Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Counsel General. The Welsh public voted in favour of devolution in 1997. After that initial mandate, we've had 12 further democratic events that have allowed the Welsh people to confirm that view—in the form of a further referendum in 2011, five Senedd elections, and six general elections. The referenda and all the elections returned clear pro-devolution majorities. Now, you'll know...
Delyth Jewell: What assessment has the Minister made of the value for money of converting the A465 from Dowlais Top to Hirwaun in light of projections that its cost has increased significantly?
Delyth Jewell: Jan Morris led an extraordinary life—an explorer who opened windows onto other worlds with her writing, a pioneer who traversed new terrain and opened doors of possibility. So many of us will be familiar with her evocative books about Venice and Trieste, but it is her magnificent work The Matter of Wales that led readers to discover the hidden treasures of our own nation, her despairs and...
Delyth Jewell: Wales was a community for Jan—a community brought together by tragedy and by hope. In an article written in 2011 to mourn the lives lost in the Gleision colliery, she said that her eyes were full of tears, as she extended her love from one end of Wales to the other—from Llanystumdwy near the Dwyfor river to unknown friends who were mourning in the Swansea valley. That mourning for Jan...
Delyth Jewell: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the projected cost of dualling the A465 between Dowlais and Hirwaun? OQ55986
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, First Minister. When the project was signed off in a stage 3 scheme assessment report in 2017, the projected construction cost was £308 million, with a total project cost approximated at £428 million. Recently, the Western Mail revealed something similar to what you just said, that the cost of construction had now increased to, as they put it, £550 million, though I take the...
Delyth Jewell: Will the Minister make a statement about the mental health of children and young people in South Wales East?
Delyth Jewell: Our young people have faced so many strains this year, uncertainty about exams, not being able to see friends, their normal routines just disappearing, and we know, as has been said, that the pandemic will have taken an inevitable toll on their mental health. But the most recent figures on NHS spending for 2018-19 show that less than 1 per cent of NHS funding was spent on children and young...
Delyth Jewell: This debate is about the food sector, but what I'd like to talk about first is the effect that the absence of food has on too many people in our society. Because, although the UK is the seventh richest economy in the world, too many households struggle to afford the food that they need to stay healthy, and that has an effect on not just people's physical health, their alertness and strength,...
Delyth Jewell: The First Minister and his colleagues have had to make extremely difficult decisions during the pandemic, and all of us realise how serious the situation is now in Caerphilly and across the south-east. I've just listened to the exchange between you and Laura Anne Jones, First Minister. I think there is a disconnect between the severity of the situation and some public attitudes towards this,...
Delyth Jewell: This week, the roll-out of a vaccine has started and there is hope on the horizon for many people. But we are still looking at a few challenging months ahead, and the elderly and the young will feel this particularly. Perhaps it's the elderly and younger people who been most affected by loneliness and isolation over the past few months, losing out on experiences in the company of their...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch. I'd like to thank the Minister for his statement and put on record, too, my thanks to Lord Burns and his team for their work in completing the report. M4 commuters and the communities surrounding this stretch of the M4 deserve action after years of discussion that began, of course, in the 90s. Now, we in Plaid Cymru welcome the recommendations of this report. For some time, Plaid...
Delyth Jewell: Today, this Senedd will reject legislative consent for the internal market Bill, knowing in advance that the UK Government will not honour the Sewel convention. I understand the UK Government has made a last-minute offer to consult the devolved administrations before using delegated powers. They must think we're fools if we'll believe that one, as they've already made clear they'll ignore the...
Delyth Jewell: This is a really important matter raised by the Member. I have a question about priorities for funding in the area, because transforming town centres and providing better public transport is obviously key. I've been raising concerns with the Government about the cost of dualling an 11-mile stretch of road on the A465, which has increased from the original estimate of £428 million to £1.2...
Delyth Jewell: Just some brief comments.
Delyth Jewell: Under the regulations, Minister, the evictions will only be prevented until 11 January, as you've set out. Of course this is welcome, but we also all know that, by mid January, we could well be in an even worse situation with the pandemic than we are now. And realistically, the impact of vaccination won't be felt until well into the spring in the best-case scenario. So, surely, we simply...
Delyth Jewell: 9. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to prevent land contamination in South Wales East? OQ56058
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Minister. I've written to you on a number of occasions about the activities of the Bryn Group near Gelligaer, who have contaminated land by putting shredded plastic through the soil and who appear to have been spreading grass seed to cover that up. Now, Caerphilly council and NRW have said that there's no problem with the site, despite all the evidence that I and others have sent...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Lywydd. Minister, over the past 20 years, the number of homes in Wales privately rented has more than doubled. Although there was a small decline over recent years, it's still true to say that over 200,000 homes are rented by private landlords, and, as a percentage term, this was the only tenure that had increased over that period. Homes owned by the person living in the home and...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Minister. I know that we are agreed on a number of these areas. I think, indeed, that there is a general consensus that we need to reverse that trend that I've just set out with the need, as you've said, for more social housing and more support for young people to escape from renting—for some people, they choose to rent, but some people are forced into it and we need to ensure...
