, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, Delyth Jewell makes an important point. We know from independent analysis that London and the south-east will benefit from the changes that the Liz Truss Government has introduced three times more than Wales will benefit and the north of…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, a fortnight ago, I welcomed the fact that there was to be help for people with their energy costs. What I don't welcome—I said it then, and I'll say it again now—is the fact that the price of that Conservative Party package will be paid in the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, of course the Welsh Government will do that, but the whole of this Senedd should do that. There are real questions for the Conservatives in this Chamber this afternoon. Do they defend the Prime Minister's wish not to increase benefits in line with…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, the unfunded tax changes in the fiscal statement will widen inequality across the United Kingdom. Areas such as Blaenau Gwent, which already face economic challenges, will be the most adversely affected.
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, Jenny Rathbone is absolutely right—one of the primary motivations for the public health Bill that failed to pass in 2016 was the desire to protect children from the gateway to nicotine addiction that is represented by the threat of e-cigarettes…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, let me first of all pay tribute to all of those who have been involved in the smoking cessation campaigns in Wales in recent times. In 2012, we set a target for reducing smoking in Wales—the prevalence of it—to 20 per cent by 2016. We exceeded…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, our approach to e-cigarettes is set out in our tobacco control strategy and its delivery plan, published in July of this year. As set out in the plan, we will commission an evidence-based review of the use of e-cigarettes in Wales.
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Thanks to Sioned Williams for that important question. So, there is an evaluation of it all. It has led to the change in the eligibility criteria that I mentioned earlier to make sure that some people who, the first time around, the rules didn't accommodate…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Llywydd, they are really important points that Jenny Rathbone makes. The only way that we will be able to succeed in creating banks that people can use is by using facilities that are already there and operating. And community-focused schools is one of those…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
I thank Carolyn Thomas for those questions, Llywydd. In relation to public service funding, there are two different issues, aren't there? There is the issue of energy costs, and the announcement on 8 September did suggest that there would be help for public…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
I thank John Griffiths for those important points. He's right; families across Wales face this coming autumn and winter with a real sense of trepidation. We've been in a sort of phoney war, haven't we, on this, really, because people are yet to see the real…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
I absolutely agree with Alun Davies that, in this crisis, we have to do absolutely everything we can and that that is not a job just for the Welsh Government. We fund a single advice service here in Wales. It's one of the things that Lord Thomas, in his…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Llywydd, I find myself in much the same position as I was earlier in the afternoon. There is a strong case to be made, I'm quite sure, for almost everything that the leader of Plaid Cymru would like us to spend more money on: more money on insulation, more…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Thank you very much to Adam Price for what he said at the beginning of his contribution. We are eager now to do more to help families during the holidays in October, at Christmas, in February and at Easter too. That is going to cost millions of pounds, and…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Dirprwy Lywydd, thank you very much. Can I say in opening that I think, in answering First Minister's questions, I failed to recognise the generosity of the leader of the opposition's remarks about the work of Welsh Government officials over the last week?…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Deputy Llywydd, winter is usually a challenging time for all of us and for our public services. But the cost-of-living crisis and extraordinary energy bills, even with the Government’s cap, put incredible pressures on every family and business in Wales. The…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Dirprwy Lywydd, that is only a selection of the schemes that I could have identified. And now there is to be more. Earlier this month, as part of the co-operation agreement, we started the roll-out of free school meals in our primary schools. Next week, we…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Dirprwy Lywydd, I welcome any action to reduce the impact of this cost-of-living crisis on families, but if the cap on energy bills is to be financed by borrowing, then that really is, to quote so many previous Conservative Ministers, mortgaging our…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Llywydd, none of these matters are over. All are compounded by the latest emergency to face the United Kingdom: the escalating cost of living. The war in Ukraine has seen millions of people seeking shelter and sanctuary from conflict. Many thousands of…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Update on the Cost of Living
Thank you very much, Llywydd. In recent years, our work as a Government and as a Senedd has been dominated by a series of national emergencies, from the impact of austerity to preparing to leave the EU, as Alun Davies mentioned earlier, to responding to the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank Jenny Rathbone for those important points. Llywydd, if it turns out on Friday that, as we hear, the UK Government intends to pay for the help that it will provide to citizens facing enormous hikes in their energy prices by putting the debt that will…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, we cannot ameliorate the immediate crisis of energy costs by worsening the long-term crisis of climate change. In Wales, we remain determined to deliver our net-zero commitments and to place the development of renewable energy at the forefront of our…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, I too want to pay tribute to Jo Whitehead for everything that she has done and to pay tribute to members of the board, too. We were lucky to reappoint Mark Polin as chair of the board for the next term, and I know that the board and those…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank Mabon ap Gwynfor for the question. The Welsh Government works with the local health board, for example by providing direct financial assistance, access to national clinical expertise and support for board development. These joint endeavours are all…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, I do thank Huw Irranca-Davies for that. I can assure him that the Prime Minister's announcement in relation to fracking has no impact here in Wales, and the Welsh Government's policy remains entirely unchanged. We will not solve the energy crisis by…
