Natasha Asghar: Minister, can I ask for a statement about the terms and conditions of Welsh Government funding grants? The reason why I ask for this is because Blaenau Gwent council has missed out on nearly £250,000 of funding, which it was going to use for a bus infrastructure project. The project's contractor had been unable to deliver the project within the funding timescale, due to unforeseen...
Natasha Asghar: Firstly, I'd like to thank my colleague for asking this important question. Now, I wholeheartedly agree with the need for social prescribing, as the service will undoubtedly help individuals whilst also reducing the pressure on GPs. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with the Caerphilly-based company, Signum Health, which uses artificial intelligence and cloud-based technology to deliver...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you very much for the intervention opportunity. I don't like to intervene, purely because I want to give everyone the opportunity to speak. That's why I didn't accept the intervention myself—that's the only reason why. It's my own personal preference, Presiding Officer. That's absolutely fine; that's my personal preference. I'm entitled to have it, as are you—
Natasha Asghar: But coming back to the point, you wanted to ask me the question about the funding for this. Now, I'm fortunate enough, and I've said this on many occasions. You speak about £150 million, but I'll tell you exactly where you could have saved £155 million: if this Government, the Welsh Labour Government, had bothered to pick up the phone and call Westminster just to clarify where they could...
Natasha Asghar: No. You don't want to use public transport just to turn up late for work or to get up at some extremely early hour for your commute. In my own region of south-east Wales, more than one in 10 bus journeys are not on time according to bus users, and this will no doubt increase with the roll-out of the 20 mph speed limits. As a result of these shameful figures, are we seeing huge investments in...
Natasha Asghar: —this comes from the Confederation of Passenger Transport.
Natasha Asghar: Deputy Minister, this is your problem to solve, and you haven't been seeming to solve it. Yes, it's really welcome that the Welsh Government is providing extra emergency funding for bus services, but it seems that this was a panicked response—just another short-term reply to a long-term issue. And this is despite the Deputy Minister warning that there was no cash to help last month. I also...
Natasha Asghar: I think it's clear that we all want to ensure that we have a good public transport network here in Wales. I don't doubt that the Deputy Minister will deny this, even though we know that he prefers to use his private car, to the tune of 12,000 miles over the last four years. But, sadly, we're facing a public transport crisis. From the messaging the Welsh Government has given us during the...
Natasha Asghar: This debate should mark a line in the sand. We’ve had numerous debates over the years about poor performance by Welsh Government on the NHS. I don’t think this is the first time, and it saddens me to say that it’s definitely not going to be the last. For decades—yes, decades—the Labour Government has been in charge of the NHS and it has been in a managed decline ever since. I’m...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you. I'd like to ask you today, Minister, why has this announcement been made at such short notice, and what assessment have you and Transport for Wales made of the disruption and inconvenience that this will cause? You mention the relationship between Westminster, but I'd like to know exactly what you are doing to build that relationship with Westminster if you want to see a change....
Natasha Asghar: On this side of the benches, it's our understanding that there has not yet been a decision regarding Northern Powerhouse Rail being classified as an England-and-Wales project. Today's topical question refers to rail, but the biggest rail story in the news today actually relates to Transport for Wales's announcement that commuters travelling between Pontypridd and Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, the Valley race track in my constituency has clearly outlined that it will apply for a Greyhound Board of Great Britain licence. Now, you may want to ban greyhound racing or you may not, but herein lies the problem. We all want to have a higher animal welfare standard, but the question must be: how do we work with the industry going forward? GBGB has a number of strict animal...
Natasha Asghar: First Minister, it's clear that the UK Government is determined to make public transport a more viable option for the public, unlike in Wales, where the Government is forcing people out of cars but not putting strong alternatives in place. Yes, I won't deny that the HS2 has been slightly pushed back, but it will ultimately increase rail capacity and boost growth. We have an extremely shoddy...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you for that answer, Minister. The number of people sleeping rough in Wales has grown to 116, and, concerningly, a large number of these—53, in fact—are in my region of South Wales East. Homelessness services are under immense pressure, as mentioned by my colleague Peter Fox, with 93 per cent saying that they are extremely or very concerned about their ability to continue delivering...
Natasha Asghar: 7. What is the Welsh Government doing to reduce levels of homelessness in South Wales East? OQ59271
Natasha Asghar: What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure the effective delivery of public transport in south-east Wales?
Natasha Asghar: Well, there you have it. These aren't my views; these are the views of just some of the people on the ground, the people who use our transport network every single day. These are the people the Welsh Government should be listening to. Unfortunately, the constituents I've just recalled are not the only ones; in fact, drivers in Newport, Cardiff and Swansea lost a huge 107 hours due to...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you so much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to move this motion today so that all Members here can properly debate the Labour Government's roads review and its transport policies. The way the recent roads review announcement was made was nothing short of a shambles. The Deputy Minister's statement in this Chamber just before recess was, in my view, one of the worst statements...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you so much, Presiding Officer, for giving me the opportunity to contribute today. As we mark International Women's Day today, I hope that all Members will join me in celebrating the groups, organisations and businesses in Wales that are working hard to build a more balanced and progressive workforce, and I commend all of the women and men out there who are allies, when it comes to...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you for your answer, Minister. It sadly appears that the Labour Government's anti-business approach, which has been there for quite some time, has rubbed off on some of your county councillors. We on these benches believe that the high-street businesses that are out there are the lifeblood of our communities and we should be doing all that we can to help them flourish. However, instead...
