11 March 2024 , Equality and Social Justice Committee
Governance of Fire and Rescue Services: panel 5
Thank you very much. I will be asking my question in Welsh, if I may, following up on what Sarah asked, and that is around the councillors that sit on the boards of the fire and rescue services. You were talking there about your response to the consultation…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 17: Review of operation of Act etc. after 2026 general election (Amendments 9, 10, 19, 116, 11, 12, 49, 53, 20, 50)
Mike, you and I have been engaged in a Twitter exchange on that, and I'm not going to rehearse that in this Siambr. I want to just finish off this second point by commending, in my view, Welsh Labour, who have talked time after time about how they have stood…
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 17: Review of operation of Act etc. after 2026 general election (Amendments 9, 10, 19, 116, 11, 12, 49, 53, 20, 50)
Of course I will.
6 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 17: Review of operation of Act etc. after 2026 general election (Amendments 9, 10, 19, 116, 11, 12, 49, 53, 20, 50)
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. I'm speaking to amendments 49 and 50, which are tabled in my name. The purpose of both amendment 49 and 50 is to introduce a review of the operation and effect of the new provisions in this Act relating to the Senedd itself, its…
6 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Public Health Wales issued a report underscoring the profound impact of poverty on infants, children and young people. Within the report, they emphasised how early childhood education and care holds the promise of a triple dividend: fostering positive child…
6 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for that response.
6 March 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
6. What assessment has the Minister made of the role of high-quality accessible childcare in tackling child poverty? OQ60785
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 9: Vacant seats that cannot be filled in accordance with new section 11 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (to be inserted by section 9 of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill) (Amendments 29, 30, 33, 34, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123)
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. I'm very disappointed at your approach, Minister. I guess my view is that it's no big deal that you're actually baking this in to the Bill at this stage. You're really clearly saying that we don't want a vacancy, but you have…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 9: Vacant seats that cannot be filled in accordance with new section 11 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (to be inserted by section 9 of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill) (Amendments 29, 30, 33, 34, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123)
Thank you for your intervention, and that gives me more opportunity to explain. Thank you very much for that. Of course, the major parties—and I would include myself, hopefully, in that—would be able to provide an ongoing list, but there will be situations, I…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 9: Vacant seats that cannot be filled in accordance with new section 11 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (to be inserted by section 9 of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill) (Amendments 29, 30, 33, 34, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123)
Yes.
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 9: Vacant seats that cannot be filled in accordance with new section 11 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (to be inserted by section 9 of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill) (Amendments 29, 30, 33, 34, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123)
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. I formally move the amendments in this group tabled under my name. I don't feel as passionately about these as I did the ones before. [Laughter.] So, I won't be as feisty, but there we are. I'm going to discuss them all as one…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Thank you so much. Diolch yn fawr iawn. You mentioned there about this commanding a supermajority, and we've heard, haven't we, that there are some people on the Labour benches who are not in favour of either STV or the flexible list system, or perhaps even…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Will you take an intervention?
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
—what reason you have been given to change, to change your head, to really rationalise it so that you are not voting for a system that's more proportional?
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Would you take an intervention? Can you tell me what reason you've been given as an individual Member—
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
So, it would make sure that if a party came forward under the flexible list system then that could be reordered by the constituency returning officer, and that would mean that a vacancy would not go unfilled. So, that's the purpose of that. That's amendment…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Yes, sure.
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
I do speak in favour of lead amendment 21 by Darren Millar. Reforming and expanding this Senedd is undoubtedly vital if we are to become a truly legislative body, but I must emphasise that this landmark Bill represents that once in a lifetime, that once in a…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. I just really want to start from a place where we're just really clear that progressive parties, as I would call them, in this Siambr are absolutely delighted to see the end of first-past-the-post. That's not the issue. The issue…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
You've talked about working together and making compromises. As I asked earlier, though, most compromises are made on the basis of knowing the reason for the compromise—knowing the reason why you're being asked to follow a certain route. So, really, I ask you…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
You've spoken about co-operation.
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
Heledd, is it okay—[Inaudible.]
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 6: Disqualification from being a Member of the Senedd or a candidate: persons convicted of the offence of deception within the previous five years (Amendment 126)
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. This is the first time I'm speaking on this motion, this Bill, so I just really want to also put on record my thanks to the Bill team for their patience and forbearance with myself and my team in preparing for this debate. I wish…
5 March 2024 , Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 1: Senedd constituency boundary reviews: definitions and interpretation, representation periods, reports, and implementation (Amendments 59, 60, 76, 77, 91, 98, 100, 79, 105, 25, 54, 55, 56, 108, 15, 110, 16, 17, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115)
Thank you very much for taking an intervention. I'm sure you know what I'm going to ask. You've talked there about the issue around working together. I wonder if your party have challenged Labour as to why they are sticking to closed lists and why that's…
5 March 2024 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2024-25
May I first start by thanking the Minister and her team for liaising and working with me in their engagement? Thank you very much. I wish to acknowledge and welcome the changes the Welsh Government has made to this final budget, following extensive debate in…
