Laura Anne Jones: Will the First Minster provide an update on how current COVID-19 guidelines are affecting schools?
Laura Anne Jones: May I just declare that I am still a Monmouthsire county councillor? Thank you for that answer to Delyth's supplementary, First Minister. And, further to that, can I just say that providing more Welsh-medium school places across Wales is critical to achieving the Welsh Government's target of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. So, I am sure the First Minister will join me in welcoming the news...
Laura Anne Jones: Business Minister, I'd like to call for a statement by the Minister for Economy, please, reacting to the news that one of our major cities, Newport city centre, has more empty retail units now than any other city centre in Britain. Llywydd, in its heyday, Newport was the beating heart of retail in Wales—people flocked to the city centre to do their shopping from far and wide. We now see a...
Laura Anne Jones: What plans does the Welsh Government have to increase the number of car-charging points on older housing stock?
Laura Anne Jones: Minister, the number of FE teachers has fallen by over 2 per cent between 2020 and 2021. Minister, with the new moneys announced, which are welcomed, what strategy do you have in place to reverse this trend?
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move this Welsh Conservative motion in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. I welcome this opportunity today to open this incredibly important debate at a critical time for education in Wales. I do find it concerning that the Welsh Conservatives have had to use their time allocation to talk about education as it's the only opportunity that we've had...
Laura Anne Jones: No worries. I could see by your face that something was wrong.
Laura Anne Jones: Absolutely. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move this Welsh Conservatives motion in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. I welcome this opportunity to open this incredibly important debate today at a critical for education in Wales. I do find it concerning that the Welsh Conservatives had to use their time allocation to talk about education, as it's the only opportunity we've had to...
Laura Anne Jones: The Welsh Government's persistent per-pupil shortfall between Wales and other parts of the UK is also just not good enough. But it's not surprising from a party that made us the only country in the UK to have ever cut an education budget. Until the recent budget, for every £1 spent in England, Wales receives £1.20. As a result, education spending per pupil in Wales should be at least...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and, thank you, for your statement, Minister. Here we are again talking about another seismic change in education, which will have huge ramifications for years to come, if change is deemed to be necessary. There should be very positive changes if all this does go ahead. The current form of the school day has been around for decades, as you say, Minister,...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. It will be six years in June since the people of Wales voted to take back control and leave the European Union. Britain is now two years into regaining our freedoms, and, although hampered by a pandemic, we are starting to see what the fruits of a truly independent global nation can achieve. It is time we started to see the potential of what Brexit has...
Laura Anne Jones: 3. What consideration did the Minister give to local authorities' responsibilities for road maintenance when setting the budget for the climate change portfolio? OQ57574
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you. Rural areas like my colleague Peter Fox's constituency of Monmouth—and I'd just like to declare an interest as a Monmouthshire county councillor still—tend to have very large road networks that need a lot of upkeep, yet we see the Welsh Government has allocated no additional funds through the resilient roads grant. If the Welsh Government are going to persist with the agenda of...
Laura Anne Jones: I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak in this Chamber once again on obesity, and I thank James Evans for bringing this to the floor today and shining a spotlight on the absolute need to tackle obesity head on once again. Obesity isn't just a cosmetic problem; it's a complex disease and concerning medical problem that increases the risk of major health complications, including many...
Laura Anne Jones: Again, I thank Gareth for bringing this important debate to the floor of the Senedd today—it's crucially important for children the length and breadth of our country. The crime survey for England and Wales estimated that one in 100 adults—nearly half a million people aged 18 to 74—have experienced physical neglect before the age of 16. To compound this, there were 160,000 offences...
Laura Anne Jones: Sorry, Minister, just a short one. Just to say that you're completely right, obviously, about the joint working; we're only going to tackle this if we do all work together on this and that includes working with UK Government and the police, as you've just outlined, and particularly on social media and how easy it is to stalk someone using social media, be it by being pinned on a map on...
Laura Anne Jones: I want to thank Russell George and my Conservative colleagues for bringing forward this important subject for debate today. Cancer is something that, unfortunately, touches everyone in society, whether it be through a family member, friend, someone where we live, we all have a story of how cancer has affected us or someone we love in one way or another. My own family has been affected by...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, and thank you, Mabon, for raising this important subject. It's something I've raised continually ever since I've been a politician. And, as chair of the cross-party group on sport, I want to reassure you that there's complete consensus across this Chamber that facilities are an absolute key priority for all of us. They need to be changed. They are in disrepair, they are completely...
Laura Anne Jones: 3. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the rollout of the new curriculum in Wales? OQ57662
Laura Anne Jones: First Minister, with its implementation drawing nearer, none of us want to see the new curriculum fail, so how are you going to address the research commissioned by your very own Welsh Government that suggests that only 53 per cent of education practitioners feel well placed to design their own curriculum ready for September 2022, with 67 per cent of them believing that their school is in...
