We all think of lots of different cafes and bars and restaurants, and lots of local shops that we all often frequent. La Mina on Albany Road is one of my personal favourites, of course. And we always think that they're going to always be there, but in reality, of course, they rely on local people to come out and shop there. So, I'm really glad that the Government wants to encourage people to shop local and to do all of the right things. But, ultimately, it is also about accessibility, and transport is a big part of that. So, what steps are the Government going to now be taking to ensure that public transport, including accessible buses and taxis, and accessible trains, including the new stations planned for Cardiff East, Cardiff parkway, are then fully integrated into regeneration plans, particularly, of course, the importance of bus franchising, so that we can actually help people to shop local and not hinder them with travel problems?
Contributions
69 contributions on record. Newest first, by sitting day. Page 2 of 2. Counted by Siambr
- on the clip
- on the clip
First of all, the COVID inquiry, as I understand it, did wrap up and did actually produce a whole heap of recommendations for Wales, as it did for other nations. And, of course, Plaid Cymru did promise the COVID bereaved families an inquiry. But getting back to the real point that I wanted to make, which is that, as I said before, efficiencies can be seen as a euphemism for cuts. So, which part of the Welsh financial budget are you going to end up cutting to transfer over to the national development agency? What target are you going to be setting in terms of inward investment, but also, what are these new jobs that people are going to see in Wales? Are they going to be jobs that we already know about? What are these jobs going to be? What is the target in relation to that? But also, how many new businesses are you then looking to see established through the new national development agency, and have you got a target for that too?
- on the clip
First Minister, like many in this Chamber, clearly, I share the fact that I am a proud child of immigrants myself, and I'm also really proud of the fact that my late father chose Wales over and above England, where he first arrived. He came here, he looked around him and actually the community of Bridgend and Port Talbot made him feel welcome. Now, the nation of sanctuary, ultimately, is about keeping our communities safe, and when people are coming over here—. And, quite often, people are coming here temporarily because they are seeking refuge because they are scared. Now, to conflate the issue of immigration with the nation of sanctuary and then, of course, some of the vile stuff that we've just been hearing, is actually really shocking. I think it's disturbing. It's disturbing for the children who visit the Senedd, who will be sitting up in the gallery watching our debate here. And the fact that we can actually be having this type of interchange in a place like this I think is pretty damning and telling of some of the voices, unfortunately, that are here. Given that immigration and security checks are actually governed by robust UK-wide systems, and, of course, the Wales nation of sanctuary is about integration and support, does the First Minister, then, agree that suggesting this link between sanctuary and risks to public safety is not supported by evidence and actually risks unnecessarily stoking up fear amongst our communities and amongst the public of Wales?
- on the clip
I'm declaring an interest as a former national officer for the PCS union, which was one of the unions for the civil service, so I do know the civil service pretty well. Does the Minister agree that reform shouldn't be a euphemism for cuts and that the priority must be ensuring that the civil service has the capacity and the capability to deliver for the people of Wales, which ultimately means strengthening delivery, not cutting the Welsh civil service? What I would like to also hear is the words 'union' and 'social partnership', because you can't do this work without having the unions on your side and part of that process too.
- on the clip
First of all, can I begin by congratulating the Cabinet Minister on her role? I welcome the ambition that she shared yesterday. A lot of what you have already said in the Senedd very much chimes with me personally, but also with us as a Labour group. You know that I have given evidence to various different committees in the Senedd, including the Equality and Social Justice Committee. We were very clear then about the scale of the challenge and the urgency that was ultimately going to be required. Of course, lots of this builds on the work of Jane Hutt, the infamous Jane Hutt, of course, the previous Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, who very much led on tackling child poverty and widening equality objectives across Government. As I say, there's common ground there. But we've had strategies before and we've had the commitments, and what people have always said is that there's a sense of urgency. Again yesterday you spoke about targets, but how will the public actually see that progress being made? What data will be published? How often will it be published? And how will we know if inequality is truly falling?
- on the clip
I guess the question now is not what you intend to do, it's what you'll actually deliver. What changes are people going to see and feel in their everyday lives? This is what people ask us all the time, whether it's at the bus stop, whether it's on the doorstep. I hear it in places where people are not talking about policy making or anything—they're talking the language of survival, ultimately. They say that the Senedd has got bigger, 'There is all of you sat around there making all these decisions, but how is my life actually going to change, and if my bills are coming down, and if I'm not having to worry about the bailiff, I can actually afford to buy my kids school shoes or that extra pair of trainers or whatever.' Will the Cabinet Minister be able to point to one concrete change that she announced yesterday that will reduce the cost of living for families or improve pay for workers in the next 12 months?
- Not timed: the Record publishes no broadcast time for this contribution, so Siambr cannot place it on the stage.
- on the clip
Thank you to the Cabinet Minister for his response. I'm really proud of the fact that we have 12 Green Flag award winners in my constituency of Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf, including my personal favourite, Roath park, for those of you who haven't been there. I spent a lot of my childhood there, growing up, and of course the Llanishen reservoir as well, which is now open to everyone to enjoy after a very hard-fought campaign by local residents and Labour representatives. At this moment, I'd also like to pay tribute, of course, to the volunteers and the residents who run the community gardens—places like Whitchurch community garden, which I visited with the former Member for Cardiff North, one of my friends and mentors, Julie Morgan, who has always been a champion of green spaces in our great city. These places help people find a moment of peace amid all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and enjoying that environmental space right on your doorstep is really important. But, more than that, community gardens obviously also help provide an opportunity for people to get involved, meet their neighbours and friends, but also learn new skills. Can the Cabinet Minister assure me that the Government will continue to support and strengthen programmes like Local Places for Nature, which has helped create or enhance more than 200 community nature projects in Cardiff, many of them in children's schools?
- on the clip
Firstly, I'd like to echo the concerns in relation to the fire last week and, of course, thank many of the firefighters, who made sure that, despite the damage, no-one was physically hurt, and the wider support that was there. This week, I think what we're all really concerned about is that electricity connectivity problems could delay the new electric arc furnace for as long as eight months. Llywydd, I know that in your role as the MS for Afan Ogwr Rhondda, you've already been in contact with Tata unions and the Welsh Government, urging speedy progress from all partners, including the National Grid. Now, according to reports, Tata desperately needs an upgraded electricity grid to function, of course, and many jobs are going to be absolutely dependent on this, and yet it looks like much of that needed investment in upgrading our electricity grid could be delayed because of political posturing over pylons. Now, we all know that undergrounding can be expensive—and estimates suggest up to 10 times more expensive—and this could obviously, then, lead to lots of long delays. So, the way that I see it is that it will be Welsh families and workers who will end up paying the price, with higher bills at home, and risks to crucial projects like the EAF at Port Talbot. So, will the Cabinet Minister now end that uncertainty and clarify this Government's preference towards underground cabling over the course of this Senedd term?
- on the clip
I'd like to declare an interest as the former general secretary of TUC Cymru. I spent many years with the workers that we are talking about, actually putting that campaign together, and what it always came down to is: have we got the money? We got to a position where the money was there and there were a lot of things that we could have done. Then, of course, we are now in a position where, at a UK level, we do have the single negotiating body. Here in Wales, we are clearly going to be left behind if we're not careful. That is my real, genuine concern. Everything that has just been said, and other contributions as well, yes, they are correct. This is about workloads, but, ultimately, this is about pay inequality, because nine in 10 of these individuals are actually women. Just like we are seeing in the dispute with midwives, in terms of the health visitors, again, it's women. So, when do we get to a point where we say that we are going to deal with the situation that's in front of us? Because if we can find money for childcare, we should be able to find money for these individuals, and we shouldn't have to wait for the perfect formula here, because the work has already been done. The single staff negotiating body will not only address the pay inequality issue, but it will have the official structure, where people can come in, bring their various different bits of research et cetera. But, ultimately, this is about collective bargaining for those workers. We're talking about cooks, we're talking about cleaners, we're talking about admin staff, we're talking about the teaching assistants—lots of different individuals, who, as we say, look after our children, the unsung heroes, the many individuals who we clapped during COVID and we said that we were going to give them something different after. So, honestly, my plea to the Government at this moment in time is: please let's move on and let's get this done. Let's not just dilly-dally and try and figure out what the perfect structure is going to look like. The unions are very clear, the work has been done, like Lynne said, the previous Government—. This was the issue, honestly, that was popular on the doorstep. In the same way that childcare was popular on the doorstep, this issue was really popular on the doorstep. There are going to be more winners than losers if we go ahead and make this happen as quickly as possible.
- on the clip
It is an absolute tragedy that anyone in Wales has to experience homelessness, but it is especially damaging to young people who have to live with the stark consequences of poverty for the rest of their lives. As a step towards eradicating homelessness, Welsh Labour pledged to end the use of B&Bs as temporary accommodation for children by the end of this Senedd term. For the sake of our children, our teenagers and for their futures, when will this Government be able to say to people in every single part of Wales that they have reached the same milestone?
- on the clip
You'd expect me to talk about fair work, as the former general secretary of TUC Cymru—so that’s me declaring an interest. Fair work was a key priority for the last Welsh Government, and because many workers in Wales—
- Not timed: the Record publishes no broadcast time for this contribution, so Siambr cannot place it on the stage.
- on the clip
I'm a newbie in town, so I'm still learning. As I was saying, fair work was obviously a key priority for the last Welsh Labour Government, because lots of workers in Wales still face serious issues such as low pay, job insecurity and weak employment rights, which the UK Labour Government is now addressing by introducing the employment rights legislation. Having addressed the TUC congress, it's really good to hear that you are committed to fair work, but the proof will always be in the pudding. It's very important that every public sector in Wales understands that they will not be in a position where, all of a sudden, they will see their terms and conditions downgraded or Welshified negatively.
- on the clip
Thank you to the Cabinet Minister for his statement. We've heard a lot about the Government's plans, of course, about the new Welsh development agency, but people aren't asking for promises—they want action, and they want it now. Creating a new sort of agency takes time, it takes effort, it takes money and it takes focus, of course, and people in Wales don't want or need quangos or structures just for the sake of it. What we need is more well-paid, skilled and secure work in every single part of our country, because right now families are genuinely feeling the pressure. Making ends meet, paying the bills—that is the stark reality. Just last week, we saw the energy price cap go up again. Too many people are still facing impossible choices, rationing their energy at home, with adults skipping their meals in order to make sure that their own children are being fed. Those are the things—and just getting into debt—those are the realities of the everyday person out there. The people that we represent, they can't afford to wait any longer. So, our focus, my focus, will be on the outcomes for working people. How many well-paid jobs are going to be created in all of our communities? That will be the measure of success. In the 12 months leading up to the Wales investment summit, Wales attracted £4.6 billion of inward investment. That meant real opportunities and real jobs all over the country. Now, we know that Plaid talk about their ambition for Wales, and, of course, we all share that. We know, because—. The reality is: will those actions then match it? Can the Cabinet Secretary tell us whether his new development agency will beat this figure? Welsh Labour established, of course, the Welsh way of working, that Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023, hand in hand with the trade union movement. So, I will ask, of course: will social partnership remain at the heart of decisions that you are then taking in terms of the development agency and the results it produces in terms of jobs, investment and opportunities? Right now, we're seeing major changes to the economy and, of course, jobs being done in Wales due to the adoption of artificial intelligence and the transition to net zero. If these are done well, with workers at the centre of Government thinking, we can see real opportunities. The Cabinet Secretary—the Cabinet Minister—talks about the need to close that productivity gap. So, when we're thinking about the opportunities of AI in various sectors and services, we need to then, of course, make sure that any economic reward lifts workers up, not comes at their expense and at the expense of their jobs. We're being told that we need to move faster on greener energy to create jobs and bring down bills, but, at the same time, the Government is creating uncertainty about how that energy is going to be delivered, because, again, the reality is this: the fastest and most affordable way to deliver green energy at scale is wind power, supported by overhead infrastructure. So, which is it: getting that energy to people quickly and affordably or holding it up, with higher costs and delay? People want cheaper, cleaner energy, but they also need it delivered quickly and at scale. Delay, uncertainty and inaction will not bring down bills. So, how will the Cabinet Minister ensure that these decisions don't slow down investment, push up costs and block the very same jobs that they promised to create? And how will you then, of course, make sure that delivery is fair, that communities like mine in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf, which feel very much left behind for too long, actually see and feel that benefit first? Because people in Wales have heard, honestly, enough about ambition and they are tired of the pilots. They want things to go and they want things to move really quickly.
- on the clip
Because people in Wales have heard—. People in Wales are very clear: they need more money in their pockets.
- on the clip
They need more money in their pockets. They need more secure work. They need jobs and opportunities in the place that they call home—good, fair work jobs. So, can the Cabinet Minister be clear: when will these jobs be created, where will they be created, and how will people know that progress is actually being made?
- on the clip
In my constituency of Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf, and in communities across Wales, hard-working school support staff are still only paid during term time. Welsh Labour committed to a school support staff negotiating body, and that framework is very much ready. This is all about pay, leading to fairer wages, ending postcode pay gaps; job security, making sure that people have clearer contracts, fewer short-term roles; pupil support staff, making sure that gives schools an opportunity on better recruitment and retention; stability for children; equality—because, of course, 90 per cent of school support staff are women—and fair pay would lift thousands of families out of in-work poverty. So, as the TUC Congress now kicks off today, calling for a better deal for workers, will the First Minister now commit to delivering it at pace?
- on the clip
Abstain.
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Sources
The Record of Proceedings for each sitting day, quoted verbatim.