8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you. Moving on to biodiversity, for me, connecting people with nature is really important, so that they understand the value of nature. Without biodiversity, we have no economy, so I think it's really important. Can you outline the budget improvement…
8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I just have one little thing. Local authorities are the lead flood authority, and they've got enforcement powers. When we had the recent flooding, they should be able to enforce NRW to maintain their culverts and ditches, which they haven't been doing. So…
8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Okay, thank you.
8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I want to ask: is it invest to costs or invest to grow, basically? This money—. I know that they're having a change programme at the moment, having to make some redundancies. So, is that revenue something that's being used towards that? Also, the closure of…
8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Okay, thank you.
8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
The Cabinet Secretary didn’t include the nature crisis there, so how is that incorporated in education, in highways, in remediation, et cetera, to make sure that people connect with nature through education as a child, and then highways, when we're doing…
8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions, and declarations of interest
But relevant to the budget, because it's funded under the Local Places for Nature funding.
8 January 2025 , Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions, and declarations of interest
I'd like to declare an interest. I've been working on a project called It's for Them. I was asked to do it on behalf of Lee Waters, the then Deputy Minister, working with local government and communities regarding managing grass verges and amenity grass for…
7 January 2025 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning: Offshore Wind Task and Finish Group
I was pleased to be at the opening of the Coleg Llandrillo engineering unit, where they're doing wind turbine maintenance and working with RWE, last year. I know that Welsh Government helped fund that unit as well, and it's really welcome for Rhyl. I've also…
7 January 2025 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales: Port of Holyhead
I'll just highlight how important the port of Holyhead is, and I do hope it continues to be important and a priority, and I've heard that today, and also how vulnerable it is. The north Wales railway line connects with the port as well, doesn't it? It's…
7 January 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I’m aware that delivery is a priority for the First Minister and so is patient flow, so I was going to ask a question as well about the Royal Alexandra. I know that they were coming up with a fully costed plan in the new year, and I believe that they are…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The First Minister's first 100 days
Because I'm practising. No jobs—I know that Eren Holding in north Wales, again, recently opened. The First Minister was there—the Welsh Government intervening as well, creating, now, 400 unionised jobs, which is really fantastic and really welcomed in north…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The First Minister's first 100 days
Will you take another intervention? Just one more, just a little one.
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The First Minister's first 100 days
Thank you. The First Minister opened the new medical school up in north Wales, which is really welcomed, and I understand, now, that the Royal Alexandra Hospital, which we've been looking forward to proposals coming forward on—they're coming forward next…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The First Minister's first 100 days
Will you take an intervention?
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
Thank you. So, the problem has been: who actually will enforce the restoration as well? The cost isn't always funded because money has not been put aside, the money in the escrow account is not enough. And then NRW, the local authority, the Coal…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
Will you take an intervention?
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
So, what concerns me with Ffos-y-fran and with that proposal is that they haven't got funding to restore, and, at Ffos-y-fran as well, they're looking to use money from the escrow account—£15 million—and not put any money in themselves from that business, and…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
Will you take an intervention?
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report, 'Do disabled children and young people have equal access to education and childcare?'
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the debate as Chair of the Petitions Committee. The committee wanted me to highlight some important petitions that we have recently considered, where the evidence from petitioners has helped to inform this…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
Many of us over the years, including council leader Jason McLellan, the cabinet member Elen Heaton, and local member Barry Mellor, have been lobbying for investment in the Royal Alexandra. I was pleased to attend a meeting with the health board just last week…
13 November 2024 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Paper(s) to note
It's just if I'm not here in the future.
13 November 2024 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Paper(s) to note
I just think by saying that transport comes under the other portfolio and then having a look at it from a local authority perspective under that, it’s just too massive. But if grant funding was made to the leisure centre under this portfolio for them to…
13 November 2024 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership (10)
Thanks. It was mentioned, or there was a thought, prior to the pandemic, under Dafydd Elis-Thomas and Vaughan Gething, I think, that there could be a pot of money for prevention. So, it was clear then—a clear pot of money for prevention, where services could…
13 November 2024 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership (10)
When we visited a community-led one—the one in Porthmadog—they said that they weren't able to access that grant funding because they're not run through the local authority, and Sport Wales said that that is an issue. So, they need to be able to access funding…
