13 January 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
First Minister, happy new year. It's an interesting question from a Labour MS, isn't it? There seems to be absolutely no strategy in my patch. For 26 years, there's been abject failure on your behalf, propped up by Plaid, to ensure that we get those services…
29 January 2025 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Employment
—and the Welsh Conservative Government would make us, once again, open for business. I urge you to support our motion today.
29 January 2025 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Employment
The unemployment rate for disabled people in Wales is double that of an able-bodied person. I just want to say to the Member for Caerphilly, I completely concur with what you said, that we need to look into opening up those opportunities, making them more…
29 January 2025 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Employment
Low wages, slow growth, and high unemployment, three things that, sadly, epitomise the last 26 years of Labour Government in Wales. People in Wales have been held back by an underperforming Welsh economy and by an underperforming Labour Welsh Government, a…
22 January 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Let’s talk about fairness, let’s talk about something that’s in your direct control: the funding formula. It’s outrageously unfair and punishes rural parts of Wales for being, well, rural. Not only that—thanks to councils being…
22 January 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for that answer, but it’s a bit rich, because it affects us all, doesn’t it? Vital services are at risk. Preventative services will be cut. These are the sort of preventative measures that we all praise on this floor and wish to…
22 January 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, prynhawn da. Do you think that it’s acceptable that, with inflation at 2.5 per cent, above inflation council tax rises have been suggested across Wales? In Caerphilly, we have a 7.9 per cent rise being suggested, in Ynys…
21 January 2025 , Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Good afternoon, Trefnydd. I would like to ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Education on the impact of Labour's VAT hike on private schools. Despite a retention and recruitment crisis for teachers, the Westminster Government has placed a 20…
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Diolch, Cabinet Secretary. That is, of course, in section 12 and includes, again, that Henry VIII regulation-making power for the Welsh Ministers to amend the rates. You've outlined when—. I wanted to ask you when you envisage using that power. You mentioned…
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Sorry, yes. The higher and lower rates. Sorry, Cabinet Secretary.
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. That's a very good example. Using it in that way, of course, I think everyone would deem as appropriate, but are there going to be things in place, because that's quite a significant power, to ensure that only in emergency…
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Diolch, Chair. Thank you. Section 9(5) contains a Henry VIII regulation-making power for the Welsh Ministers to amend the circumstances in which an overnight stay in visitor accommodation takes place and whether the levy is payable. This could be fundamental…
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Thank you, Chair. Just really quickly, if I may just ask, you say that in Wales, like Scotland, any money raised has to go back into the tourism industry. Will you be producing guidelines on that or will local authorities make that definition of what…
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Diolch, Cabinet Secretary. Has the Bill and the Welsh Government's overall policy approach been informed by the experiences of Scotland and the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024?
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Diolch. You initially said that you wanted to simplify the questions when consulting. Therefore, do you think now that there has been sufficient consultation on the proposals contained in the Bill in their current form? And why did you not consult on the…
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Diolch. We know the consultations that you spoke of just now took place in 2022, as you outlined, but what if any changes have you made to your proposal since the conclusion of those processes? Thank you.
20 January 2025 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill
Thank you, Chair, and may I just say it's a delight to be on this committee now? Bore da. May I just ask you—? The bill is, of course, in some respects, an enabling one. Why is it needed now?
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report, 'Do disabled children and young people have equal access to education and childcare?'
I urge the Cabinet Secretary—sorry—to do everything she can, perhaps revisiting the recommendations, to make sure every child in Wales has the education they deserve, in whatever language they choose and wherever they choose. Thank you.
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report, 'Do disabled children and young people have equal access to education and childcare?'
As a previous committee member myself, may I also start by thanking the clerk, all committee staff and all Members who have served on the committee, and have gone through all of this review, and, of course, our fantastic Chair, Buffy Williams, and former…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Cabinet Secretary, the recent fire in Abergavenny, as has already been said by my colleagues—and I concur with all the comments that have been made—had a devastating impact on the local community and local businesses…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Cabinet Secretary, this week, I heard from a local farmer in Monmouthshire who fears that small family farms like hers will be driven into the ground by Labour’s changes to inheritance tax, turning once thriving farms into prey for developers and ripping…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
3. What discussions has the Cabinet Secretary had with the UK Government about the impact of the UK Government's budget on family farms in Wales? OQ61849
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
I've listened eagerly to what's already been said, but these proposed changes to business rates in Wales have been driven by a Welsh Labour Government that has already slashed small business relief from the 75 per cent to 40 per cent, and as a result, small…
13 November 2024 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership (10)
Thank you.
13 November 2024 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership (10)
No worries at all. Sorry, Chair. How much money comes from other portfolios for culture and sport?
