Mark Isherwood: Do you acknowledge research, equally worrying, in 2008 by the Bevan Foundation and Save the Children, which found that one in four children in Wales were living in poverty—the relative poverty measure—and that 90,000 in 2008 were living in severe poverty, the highest level in the UK? So, this isn't a new problem, and it's definitely a problem we've got to grasp.
Mark Isherwood: I’m pleased to support this consensual motion calling on the Welsh Government to produce a tackling poverty strategy, budget and action plan, and for this Welsh Parliament to drive accountability on progress made on the tackling poverty agenda. Whereas UK Government policy on non-devolved matters applies on both sides of the border, Welsh Government policy only applies in Wales. Some...
Mark Isherwood: Self-proclaimed 'party of the NHS', Labour, is responsible for just seven health boards in Wales, and it is shocking that five of these are in special measures of some kind. The largest of these, serving around 1 million people, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north Wales, will not be celebrating the fact that next Saturday it will be four years since it was placed into special...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Well, just like people without a sensory loss, there's no one-size-fits-all way of providing information in accessible format for people with sensory loss. Some local authorities fund local organisations to provide support services to residents, enabling British Sign Language users and, in some cases, people who identify as hard of hearing or deafened, whilst others have no provision...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Last August, a landmark court ruling in a school exclusion case made it clear for the first time that all schools must make sure they have made appropriate adjustments for autistic children or those with other disabilities 'before they can resort to exclusion'. I've recently in the last two weeks received a letter from a constituent, a father with whom I've been working for some...
Mark Isherwood: 6. How is the Welsh Government supporting pupils excluded from school? OAQ53939
Mark Isherwood: 4. How is the Welsh Government supporting people with sensory loss? OAQ53938
Mark Isherwood: Well, despite inheriting economic crisis and empty coffers, prudent UK Governments since 2010 have successfully exploited opportunities to realise the UK's economic potential. Just this month, official figures for the UK have shown construction output up, production output up, services output up, employment rates up to the joint highest figure on record, unemployment down to the lowest level...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. After the Welsh Government commissioned a feasibility study on a national football museum, I said here two years ago that the people of north Wales deserve to have a Welsh national football museum on their doorstep. As I'd also said in the previous Assembly here, 'Wrexham has an excellent local museum...But people in north Wales can only visit one of the seven free-entry National...
Mark Isherwood: The Welsh Government's written statement on the final local government settlement for 2019-20 identified capital funding for local government in Wales, including general capital funding of £193 million, falling to £183 million in the following year, but including £20 million for the public highways refurbishment grant. We all know that adverse weather has had an impact on potholes across...
Mark Isherwood: 4. How is the Welsh Government increasing cultural engagement in North Wales? OAQ53889
Mark Isherwood: What consideration did the Welsh Government give to helping people with sensory loss in Wales when allocating funding for the 2019-20 budget?
Mark Isherwood: Can I just ask one question, if I may? In considering this, what consideration have you given to the 2012 Building Research Establishment's cost-benefit analysis of residential sprinklers report, which was carried out for the Welsh Government, which replicated the findings of the equivalent 2002 report for the Deputy Prime Minister in the UK, that although sprinklers were not effective in...
Mark Isherwood: I thank the Deputy Minister for her meeting and pre-briefing on these justice blueprints on youth justice and female offending this morning, because when it comes to these issues, as well as wider offending, it is right to focus on early intervention and prevention. As we heard from the Deputy Minister, the Wales Governance Centre's report in January, 'Sentencing and Immediate Custody in...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you for your perseverance. Secondly and finally, could I call for a statement on the Welsh Government's approach to justice for armed forces veterans who face prosecution and their engagement, if any, with the UK Government over this? This weekend, hundreds of protesters marched through Cardiff in support of veterans being prosecuted for historic offences in Northern Ireland, coinciding...
Mark Isherwood: Can I call for two statements, please, firstly on prostate cancer diagnosis and management in Wales? Twelve days ago, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE, updated their guidelines for prostate cancer diagnosis and management in England and Wales, recommending, amongst other things, that active surveillance should be offered as a primary option for men with low-risk...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Shadow Minister Janet Finch-Saunders opened this debate highlighting the need to recognise and support young adult carers in Wales, to recognise independent reports, to recognise progressive Welsh Conservative recommendations for delivering social justice to young carers in Wales. As she said, young adult carers should not be disadvantaged, stigmatised or subjected to bullying. She...
Mark Isherwood: Okay. Responding to your colleague the Minister's statement here last week on the Fair Work Commission report, I also refer to the UK Government's 'Good Work Plan'. This follows recommendations made by Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the royal society of arts, the mission of which is to enrich society through ideas and actions, so, clearly, not a partisan report. The plan outlines...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Well, responding to your statement here last week—
Mark Isherwood: Well, I hope your response means that you will now actually address this within the pathway with your officials. Given your previous response, you may have heard of Project 360°—a partnership between Age Cymru, the veterans charity Woody's Lodge, and Age Alliance Wales—providing a welcoming space for armed service veterans, recent leavers and reservists, funded by the UK Chancellor's...
