Welsh Labour

Speeches and questions

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

2,563 speeches and questions

30 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
Well, there have been regular attempts to reach out to the company, and we've had conversations with them about the jetty and the position for cruise ships. You will recall that we reached an alternative arrangement to make sure that the season wasn't…
30 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you for the question and the series of points. Starting with what I said in my opening response, my thoughts are with workers at what will be a distressing time. It's always difficult when you lose a job when you don't want to, but in particular to lose…
30 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
No, it'll go in my ears. Thank you for the question. I understand that this will be a deeply concerning time for workers, their families and the wider Holyhead community. My officials have reached out to the company and stand ready to offer support to those…
30 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
Apologies, I don't have my translation, but it's written down. Can I get a headset for the follow-up? Sorry.
23 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
I think the tone of your closing remark undoes some of the more positive points that you were making earlier. The Welsh Government has absolutely not abandoned workers. I've agreed to spend several million pounds—I've outlined this in previous written…
23 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
We've worked really hard over nearly a year now to try to regularise the supply since the official receiver was appointed and since there was a real threat to the power supply. There's a reason why the Deputy Presiding Officer can't ask this question even…
23 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
If workers do find themselves without a job, we have a range of support measures that we can take and have taken in the past. What we're actually trying to do, though, in a range of the steps that we're taking is to try to avoid a significant loss of jobs as…
23 March 2022Plenary
Topical Questions
My officials and I are considering the judgment, including the Welsh Government's position with regard to a possible appeal from the High Court judgment. The Welsh Government is very mindful of the stress and uncertainty that customers of the energy park have…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
The reality is that we may not be able to ensure that universities, and, indeed, the further education sector, who also were significant beneficiaries of European funds, don't lose out. That's because of the choice that has been made. It's a clear-sighted…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
As the Member will know, the UK Government has bypassed the Welsh Government and the Senedd on the way that this fund has operated in its pilot phase. It fails to address persistent regional inequalities across the UK as it is currently formed. I continue to…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Well, I welcome the Member's consistent call for land valuation to replace business rates, and, of course, as I've said earlier, the reform of business rates or otherwise is a matter for the Minister for Finance and Local Government. But I continue to take an…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Our £136 million Transforming Towns programme focuses on the diversification and sustainable growth of town and city centres, through interventions that include the reuse of derelict and empty buildings, increasing the variety of and access to services in…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Well, of course, every local authority will have its own mandate in the near future, and I hope to be working with an even greater number of Welsh Labour leaders in the future. But, as we have seen during the last two years, we've worked effectively with…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Our vision is for a well-being economy that drives prosperity, is environmentally sound and helps everyone to realise their potential. The principles of our groundbreaking Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 shape the decisions that we make in…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
So, business rates reform is a matter for the Minister for Finance and Local Government. When it comes to the rates relief system, of course, we've announced rates relief for a range of businesses and we'd encourage businesses to make sure that they take up…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
COVID has accelerated the trend we're seeing, with the change in the use of town and city centres and in particular, during the height of the pandemic, it obviously reduced demand for high-street retail. That's why, in January 2020, we launched the…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Well, actually, the broader point about mental health is that it's something for all of us, in having some balance in what we do and to be able to be successful in work and outside work as well. It's not just a question of those people who are struggling with…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
No, we're not at that point. We are having a conversation about what is a healthy balance in the way that the world of work has changed during the pandemic, and how much that change is going to be permanent. And actually, some of the challenges about the…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Welcome back. The health and well-being of workers is a priority for this Government. Last month, the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being and I announced £1.4 million of funding over the next three years for the Time to Change Wales programme to…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Well, there was significant comment on exactly this subject yesterday with my colleague the Minister for Finance and Local Government, and in questions elsewhere. Look, I've actually met the visitor economy forum today and this is a subject they've raised…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Our strategy, 'Welcome to Wales: Priorities for the visitor economy 2020-2025', sets our vision and ambition for the sector. We also, of course, have the shaping the vision recovery plan published a year ago. In the budget for 2022-23, we've indicated an…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Thank you for the question and the reminder of some of the significant challenges we have, and the £1 billion shortchanging in Wales in replacement EU funds will make a big difference to what we're able to do and the speed at which we're able to do it. In…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
There are challenges in this area that I'm discussing with the Minister for education and lifelong learning, and our joint engagement with the further education sector in particular. It's both about the way that funding is still up in the air—and we've had…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
On 8 March, I launched the plan for employability and skills, and you'll recall that I also gave an oral statement in this Chamber, at which you were able to ask questions. I outlined our priorities to help more people in Wales to upskill, access and…
23 March 2022Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Well, we'd like to be able to do just that. It does require, though, not just a level of honesty but a level of practical ability to work together, and that can't be on the basis that the UK Government decide what's going to happen and then demand that the…