, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning
8. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the adequacy of the funding the Welsh Government provides for culture and the arts? OQ62120
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Thank you for that, Peter. Finally from me on this, do you think that there will be a time that we can anticipate when TfW's total budget can be published at the same time as or alongside the Welsh Government's draft budget? Are there any further hurdles that…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Thank you very much for that. We touched on performance as well in terms of budgeting. Your predecessor and her officials had said to us, not December of last year but December of the year before, I think, that there were plans for a performance board…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Thank you both very much for that. So, just to clarify that I understand you correctly, in terms of any projects that you would be most concerned about that could be delayed or might not be able to be delivered because of any pressures, the principal one…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
No. [Laughter.]
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Oh, I don't think the Chair would let you do that.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
I’m going to ask about TfW’s budget. We have called for TfW’s total budget, not just rail, to be available for scrutiny. So, just to reiterate that point. And, in that vein, could you reassure us, please, that TfW’s total budget will be sufficient to deliver…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Thank you. Good morning to you.
, 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.
, 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. That's really useful. And just finally from me on this, in terms of extra resources being put in to the interim role, do you feel that that will in any way improve public awareness of the assessor's work, or in terms of ensuring that people…
, 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, that's really useful. So, that won't be reflected in the current budget.
, 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. On that, is it the plan, please, to establish a shadow body whilst the transition to the statutory body is going ahead?
, 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
Diolch, Cadeirydd. Bore da. Forgive me that I was a little late. It's lovely to see you. I wanted to ask you about environmental governance, which is so important because so much of what we have been discussing already, so much could stem from that when it's…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
The wintry weather has caused a lot of difficulty locally. When the snow melted it caused flooding that led to road closures in Hengoed, in Ebbw Vale, and there was a landslip near Crumlin. And now that will have caused worry for people not just in that area…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Happy new year. I'd like to have a statement, please, to say what support is available to local authorities to deal with the effects of the winter weather.
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
My concerns are similar to Hefin’s in this. There are a number of GP surgeries in the Valleys that are being managed by this private company, eHarleyStreet. Now, that affects surgeries in Bargoed, Hengoed, Brynmawr, Tredegar—across the Valleys. Patients, as…
, Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
Thank you very much for that, Cabinet Secretary. Would you recognise that although—? I appreciate you setting out where the different responsibilities are for these different bodies. Do you recognise that even between those different bodies, because there are…
, Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
Would you agree with the principle, though, that because the legacy of coal mining—and I realise that we're straying a little bit here outside the strict confines of this report, but it is very related—the legacy of mining predates devolution, and so it…
, Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
—in full. I'm sure you will. But Westminster needs to be paying for this in full, because it shouldn't be for private companies to do that, because it will be at the expense of our environment, yet again. I'd ask the Cabinet Secretary if he will finally take…
, Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
Thank you for that, Hefin. We are not in this report trying to claim that what is being proposed, for example, in Bedwas, is the same as Ffos-y-fran. It's almost the danger that it could lead to coal extraction almost by stealth, even if it's not the intended…
, Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
I'd also like to thank witnesses to our inquiry, in particular the individuals who spoke to us about how living near an opencast mining site has affected their lives. Chris and Alyson Austin and Sue and Owen Jordan gave powerful testimony, and I commend their…
, Plenary
Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Report, 'Restoration of opencast mining sites'
I'd like to start by expressing my thanks to the Chair of the committee, the clerking team and the research team for bringing this inquiry forward.
, Plenary
Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
We absolutely can change the world. And one of the possibly more quiet elements of that—a quiet element of changing our natural world, but an element that is nevertheless fundamentally important—is about addressing biodiversity loss. In your recent session…
, Plenary
Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you for that and for setting down that challenge. It’s fair to expect that, given this new commitment on a UK level to accelerate emissions targets, this will come with increased Government support for a just transition, and you’ve just been setting…
, Plenary
Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Diolch, Llywydd. The warning signals of climate breakdown are flashing red, with intensifying floods, storms, heatwaves. Climate leadership by Wales and the UK is more essential than ever. But the imminent return of Trump, a recognised climate denier, means…
