, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
No, no, no. We've already heard—we've already heard—most countries get behind their farmers to create sustainable food. That should be your first action—feeding your nation. Feeding your nation. We've already heard of the devastating stats. Your own impact…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
So why are we using farmers and farms just to be the tools to reach that agenda?
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
To start, I will refer Members to my register of interests. We've heard, and we heard it yesterday, that for seven years the Welsh Government has been working with farmers to get to this point. However, it's clear from the justified outcry from the farming…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you, Minister. Last year, the Welsh Government's budget failed to account for inflationary pressures that we had all along known about. This led to health boards facing deficits of hundreds of millions of pounds and a knee-jerk in-year budget. While I…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
2. What action has the Minister taken to futureproof the Welsh Government's 2024-25 budget against fiscal and economic uncertainty? OQ60749
, Plenary
Debate: Budget flexibilities and the operation of the UK funding framework
I welcome the Minister's opening statement and this collaborative approach and, obviously, we will be supporting the motion. I want to begin by recognising the fact that the Welsh Government has limited fiscal levers and that the budgetary flexibility…
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Thank you, Dave. I'm finished now, Chair.
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Thank you, Christian.
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Clearly, that would be important. If there's a set amount of money, there'll only be a certain provision that schools would be able to afford, so that might narrow their choices a little. Sam, can you set out the key assumptions around the number of pupils…
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Thanks, Sam. Thank you for giving those studies. I think that's really helpful. The benefits of experiences, for a young person's journey through life, are immeasurable. When they're left out, it's very difficult to measure the impact of them missing out on…
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
You've talked about the benefits of residential outdoor education, and I'm an absolute advocate for outdoor education, as a past leader myself, but the RIA doesn't quantify these. To what extent would you accept it is not possible to evidence any…
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Great. Thank you, Christian. That's really helpful, actually—the Green Book. I'd forgotten all about that, so thank you.
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Thank you, Chairman. Sam, can I congratulate you and your staff for the work that you've put in to get this far? I know how much work it is, and I really do appreciate the quality and depth of the work you've done and the information you've provided us. On to…
, Plenary
90-second Statements
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. This year, we commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the incredible Tŷ Hafan Children's Hospice, who support critically ill children and their families across south and west Wales. Not only have they cared for 1,051 children since…
, Plenary
The Non-Domestic Rating (Multiplier) (Wales) Regulations 2024
I'm glad the Welsh Government is finally introducing powers to implement a split multiplier through the local government finance Bill—something that we've called for for a long time. However, what remains concerning is the fact that all businesses here in…
, Plenary
Short Debate: Faster access to hearing services in Wales
Sorry, Minister. Thank you. Thank you, Janet, for giving me some time, and, like Russ, I wanted to raise the important issue related to therapies to support deaf babies and children. Clearly, it's so important that our youngest citizens have access to all the…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Most of my questions have been answered—[Interruption.] Thank you, Lee. But I still want to reiterate my welcome for the additional money going to local government. It won't scratch the surface of the huge real-terms cut that you've passed on to them, or…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Retaining doctors, including GPs, is absolutely fundamental to a sustainable health service. I recently visited a GP practice in my constituency. The current contract burdens them with bureaucratic paperwork, a lack of compensatory element and decreasing…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Deputy Minister, on the same theme, we know that 63 pubs have closed over the last year, and many pubs and restaurants and hotels in my constituency are mere miles from the border with England but will have to pay double the rates in business rates following…
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Thanks. That's me done, thank you.
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
I think there are lots of options now: how you regenerate areas that are less active at the moment and things like that. So, yes, it's very exciting.
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Could there be incentives for certain—? Could it almost be positive discrimination on what sort of businesses you might want to attract to a certain area and things like that? There's a whole variety of opportunities around how you could use that, I suppose.
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Okay. That's clear. Just a final one from me: we've talked about multipliers a couple of times already this morning—I just wondered what criteria would you use to assess any changes to the multiplier?
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Thank you. You include a financial benefit to ratepayers of some £4.95 million over the appraisal period, and that was associated with changes to the powers around discretionary reliefs. We know that this will be funded by local authorities and Welsh…
, Finance Committee
Financial Implications of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
No worries. No, thank you for that. That was helpful. Moving on, the RIA talks about £10 million to £20 million in NDR lost due to avoidance. As we've talked about also, the Bill introduces that general anti-avoidance rule, with the detailed changes to be set…
