Welsh Conservatives

Speeches and questions

Speeches and questions in Plenary and in committees, newest first. The Llywydd's and deputies' chairing of Plenary is left out.

2,357 speeches and questions

19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
So, all landlords, whether they have one or 1,000 houses have the same requirements.
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
—ask how Rent Smart Wales is then supporting those landlords in that situation and how they have a reasonable expectation in terms of requirements of those landlords—as you say, very little headroom, very small margins, with 70 per cent owners of one…
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
Chair, if I—
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
Okay, yes. That's fine.
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
Yes, and, sorry, to go on a bit further on this point, I guess there were concerns from some social landlords with the potential rent caps, because that would have, perhaps, hamstrung some of those investments from outside finance, if there would have been…
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
Could you just extend that a bit further? You mentioned about perhaps talking about the ability of social landlords to access their private finance. Are you able to describe what that looks like in terms of what Government is doing to support those social…
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
Okay, thanks. And just going back to some points you mentioned there around phosphates—and I appreciate the progress that you're making so far within that and, as you said, you've got the further summit at the beginning of February, where, hopefully, there'll…
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
Thanks. A couple of points I'll come back to in a moment, particularly around phosphates. I appreciated your initial update on progress there. But just going back to the 20,000 target, you mentioned right at the end there that that being delivered purely…
19 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 3: Minister for Climate Change
Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Minister and your officials, for joining us this morning. We always appreciate your time. You touched at the end there, Minister, on getting that balance right between preventative investment and homelessness, and then also…
18 January 2023Plenary
Short Debate: Developing the hydrogen energy sector in Wales
Thank you, Janet Finch-Saunders, also for giving me a minute of your time on this really important debate. And I certainly want to echo the comments of colleagues in terms of support for this really important potential and future industry. And of course…
18 January 2023Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Offshore renewable energy
I'm grateful to be able to speak in today's very important Welsh Conservative debate on offshore renewable energy, tabled in the name of my colleague, Darren Millar, and, of course, opened by Janet Finch-Saunders. And since becoming a Member of the Parliament…
18 January 2023Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you, Minister. If I may, I just want to focus my last question on virtual council meetings. It's an issue that I've raised a number of times here in the Chamber and an issue that I raised with you last week as well. Also, we saw yesterday another media…
18 January 2023Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you, Minister, for your response then. A key issue in regard to that funding for those local authorities is the way in which that funding is dished out. As you'll know, a significant part of funding for those councils comes in the form of grants. I…
18 January 2023Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Diolch, Llywydd. Before I go into my question, I'm sure, Llywydd, you'd like to join me in welcoming members of the Canadian Parliament who've joined us today through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and have the pleasure of observing our…
17 January 2023Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Good afternoon, Minister. You may recall that, on 15 November, during the business statement, I called for a Welsh Government statement outlining the full economic costings of the introduction of the default 20 mph speed limit in Wales. I requested this on…
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 2: Minister for Finance and Local Government
On that point there, Chairman, absolutely, the ICF, for example, where it could or should work really well between the big beast budgets of health and the local authority social care budgets in particular, it's keeping up the momentum for that. And please…
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 2: Minister for Finance and Local Government
If I can take it a bit further, Chair, on that point, because it all sounds very good, but I guess the risk at the moment is that there's so much focus on firefighting, on the immediate pressures around inflation, around pay rises that are being demanded as…
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 2: Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thanks. On that point—I wouldn't disagree with you—there's obviously, from a preventative point of view, work that local authorities can do in terms of preventing the need for that social care intervention. But then, further down the line, we all understand…
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 2: Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thanks. I note that you mentioned those gaps that local authorities are going to have to face up to. Do you have any particular concerns within those gaps? Are there any that jump out to you that really concern you?
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023 - 24 - evidence session 2: Minister for Finance and Local Government
Good morning, Minister. Thanks, Mr Chairman. Thank you for your time, Minister, and the time of your officials joining us today. Just a quick question off the bat. I'm just wondering how satisfied you are with the provisional settlement that you've been able…
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24 - evidence session 1: local government
Yes, thanks. I'm really conscious that time is flying, so I'll just quickly perhaps get a brief response on your assessment of any concerns you might have of the impact of the new non-domestic rating list, which is due to come into force in April, and your…
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24 - evidence session 1: local government
Yes, thank you for those responses. I think they're absolutely fair, and probably something that, at a cross-party level, Chair, as a committee, we can perhaps discuss later as well. On your revenue support—. On the grants being allocated in your provisional…
12 January 2023Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24 - evidence session 1: local government
Thank you, Chair, and good morning, everybody. I appreciate your time on this Thursday morning, especially this time of year when it's really busy for you. Just in terms of the AEF—the aggregate external finance—we've seen, as mentioned, the increase in the…
11 January 2023Plenary
Debate on the Local Government and Housing Committee Report: 'Community Assets'
Yes, I think it is a real concern, and it's something that we as a committee looked into, and we're hoping the Welsh Government would be keen to look at further themselves as well. And I think, Mark Isherwood, you were absolutely right to raise it here this…
11 January 2023Plenary
Debate on the Local Government and Housing Committee Report: 'Community Assets'
Can I first put on record my thanks to the Chairman of the committee, John Griffiths, for his chairmanship and work in producing today's committee report, alongside my committee colleagues, the Ministers who gave evidence, the clerks, the committee's support…