Jenny Rathbone: Like the earlier speakers, I think we need to move with caution on this, not least because, as you say in your statement, every tax we get, every power we get devolved, appears to lead to a similar reduction in the amount of the block grant, and that could actually lead to a greater burden on Wales than we currently get from the mildly redistributive system that we have, even if it’s not...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, acting Presiding Officer, and thank you, Minister, for your statement. I think your approach is entirely sensible. If we have less money to work with, then it’s very important that we eliminate duplication of effort. Therefore, I welcome your proposal to create the Employability Skills programme, bringing all these other different programmes together. I particularly pay tribute...
Jenny Rathbone: Do you not think it’s an opportunity to refocus the sugar tax to make sure it embraced all sugar in all foods?
Jenny Rathbone: Returning to urban Wales, whilst it is true that there were 635 applications for 240 places at Cardiff High School, that is not really the substantive issue: there are always going to be particular schools where everybody wants to attend. The issue there is whether or not there is fraud going on in terms of people pretending they live at a particular address when they don’t. But I really...
Jenny Rathbone: I think, just to say, that we all have a responsibility to all our children. Whether we have children or not, they are our future. And the best way in which society looks out for children, once they’re of a school age, is in school. So, it seems to me that, while it doesn’t mean to say that just because a child is being home educated that they are at risk, the fact that they are not in...
Jenny Rathbone: My final question is: when, in June 2010, it was acknowledged that there were children involved and two officers actually visited the house and were then denied access, why were statutory powers then not used to actually ensure that the child was seen?
Jenny Rathbone: Diolch. Thank you for your statement. Of course, the things that David Melding cites as being very good for looked-after children—pastoral care, good tracking of pupils’ progress, and listening schools—are things that we need for all our pupils. Obviously, one of the issues is how we tackle coasting schools, which aren’t facing the challenges that teaching in difficult areas are...
Jenny Rathbone: I thank you for your statement. Obviously, the south Wales metro is absolutely crucial to the whole of the development of south-east Wales, so I’m a little bit concerned about the potential for slippage on this programme, not least because the Arriva contract for rail services runs out in October 2017, and yet, according to your statement, we’re not actually going to award a new contract...
Jenny Rathbone: The licence fee is not perfect, but it’s better than anything else that anybody else has proposed, because it’s absolutely vital that the BBC remains independent of government of all kinds, because one of its key roles is to hold politicians and Government to account, and it cannot be fettered by the idea that, because the BBC is robust in uncovering things that are untoward, they might...
Jenny Rathbone: 9. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government’s strategy for tackling child poverty in light of the recommendations in last week’s Joseph Rowntree Foundation report We Can Solve Poverty in the UK? OAQ(5)0034(CC)
Jenny Rathbone: One of my constituents alerts me to the fact that she’s having to pay £8 a week for her eldest child to settle into her first term at secondary school, which is less than 3 miles away but more than 2 miles away. I understand her anxieties at this very difficult moment in the child’s life, but this is a woman on housing benefit, on income support, and £8 a week is a huge chunk out of the...
Jenny Rathbone: I don’t want to repeat things that have already been said in the previous debate on Brexit that we heard earlier this evening, but I’m afraid that the contributions we’ve heard on this debate are symptomatic of the oversimplistic presentation of the situation that we are in and the risks that we face. I’m amazed, like many others, that so many farmers chose to vote to leave, with...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’d like to acknowledge the research support I’ve had from the National Assembly’s staff, including very clear legal advice. I’d also like to thank Catherine Iannucci, a final year student who did an effective day’s work gathering information about Cardiff Lettings agency, following up recent work done by Shelter on the state of play with letting...
Jenny Rathbone: I’ve just come from the celebration of school meals hosted by Lesley Griffiths—delighted to hear from the head of the school meals service for Bridgend that they’re pitching for the charter mark for their school meals service, which is what we enjoy upstairs in our canteen—and I wondered what help the national food procurement service is going to be able to provide schools so that all...
Jenny Rathbone: I note with interest that you obviously highlight the fact that we have an obligation to reduce our carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, and you also highlight the importance of the south Wales and north Wales metro, as well as getting all local authorities to deliver on joined up active travel. How do you think we’ll be able to measure the progress on these bits of the programme and...
Jenny Rathbone: 10. What are the implications for the Welsh economy as a result of Japan's statement on the potential loss of tariff-free trade with the UK due to Brexit? OAQ(5)0163(FM)
Jenny Rathbone: I’m sure we all do, but unfortunately many members of the UK Government seem to be pushing in the opposite direction, which is extremely worrying for the some 6,000 people who depend on jobs that have resulted from Japanese investment, including Panasonic in my own constituency up in Pentwyn. So, I just wondered how we are going to be able to influence the UK Government to ensure that we...
Jenny Rathbone: For the benefit of Simon Thomas, I’d just like to remind him that, when the Welsh Labour Government sets up a Diamond review, it is not a good idea to second guess what its recommendations are going to be in our manifesto beforehand. All stakeholders were represented and therefore it was—. You know, let’s hear the evidence and then we discuss what we’re going to do about it. Thank...
Jenny Rathbone: 2. What role does the First Minister see for councils in building social housing? OAQ(5)0187(FM)
Jenny Rathbone: Cardiff council is committed to building 600 new homes over the next 10 years, built to the highest energy standards, and that’s created an extra 250 jobs. This is great news, as it’s the first time that Cardiff council has built homes for a generation, but more needs to be done. Even the Tories are recognising that there is a housing crisis. Whether they’ll actually do anything about...
