, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Bore da and croeso. Good morning and welcome to the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee meeting in the Senedd this morning. The meeting is bilingual. Headsets provide simultaneous translation on channel 1 and sound amplification on channel 2…
, Plenary
Short Debate: A fair chance—Ensuring blind and partially sighted people can live the life they choose
It's now 21 years since I first attended a Guide Dogs Cymru event here, highlighting the need to make shared streets and outdoor public places more accessible for people living with a vision impairment. More recently, their campaign for safer streets has also…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Women's healthcare
That's it. Thank you. Diolch. [Laughter.]
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Women's healthcare
Wales has some of the worst survival rates for ovarian cancer in Europe. Over 300 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in Wales, and more women die as a result of ovarian cancer in the UK than any or all other gynaecological cancers combined, yet…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Housing associations have raised concerns with me that, because they’re taking more tenant allocations from priority lists and therefore working with people in crisis or post crisis, this is having a big impact, where the needs of tenants are becoming more…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government: More homes towards ending homelessness
—that if Cardiff and Swansea are excluded, over 5,500 private rented homes have been lost since 2021. Finally, therefore, will the Welsh Government recognise that when the public, private and third sectors come together, they can do remarkable things?
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government: More homes towards ending homelessness
Wales is in a housing emergency, with more than 11,000 people homeless and trapped in temporary accommodation, and almost 140,000 on social housing waiting lists. The Labour Welsh Government slashed funding for housing from 1999, ignoring repeated warnings of…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
I call for a single Welsh Government statement on sign language rights. Last week was this year's International Week of Deaf People, a time when people come together to recognise and celebrate the vibrant deaf community. This year's theme is 'Sign Up for Sign…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
Well, I hope you will include this in your discussions with the education tribunal, because that is within your remit, as I understood, now, was Welsh Government delivery, so not to question the rights and wrongs of the policies, but to ensure that delivery…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
As indicated, that case in Scotland has significant implications for all UK nations. Staying with the legal implications of Government policies, we heard in May, during a Petitions Committee debate, that far too many children and young people are unable to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
Diolch, Llywydd. The Labour UK Government's Chancellor, as you know, scrapped winter fuel payments worth up to £300 universally for pensioners in July. They now admit that no impact assessment was carried out on a policy that will affect an estimated 500,000…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Welsh Government priorities
There is much in this motion to commend it. Clearly, it is regrettable that, after 25 years in Government, this Labour Welsh Government could not identify the priorities of the people of Wales without conducting the listening exercise initiated by the First…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: 20mph speed limits
They found that reducing speed limits from 30 mph to 20 mph had little impact on road safety. You dismissed that. They claimed in September 2023 that, in Spain, which already had 20 mph as their default position, deaths and accidents had fallen despite the…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: 20mph speed limits
Oh, yes. One intervention.
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: 20mph speed limits
Determined to pursue its road safety policies, the Welsh Government ignored all inconvenient evidence to the contrary. It dismissed the authoritative independent 20 mph research study published by the UK Department for Transport in November 2018, which found…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning
It's my understanding from Wrexham council of good news that the Wrexham Gateway project should be secure, partly because of Welsh Government funding, partly because of the shared prosperity funding, which Wrexham did receive—almost £23 million out of over…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting
So, I now propose, in accordance with Standing Order 17.42(ix), that the committee resolves to meet in private for the remainder of the meeting. Are all Members content? I see that all Members are content, so, therefore, I'd be grateful if we could go into…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
Okay. Thank you very much indeed. That brings, I think, our collective questions to a conclusion, and, as I say, we will follow up on your offer of a private session and we will discuss, in private session, the invitation to attend the airport also and follow…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
I'm only saying what the Welsh Government itself has said in the context of its long-term strategy. So, in complete conclusion, therefore, can you confirm that the statements that the Welsh Government have made, which I quoted, are still applicable?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
Not if you live in the north it isn't.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
Does the Welsh Government remain open-minded about how this regional airport, not national airport, is owned in the future?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
Okay, thank you. My final question, again to the Welsh Government: in announcing the longer term strategy, the Welsh Government said it's open to exploring different ownership models in the long term and is open-minded about how the airport is owned in the…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
Okay, so you're effectively saying that this former airport non-executive director was incorrect in his statement.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
Okay. Does Mr Slade wish to add anything to that?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cardiff Airport
Yes, thank you.
