Bethan Sayed: The strength of feeling regarding the proposed prison is clear, and it's great to see that some of the campaigners are here today. The fact that we're having another debate on this issue so soon after the Plaid Cymru debate is testament to that success. It's also testament to the willpower and the determination that exists in the community and beyond. I too would like to start by paying...
Bethan Sayed: I've received many, many representations from parents in the Port Talbot area whereby they're claiming that specialist provision of a playgroup for children with additional learning needs at Action for Children at Neath Port Talbot Hospital is under threat and that it may lead to closure. Also they've told me that the autism family support worker is under threat of losing their position....
Bethan Sayed: Legal advice I've received, and I quote, says: 'Assuming this is correct, there is a covenant and that covenant is legally valid. It means that the site is affected by an obligation in favour of a third party limiting its use to an industrial park only. In those circumstances, building a prison on the site could be a breach of the covenant. In the event of a breach, the party with the benefit...
Bethan Sayed: Okay. Thank you very much. As you may have realised, my voice is going; I don’t have Strepsils like Theresa May, and therefore I’m not wishing to speak for very much longer. But I think what’s important is we’ve had the debate, we’ve aired the concerns, but we always describe the problem here in this Chamber. We describe it because it’s bad, but as opposed to continuing to...
Bethan Sayed: Thank you. I think it’s important that we take this debate seriously, because we’ve seen on Westminster benches previously when people have taken this too lightly, and it doesn’t go down well with the public. It doesn’t go down well with the public if people see people laughing in the Chamber. The point that I wanted to make to Mark Isherwood is that this was set up by Iain Duncan...
Bethan Sayed: [Continues.]—constructive ideas to build our own potential welfare system for the future here in Wales, so that we won’t, potentially, have to put sanctions on people, and that we can administer payments with respect for the individuals. Why can that not be considered by the Welsh Government? We’re not hearing that answer here today. We won’t be supporting the Tory amendment in this...
Bethan Sayed: Thank you very much. I think, if nothing else, we’ve had another lively debate, and I think it’s good for democracy. I think it’s important that we start on the administrative costs that Steffan Lewis has intervened on twice. The fiscal framework agreement—[Interruption.]
Bethan Sayed: [Continues.]—between the UK Government and Scottish Government in 2016 states that the baseline Barnett formula—he’s not listening to me, even—will be adjusted to reflect the responsibility over welfare, including costs and administration—including costs and administration. It says in point 31, and I quote, Both Governments have agreed that the UK government will provide £200m to...
Bethan Sayed: Let’s start with one damning fact. Almost half of the council tenants in the 105 local authorities who receive the housing element of universal credit are in arrears by a month. Nearly a third are behind by two months, whereas those still on housing benefit—only 10 per cent of council tenants—are a month behind, and less than 5 per cent of that group are two months or more behind. So,...
Bethan Sayed: Well, you can come in if you want to make an intervention. I’m happy for you to confirm your views in that e-mail.
Bethan Sayed: I’d like to open this debate by placing Plaid Cymru’s opinion on this policy firmly on the record from the outset. Universal credit is a pernicious and cruel policy cooked up in the out-of-touch corners of the Tory party like a gone-off Eton mess to penalise those looking for work. It’s a well-known fact that certain elements of the Conservative Party and those in UKIP who used to be...
Bethan Sayed: There are now only 18 months to go until the phase-out of Communities First is concluded. And, in terms of the transfer of delivery and legacy funding, we must be confident that statutory bodies that will take over delivery of current projects have the funding required to deliver those projects, and that money is ring-fenced accordingly. I say that because, today, there are some questions...
Bethan Sayed: I was asking in relation to discussions that I had with ‘The Big Issue’ when I was selling copies with them in Cardiff. They were saying that they were getting squeezed out by people who were begging in Cardiff so that they couldn’t potentially sell their issues very well there. So, I was wondering whether there was capacity around the estate for some ‘The Big Issue’ vendors to come...
Bethan Sayed: 1. Will the Commission outline the rules relating to private vendors, such as the Big Issue, on or outside the Assembly estate? (OAQ51228)
Bethan Sayed: Will you take an intervention?
Bethan Sayed: On this particular report, however, the authors were redacted. We’re having an internal review and we don’t know who actually wrote it. So, it’s very hard to have faith in a system where we can’t properly scrutinise it, and where that actual report did not take evidence from those who wanted to give evidence. How can you be assured that that will happen, if health boards investigate...
Bethan Sayed: Thanks. I’ve given a minute to Angela Burns. When approaching this debate, thinking about the issues it poses, including patient rights, how we support and trust victims of crimes or mistreatment in the NHS, how we safeguard against future incidents, and how the NHS handles problems and major incidents when they do arise, I felt it was important to use current events as a prism through...
Bethan Sayed: I’d like to make a statement marking tomorrow as International Credit Union Day. ‘Not for credit, not for charity, but for service’ is a credit union motto. We often forget that the purpose of banking is not only one of business, but of social need. As we have witnessed the closure and acquisition of thousands of small retail and local banks in the last 30 to 40 years, and when we...
Bethan Sayed: The point is, though, that it was changed, and it made it more viable, therefore, for this prison to be able to be built. In the past, it wasn’t as viable for industries to go and seek out that land, and I’m trying to understand why that was and when that decision was made, and I’m not hearing that from you here today. With regard to the covenant, and it’s my understanding, as is...
Bethan Sayed: Okay. I don’t think you answered the first question, but I can come back to it again. I just want to try and probe further on that in particular. Why was the flood-risk category only updated via Natural Resources Wales in March 2017? This was the same month that news about the site became—. The preferred option for a new prison, during this time, became public. It’s my understanding...
