Vikki Howells: 6. What are the Welsh Government’s priorities for supporting members of the armed forces community and their families in Wales? OAQ51358
Vikki Howells: I'd like to thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your answer and join others in congratulating you on your new role. RCT council recently received a gold award from the Ministry of Defence for its commitment to its armed forces community. It's the first and, so far, the only council in Wales to do so. Will you offer your congratulations to RCT, and how will you promote this best practice across...
Vikki Howells: 'There is no one to-day who would doubt that air pollution is a social evil and, being a social evil, should be dealt with immediately and drastically.' Those are the words of Gordon Macdonald, Flintshire-born former miner, MP and Governor of Newfoundland. Macdonald was speaking in the House of Lords, but he was doing so in 1955. As his words show, recognition of the dangers of air...
Vikki Howells: Cabinet Secretary, I was very excited to hear in the draft budget that you were considering a vacant land tax. This is a real issue in my constituency, often with small pieces of land being hoarded for decades, usually the sites of former chapels or workingmen's halls, for example, and the cost to local authorities of trying to take action being prohibitive. As well as the economic loss of...
Vikki Howells: Llywydd, Friday, 1 December marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the publication of the Beveridge report on 'Social Insurance and Allied Services'. This had been commissioned during the second world war by a committee responsible to Arthur Greenwood, then Minister with responsibility for post-conflict reconstruction. It's task was twofold: first, it aimed to carry out a survey of existing...
Vikki Howells: How is the Welsh Government prioritising the improvement of public transport links to enhance work opportunities for residents of the Cynon Valley?
Vikki Howells: I'd like to start by congratulating you, Cabinet Secretary, on the publication of your long-awaited economic action plan, and looking at the way it's cross-cutting across all aspects of Government, I think it very much was worth the wait. I welcome, in particular, the commitment to develop new structures to support the key foundational aspects of the Welsh economy. This is something that I,...
Vikki Howells: 5. How is the Welsh Government encouraging the development of strong links between universities and schools in Wales? OAQ5146
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I was very interested to read both of those documents. From my own experience, the school that I taught in had very strong links with the University of South Wales, which was very beneficial to our students. I also believe the Seren network—previously mentioned—although focusing on our most able and talented students, has wider benefits to schools too. But I...
Vikki Howells: As this important piece of work from the climate change committee reminds us, 15 per cent of Wales is covered by forestry. Our woodlands are an important ecosystem; a vital, environmental tool, an opportunity for healthy leisure and recreation and a valuable, economic resource. How we manage them is crucial to the sort of Wales we want to create.
Vikki Howells: I welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the early part of this inquiry and commend the committee and their clerks on a really useful report. I intend to address the bulk of my comments today to recommendation 5 on the way in which woodlands can serve us as an effective tool for regeneration and for engaging with local communities. I think this is key. It also echoes an important strand of...
Vikki Howells: I welcome the cross-cutting approach contained within this delivery plan. When I attended the taskforce’s evidence session in Mountain Ash, there was a breadth of ideas from local people about how we can make the Valleys an ever better place to live and work. This diversity is well captured in the delivery plan, which alongside the expected focus on economic improvement, jobs and skills,...
Vikki Howells: 1. Beth yw blaenoriaethau Llywodraeth Cymru ar gyfer gwella cysylltiadau trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus i drigolion Cwm Cynon yn 2018? OAQ51518
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I'm sure you'll be aware that I've been spearheading a local campaign within Cynon Valley to improve Sunday services. And, following on from that campaign, Arriva did double the number of services from Aberdare during the month of December, and this was welcome news for many of my constituents, who were able to access employment opportunities much further afield...
Vikki Howells: I'm speaking today in support of the final budget as laid down by the finance Secretary last month. This budget shows the commitment of the Welsh Government to invest in the vital public services communities across Wales rely on. This achievement is rendered even more remarkable when we remember the damaging impact of the current UK Government's policies. The Tory obsession with their...
Vikki Howells: Well, what I would say in reply to that is that we're currently doing an investigation in the Public Accounts Committee, and we've taken evidence from members of the Welsh Local Government Association who say that removing this ring fence will actually allow more flexible levels of support. So, I do think it's something that we need to really keep an eye on, but I don't think there's undue...
Vikki Howells: Cabinet Secretary, I recently met with Citizens Advice in my local area to discuss their work campaigning on pre-payment meters. I'm sure that you will be fully aware that people on pre-payment meters are some of our most vulnerable citizens, who are often disadvantaged to the tune of several hundred pounds a year. Rhondda Cynon Taf actually has the highest number of households with...
Vikki Howells: In 1994, 10 years after the miners' strike, the UK Government turned their attention to the last deep pit in south Wales. The target of their economic vandalism was Tower Colliery. Tower in Hirwaun was profitable—it had been commended by John Redwood, of all people, for its productivity. But Westminster still decided to strike its final blow against the once-mighty miners. The NUM Tower...
Vikki Howells: Leader of the house, I'd like to request an update from the Welsh Government on the financial inclusion strategy for Wales. I've recently received a very useful report from my local citizens advice bureau on the effects of the closure of the last bank in town on the community of Mountain Ash. As Aberdare has also been affected by closures with three large banks closing in the last...
Vikki Howells: Cabinet Secretary, I welcome your comments about people being central to the delivery of transport policy. In my constituency, there is a debate as to whether bus or train links would best serve one local community under any future metro scheme. What mechanisms will be built in for community consultation, so that services can be shaped to meet the needs and demands of local people?
