, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
I have a longer beard. [Laughter.]
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you for that answer. I will take you up on the conversations certainly on council tax reform, because it's something that's very close to my heart. It isn't just Welsh Labour that's displaying a lack of seriousness about the major challenges during this…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you very much for that answer, and I'm going to come on to one of those points that you raised there now. Despite Mr Bell's unfortunate oversight, his point about, fundamentally, the regressive nature of the council tax system places a disproportionate…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Diolch, Llywydd. Well, last week, Labour's general election candidate in Swansea West, Torsten Bell, criticised the Tory Government for allowing unfair council tax to rise faster and faster than inflation for year after year. Now, I appreciate that, as…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport: D-day and Armed Forces Week
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement today. It's good to hear about the resources being invested in improving the lives of veterans. In Wales, veterans make up 4.5 per cent of the adult population, compared to 3.8 per cent in England. It's crucial…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Thank you, Chair. That brings me to the end of my questions.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Just some thoughts around—. We'll be looking at paired constituencies here. Potentially, in Scotland, they're looking at potentially regional, but that's different legislation. Here it will be paired constituencies across multiple county council boundaries…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
So, closing early would be once you've reached 10 per cent.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Based on what you're saying there as well, as you talked a little bit about how you'd get more people to potentially engage, is that by using proxy and postal, or other ways? What were your thought processes around that?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
If we were going for a recall petition, in the same way as Westminster, as in, 'We wish to recall this person', is 10 per cent sufficient, and bearing in mind that we're going to be looking at paired constituencies, going forward, something that came up…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
I'm not necessarily advocating for anything; I'm just trying to tease some ideas out, really, and see how they would work in practice.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
I mean, really, you're just putting two names on a ballot paper: the person who is subject to removal and the next person on whichever party list. The other thing, going back to what Vikki was saying earlier, if that person left that particular party and went…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
And with your removal co-option option, could that be done on one ballot paper?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
In that instance, is that the next person on the list, effectively?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Thank you very much. Very interesting, what you've had to say already, and maybe, following that thought that you talked about there, in that we're going to have 16 paired constituencies on a PR system, list system, going forward, how does it work, in your…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Just briefly on this, what about suspended sentences?
, Petitions Committee
Updates to previous petitions
Yes. I met with the petitioners, Chair, and it's an astonishing feat, really, for them to get nearly 8,500 signatures on paper, which was a chunk when it came in. Jack Sargeant, Joel James and I met them, and it was good to hear from them. They were…
, Petitions Committee
Updates to previous petitions
We could do, yes.
, Petitions Committee
Updates to previous petitions
I'm not sure. But I think if it goes on too long, maybe that we review this towards the end of the summer term and, if it's not coming fairly soon, rather than leave this debate hanging, that we ask for a debate anyway, and then we can debate it on the floor…
, Petitions Committee
Updates to previous petitions
That we put a marker down to say that we want a debate, but we'll wait for the feasibility study and, once we've had that, that we ask Business Committee for a debate.
, Petitions Committee
Updates to previous petitions
I think so, yes.
, Petitions Committee
Updates to previous petitions
Great. Well, it was wonderful to see Elfed at the Urdd Eisteddfod, him and the twins, so it was wonderful to see them there, and I did discuss this petition with him and thanked him very much for the work that he's done. Of course, he did walk from Bangor to…
, Petitions Committee
Updates to previous petitions
I agree with Rhys.
, Petitions Committee
New Petitions
So, close the petition down and for each one of us to monitor in our own capacities, then, to make sure that things continue in that vein.
, Petitions Committee
New Petitions
—to thank Kierion and to close the petition.
