Opening the Welsh Conservatives Debate on Local Government Funding, I emphasized that Welsh council taxpayers pay a higher proportion of their income on council tax than in England or Scotland, with council tax levels in Wales trebling since devolution in 1999, rising faster than in England and Scotland, and that excepting Denbighshire’s flat settlement, all North Wales Councils are receiving a Welsh Government cut in 2019/20, whereas Labour-led councils in South Wales, such as Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf, are to receive uplifts of 0.9% and 0.8% respectively.
Speaking in the Debate on the European Union, I noted that 59% voted to leave in Wrexham and 56% in Flintshire, that 85% of 2017 UK General Election votes were for Parties which committed to implement Brexit in their manifestos, and that the real deal negotiated by the Prime Minister and her team delivers on the result of the referendum and includes a range of safeguards, “although you wouldn’t know it from the sensationalist debate”.
I also contrasted Plaid Cymru’s honesty about their intention to “betray the result of the EU referendum”, with Labour’s claim to respect the outcome of the referendum “whilst promoting what amounts to Brexit is name only, which would mean no control of our borders, our trade and our laws, and a never-ending UK financial contribution to EU coffers”. I concluded “It remains overwhelmingly in the interests of both the UK and EU to agree a friendly free trade deal”.
I asked the First Minister why investment in Research and Development in Wales per head is substantially less than in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and called on the Welsh Government to provide emergency support for conservation measures to safeguard the threatened Curlew.
Questioning the Local Government Minister, I highlighted concerns raised by the Fire and Rescue Services in North and South Wales in response to the Welsh Government’s proposed ‘Reform of Fire and Rescue Authorities in Wales’.
I also Chaired and Spoke at the Policy Forum for Wales Keynote Seminar on ‘Reducing Poverty in Wales’, met North Wales volunteers at British Heart Foundation’s Assembly Reception, ‘Beating Heartbreak Forever’, and attended a roundtable meeting with the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority.
North Wales meetings included a new Wrexham Council Commissioning Officer, to discuss how to make Wrexham an inclusive Autistic community, and the diabetic dietician team at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, to discuss the impressive results of their diet trials for patients with type 2 diabetes.
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