Welsh Labour

Speeches and questions

Speeches and questions in Plenary and in committees, newest first. The Llywydd's and deputies' chairing of Plenary is left out.

659 speeches and questions

24 April 2024Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes. We don't have a particular target for the amount of people in the sector, but we obviously—. The PRS is only one part of the housing agenda that we have. The other major plank of our housing agenda is to build 20,000 low carbon social homes for rent—not…
24 April 2024Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you very much, Chair. It's really nice to be here this morning. So, our overarching view of the private sector is that we want a viable private sector that works in harmony with all of the other sectors in the housing market. We don't have a particular…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Thank you.
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Well, I'm very happy to write to the committee and tell them how my meeting with the commissioners went, but I'm afraid I don't know whether the commissioners themselves have a timeline to report back to you yet, because I don't know what they're going to say…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
I'm sorry, you're trying to tempt me into saying a time and I'm not going to, Sioned, though it's a brave attempt, I must say. I don't know and, until I speak to the commissioners, I have no real view. Once I have spoken to the commissioners, I might have a…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
That would be very kind, Chair. If the clerk could just remind us of what we've promised you, that's always very helpful. And, it may well be, Chair, that there isn't time for me to come back to the committee before you report, but, obviously, I will be…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Yes.
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
It's one of the things we can have a look at, isn't it, but I will say—forgive me, my local authority colleagues, for saying this—I think if I could snap my fingers and have a different configuration of local authorities in Wales, I probably would, and many…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
My understanding is—and this was certainly the case when I was last the Minister as well—we've had a whole series of discussions with the Welsh ambulance service about how the fire service can better support them, or, actually, they can better support each…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
My own particular view, and I've expressed this already to everybody who's advised me, is they absolutely need to have outside people in their decision-making capacity. From an operational decision-making capacity, I want people who have been trained to fight…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
We obviously do need to have better systems to record that, but it's not just about recording it, is it? It's about attracting it. Why don't more women join the fire and rescue service? Is there something we could do to make that happen? Why is it so white a…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
I've absolutely no idea is the truth of it, I'm sorry. Liz, do you know?
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Again, Joel, I'm reporting to you what I'm being briefed, rather than personal knowledge, but I understand that the developing of the new framework was paused during COVID and hasn't been started up again because of resourcing issues. I don't want it started…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Again, no, but I'm very happy to have all of those things on the table, and that's very much work we'll be doing. I obviously will be taking Dan's own view of his own role and the resources available to him, and Liz and the civil service's view of that, but…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Again, I'm afraid I'm going to say I don't know the answer to that. I've had these conversations before. I was the Minister who took the new regime through the Senedd for local authorities. It would be too big for a fire and rescue authority; it's intended…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
That's a very interesting question. I don't know the answer to that. I'm not sure any of us would, Sioned, know the answer to that. I've been furnished and I've been doing some reading with reports from the inspectorates in England and Scotland to see how…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Oh, yes, sorry, I did. Apologies; I did.
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Well, and to be honest, the body's dedication itself to having proper scrutiny. So, if you're a body that wants to be open to scrutiny, then you're going to be much more forthcoming about your information than if you're a body that's defensive and closed in…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Well, of course it is, but it can also be immensely difficult to do. I mean, I would say the same thing about some members of the health boards as well, if I'm honest. If you're presented with a large agenda, this big, and it has a very large number of papers…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Okay. On that second one, I have no idea; I'll ask Liz to come in and tell you from her understanding what it is. On why we haven't looked at reorganisation sooner, I actually had—. When I was last local government Minister, actually, Hannah Blythyn was my…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Well, soon, because we have commissioners in, and what we always need if we have commissioners in is a route out of commissioners. So, when I discuss with the commissioners what they think their exit strategy is, part of the exit strategy is, 'What do we…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
So, I certainly have personally, Jane, but I haven't yet had the chance to go through all of that with everyone. There will be international models as well as UK models that we can look at, so I'd be very keen to do that. I can't emphasise enough that I want…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Yes, thank you, Jane. So, yes, I have a view that the current model doesn't particularly work, for the reasons I've set out. But I don't have a view on its replacement, and I would very much want to consult with all of the interested parties before we came to…
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
Well, an employment tribunal is brought if you think you've suffered an unfair employment practice, so that can be a range of things, can't it? It doesn't have to be a disciplinary matter.
22 April 2024Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, and the Chief Fire Adviser
As I understand it, we're making a distinction between issues—grievance issues—and disciplinary proceedings, which is a much higher hurdle, and we're saying there were no disciplinary issues, which is this very high hurdle, and therefore that any other issues…