16 January 2025 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
I just have one final question, really, which is: how does Cadw compare with the major competitor in this field, which is the National Trust, which, in my experience on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, has done more to decarbonise…
16 January 2025 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Yes, exactly. Obviously, the National Botanic Garden of Wales is a completely separate organisation, doing something quite different. So, thank you for that thoughtful answer. There's obviously a significant uplift for Cadw to go ahead with the next phase of…
16 January 2025 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Okay. Thank you for that useful answer, and I'm not in any way suggesting that we shouldn't go ahead with the work that is being done by the individuals at the coalface. I think it's much more about, 'Do we really need all these different organisations?'
16 January 2025 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you very much. I wanted to ask you about the built environment and our historic buildings. I just want to start by asking you—. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales has told the committee, 'We are not funded adequately…
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
And how do you explain why there are more attendances at A&E in the summer than in the winter? [Interruption.]
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
Will you take an intervention?
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
Okay. I just want to say that I think that the Welsh Government has done a great deal to bring down waiting lists, simply because you will see from the amendments put forward by the Government that these surgical hubs that we are delivering is definitely the…
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
Thank you for cueing me in on that, because I was about to come to social care. I agree with Gareth Davies that there are many more people in hospital who would be better looked after in the community. I also agree that we want a well-funded social care…
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
Yes.
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
No, I support the banning of smoking, so that future generations don't take up this horrendous habit. But we have to understand that one of the surprising things is that emergency department attendances are higher in the summer than in the winter. I think…
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
I agree very much with what Heledd Fychan said. We have to say ‘no’ to finger-pointing and ‘yes’ to concrete proposals for improving things. There’s nothing more depressing for health service personnel than to hear that people are criticising them for the…
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
And there's money in the budget to assist, where practicable.
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I wanted to ask about the continual closure of abattoirs and the impact that that has on the welfare of those animals that are being slaughtered.
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Meanwhile, we've got these challenges of meeting net zero by 2035. And that means we have to change the food we eat and where we get it from.
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Is the budget sufficient to meet the ambition that you have just described?
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Okay. Because one of the challenges that she says—Abi Reader—is that, obviously, we're not paying enough for fruit and vegetables, whether it's the supermarket, or whether it's public procurement. So, how are we going to encourage more farmers to do what we…
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Okay. But the challenge is, obviously, enabling farmers to diversify to meet the demand from pupils for being able to eat local fruit and veg. So, really, that public procurement is an important part of this transition, but obviously it will benefit families…
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Okay. So, I want to just ask you now about the challenges posed by the net zero by 2035 work, chaired by Jane Davidson, which is around how could Wales feed itself by 2035. Obviously, we're never going to run out of dairy and meat; our weakness is in fruit…
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Okay, which is obviously increasing the income of the people who are producing the foods. The additional funding that you've given for Blas Cymru, how are you going to assess it against performance? What are your targets that you hope to come out of this…
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
You've already mentioned the importance of the Blas Cymru event coming up in the autumn, and I just wondered if you could tell us how that's going to support—. All these people coming together, one of the weaknesses we've got is that we're not processing as…
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning
Yes.
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning
Excellent. We look forward to seeing it.
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning
So this external evaluation will look at the value of these Wales offices abroad, as opposed to relying on the UK Government to promote Wales.
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning
Yes. So, you have told us that you're going to commission an external evaluation of the plan, to be published in the summer, which is after the First Minister is expected to set out her remaining delivery priorities for the international strategy. How will…
15 January 2025 , Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning and the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
If we're going to have more sustainable farming practices, we need to have the apprenticeship skills to ensure that people have got them to make a successful business of it, so that surely comes into this part of the discussion—
