service bodies and health authorities to work together, with the general public, to ensure that everybody has the same opportunity for life that I was given. And when I was speaking to the people who had saved my life some months ago, they were very clear that it was members of the public who were there when my heart stopped beating that gave the ambulance crew and the surgeons in the Heath hospital the opportunity to give me a second breath of life. So, it is the public and it is our professionals working together with a path of survival, together with the materials, the opportunities and the training, to enable everybody to have that chance of life.