, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Raising Wales’s International Profile—An update on the Welsh Government’s international relations activity
Dirprwy Lywydd, Welsh goods exports surpassed the value of their pre-pandemic level at £20.5 billion in 2022. We will invest £4 million this year in a comprehensive programme of export support for Welsh businesses, including an active programme of trade…
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Raising Wales’s International Profile—An update on the Welsh Government’s international relations activity
Thank you very much, Llywydd. Wales has long been an outward-looking country with strong international connections. Our history is full of stories of close collaboration with our nearest neighbours. Indeed, one of the most striking features of the Age of…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, Jack Sargeant makes a series of very important points. If the debate on AI has been slow to emerge, it has certainly caught fire in more recent weeks. This is an area where I believe that UK-wide regulation has significant advantages, and the Welsh…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, the Welsh Government officials have been in dialogue with counterparts in the UK Government about AI regulation. I support the need for regulation in this area, alongside relevant standards, governance and assurance mechanisms that will help ensure…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, I thank Carolyn Thomas for those questions. On her final point, the process of gaining national park designation is a significant one, and there are a series of legal obligations that have to be discharged along the route. A point in the process will…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Delivery of the commitment to designate a new national park remains on track for completion during this Senedd term. With a project team established and initial analysis complete, Natural Resources Wales has now moved on to gathering the detailed evidence…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, I think I had an opportunity to visit one of those outlets with the Member when we were said to be on the campaign trail in his constituency not that long ago. [Laughter.] And of course, he is right that those small, independent brewers, they provide…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, I thank the Member very much for that supplementary question. I'm absolutely keen to join with him in celebrating the success of those producers in Denbighshire. The Welsh Government was very pleased to play our part in securing food name status for…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, our strategy continues to support food and drink producers across Wales, including those in Denbighshire. We assist producers to improve performance and competitiveness, to pursue diversification and to identify and succeed in new and existing…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, connections to Cardiff Airport will not depend on electrification of the south Wales Valleys lines, which was the subject of this question. I was lucky enough to be in Edinburgh over half term, and I agree with Member that the tram line that…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, certainly, Llywydd, I would be very happy indeed to do that. The 'no second chances' campaign is a hard-hitting campaign for any of you who've seen the material that it uses, but it needs to be as well, because the overhead lines that are now live do…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, Transport for Wales are making good progress with the electrification of the core Valleys lines. The upgrade works inevitably cause some disruption for passengers, but these works are essential in order to complete the transformation of the network…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, I think Altaf Hussain makes some really important points in what he just said. There is no doubt at all that the world of work is changing, and the jobs of the future will not simply be a reflection of the opportunities that were there in the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, of course, I agree with Mike Hedges that the universities have a very important role to play in that. In Veeqo, in his own constituency, that I visited with the Member for Swansea East, the 80 highly skilled technical roles that that business supports…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, the latest available data for 2021 shows that 42.4 per cent of those in employment in Wales were working in higher paid industries.
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Questions to the First Minister
I thank Cefin Campbell very much for making those points. The emphasis that we put on the foundational economy is part of what we do as a Government to support local people when, as Cefin Campbell said, they come together to create new businesses when the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, let me be clear with the Member and the businesses that speak to him. There is going to be a visitor levy in Wales, brought forward by the Welsh Government, and if it gets supported on the floor of the Senedd then that will be the democratic will of…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, the Welsh Government supports the economy in the Member's constituency through investment in infrastructure, funding skills development for existing and emerging industries, and support for innovation in creating the jobs of the future.
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, first of all, Llywydd, I agree entirely with Llyr Gruffydd on the importance of public health in helping us to avoid problems where they can be avoided, and for many people who suffer diabetes, there are changes that they could make in their lifestyle…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
There are two points, Llywydd. First of all, I don’t need to rely on FOI figures, because we have the official figures that are published every year on workforce, and in the first 20 years of devolution, we saw a 31 per cent increase in the number of GPs…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
We will do that, Llywydd, by the investment that we are making in the cancer workforce of the future. Since August 2021, we have had a five-year programme of expansion in the training of medical oncologists and clinical oncologists. Every year, more people…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I think the leader of the opposition lets himself down, and, more importantly, he lets down the families who look to the inquiry to give them answers to those questions. When Ministers are asked that question in Holyrood and in Westminster, they will have the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
It's a reasonable question, and here is my answer, and it's the same answer I gave him the first time: that these are matters now in front of the inquiry. Personally, I think it is disrespectful to the inquiry to try to shift the responsibility that they have…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
First of all, I welcome very much the fact that today is the first day of full hearings at the independent UK inquiry. I hope very much that it will be able to provide answers for those families who lost loved ones and whose lives were affected by the awful…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank Adam Price for that supplementary question. He reflects what Joyce Watson has said already. Of course, I acknowledge the fact that, when services change, that does lead to concerns among some people, particularly those who have accessed the service…
