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.

941 speeches and questions

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
Chair, I have absolutely no idea, is the truth. So, if we write to you, I think it would be helpful to me as well, and I can explain what the status of them are, and what the difference in the two that we were just hearing about is, and that would be most…
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
Chair, can I just say? I don't know if the committee has asked about that—I'm new in post—but I'm not sure I followed entirely the difference between those two sorts of reports. So, if we write to the committee and set out which investigations and which…
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 think the committee should take evidence from the people who are—. We're just reporting back to you a conversation that's been—.
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
Can I just stop you, Dan? Look, I think what we're hearing here is a report to Dan by somebody else. This is all third hand—all third hand.
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
Sorry, Dan, can I—? He can't hear me, can he?
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 honestly don't know the answer to that, Sioned, I'm afraid. I wasn't involved in it at the time, and I have long taken a view that I have to deal with what's presented to me and not what might have been. So, I can't say whether I would or wouldn't have done…
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, this is from my briefing, I'm afraid, because I don't know Mr Millington at all, but I understand that the commissioners knew, prior to appointing Mr Millington, that a complaint had been made about him in 2023, and that that had been subject to a full…
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, because if you think about what we're trying to do, we're trying to do two things, it seems to me. We're trying to find out how we got here, and then we're trying to put that right. We can't find out how we got here unless we speak to all of the people…
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
Sorry, I knew that perfectly well. I meant outside the south Wales fire service, not outside the fire service itself.
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
The newly appointed director of transformation.
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’ve yet to meet the Fire Brigades Union. I’m about to do that this week also. But I’ve had some briefings from previous meetings via my predecessor, Hannah Blythyn. I’ve had a conversation with Hannah herself, obviously, as part of the handover, and…
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 very familiar with two of the commissioners, as I think probably many of you on the committee are. I’m not familiar with the other two. I know one of them quite well and I don’t know one of them at all. So, I know two extremely well, one quite well, and…
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, Julie. The commissioners have done quite a few things already. They’ve already replaced several senior managers who were implicated in the failings. They’ve appointed a director of transformation from outside the service. They’ve undertaken 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
Good afternoon.
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 will include everyone with lived experience of it who wants to share their story. Sorry, I should have made that clear. But that’s what I mean. I want to make sure that everyone who has a story to tell is able to tell it.
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 completely and utterly agree with that. What we need to do is a number of things here. First of all, we need to make sure that the committees understand thoroughly their task and are able to carry it out in a manner that means that we can have reassurance…
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 said earlier, this isn't the first time I've held this brief, and I think there is an issue with combined joint authorities in general, and not just fire and rescue services; the national parks have a very similar problem. On the national park, the Welsh…
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, I agree, and so what we'll be making sure happens is that the terms of reference for the various inquiries are fit for purpose. I don't believe that the other fire and rescue services think they're in a position to have a review that simply underlines…
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 an internal matter for the fire authority in the first instance, of course, but one of the things I want to do when I speak with the constituent authorities and with the commissioners is understand what we're looking at here. Fire and rescue services are…
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've lost him.
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
Can I start as well by just saying that I've been in this post one working week, and a small part of recess, and so I've not yet had a chance to form many of the views that I would like to form on my own? This week, I have scheduled appointments with the…
16 April 2024Plenary
Debate: Stage 4 of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill
Diolch, Llywydd. Once again, I'd like to thank all the Members, stakeholders and officials for their work on this Bill. I will just make one or two remarks in response to the two contributions that we've had. I think, Janet, that you have fundamental…
16 April 2024Plenary
Debate: Stage 4 of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm delighted to move the motion before the Senedd today for Stage 4 of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill. Before I move on to talk about the detail of the Bill, I would like to begin by expressing my thanks to the committees and Members…
16 April 2024Plenary
The Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Signification of His Majesty’s Consent
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I have it in command from His Majesty the King to acquaint the Senedd that His Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill, has given his consent to this Bill. Diolch.
20 March 2024Plenary
Short Debate: A national plan for flood resilience
Diolch, acting Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you, Carolyn, for the opportunity to respond to this debate and set out how the Government is supporting communities at risk of flooding. The Welsh Government, as many people have mentioned, has a national…