Motions and Amendments for Debate on 23 November 2016
Motion tabled on 9 November 2016
NDM6143
Lee Waters (Llanelli)
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore)
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales)
To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:
1. Recognises the enormous potential benefits of the application of 'big data' in agriculture.
2. Notes the growth in research and development in precision agriculture as a way of increasing yields, maximising the use of scarce resources and minimising the use of harmful chemicals.
3. Calls on the Welsh Government to develop a strategy to put Wales at the forefront of the development of precision agriculture.
Motions tabled on 16 November 2016
Short debate
NDM6167 Angela Burns (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Dyslexia – Life through a different lens
NDM6169 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the National Assembly, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:
1. Considers the Report of the Business Committee 'Amending Standing Orders: Standing Order 26 – Member Bills' laid in the Table Office on 15 November 2016; and
2. Approves the proposal to revise Standing Order 26, as set out in Annex B of the Report of the Business Committee.
NDM6170 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:
1. Recognises that the retail industry employs 130,000 people in Wales, and makes a key contribution to the Welsh economy.
2. Notes that the current shop vacancy rate in Wales stands at almost 14 per cent, and the projected rate of store closures is higher in Wales than anywhere else in the UK over the next two years.
3. Regrets that the Welsh Government has not used innovative and supportive measures to help businesses through their transition to the Valuation Office Agency's revaluations, leaving Welsh businesses to tackle high rates, alongside a system of temporary rebates, and a slow appeals process.
4. Calls on the Welsh Government to:
a) abolish business rates for all businesses with a rateable value of up to £12,000, and provide tapered support for those with a rateable value up to £15,000;
b) take a proactive approach to radically reform the outdated business rates system, and make Wales the flagship nation in addressing the need to provide a more supportive business environment; and
c) place an immediate cap on the multiplier, and a timetabled plan for a gradual reduction in rates.
NDM6171 Rhun ap Iorwerth (Ynys Môn)
To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:
1. Regrets the gap between the highest and the lowest paid workers in Welsh local authorities and the wider public sector.
2. Notes Plaid Cymru's success in forcing the Welsh Government to amend the Local Democracy Act during the fourth Assembly to include measures that have improved transparency in how senior officers pay is decided through the establishment of independent remuneration panels.
3. Calls on the Welsh Government to:
(a) legislate to introduce nationally set pay scales and terms and conditions to control senior and chief officer pay through a national framework which would ensure fair pay for all public sector workers in Wales; and
(b) define the role of local authorities chief executives in legislation which would include abolishing additional payments to council officials for returning officer duties.
'Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013'
NDM6172 Rhun ap Iorwerth (Ynys Môn)
To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:
1. Notes that the independent cancer task force has called for a target of diagnosis within 28 days.
2. Calls on the Welsh Government to ensure that the extra investment in diagnostic equipment secured by Plaid Cymru in the budget negotiations helps achieve this target.
Amendments tabled on 17 November 2016
To propose that the Assembly resolves to adopt the following amendments to motions:
NDM6172
1. Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Delete Point 2 and replace with:
Calls on the Welsh Government to improve access to screening services across the whole of Wales by acknowledging the role a national mobile cancer treatment service plays in supporting those with cancer, alongside reducing referrals to secondary care by making greater use of diagnostic technology in GP surgeries.
NDM6170
1. Rhun ap Iorwerth (Ynys Môn)
Delete point 4 and replace with:
Calls on the Welsh Government to:
a) expand the transitional relief available to small businesses affected by the 2017 non-domestic rates revaluation;
b) abolish business rates for all businesses with a rateable value of less than £10,000 per year, and provide tapered relief for businesses whose rateable value is between £10,000 and £20,000;
c) make all businesses during their first year of operation exempt from paying any rates in order to encourage new start-ups;
d) introduce a split multiplier for small and large businesses as is the case in Scotland and England; and
e) explore replacing business rates altogether with alternative forms of taxation which do not discourage employment, town centre regeneration and investment in plant and machinery.
Amendments tabled on 18 November 2016
To propose that the Assembly resolves to adopt the following amendments to motions:
NDM6170
1. Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)
Delete points 3 and 4 and replace with:
Reaffirms the independence of the Valuation Office Agency following the financial devolution of non-domestic rates to Wales.
Notes the revaluation by the Valuation Office Agency is not designed to raise additional revenue and that while some rateable values have increased, overall they have fallen.
Notes the Welsh Government's:
a) decision to extend the Small Business Rates Relief scheme for 2017-18, providing a tax cut for 70,000 small businesses in Wales
b) decision to make the Small Business Rates Relief scheme permanent from 2018 providing small businesses with certainty that this tax cut will continue;
c) commitment to review the Small Business Rate Relief scheme to make it simpler and fairer for businesses in Wales; and
d) decision to introduce a £10m transitional relief scheme in April 2017 to provide additional help for small businesses receiving SBRR who have been affected by revaluation.
NDM6171
1. Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)
Delete point 2 and replace with:
Notes the requirement of the Local Democracy Act, which includes measures that have improved transparency in how senior officers' pay is decided through the broadening of the powers of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales.
2. Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)
In point 3, delete sub-point (a) and replace with:
work with social partners to develop a national framework which would ensure fair pay for devolved public sector workers in Wales; and
3. Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Delete point 2, and replace with:
Recognises Welsh Conservative proposals, which called on the Welsh Government to place a binding limit on senior office holder salaries to ensure that local authorities enforce effective caps on pay.
4. Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Delete Point 3 and replace with:
Calls on the Welsh Government to consider legislation introduced in other Commonwealth jurisdictions, which has enshrined the responsibilities of local government chief executives in law, such as Section 94 A of the Australian Local Government Act 1989.
'Australian Local Government Act 1989'
5. Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Add as a new point at the end of the motion:
Notes the evidence heard by the Public Accounts Committee, which saw stakeholders call for a correlation between senior management pay and organisational performance, as a key indicator in providing value for money.
'Public Accounts Committee transcript: 13 May 2014'
6. Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Add as new point at end of motion:
Further notes the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers' submission to the UK Government's Communities and Local Government Select Committee Inquiry into Local Government Chief Officer Remuneration in January 2014, which acknowledged that since 2010, a number of local authorities have started to share chief executives and senior management teams, to further drive cost saving measures.
'Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers' submission to the UK Government's Communities and Local Government Select Committee Inquiry into Local Government Chief Officer Remuneration'
NDM6172
1. Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)
Delete all and replace with:
Notes:
a) the emphasis on earlier detection of cancer set out in the refreshed Cancer Delivery Plan for Wales (2016-2020);
b) that more people than ever are being treated for cancer in Wales and survival rates are at an all-time high; and
c) that the Welsh Government will ensure that the extra investment in diagnostic equipment set out in the draft budget is used to improve cancer waiting times and treatment outcomes.
'Cancer Delivery Plan for Wales 2016-2020'