Hefin David
Welsh Labour · Wales
“The future generations commissioner has suggested to me that, in terms of the support the bank provides to Welsh businesses, a social value clause could be inserted into grant and loan agreements, which would align with the seven well-being goals of the Act, which to remind ourselves, are: a prosperous Wales, a resilient Wales, a more equ…”
“The ETRA report will be used to inform the terms of reference for a further PAR and will include elements of the recommendations within the Committee’s report.' Can I suggest that the Cabinet Secretary liaises with the committee to develop that, as outlined in the Welsh Government’s response, given that the ETRA committee’s report has ins…”
“Recommendation 12 was rejected by the Welsh Government, and I think the response from the Government makes clear the difference between a tailored review for a mature organisation—.”
“A social value clause under the auspices of the well-being of future generations Act could act in a way similar to this. Therefore, I’d like to hear if the Cabinet Secretary has any views on this, and whether she has had any discussions with the future generations commissioner about how his role, and the Act, and the piece of legislation,…”
“I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for mentioning Flood Re, which I raised on my Facebook page on Sunday to some questions. The community of Bedwas was badly affected, Llanbradach, Ystrad Mynach. In Bedwas, the Fisherman's Rest pub is closed and flooded.”
“It's incredibly rich for the Conservatives to scaremonger local authorities in this way. It has been 14 years of ideologically driven austerity from the Conservatives in Westminster—[ Interruption .] I knew they were going to shout, I knew they were going to shout, but it's the truth, and the First Minister's pointed that out.”
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“Labour's priority is to prioritise those public services, and that means that those with the broadest shoulders do need to carry something of the burden, which is where the tax cuts came from, but it can only be judged again over that period of time in which the budget plans take effect. And of course, we also need to think of pensioners. I noticed the comments about the winter fuel allowance, but next year's state pension increase is 4.1 per cent because of the triple lock, and you will see—[ Interruption .] And it is happening next year, under this Labour Government, and you will see it.”
“So, a budget that is welcomed immediately or a budget that is attacked immediately needs to be judged in that context, and this is a budget that fixes the foundations. And it is about ideology. Conservatives want—and I'm sure you'd agree—a small state, limited and constrained public services, and an attempt at lower taxes. But when you attempt to lower taxes, you find out you get the experience that Nigel Lawson had, or you get the experience that Kwasi Kwarteng had under Liz Truss. That is what happens when you try and achieve a small state in a European country.”
“I think a budget is best judged in the context of the budgets that precede it and follow it. Obviously, there isn't a budget that precedes this one, other than the disastrous Conservative budgets, but the ones that follow it then put it into context, and you need to judge those over those months and years. So, let's take for example the 1987 budget of Nigel Lawson, which at the time was lauded for £2.6 billion of tax cuts, which led to Margaret Thatcher winning the 1987 general election. But what it also led to was a consumer boom that led us into one of the worst recessions we've seen, and it took us from 1987 to 1997 to recover from, and the Conservatives digging themselves out of their own hole of their making.”
“What we know about the budget is it's a first step in fixing the foundations of the economy, and a very good first step too, but it's going to be a five-year programme. I'd like to take the opportunity to celebrate some of the wonderful voluntary organisations in my constituency, such as the Trethomas Parish Trust, Sparrows Additional Learning Needs Group, which I use with my family, the Valley Daffodils and, of course, the Senghenydd Youth Drop In Centre. All of these receive support both from grant funding and some from the local authority. Would the First Minister therefore commit to keeping open a dialogue with the UK Government to ensure that organisations like those are an integral part of the five-year plan?”