Mark Isherwood: During the recess, on 27 December, the UK Government launched a consultation proposing that the carrier bag levy should be doubled from 5p to 10p and extended to all shops. Given that Wales originally took the lead on this and the collective wish to drive against plastic waste, can we have a statement from the Welsh Government in response to this, and how it might independently, or in...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. As you know, 'Planning Policy Wales' requires local planning authorities to set capacity thresholds for residential developments, above which a proportion of affordable housing should be sought from developers. In Flintshire's case, the policy seeks to provide at least 30 per cent affordable housing on sites with a minimum of 25 dwellings. Well, despite evidence of local affordable...
Mark Isherwood: 4. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to meet affordable housing need? OAQ53163
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. David Melding started this debate by quoting from a 2004 speech warning of a housing crisis, yet here we are tackling a broken housing market with consequent social injustice. It reminds me of being party to those debates in 2004, backing a campaign that united the charitable and commercial sectors in housing across Wales, warning that there would be a housing crisis if...
Mark Isherwood: As the Chair's foreword to this report states, 'Much of the evidence referred to the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and whilst witnesses were generally supportive of the Act, there was some concern over the application of eligibility criteria, the undertaking of carers’ assessments and the variation in fees across local authorities. What was also clear was the unexpected...
Mark Isherwood: What action is the Welsh Government taking to support adult learning?
Mark Isherwood: What provision has the Welsh Government made for cross-border health care?
Mark Isherwood: Again, may I welcome you to your new role? The average number of new homes delivered by housing associations annually in England has risen by a third since 2010, compared to 25 per cent in Wales. The average number of new homes delivered by councils for local authorities in England is up nearly sevenfold compared to a two-thirds fall, up to 2017-18, in Wales. You referred to exit from the...
Mark Isherwood: I'm pleased to support this motion. Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, what was then called a 'minimum income standard' was first calculated and documented by Loughborough University's Centre for Research in Social Policy in 2008. This was a UK average and did not include variations inside and outside London. Following a campaign by Wrexham-based TCC, Together Creating Communities, the...
Mark Isherwood: —both British and Conservative in origin. It was advocated by Winston Churchill and drafted by former Conservative Home Secretary, David Maxwell Fyfe. Well, in the seventieth year since its adoption, the UN declaration on human rights remains a powerful statement of hope and aspiration for us all. There's been great progress since 1948, but it's a dangerous world and there's still much more...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Human Rights Day two days ago marked the seventieth anniversary, as we heard, of the universal declaration of human rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights that everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being, as we heard from the Cabinet Secretary at the beginning, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other...
Mark Isherwood: Paul Davies.
Mark Isherwood: 'devolved responsibilities of the Welsh Government and existing partnership arrangements in Wales make the delivery of probation services quite different to that in England. The legislative framework provides us with scope to develop alternative delivery arrangements which better reflect the criminal justice context in Wales…We will then consider whether the learning from these new...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you for your statement—one of many on a similar theme over recent weeks and months. You entitled this 'a distinct approach to the penal system in Wales', although it looks uncannily similar to the developing policy agenda across the border in England also. As you've heard me say previously, I, in August, attended the HM Prison and Probation Service in Wales's engagement event in...
Mark Isherwood: In October, we corresponded about a pollution incident in the Afon Clywedog Dee tributary near Wrexham. Of course, specific pollution incidents are a matter for Natural Resources Wales. How do you respond to concern that the self-reporting procedure with water companies, now applied by Natural Resources Wales, takes away the proactive inspections that used to be in place and carried out by...
Mark Isherwood: In terms of your future role, I know this is the end of a chapter, but not the book. I also understand that Mrs Jones may have some ideas for you about what activities you might be undertaking as you go forward, according to media reports. I was pleased to attend the 28 September meeting and speak at the 'Anglesey Says No To Pylons' public meeting at Menai Bridge, to discuss the next...
Mark Isherwood: How is the Welsh Government ensuring best value for public procurement?
Mark Isherwood: What policies does the Welsh Government have to ensure that barriers to equality for disabled people are removed?
Mark Isherwood: Rhun ap Iorwerth referred to Welsh Government's delaying tactics, their repeated reviews rather than action, and he referred to homelessness as one example. He referred to Welsh Government setting targets lower than England and Scotland and then missing them, and about their unwillingness to learn from good practice elsewhere. We heard from Suzy Davies—here we are; I found the missing...
Mark Isherwood: You've caught me slightly unawares; I'm still struggling—lots of horrible notes. May I start by thanking all contributors? Paul Davies referred to some success and some cross-party agreement that pointed out that under Carwyn Jones's Government, Labour was the first party anywhere in the UK to have imposed real-terms cuts to the NHS. He referred to the downgrading, centralisation and...
