19 March 2024 , Plenary
Debate: Final report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Now, the Government stressed that securing some specific aspects of the reforms outlined by the commission will require negotiation with the UK Government. Good luck with that with the current Conservative Government. Of course, Mark Isherwood mentioned the…
19 March 2024 , Plenary
Debate: Final report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
I just want to put on record once again my welcome for the work of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. It has been a turning point, I'm clear on that, in our constitutional journey. I am pleased to be able to repeat that today…
19 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
The reason I ask the question time and time again is because I want the First Minister to persevere, and it's because I hold the office of First Minister in such high esteem that I want our First Minister to be using his influence as much as possible…
19 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
'persistent blows will shatter the stone'.
19 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
There's a saying in Welsh:
19 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
There's one thing that the First Minister and I will look at similarly, and that's the demise of the Conservative Party on the UK level. That long demise has made it pretty clear, I think, that there will be a UK Labour Government later this year. We just…
19 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd. We will have an opportunity to reflect on the First Minister's time in office later on, but for now, and I know the First Minister would expect nothing else, it is business as usual. On Friday, before the Labour leadership…
13 March 2024 , Plenary
Topical Questions
I am furious in reading today's recommendation, I have to say. I believe that we've been led on a lengthy journey where the destination was entirely inevitable. The Minister says that she will ask for an assurance that there has been sufficient consultation…
13 March 2024 , Plenary
Debate: The Second Supplementary Budget 2023-24
As we've already heard from the Chair of the Finance Committee, this supplementary budget relates mainly to the process of reprioritisation that was held back in October. It's taken almost seven months—over half of this current financial year—to get a full…
12 March 2024 , Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
May I ask for a statement from the health Minister in relation to the contaminated blood scandal? As chair of the cross-party group on contaminated blood, I do appreciate the opportunity to have worked with the Government in calling for action from the UK…
12 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Obviously, it's a matter of regret that the First Minister can't differentiate between parliamentary scrutiny and the questions that he will rightly be asked by the COVID inquiry itself. The Times Radio interview that I referred to earlier has been revealing…
12 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
And, of course, the First Minister is perfectly able to craft those answers in exactly the same way here in the Senedd, and to avoid what he might see as pitfalls of prejudicing his evidence to the COVID inquiry tomorrow. I repeat what I said last week: it is…
12 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, Llywydd. Many people were incredulous that the First Minister would refuse to answer questions here in the Senedd last week on the COVID pandemic, whilst being willing to answer questions in that Times Radio interview just a few days later. The First…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 16: Referendum on the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (Amendments 36, 37)
Without a referendum, we should add.
5 March 2024 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2024-25
There are aspects within the budget that are to be welcomed and that reflect the mature cross-party politics that is an integral part of devolution. The budget confirms the co-operation agreement commitment between us and the Government to enhance free school…
5 March 2024 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2024-25
The picture before us is bleak and all too familiar, dictated, to a large extent, of course, by the austerity-driven UK Conservative Government. There's clear cross-party consensus in the Senedd that the current fiscal framework for Wales is simply not fit…
5 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I will invite the First Minister to consider the questions that I'm asking today in light of nearly four years of questioning by this Senedd on matters relating to the way that Government handled the COVID pandemic. My party, from the very early days of the…
5 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I'm not attempting to preview what questions the First Minister might be asked by the inquiry. These are my questions, doing my job in holding Government to account in the Welsh Parliament. And answering my question would in no way prejudice the First…
5 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. It is our duty as parliamentarians to hold Government and the First Minister to account, and that is as true for the issue of COVID and the COVID inquiry as it is for any other issue. I also want to pursue issues arising from…
28 February 2024 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Bovine TB
Having a coherent policy that gets to grips with TB has been something that Plaid Cymru has long called for, and it's something that we call for again today. But despite our repeated calls, TB continues to be an issue that devastates farms and farming…
28 February 2024 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Bovine TB
I'm so pleased that we have an opportunity to discuss this issue today. We've heard and seen, both inside and outside the Senedd today, all the frustrations that are being felt within the agricultural industry and in rural Wales at the moment. And as we've…
28 February 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
The future of agriculture is at the heart of the future of the Welsh language, and not just in terms of the numbers of farmers and their families who speak Welsh, but the influence that they have on rural society more widely. I look at the excellent work of…
28 February 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
So, we can see the broad impact, the broad economic impact, of agriculture and the support for it—the direct jobs, indirect employment in the supply chain. How do you measure the contribution of agriculture and land management to the £2.8 billion tourism…
28 February 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I want to speak simply this afternoon about what exactly our rural communities mean to us in Wales, to underline the importance of supporting them. And I want to declare an interest as the designated Member urging change to the…
28 February 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations Committee Report, 'International Relations: Annual Report 2022-23'
Of course, Wales's relationship with Ireland forms a key part of our wider relationship with Europe, and to which this report we’re debating today draws particular attention. Indeed, the report calls for clearer, more deliberate, thinking about Wales’s…
