Leanne Wood: Many people have been left high and dry by their insurance companies after many places in the south were put into lockdown and people were unable to go on holidays. Now, some policies may have had small print preventing a payout due to COVID-19, but I know this isn't the case with all refusals. In one instance, one company told a customer that advice from the Welsh Government is irrelevant...
Leanne Wood: Many people are self-isolating, or will be in the coming months, as COVID transmission rates spread throughout the country. I've had many messages from people in the Rhondda, who've already endured significant financial harm from the first lockdown. Some people can work from home, some people are self-employed, some people are entitled to sick pay or statutory sick pay, and others can get...
Leanne Wood: I'm disappointed but I'm not surprised that Rhondda Cynon Taf is to be placed in lockdown. We were warned that this would happen if transmission rates increased, and they have, and a number of events and locations have been pinpointed in the statement. But I want to focus on the testing capacity here in the Rhondda. For coronavirus tests to be limited to just 60 a day by the UK Government at...
Leanne Wood: Minister, I wrote to you earlier this month, and I've raised the issue of flooding in the Rhondda a number of times with you here in the Senedd. Plaid Cymru wants to see an independent inquiry as to why so many communities in the Rhondda have suddenly become prone to flooding, but this inquiry shouldn't stop any preventative measures or remedial works. I wonder if you can tell the Senedd what...
Leanne Wood: Some people who are exempt from wearing face masks are being challenged or refused entry into shops, and many small business owners in particular are telling me of the difficulties that they are facing policing the wearing of face masks. So, will the Government look into providing some sort of official means of proof for people to show if they're exempt from wearing a face mask? I also wanted...
Leanne Wood: Policies to create a more equal Wales should be implemented in consultation with local authorities and local communities, and this is especially the case in plans for Wales to play its part in global efforts to support refugees. However, reports that a military training camp in Pembrokeshire will be used to house 250 refugees, with little or no consultation with the local authority prior to...
Leanne Wood: Many parents have contacted me with concerns about the restricted bus places for schools. There are problems on all buses affecting key workers too, but the school bus places shortage is causing particular stress to those parents with children in different schools, to some parents with children in Welsh-medium schools, to those people who've previously paid for a place and no longer can. So,...
Leanne Wood: Many community-based carers have worked right throughout the COVID crisis, and we know that staff and residents in care homes are being tested on a regular basis, whether they have symptoms or not. Carers who go into people's homes in the community are only tested if they're showing symptoms, which is a problem when we know that people can infect others when they don't show symptoms, and a...
Leanne Wood: I'd like to request two statements from the Trefnydd today. I'd be grateful if time could be found for a statement from the health Minister on the question of political accountability and answerability. I'd like to hear his views on his own role in determining which vital services are available in which parts of Wales, particularly in relation to the recent news that the 24-hour...
Leanne Wood: Will the First Minister provide an update on maternity services at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board?
Leanne Wood: There's no doubt that the teaching of all of our history is so much better today than it has been in the past, and there is some superb teaching practice that goes on throughout the country. The problem for us is that it isn't consistent. We can ensure that that best practice can benefit every child, wherever they live. With the development of the new curriculum, we've got the opportunity to...
Leanne Wood: I don't have a question, Llywydd.
Leanne Wood: Okay. Sorry, I thought I had. I want to ask about support for the arts. The arts are vitally important for our culture, for our language, and potentially for tourism as well. Many people working in the arts are freelancers or gig economy workers who may—or probably haven't had any support from the Government so far. Large audience events are unlikely to be safe for people in the old way...
Leanne Wood: What is the Welsh Government doing to improve flood management in the Rhondda?
Leanne Wood: After the floods in February, people in the Rhondda received £500 from the local council, £500 from the Welsh Government, and more if they were uninsured, more if they were a business, and even more again from local fundraising efforts. What they didn't get was defences to stop this happening again. So, will you commit to providing floodgates for every home that needs one? And will you...
Leanne Wood: Diolch. Last week in the Rhondda, many properties were flooded, some for a second, some for even a third time. Now, the causes and the effects of the floods in June may well have been very different to the floods in February, but the effects are exactly the same, and for good reason, people are not confident that the issues have been resolved. And that's why we need an independent, expert-led...
Leanne Wood: Thank you. First Minister, with news this week that there are 15 people chasing every single job in the Rhondda, and that comes on the back of the news that there are two towns in the top-20 most vulnerable to economic problems following COVID, then it's clear that there needs to be a specific jobs plan for the Rhondda. We've already heard how we need a new, sustainable drainage system, how...
Leanne Wood: Carers have been woefully underpaid and underappreciated for a long time, and your policy to give £500 to carers is welcome, but it doesn't go far enough. All care home workers, including cooks and cleaners, should be entitled to that payment because they are at risk as well. Unpaid carers deserve to be recognised, in my view, too. So, will you commit to recognising everyone who's a carer,...
Leanne Wood: I've written to you, Minister, about a number of businesses that have fallen through the gaps that everybody has been talking about in the provision to prevent unemployment and the collapse of businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of these businesses doesn't qualify for financial support because it's not VAT registered and run from home. Now, the business owner has tried to get...
Leanne Wood: It's an inexcusable failure, Minister, that you've not carried out the 5,000 tests a day in Wales that you promised. The World Health Organization advises that the countries that are best coping with this pandemic are mass testing, they're tracing and quarantining. There must be, at the very least, weekly testing for all key workers, whether they work in the public or the private sector, and...
