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.

5,385 speeches and questions

16 October 2024Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Council-owned farms
Well, let me go a little bit further, James, to help you with some of the schemes that we are running and that are highly successful already. So, to further help new entrants into farming as part of the Farming Connect offer, the Welsh Government included a…
16 October 2024Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Council-owned farms
We do not have a statutory basis to intervene in the sell-off of land, so the call for a moratorium is misplaced and doesn't understand actually where the legislation is. And can I just say to the gentleman and to his party as well, who often speak very, very…
16 October 2024Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Council-owned farms
Every year, as part of our statutory duty under the Agriculture Act 1970, Welsh Ministers report on the Welsh Government's activities and the activities of local authorities in relation to smallholdings in Wales. This report provides statistical information…
16 October 2024Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Council-owned farms
Thank you very much, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to respond to this very important discussion. Local authority farms are very important assets to the agricultural industry, and are a key part of the tenanted sector in Wales. Although…
16 October 2024Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Council-owned farms
Formally.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Absolutely. But we're ahead of the game here in Wales, we genuinely are. So, the SuDS piece is part of this, so we don't have that surface water just running down roads, running through streets, creating flooding in people's houses and then taking the debris…
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
There may be different ways we can do that beyond the flood alerts. But the other aspect that you touched on was aspects of street design and development design, and that is a pertinent point. It's fair to say that in terms of the sustainable drainage systems…
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Carolyn, it's such a good point. It probably goes beyond the scope of this Bill, what's within this, although, curiously, exactly what you're describing will wash up in some of our environment, or it will lead to costs for councils in having to unclog drains…
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes. It'll shift onto a statutory basis, but I think our water companies and the work they've done will go—
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Indeed. So, it'll shift now from—
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
We're well in advance.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
The point we're making is that we didn't have to wait for this Bill to get on with it.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
On all—
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Indeed. And we haven't waited—
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Indeed.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Indeed.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
They're doing it.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
They've done it.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
It's in place in Wales.
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes, well, the provision that is coming forward in the Bill sets a new requirement on water companies to publish near-real-time data on discharges by emergency flows by April 2035. Just to say where we are in Wales on that already: event duration monitors are…
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Okay, righto. We did an initial analysis of this, based on the fact, and in discussion with NRW, that we already have the obligation in Wales—sorry, on a voluntary basis, as you say—to produce pollution incident reduction plans, and on the basis of whether…
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thanks, John. Am I allowed to give you an exclusive for today at committee?
16 October 2024Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Legislative Consent: Water (Special Measures) Bill - Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes. So, that's our intention and we're in very active, good, constructive dialogue with those who instigated this Bill at the UK level to try and ensure that that happens, but NRW would welcome this as well—full cost recovery.