Leanne Wood: The Rhondda Fach in my constituency is an area that has been poorly served in terms of transport links. It’s got a bypass that stops halfway up the valley and no rail links. People, particularly those living in the northern-most communities, feel cut off and let down. That’s a sentiment that has been exacerbated by a recent bombshell that they could lose the Rhondda Fach Sports Centre as...
Leanne Wood: Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's substance misuse strategy?
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. The First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Damian Green, said yesterday, in terms of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, and I quote, ‘talk of a power-grab is…behind us.’ Do you agree with him?
Leanne Wood: Well, it’s encouraging to hear that you had a more positive meeting, but Plaid Cymru still sees that there is a risk of a power grab in this Bill. Clause 11 of the Bill places restrictions on the devolved administrations on competence relating to EU law, although that’s not the only part of the Bill where we’ve got concerns, as you will be aware. The meeting between Theresa May and...
Leanne Wood: If you agree, First Minister, that leaving the EU without a deal is a real prospect and that it would be, indeed, bad news for Wales, then the next obvious question that I have for you is what it is you’re going to do about it. How is the Welsh Government preparing for every possible Brexit scenario? You’ll know that yesterday the Farmers’ Union of Wales indicated its support for...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, later today, your Government is making a statement on minimum alcohol pricing. Now, I’m aware of the public health arguments and the need to reduce deaths from cancer in particular. But public health policy should be looking at all problematic substance use. What assessment has your Government made of the impact of minimum alcohol pricing on the use of other...
Leanne Wood: I have some sympathy with the arguments that you’ve just outlined. But from your answer it doesn’t appear as though any assessment has been made between that link, which I hope very much is an oversight, First Minister. We need to reduce drug-related deaths as well as alcohol-related deaths. Now, drug-related deaths have reached a record high in Wales and England. According to latest...
Leanne Wood: Well, locking up the dealers hasn’t worked so far, and those powers are outwith your control. What you do have control over is health. Now, a harm-reduction approach has proven to be the most effective at reducing drug-related deaths. And, in your substance misuse strategy, you claim to be committed to a harm-reduction approach. We won’t know whether the actions that you’ve taken are...
Leanne Wood: Today’s update on the Brexit negotiations reflects some of the messages coming from the Welsh Government following the recent JMC(EN) and touches on some of the issues that I raised with the First Minister last week. There’s mention that the UK Government, and I quote, ‘realises it needs to work far more closely with the devolved administrations’, and that the Welsh Government—and...
Leanne Wood: 2. What efforts is the Commission undertaking to promote political education? (OAQ51233)
Leanne Wood: What is the Cabinet Secretary doing to ensure that financial aid from the European Union is maximised?
Leanne Wood: Commissioner—sorry, Llywydd—a healthy democracy means engaged and informed citizens and I’ve been raising the issue of political and democratic education in schools for some time, but we’ve also got a democratic information deficit amongst adults. In both 2016 and 2017, major surveys have suggested that just over a third of Welsh voters do not know that health is a devolved issue,...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. Today’s Plaid Cymru debate addresses one of the main social issues of our time. It’s now beyond doubt that the roll-out of universal credit is causing increased hardship, and the fact that universal credit has been accompanied by drastic welfare cuts has made the inherent problems in the scheme even worse. Citizens Advice has established that universal credit recipients...
Leanne Wood: [Continues.]—complaining from the sidelines without any ability to mitigate, to modify or to change policies. I give way to the Cabinet Secretary.
Leanne Wood: I don’t have that figure to hand. Would you like to tell me?
Leanne Wood: But the point is the principle, isn’t it? While Westminster—[Interruption.] While Westminster are making—. While Westminster are making decisions that are increasing homelessness and pushing the people that you are responsible for into hardship, this is something that you should be prepared to consider. Instead of the Westminster way—[Interruption.]
Leanne Wood: Instead of the Westminster way, which is failing so many of our citizens, we should be prepared to take responsibility ourselves, and the Assembly should support a Welsh way on welfare. A Welsh way would be based on evidence, on humanity and on justice. That would build a safety net that supports those in need: dignity instead of debt, hope instead of hunger—why not?
Leanne Wood: 11. Will the First Minister make a statement on the White Paper on the proposed Welsh language Bill? OAQ51300
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to add to the tributes to Carl Sargeant, again, after expressing my condolences and respects to his family and friends and colleagues inside this Chamber and, indeed, across the country. I was elected to this institution in 2003, the same year as Carl Sargeant, and, from my perspective, something that I associate him with is his rootedness and his authenticity. He...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, I've already set out my view over the weekend regarding the difficult situation facing the Welsh Government and, of course, Welsh politics as a whole. Plaid Cymru is not prepared to make premature statements about anyone's political future; the issues have not yet been dealt with and the decisions that were made have not yet been examined. We do believe that...
