National Assembly for Wales

Adam Price MS on behalf of the Senedd Commission

Section 35(1)(c) does not place a duty on the Senedd to publish bilingual transcripts of committee meetings.

Section 35(1)(c) states as follows:

“(1C) Reports of Senedd proceedings must, in the case of proceedings which fall within section 1(5)(a) (proceedings of the Senedd), contain a record of what was said, in the official language in which it was said, and also a full translation into the other official language.”

Section 35(1)(c) only requires a full translation of proceedings that fall into the definition of section 1(5)(a).

Section 1(5) of GOWA states:

“(5) In this Act “Senedd proceedings” means any proceedings of—

(a) the Senedd,

(b) committees of the Senedd, or

(c) sub-committees of such committees.”

Section 1(5)(a) relates only to proceedings of the Senedd i.e. plenary. It does not include proceedings of committees or sub-committees as these are clearly defined in section 1(5)(b) and (c) of GOWA respectively. There is therefore no legal duty on the Senedd under section 35(1)(c) to publish full transcripts of committee proceedings in English and Welsh.

In accordance with section 35(1)(c) of the Government of Wales Act 2006, a Record of Plenary proceedings, including a Welsh translation of contributions made in English, is published within 3 working days.

The Commission has agreed to consider reviewing the legal framework relating to official languages in preparation for the seventh Senedd.

The Welsh Government encourages local authorities to publish details relating to the income generated from charging a premium for the previous financial year on their websites. We are aware that, to date, of the 15 local authorities which have charged council tax premiums in previous financial years, the following have published this information. (This information is readily available in the public domain.)

Cyngor Sir Ynys Mon

Conwy County Borough Council

Denbighshire County Council

Flintshire County Council

Wrexham County Borough Council

Powys County Council

Pembrokeshire County Council

Swansea Council

Bridgend County Borough Council

Vale of Glamorgan Council

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Cardiff Council

We hope that advanced discussions between Officials and the local authority with regards to next steps for land and property on Dinerth Road in Rhos-on-Sea will draw to a close in autumn of this year.

The Help to Stay Wales scheme was launched in November 2023 and offers support to those having or facing difficulty in paying their existing mortgage. The scheme offers support to homeowners in the form of a shared equity loan, however, encourages households to seek free debt advice. For those eligible for the scheme support is also provided through an Independent Financial Advisor who will carry out a financial assessment.

To date, 56 applications have been received for the scheme, 5 households have benefitted from the programme, with another 7 approved and progressing to completion. However, the scheme has also encouraged numerous households to seek free debt advice which may have provided an alternative solution to meet their needs.

Since January 2019 Welsh Government has made sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) mandatory on almost all new building developments. This will relieve pressure on the sewage network by redirecting and slowing down the speed at which surface water enters the sewer system.

We are also working closely with water companies and Natural Resources Wales to tackle pollution from storm overflows and build long-term strategies that will improve water quality across our waterways. We have the highest expectations of our water companies to deliver across all areas of service. These expectations are set out in our Strategic Priorities and Objectives Statement which the then Minister for Climate Change issued to Ofwat in July 2022.

Untreated raw sewage, compared with treated sludge, may pose a higher risk to the environment and any livestock grazing sewage contaminated pasture. All sewage sludge producers and users in Wales must follow the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture: Code of Practice published in 2018.

Enforcement action forms part of a holistic approach to tackling littering and fly-tipping which integrates prevention, collaboration and partnership working with stakeholders  and citizens.

There are a number of factors that should be considered in relation to the level of fines imposed.  These include the ability to pay and the proportionality of higher fine levels in respect of low level environmental offences.  Accordingly, we currently encourage Local Authorities to fully utilise the range of existing enforcement tools available to them for dealing with littering and fly-tipping.

We introduced the Household Waste Duty of Care (Fixed Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2019 and The Unauthorised Deposit of Waste (Fixed Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2017, to allow enforcement agencies to deal more efficiently with small scale, low-level fly-tipping offences.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has both statutory and regulatory duties to discharge in its role as Wales’ environmental regulator.

In discharging these duties, NRW follows a structured response process to address and mitigate the impact of any pollution incident. This ensures that NRW can effectively manage and respond to environmental incidents, minimising impacts (where possible) and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations.

Incidents are assessed by urgency and severity in order to prioritise response efforts. In many cases it is not only NRW’s officers who respond but also partner organisations which include emergency services, Local Authorities and Public Health Wales.

The figure you referenced came from the most recent Public Sector Food Survey for Wales, undertaken in 2022.  The same survey has not yet been repeated, so we don’t yet have a direct comparator.  However,  we plan to  undertake it again at the end of this Senedd term to measure the impacts of our Foundational Economy projects, to nurture local supply chains and increase supply of Welsh food to the public sector.

Developing and improving our  local food supply chains is of course a  a long-term change programme, but progress is already being made by these projects.

For example, the ‘Buying Food Fit for the Future’ online resource has supported an increase in Welsh food supplied for school meals through Castell Howell by 173% (£854k in 2021 compared to £2.3m currently).

This has been  largely due to Caerphilly Council, applying the ‘Buying Food Fit for the Future’ food procurement guidance to the South Wales Food Framework, awarded in April and used by 15 local authorities. The framework includes a Welsh lot for the first time, providing local food choices for councils. Out of 150 lots, Castell Howell won 100, ensuring security of supply and retaining money within Wales.Since the launch of  this resource,  Castell Howell have also reported an 86% increase in Welsh food supplied to NHS Wales (£598k to £1.1m).

In addition, our Food Sense Wales’ ‘Welsh Veg into Schools’ project, has developed 8 new growers to increase supply of Welsh produce for schools. Consequently, they are supplying around 40 tons of organic vegetables into schools across 6 local authorities. They have also grown a whole new acre of carrots (10 tons) for schools to address recent supply shortages, which resulted in them being imported from China.

These  projects will finish by March 2025, at which point a full evaluation will be undertaken. Results of that  should be published by summer 2025.

I provided an update on this matter when responding to the debate you tabled on 3 July 2024. The transcript can be found here. My response to the debate starts at paragraph 188.

Blue badges are valid for three years. This length of award is set out in legislation and is common across the UK. However, applicants who will permanently meet the eligibility criteria can be awarded a badge on a ‘not for reassessment’ basis, which means that when re-applying in three years’ time they will not need to provide any additional evidence from healthcare professionals to support their application, only proof of identity and residency. We regard these as reasonable and proportionate requirements to protect the integrity and robustness of the Blue Badge scheme.

The National Transport Delivery Plan sets out the actions we are taking to meet the targets set out in Net Zero Wales Carbon Budget 2, which include a 10 per cent per person reduction in car mileage. The Plan also sets out our commitment to develop a decarbonisation delivery pathway.

Data on the uptake of electric vehicles in Wales is published by the UK Department for Transport (VEH0133) Vehicle licensing statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Welsh Government worked in collaboration with the UK Government and Scottish Government to introduce the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order from January 2024. This ensures that a minimum of 22% of cars sold (and 10% of vans) are zero emission from 2024 rising to 80% of cars (and 70% of vans) by 2030. The uptake of zero emission vehicles is also supported by our investment to deliver the actions set out in our EV Charging Strategy and Action Plan. 

The National Transport Delivery Plan sets out the actions we are taking to meet the targets set out in Net Zero Wales Carbon Budget 2, which include a 10 per cent per person reduction in car mileage. The Plan also sets out our commitment to develop a decarbonisation delivery pathway.

Data on the uptake of electric vehicles in Wales is published by the UK Department for Transport (VEH0133) Vehicle licensing statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Welsh Government worked in collaboration with the UK Government and Scottish Government to introduce the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order from January 2024. This ensures that a minimum of 22% of cars sold (and 10% of vans) are zero emission from 2024 rising to 80% of cars (and 70% of vans) by 2030. The uptake of zero emission vehicles is also supported by our investment to deliver the actions set out in our EV Charging Strategy and Action Plan. 

The current value of the Welsh Governments shares in Cardiff International Airport Limited is £17.83m. The valuation is reviewed annually and included in WGC HoldCo Limited’s latest published accounts.

Since 2013, the Welsh Government has invested a total of £179.6 million in Cardiff Airport. A full breakdown of our investment can be accessed via the following link:

Cardiff Airport: our role | GOV.WALES

The current value of the Welsh Governments shares in Cardiff International Airport Limited is £17.83m. The valuation is reviewed annually and included in WGC HoldCo Limited’s latest published accounts.

Since 2013, the Welsh Government has invested a total of £179.6 million in Cardiff Airport. A full breakdown of our investment can be accessed via the following link:

Cardiff Airport: our role | GOV.WALES

A full breakdown of our investment in Cardiff Airport can be accessed via the following link:

Cardiff Airport: our role | GOV.WALES

I will write to you with a substantive response and a copy of the letter will be published on the internet.

We know relative poverty among families with three or more children has continued to increase. I welcome announcement of a new ministerial taskforce to explore how they can use all available levers across government, recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty.

I am keen to work closely with the new UK Government on our shared ambition of tackling poverty, this will include discussing the role of the benefit system at the DWP and Welsh Government Interministerial Group.  Our own ambitious Child Poverty Strategy for Wales published earlier this year will be informing our discussions at a Wales and UK level.

I am keen to work closely with the new UK Government on our shared ambition of tackling poverty, including discussing the role of the benefit system at the DWP and Welsh Government Interministerial Group. 

I welcome announcement of a new UK Government ministerial taskforce will explore how they can use all available levers across government, recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty.

Our own ambitious Child Poverty Strategy for Wales published earlier this year will be informing our discussions at a UK level.