Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 13 October 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 2:27, 13 October 2021

But given that they are manifesto commitment, and you've just suggested they'll be delivered within the five years of the Labour Government's term, why on earth would you put them in the deep freeze in the first place? The reality is that they should be progressing, because you've given a clear commitment. I accept what you say in terms of your care for north-east Wales: that is a place that you have ably represented for many years. But I'm afraid that the voice of north Wales around that Cabinet table doesn't appear to actually carry a great deal of clout, because if you look at the record of this Government on north Wales, our health service, the worst A&E performance of all of the health boards is the one that serves the north-Wales region. We've got the longest waiting times of the whole of Wales—in fact, amongst the worst in the whole of the United Kingdom. We know that local authorities, on average, in north Wales get worse settlements than other parts of the country, and we know that the road projects that have been put on ice in north Wales have been frozen while projects are still proceeding in south Wales and in other parts of the country. Doesn't that evidence clearly show that this is a Government that doesn't actually prioritise north Wales, that that's always the second on its list of priorities, and that it's actually time that this Government levelled up across the whole of Wales in order that we can have some fairness for our region in the north?