By Mark Isherwood

MS for North Wales

In the Senedd Debate on ‘Planning policy for new power lines’, I spoke in favour of undergrounding cables to protect affected communities and landscapes in Wales.

I also proposed an additional Welsh Conservatives amendment requiring health impact assessments when undergrounding new power lines near homes.

Although this amendment was passed, Labour then defeated the final motion.

Speaking in the Welsh Conservatives Debate on Economic Policy, I said “a quarter of a Century of Labour Welsh Government has left our economy underperforming and the people of Wales losing out as a result”, where Wales has the lowest employment rate, lowest pay packets, lowest total GDP output per head and highest economic inactivity rates in the UK, despite Welsh Government having received Billions in temporary funding intended to close the prosperity gap both within Wales and between Wales and the rest of the UK.

I also noted that UK inflation had fallen from over 11% to near 2%, when 33 European Countries, the Euro Area and 17 G20 Countries currently had higher inflation rates than the UK in consequence of the global cost-of-living crisis.

Challenging the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Planning over the Housing Crisis in Wales, I asked why, given that Welsh Housing Sector research shows a £2.30 public sector saving for every £1 spent on housing, only 2,825 new homes for social rent were completed in Wales in the first three years of this Senedd term to last December, well short of the Welsh Government's 20,000 target for the five year term, and why the latest National House Building Council figures show a 43 per cent drop in new homes registered in Wales, equal bottom out of 12 UK nations and regions.

I Chaired meetings of both the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, which included an Evidence Session with the Welsh Government on Local Partnerships LLP, a public sector consultancy company 5% owned by the Welsh Government; and of the Cross-Party Autism Group, which included speakers from both Denbighshire and Holywell-based charity Kim Inspire on ‘Access to Employment – perspectives of Autistic people’.

Other engagements included the Senedd event ‘Rural Futures programme: Creating Sustainable Communities across Wales’, which included a presentation by Hwb Pentredŵr, Pentredŵr, near Llangollen; a meeting, as Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Disability, with the Group’s Secretary, from Disability Wales, to discuss the Equality and Human Rights Commission investigation into concerns over treatment of some disabled benefits claimants; and an interview for Telecoms Industry Research.

For my help, email Mark.Isherwood@senedd.wales or call 0300 200 7219.