Heledd Fychan: Someone wrote to me this week: 'Nothing is getting better; everything is getting worse day by day. Even some of the handouts that I have received are just not making any difference. What will change for me and what promises can you make?' Well, it's extremely difficult, because, even looking at this budget, the questions that we are being asked are not going to be solved or addressed. There...
Heledd Fychan: 1. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Climate Change regarding support for businesses in South Wales Central who are unable to obtain or afford insurance due to the ongoing risk of flooding? OQ58874
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister. This is a specific question in terms of insurance, because, for residential homes, there is an insurance scheme through a levy on insurance companies, namely Flood Re. Such a scheme isn't available for businesses, which means that many have very costly insurance or cannot obtain insurance to safeguard them from flooding. With the climate crisis meaning that floods are...
Heledd Fychan: More than one in three children across Wales live below the poverty line—that's 10 children out of a class of 30—and in some areas, the rate is even higher, and unfortunately, the situation will only deteriorate further as the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect increasing numbers of people. Wales has a higher child poverty rate than other UK nations, and although the Minister is...
Heledd Fychan: Trefnydd, as you will be aware, next month will mark three years since the devastating flooding as a result of storm Dennis, which particularly affected South Wales Central. The subsequent report by Natural Resources Wales outlined that one of the biggest challenges they were facing in responding to flooding was capacity, due to being under-resourced in terms of staff. A report published by...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for today's statement. Of course, there is excellent work happening every day in our NHS, but it's important that we all recognise today the huge pressures facing staff. I've received so much correspondence that has been heartbreaking over Christmas—and I'm sure everyone else has—from constituents who are patients, members of patients' families, but also from workers...
Heledd Fychan: May I ask, Trefnydd, for an oral statement from the Minister for arts and sport on the future of services that are not statutory in the areas of culture and sport? Specifically, we are seeing a number of local authorities consulting on proposed changes as a result of the financial settlement, and I am deeply concerned seeing many museums and sports facilities being proposed among those cuts...
Heledd Fychan: Diolch Llywydd. I welcome the statement today from the Minister, and in particular, my thoughts are also with those who were devastated by flooding. For any of us who have seen it first-hand, it is absolutely devastating. And, there are people to whom it has happened time and time again. Last week, there were two properties in my region that were affected twice—on Thursday and...
Heledd Fychan: I would like to ask a number of questions, please, Minister, because as we’ve said, this is an issue that is going to continue to affect communities across Wales because of the climate emergency. This isn’t something that is concerning for the future, but is evidence of climate change and its impact now. And we must do more, I believe, to support those living in at-risk communities. You...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for this afternoon's statement. Clearly, there are many things to be welcomed here. We certainly agree on the need to upgrade a number of schools. We know, travelling the length and breadth of Wales and visiting schools, that there are schools that truly do need investment. This is an important part of ensuring the learning environment, which is so important, as you've...
Heledd Fychan: 8. What discussions is the Minister having with councils in South Wales Central regarding the future of non-statutory services in light of the financial challenges that they are facing? OQ58953
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister. I understand that it is a matter for them to prioritise, but as we've heard from a number of Members, there is concern about that non-statutory. We are seeing budget consultations currently in my region where you have questions around, 'Do you want a museum or a library, or do you want social care?' Of course people are going to choose those services, but it also...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister. I'm very pleased to hear your commitment to having discussions this week. Clearly, this isn't an easy situation for anyone, choosing to strike, and it's regrettable that we've reached this point. But it's not unexpected either that we have reached this particular point; the unions made it clear that the Government's offer wasn't going to be acceptable to them. So, will...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Llywydd. May I ask you review your guidance in terms of hybrid working, given an unfortunate situation that arose in the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations Committee this morning? The start of the meeting had to be postponed as we were scrutinising the draft budget, as the Deputy Minister was unexpectedly not in attendance in the committee...
Heledd Fychan: May I echo my thanks to the committee for all of this work on this vitally important issue. And, similarly, I agree with a number of the points that Alun Davies made. This is an issue of equality, and I was going to raise similar points in terms of residents of South Wales Central. If you think about how—. I represent the Cardiff area, where it's far easier to change your practice; you can...
Heledd Fychan: Certainly, and, when I talk about young people, I'm not just talking about those in schools; it extends to cover that group too. And I would ask the Deputy Minister to reflect on that too. I see that time is against me, but, similar to Alun Davies, it's a matter of equality and how we're going to ensure, just in terms of the services that are meant to be there now, that they're...
Heledd Fychan: To solve a crisis, you have to acknowledge that there is a crisis. It's a lesson that we always tell our children, 'Be honest; we need to know the truth', but the same is true when it comes to public services. And the truth is that we know, all of us know, from our case work, about people who have lost their lives who would have lived. The headlines are there consistently, and that's what we...
Heledd Fychan: What we need to bear in mind is that this is happening in very challenging circumstances, and staff are openly admitting to being at breaking point. Visiting picket lines before Christmas, and speaking to nurses striking for the first time in their lives, they emphasised to me that patient safety was at the forefront of their minds when taking the decision to strike, even more so than pay....
Heledd Fychan: Unfortunately, things are deteriorating. We're seeing examples of people saying, 'Well, there's no point for me to phone the doctor', 'There's no point for me to phone for an ambulance because I'm not going to get there.' I'd like to focus specifically on the impact of the crisis on women, who, of course, count for over 50 per cent of the Welsh population. Again, studies show that the gender...
Heledd Fychan: The lack of investment in treatment for women's health conditions has resulted in cross-border agreement for treatment, but this does not always happen. Pregnant women, new mothers and those who have experienced pregnancy loss often need specialist mental health support, and, in Wales, even before the pandemic, these women have not always been well supported. Early research suggests that the...
