Mike Hedges: I thank the Minister for the response. The deaf and hard of hearing community consists of those who are born with hearing loss and those who have lost their hearing as they’ve got older. Many deaf people use British Sign Language as their main means of communication. Phone-only services do not work for people with hearing loss.
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Mark. Perhaps that could be passed on to some GP practices who demand that people ring when it’s basically impossible for them to do so. How can the Welsh Government ensure that those with hearing loss who are dealing with Welsh Government-funded bodies either deal with someone who uses BSL or has access to an interpreter?
Mike Hedges: I am very pleased to see that we have cross-party support for recognising the vital role that local authorities play in delivering public services across Wales and the funding challenges they face. The rich, and their representatives here, the Conservative Party, dislike two taxes above all others: rates and council tax. There are a very limited number of ways of avoiding these taxes. Whilst...
Mike Hedges: Please do.
Mike Hedges: I'm about to say that. Thank you, Sam. My preference is that all houses are revalued and that council tax is a fixed percentage of the value of the property. I will again call for either more bands and a change to the multiplier, or a spot-price valuation, with each property paying the same percentage of its value. Moving on to standard spending assessment, which is where we get our aggregate...
