The next item, therefore, is the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Trefnydd to make that statement. Lesley Griffiths.

Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to this week's business. The Business Committee has agreed tomorrow's Conservative and Plaid Cymru debates should be swapped. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Diolch, Trefnydd. The phosphate regulations imposed by Natural Resources Wales in the river special areas of conservation are still having major issues right across Wales, and we are very near to crisis point in many of our industries, with our building profession almost coming to a halt in certain parts of Wales. So, can we have a statement from the Minister for Climate Change around the findings of the working group that was set up to find a solution to this problem? Because the sooner we get this problem solved, the sooner we can get our planning system and our buildings moving again. Diolch, Llywydd.

Thank you. So, you refer to a piece of work that is currently being undertaken, and I know the Minister is having a look at what has come from the group, and she certainly will be bringing Members up to date when she's considered all the recommendations.

May I ask for two statements on roads from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change? First of all, may we have an update on Llanbedr and what's the latest, please? Unfortunately, there was a terrible road traffic accident on Sunday morning, the eighth of this month, and a gentleman had serious injuries. I'm sure we all wish him a good recovery. As a result of this, the road was closed for most of the day, which meant that villagers had to make a 40-mile journey around the area to get to Harlech, which is only 3 miles away. This is the danger of having one lane only, and another example of why there is a need for a bypass. So, there is a need for a swift solution.

Secondly, may we have an update also from the Deputy Minister regarding plans to improve safety on rural roads in north Wales? We've seen a number of recent accidents—two serious accidents, for example, on two following weeks, on the A494 near Glan-yr-Afon near Bala. Local residents tell me that they are afraid of seeing the sun shining, because this inevitably means that accidents are going to happen on the road. Last year, there were six fatal accidents on Meirionnydd roads only, and 36 serious injuries as well. Half of the fatal accidents were motorbike riders. Since 2006, 24 fatal accidents and 162 serious accidents have occurred on Meirionnydd roads. So, can we have an update from the Minister regarding what steps he's taking to ensure road safety in north Wales? Thank you.

Thank you. I will certainly ask the Deputy Minister for Climate Change if there is anything he can update Members on in relation to road safety. I'm not sure if you said on rural roads or north Wales.

In relation to the Llanbedr bypass—and I certainly join you in sending best wishes to the gentleman who was injured—the report, as you're aware, by the chair of the roads review panel, concluded that the scheme did not align well with new Welsh Government transport and climate policy. The Deputy Minister for Climate Change has committed to providing funding for the development and implementation of an alternative package of measures to address the negative impact of traffic in Llanbedr and will update Members in due course.

We heard earlier from the leader of Plaid Cymru of the risk of cuts to public services that are controlled by the UK Government, including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. One of my constituents, who's waiting to renew her short-term licence, which, because of her medical condition, she has to renew every three years, but unlike certain conditions like epilepsy and diabetes, she's unable to do an online application; she has to wait for the DVLA to send out her invitation to renew. And at the moment, (a) that arrived late, and (b) her GP is currently saying they're still not doing any DVLA referrals, without which she's unable to renew her driving licence, and this is actually trapping her in her own home, as opposed to holding down a full-time job, having a full social life, being able to visit people, do all her own shopping, et cetera. So, there must be many other people affected in this way by a DVLA that is simply not able to keep pace with the requirements that are required for people who need short-term licences. So, I wondered if we could have a statement from the Minister for Social Justice on how people with these disabilities are affected by this failure of the DVLA to process these applications in the short term, because her licence has now run out and she, as I said, is trapped in her own home.

Thank you, and I think you raise a very important point. As you say, it's not an issue for Welsh Government around the issuing of licences, it's a reserved matter, and this is held by the UK Government. We're not responsible for that. However, you're making a point around the fact that your constituent's GP is unable to assist her in the way that really is necessary. I would urge you to inform her that I really do think she should speak to her practice manager in the GP surgery to see if anything can be done, because, to me, that seems a very simple and easy thing to be able to do to assist her.

Trefnydd, can I ask for an urgent statement from the Minister for local government after a number of constituents in the county of Bridgend have contacted me about their concerns about the appointments process within Bridgend County Borough Council? This comes after a Labour cabinet member in Bridgend County Borough Council was employed to work in a high-level salaried officer role in the very department for which he was responsible. Media sources have reported that the Labour cabinet member for communities in the council at the time he applied for the role was later then appointed as the new climate change response manager in that same communities directorate. It raises considerable questions for the council to answer about whether he was interviewed by officers in his own department, whether he held all the necessary qualifications for the role and the appropriateness of the process. I've written to the Labour leader of Bridgend County Borough Council with these questions in the hope that it will clear up the whole debacle, but at present I haven't had a reply, and they're also ignoring requests for an internal review into the situation too. The same council has also recently been forced to apologise after the Arbed scheme in Caerau, which went disastrously wrong, discovered the contract for the work carried out was awarded to a company with links to a sitting Labour cabinet member at that time. It's clear to me that there's a significant loophole in the legislation from Welsh Government that has allowed this situation in Bridgend County Borough Council to develop, where the public are raising serious concerns about the way the council handles the interests of its cabinet members. So, can I please ask for an urgent statement to clear up the matter and find out what action the Minister will take to clear it up?

I would advise the Member to await a response to his letter—I think he said to the leader of Bridgend council. And then once you've had the response, perhaps after you've considered it, if you feel you need to, write to the Minister for Finance and Local Government.

Good afternoon, Minister. I'm sure you know what I'm going to be asking you, but it's in relation to those greyhounds. Could I request a statement from yourself in your capacity as Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales on progress towards a ban on greyhound racing? I do want to thank you for your promise to attend our Hope Rescue walk tomorrow, and I do welcome any other Members of the Senedd. I would have brought my own greyhound rescue, Arthur, there, but I'm afraid he has problems with his legs that have come about, sadly, through greyhound racing, which is why we need to ban this cruel activity. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you very much, and I'm very much looking forward to a walk round the Senedd tomorrow with some greyhounds, and like you, I would encourage all Members or as many Members as possible to join this. I think it's being hosted by Luke Fletcher and yourself. I'm aware, obviously, of the petition that had a significant number of names added to it, and I know it's being considered by the Petitions Committee at the current time. I also met, I think it was at your suggestion, with Hope Rescue to see what further we could do. As you know, it is absolutely my intention to consider greyhound racing in Wales as part of a future licensing scheme in the first interim, and that's set out in our animal welfare plan for Wales. As you know, it's a five-year plan, so I'm unable to give a specific date as to when we will be doing that, but I am absolutely committed to doing all we can to support greyhounds like your Arthur.

Minister, I'm asking for a business statement today regarding the UK Government's Online Safety Bill, as it was raised in the Senedd, in the Chamber, last week. In February of this year, the UK Government announced two regressive and unworkable additions to the Online Safety Bill. Many human rights and digital rights camp groups have said that with each new announcement the Bill demonstrates itself to make the online world less safe for the people that it claims to protect, particularly LGBTQ+ people, survivors of abuse and ethnic minorities.

Firstly, by cracking down on anonymity

'The government claims that abuse is "thought" to be linked to anonymity but in practice, most online abuse is done by very identifiable people', but for victims of abuse and prejudice, anonymity is necessary and the only way that they can access the online world while staying safe. Secondly, claiming to crack down on 'legal but harmful' content, the UK Government states that adult users will be able to opt out of this. However, errors in filters and content moderating algorithms have a tendency to discriminate against the people that these proposals are designed to protect. It is well known that LGBTQ+ content is routinely identified by machines as potentially sexual in nature and blocked.

So, my question is: could I therefore ask for a statement on how the Welsh Government is engaging with the UK Government on the Online Safety Bill and what Ministers are doing to ensure that internet safety is achieved through more rights to citizens as opposed to the dismantling of free speech that we are seeing in this Bill?

Thank you very much. Obviously, we are very aware of the UK Government's Online Safety Bill that has been introduced into Parliament. Digital tools and technologies are a part of everyday life for us and it's a very important area that you've raised. I know the Chief Whip and Deputy Minister for culture and sport has been liaising with the UK Government, and certainly her officials have very regular engagement regarding the draft Bill. They've also been in dialogue with Ofcom Wales about how they're going to use their expanded role as a regulator in relation to this. It's a very complex Bill. It passes through Parliament in line with common practice, so there's likely to be a number of amendments, I think it's fair to say, and we'll obviously continue as a Government to monitor the Bill as it does progress.

There is a really delicate balance between freedom of speech and ensuring people's safety online and the legislation will apply to internet services that host user-generated content such as images, videos and comments or which allow users to communicate with others online, and the legislation will not apply to e-mail services, text messaging, multimedia messaging services or one-to-one live voice call services. Online safety is a reserved matter, but this Bill will have an impact on Wales and it is really important we do keep a very close eye on it. 

Trefnydd, I'd like to call for a statement from the Deputy Minister for Social Services on the support for unpaid carers in Wales, which you might have seen as a headline on BBC Wales news today. A recent report from the Carers Trust Wales highlights the challenges faced by Wales's 370,000 unpaid carers, and it's worth remembering that figure—370,000. Carers Trust Wales recommends that health and social care workers do more to recognise and identify unpaid carers so that they can access bespoke support services.

They've also pointed out that almost half of carers of people living with dementia reported that their own health had suffered during the pandemic. There is concern that a lack of recognition of carers of people living with dementia, as well as the lack of regular formal review of their needs by health and social care workers can lead them to missing out on much-needed support before they reach crisis point. Therefore, Trefnydd, can we have a statement from the Deputy Minister for Social Services on the actions she is taking to identify these hidden carers and what further steps the Welsh Government will take to support Wales's army of unpaid carers who save the NHS around £8 billion each and every year?

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

Well, we are obviously very aware of the very important role carers play and I think it's really important that we value them and they feel valued. You'll be aware that in recognition of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, and the cost-of-living crisis on unpaid carers, Welsh Government is awarding a one-off payment of £500 to more than 57,000 unpaid carers in Wales who are in receipt of carers allowance. That payment targets individuals who care for at least 35 hours per week and have low incomes, and anyone receiving carers allowance up until 31 March this year can now register with their local authority and claim the payment. 

I thank the Trefnydd.