Leanne Wood: Will you take an intervention?
Leanne Wood: I'm just not clear from your argument whether you're in favour of the devolution of administration of benefits or you're against it.
Leanne Wood: Diolch. I'm yet again staggered to see the Tories bring forward a motion in this Senedd lamenting poverty and deprivation. What next? What can we expect next? Can we expect to see a motion lamenting capitalism from them perhaps? Now, I've got a large amount of sympathy for arguments that hold this Labour Government to account for their failure to replace the Communities First programme with...
Leanne Wood: I note your comments to the first international trade dinner of the South Wales Chamber of Commerce just before Christmas. During your speech, you mentioned the focus on data mining and cyber security, trumpeting Wales being the largest cluster for cyber companies in the UK. Now, jobs, particularly in the most deprived parts of our country, are much needed and I recognise that cyber security...
Leanne Wood: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on the values underpinning the Welsh Government's international relations strategy? OAQ54873
Leanne Wood: I'd like to ask two very specific questions to the Minister—questions that I've asked many times in this Chamber and I've even had to resort to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in order to try and get answers to these questions, still to no avail. I have not received answers yet. But what I have asked on numerous occasions in the past is: how much has been allocated for improvements and...
Leanne Wood: I'm sure many Members here will share my concerns about the situation in Iran. Whilst I would in no way defend the general that was killed, or the regime that he represents, a long and bloody war is a real possibility as a result of the actions of the President of the United States. With the UK Prime Minister so keen to strike a free trade deal with the United States, there is little chance...
Leanne Wood: Minister, Welsh Women's Aid have found that 77 per cent of children who experience domestic abuse did not receive support from a specialist service. Now, we know that domestic abuse is one of the factors that can cause homelessness, and Welsh Women's Aid have found that 512 survivors, many of whom will obviously be accompanied by children, couldn’t be accommodated in refuges due to a lack...
Leanne Wood: I welcome the honesty in the statement that child poverty has risen and is projected to continue to rise. It's definitely the case that the social security cuts and wider austerity agenda of the Tories has been a big factor in this. There's no doubt about that. However, the Minister will also be aware that research by Loughborough University has singled out Wales as the only nation...
Leanne Wood: Given the Government's commitment for there to be 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, can we have a statement outlining whether the Government regrets the comments of a Labour MP who described a Plaid Cymru candidate as being obsessed with the Welsh language? Does the Government consider that everyone who speaks Welsh or who is learning Welsh is obsessed with the Welsh language? Will you agree...
Leanne Wood: I want to raise with you a case concerning a 14-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted. The perpetrator pleaded guilty and, in September, received a sentence of 24 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years. A sexual harm prevention order was made for 10 years and he was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. The suspended sentence has resulted in this convicted...
Leanne Wood: Will you take an intervention?
Leanne Wood: Is your priority protecting the union or the NHS?
Leanne Wood: There's no need to rerehearse the central argument in detail here, with around 27,000 empty homes in Wales, bringing these back into use could make a substantial difference to our housing supply, particularly if we could enable social housing providers to buy them, refurbish them, and use them to house low-income families. While houses remain empty in communities, they potentially represent a...
Leanne Wood: As we approach Christmas, the busiest time of year for shopping, I want to salute the Welsh high street. There are fantastic examples out there of how a town centre can draw people in and lock money into a local economy. Treorchy high street is a great example. Its vibrancy and attractiveness has been recognised in a competition to find the best high street in the UK. The shortlisters for...
Leanne Wood: I want to start by paying tribute to the two young people murdered on London Bridge last week, Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt, and to the values that they stood for. The courageous words of Jack Merritt's father were, in the circumstances, inspirational. And I'm sure that I speak for all Members here and others throughout Wales when I say that we feel for the family and close friends, and that...
Leanne Wood: Many people have been interested in the potential for train services to be extended north in the Rhondda valley, and Plaid Cymru have campaigned on this for many years, and I really do hope that it can be brought to fruition by this Government and Transport for Wales. The difference that a new station in Tynewydd could make at the top of the Rhondda would be huge. It would make public...
Leanne Wood: 2. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the threat to Welsh citizens following the terror attack in London last Friday? 373
Leanne Wood: Strengthening the human rights of Welsh citizens in a post-Brexit scenario is, of course, essential. But I'm wondering if you've given further thought to the human rights of the minority of Welsh citizens who will be regarded as neurodivergent? Do you think the time has come for equalities legislation to regard neurodiversity as a protected characteristic in its own right?
Leanne Wood: There is amazing potential for the Rhondda, especially when it comes to cycling, from a tourism perspective. We have some of the finest and most picturesque climbs in the UK. For example, the Bwlch-Rhigos loop is often used by Tour de France winner, Geraint Thomas, and his team mate, Luke Rowe, when training. I produced this document earlier this year, in conjunction with Sustrans, and it...
