Caroline Jones: What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve transport links in South Wales West?
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, despite 18 years of your Government's economic policies, the former industrial areas of Wales, particularly those in my region, continue to be among the poorest in Europe—shocking when you consider the expanded EU contains former Soviet satellite states. EU structural funding hasn't worked. The policies haven't work. We have an opportunity post Brexit to implement...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Taxation, despite being one of the most divisive of topics, is one of the most important economic levers a Government can control. We all agree with the decision to give the Assembly powers over taxation. This has signalled the change from us being a spending institution to one now with responsibility for raising some of the funding we spend on public services. UKIP...
Caroline Jones: What recent discussions has the First Minister had with the UK Government regarding the prison estate in Wales?
Caroline Jones: First Minister, despite the Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010, nearly a quarter of patients in Wales wait longer than 28 days for a local primary mental health support services assessment, and 20 per cent of those patients will wait more than 28 days for treatment following the assessment. In recent months, we have had warnings about insufficient consultant psychiatrists and problems...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for your statement Minister. And I too would like to pay tribute to the work and dedication of Carl Sargeant in this area. As others have highlighted, outcomes for looked-after children are well below those of children who are not in our care system. We have to provide additional support for these children, who have already had the worst possible start in...
Caroline Jones: I, too, wish to offer my congratulations to you. Cabinet Secretary—sorry; Minister—people living within my region have to contend with some of the worst air pollution in the UK. For a few days this month, children attending school in Margam had to contend with PM10s at twice the safe daily limit. According to Public Health Wales, this is one of the biggest public health challenges facing...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, may I also welcome you to your role? We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our armed forces. The best way of repaying that debt is to ensure that we look after them and their families. Servicemen and women may need additional help with financial products due to multiple postings. The families of these personnel may require additional mental health care and support. The...
Caroline Jones: The UK Government’s budget announcement was not revolutionary and, while the additional funding for Wales is welcome, it was disappointing that there was no announcement on the Swansea bay tidal lagoon. It has been nearly a year since the Hendry review was delivered to the UK Government, yet we have been met by nothing but silence from UK Ministers. More worrying than the lack of any...
Caroline Jones: [Interruption.] Yes, certainly. All of us in this Chamber want to see Wales at the forefront of tidal energy, and I hope that the lack of news on this issue from the UK Government is not a signal of bad news to come. Despite the lack of clarity on the tidal lagoon, the autumn budget did deliver some good news for Wales. We have seen an increase to the Welsh budget as a result of the new...
Caroline Jones: Yes, and we have to manage what we get very, very carefully. The report highlights the fact that the Neath Port Talbot local authority area is the worst area in Wales for social mobility. The stark truth is that nearly a quarter of our population are living in poverty despite two decades of Welsh Government economic policies and in excess of £4 billion of structural funding from the European...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, like all mental health services, perinatal mental health services in Wales are facing the twofold pressure of increased demand and staff shortages. In evidence to the Children, Young People and Education Committee, nearly all local health boards highlighted the fact that a lack of sufficient clinical psychologists is impacting their ability to provide a comprehensive service...
Caroline Jones: I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic. As I highlighted in questions last week, poor air quality is one of the biggest public health challenges facing Wales. This is particularly true in the region I represent, South Wales West, which has some of the dirtiest air in the UK, where PM10s are often well above the safe daily limit, and at schools in my region we have had many...
Caroline Jones: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the impact of the UK Government's industrial strategy on the Swansea bay city deal? OAQ51425
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your answer, Cabinet Secretary. The UK Government's industrial strategy places a renewed focus on growing a data-driven economy and expanding research and development into artificial intelligence. The Swansea bay city region board are also focusing on the digital economy, and should be ideally placed to leverage the additional investment in future technologies. The biggest...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank the Chair of the Petitions Committee for bringing forward this debate today on an important issue facing my region. I live in Port Talbot, and I must say at the outset that I am not, in principle, opposed to the establishment of a new prison in Port Talbot—in principle. Despite the protestations of many opposed to the new prison, Wales definitely needs a new prison, but...
Caroline Jones: Yes.
Caroline Jones: So, are you trivialising crime and not thinking of the victim, then, David? Because what you're saying is: crime is trivial, or some crimes are trivial. They're not when there's a victim involved—
Caroline Jones: Well, you have just said it. We have to tackle overcrowding, and, unfortunately, this means building more prisons. Wales currently has five prisons, yet a large number of Welsh prisoners are housed in prisons in England. Some opponents of the prison claim that Wales is becoming the new Botany Bay, becoming a dumping ground for English prisoners. This is rubbish. There are nearly 2,000 Welsh...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, we lose an average of 2.5 days per employee to mental health-related absence each year. It is also estimated that presenteeism, where mental health issues lessen work performance, costs the UK around £15 billion a year. It has been estimated that optimal treatment for mental health disorders will only reduce the impact of mental health illness by 28 per cent. So, we have to...
