Leanne Wood: The concept of Better Jobs Closer to Home is one that Plaid Cymru supports fully. The outward migration of young people from the Valleys to other parts of Wales and to the UK is a blight on our communities and this problem is not isolated to the Valleys, because as we see in our predominantly Welsh-speaking communities in the west and the north of Wales, outward migration due to lack of...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. Can the First Minister confirm whether or not the Labour Party supports our membership of the European Economic Area?
Leanne Wood: We are running out of time, First Minister, and you have described Labour's position as flexible. Now, there's nothing flexible about £5 billion being wiped off the Welsh economy; there's nothing flexible about Welsh jobs and wages disappearing and never returning; there's nothing flexible about rolling the dice on our biggest international market for agriculture, steel and over 60 per cent...
Leanne Wood: You are the First Minister of Wales, you are also a member of the Labour Party, and I would imagine that you should have some influence. Now, Plaid Cymru MPs will tomorrow vote to save jobs and our economy by staying in the European Economic Area. Unlike Labour, we will stand up to the Tories and give it our utmost to stop an extreme Tory Brexit that will be so disastrous for Wales. If you...
Leanne Wood: What progress is being made in the reduction of fuel poverty?
Leanne Wood: I accept that the Welsh Government has ambitions for the curriculum, the target to reach 1 million Welsh speakers, and a renewal of the system for additional learning needs. I want to see many of these ambitions achieved. Without adequate funding, though, not only will these ambitions not be realised, but the next generation is going to be let down. According to the education front line,...
Leanne Wood: Well, it's fantastic when children have those new schools, but there are still way too many children who are being educated in inadequate and dangerous buildings. A recent UK-wide poll found that 90 per cent of teachers believe that well-built and designed schools improve educational outcomes. So, we have an obligation to ensure that our children are educated in buildings that do not harm...
Leanne Wood: But that won't ensure that every single child is educated in an adequate building, and that is the point that I'm making. This funding squeeze represents difficult decisions for schools right across Wales, not just in the Rhondda, but I recently wrote to schools in my constituency and I just wanted to note a couple of responses here today. One Rhondda primary school has had to make cuts of...
Leanne Wood: I recently wrote to you about a school that I visited where a large lump of concrete fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor, and had those pupils been in school at that time, there could've been a serious injury or even worse. Are you saying that that's not a problem?
Leanne Wood: But if they're not prioritising Welsh-medium education, what do you do then?
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. Does the First Minister agree with the environmental lawyers ClientEarth that the Welsh Government's plans for air quality lack clarity and detail?
Leanne Wood: Air pollution is responsible for 2,000 deaths per year in this country. It's a public health crisis, and it's your Labour Government's environmental legacy. That's why Plaid Cymru this week has launched a campaign, clean air week, and my colleague Simon Thomas yesterday launched a comprehensive report on hydrogen's role in the decarbonisation of transport. Now, I would urge the First...
Leanne Wood: I take it, then, from your answer, that you disagree with Labour-led Cardiff council that has called for a ban on polluting vehicles by 2030? Why is Labour so unable to be consistent on any single policy area? The lack of urgency, willingness and the lack of being able to do things differently is costing people's lives. You can laugh and mutter—it is costing people's lives. Now, you have...
Leanne Wood: I'm sure the leader of the house has seen the upsetting images of desperate people slumped over park benches and in shop doorways following the use of various substances. It's not good for anyone, but it's particularly bad for children to witness, I would argue. Now, in the light of recent stories of high numbers of deaths from drug overdoses in some of our former industrial towns, as well as...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. The Government's motion is one I can agree with. The Welsh White Paper offers the most comprehensive analysis of Brexit's effect on Wales, and this was, in large part, due to the excellent work of my colleague Steffan Lewis. Why, then, has the Welsh Government failed to stick to it? On powers, on the European Economic Area, and on a range of other issues, Labour is pursuing...
Leanne Wood: The Government's claim that they remain committed to the White Paper is a claim that they've made again today, and I want to remind them of the exact wording. On page 20, the White Paper says any attempt to claw back powers will be 'firmly resisted'. When we agreed to co-author this paper, we did not consider firm resistance to amount to an agreement with the Conservative Westminster...
Leanne Wood: —but the actions of his party do not reflect that. He says one thing and does another, and, for this reason, Plaid Cymru will be pressing both of our amendments to a vote, and we will be doing that to reflect the fact that, although we remain supportive of the White Paper, the actions of the Labour Party indicate that they are not. So, I therefore formally move both the Plaid Cymru...
Leanne Wood: Will you take an intervention?
Leanne Wood: Do you think leadership has got anything to do with this and were trade unions bound by the same legislation that you're talking about?
Leanne Wood: That's why we lost.
