Jane Hutt: Thank you, Laura Anne Jones, and I have responded particularly to the issues around the needs of children and families and parents and carers of autistic children. The statutory code of practice on delivery of autism services is crucial to that, but I think a lot of the needs of disabled children have to be met through the working together not just of local authorities and health boards, but...
Jane Hutt: Well, I'd like to thank Mark Isherwood for his long-standing chairing of the cross-party group on disability—and I always welcome the invitation to come, as you know, Mark, to meet with the stakeholders, partners and disabled people who come together when you chair that cross-party group—and also the fact that you do raise these issues, and they're raised in a cross-party spirit, raising...
Jane Hutt: I've mentioned the fact that we have to address the pay gap. I've mentioned the work that's being done, the money that's being invested in accessible transport. I've mentioned our access to elected office fund, and I've also mentioned the ways in which we can reach out to support disabled people through the pandemic. I think our commitments to disabled people in terms of the disability...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Huw Irranca-Davies. I think you've made this all-important point: how difficult it is going to be for the disability rights taskforce to address the key priorities, because there are so many, aren't there? Just going back to why we committed ourselves to establishing the disability rights taskforce—it's because we had that report. The report laid it out with its...
Jane Hutt: We have to recognise that there's a huge issue with disabled people in terms of the disability pay gap. Recent Office for National Statistics figures show that the disability pay gap was still 9.9 per cent in 2018, earning less per hour than non-disabled people. It's smaller in Wales, the pay gap for disabled people, than the rest of the UK. But we're now, as I talked about, going to have...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. I think you raised many important issues and I look forward to working with you through our co-operation agreement, because it is about strengthening the rights of disabled people and tackling the inequalities they continue to face. I have spoken of our pioneering employment advice as having an impact on reaching out to employers, particularly in the private...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Altaf Hussain, and thank you for your questions this afternoon. It is an important question: what has changed? In my statement, I have laid out a number of examples of how we have sought to make change, particularly as a result of the 'Locked out' report, which did shine such a light on the adverse impact of COVID-19 on disabled people. So, I will say again that the...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Deputy Llywydd. This Friday is the United Nations International Day of Disabled People. In 1992, the United Nations designated 3 December as a day for promoting the rights and well-being of disabled people and to celebrate their achievements across the world. The theme for 2021 is 'fighting for rights in the post-COVID era', and this is a cause this Welsh Government is firmly...
Jane Hutt: I do recognise what the Chair, Mark Isherwood, has said in terms of the five ways—that we need that cultural shift. When people grasp the five ways of working, it actually helps them with their planning and decision making. We are, rightly, today debating the extent to which the sustainable development principle is being applied, whether objectives are being delivered, and what the Act...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I'd like to start by thanking the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee and the Equality and Social Justice Committee for their joint work in bringing forward this debate. The essential role that this Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, has in the well-being of future generations framework is one of the key features of the Welsh approach to...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Buffy Williams, and you know what it's like, don't you, from your constituency and your community and what you've been doing to support people at the sharp end of poverty. We know the key levers for tackling poverty. Powers over tax and welfare systems sit with the UK Government, but we do everything we can to reduce the impact of poverty and support those living in...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Buffy Williams. Last week, we announced, as I said, a £51 million support package for low-income households; £38 million will be made available through a winter fuel scheme; £1.1 million to tackle food poverty, including extending the successful Big Bocs Bwyd project; and further announcements, including support with reducing the cost of the school day, will be...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much for your question.
Jane Hutt: This is also, as you say, the shocking result of the £20 cut to universal credit, the end of furlough, rising prices, food, fuel, and, indeed, the Minister for Climate Change and I met with the National Energy Agency this morning, where we were discussing these issues. I met with the End Child Poverty Network Cymru on Monday morning. They welcomed the fact that we have used that funding. We...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much. The region will benefit from the household support package worth £51 million that was announced last week. Last financial year, in Mid and West Wales, the single advice fund supported over 8,000 people to claim £6.4 million of extra welfare benefit income. This financial year, the region received £237,742 to tackle food poverty.
Jane Hutt: Well, of course, it is a—[Interruption.] I thank the Member for the question. It's a serious question. It's a non-devolved matter, and I'm sure that you are bringing these concerns affecting your constituents to the attention of the UK Government to ensure that banking services in Wales are maintained. We're going to meet with the banks. In fact, the First Minister and myself and the...
Jane Hutt: Within south-east Wales, our single advice fund helped over 27,400 people to deal with social welfare issues in the last financial year, resulting in over £9.7 million of additional welfare benefit income. Also, our credit union-funded projects across the region ensure that people have access to affordable credit.
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds. Can I just respond to your point about the Nationality and Borders Bill? I have to say that this will cause unforeseen and unequal impacts on people arriving in Wales, recognised as having fled fear of persecution, and the Bill is diametrically opposed to our aim of being a nation of sanctuary supporting a more equal Wales. So, the Bill itself is going to impact on...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood. I think your support and your engagement has been strong through the years in terms of promoting and delivering on the 'Nation of Sanctuary', and I just want to mention that on Saturday night, I attended an event with your colleague Natasha Asghar for the launch of the Wales association of South Asian heritage. That was a powerful event, focusing on many...
Jane Hutt: I thank Vikki Howells for that question, and you have identified a commitment in the 'Nation of Sanctuary' plan. That commitment hasn't changed. We have had challenging circumstances with the pandemic, which has delayed moving forward on that, but we are going to pilot a new scheme in the new year that will provide young asylum seekers with the same level of support from the education...
