Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, my local health board, ABMU, has a deficit of over £3 million a month. In order to address this deficit, the health board are proposing to reduce the number of hospital beds that are available. Cabinet Secretary, given that bed occupancy rates in my region are nearly 90 per cent, do you consider the proposal to reduce the number of available beds to be safe?
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, we have discussed previously the case of my constituent, Paul Davies, the Paralympian who was facing the real prospect of missing Tokyo 2020 due to a lack of social care. Minister, with your help, I'm pleased to say that Paul Davies now has the support he needs in order to train for the Tokyo Paralympics. So, Minister, will you join me in wishing Paul Davies...
Caroline Jones: Yes. Thank you, Minister. We were able to get a very satisfactory outcome in Paul's case. But what about those who don't have their Assembly Member fighting their corner? Minister, what is the Welsh Government doing to ensure that every single disabled person in Wales is able to pursue their goals, their dreams, unhindered by their disability?
Caroline Jones: Thank you once again for that answer, Minister. Our future Paralympians are relying upon their carers—paid and unpaid—to support them while they concentrate upon winning the medals. But who supports the carers? Minister, sadly, we know that two thirds of unpaid carers have not been offered or requested a needs assessment, and three quarters of those same carers say they do not get any...
Caroline Jones: As I expressed yesterday, I'm truly devastated by the short-sighted decision of Theresa May's Government to abandon the tidal lagoon. There is total devastation also in my region among the people who are certainly voicing their opinions, and rightly so, too. Yet again, the Westminster Government have shown their utter contempt for my region, reneging on the promise to deliver electrification...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank Plaid Cymru for proposing the motion before us today. Human papillomavirus, or the easier to pronounce name HPV, is the most widespread sexually transmitted virus on the planet. It is believed four out of every five people will contract one of the 100 or so types of the virus at some point in their lives. In the vast majority of cases, the men and women infected show no...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, the whole of my region and communities breathed a sigh of relief when news broke of the deal being struck between Tata and ThyssenKrupp. It ended years of uncertainty for workers at Port Talbot and Deeside. So, the Port Talbot works is to get one of its blast furnaces repaired, helping to guarantee the jobs of the thousands of employees until 2026. However, I...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. The UK Government does indeed have a lot more to do for this sector. There's a strategy to use 3 million tonnes of steel in the next five years on infrastructure projects like HS2, Hinkley C and the upgrading of the UK motorways, but this doesn't go far enough, because every single infrastructure project should be using UK steel, and every defence...
Caroline Jones: Thank you, First Minister. While the steel industry is of national and strategic importance, we can't ignore the impact that it has on our environment. Living in the shadow of the Port Talbot plant, I see on a daily basis the effect the steelworks has on the environment, with huge plumes of acrid orange smoke released into the air that we breathe and thick layers of dust covering everything...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. It is a huge privilege to be able to stand here today and celebrate 70 years of the NHS. Without the national health service, I wouldn't be here today. Eleven years ago, a hard-working NHS doctor discovered my breast cancer and an army of other hard-working doctors, nurses, radiographers and pharmacists saved my life. Without the NHS, many of...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, the Swansea Bay city deal is built around and dependent upon digital connectivity. In the initial business case for the city deal, a new terabit capacity transatlantic cable between New York and Oxwich Bay was proposed but never made it into the final deal. The new link would have put Swansea Bay region at the heart of a digital superhighway, not just delivering higher...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, the UK Government is in turmoil and apparently determined to make such a complete hash of Brexit that we have no choice but to remain in the European Union, despite the wishes of UK voters. David Cameron abandoned the UK, unwilling to carry out the democratic wishes of the electorate. Theresa May has bungled every negotiation with the EU, and senior Tory...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, unfortunately, the Labour Party position is confusing. The Labour MP for Aberavon strongly believes Labour should commit wholeheartedly to a Brexit model that would see the UK continue to make financial contributions to the EU and accept many of its laws. The Labour leader in Westminster clearly isn't sure what he wants—one day, it is we need to remain in the single market...
Caroline Jones: Sorry?
Caroline Jones: Back again, is it? No answer. Okay. [Interruption.] Sorry?
Caroline Jones: With Plaid Cymru. Thank you. Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Thank you, First Minister. I note that your Government has today outlined proposals for farm subsidies should we ever leave the EU, and I welcome the proposals, which, according to the RSPB, signal a new way of working. The common agricultural policy has pitted conservationists and farmers against one another in the battle for...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, leader of the house, and for your earlier written statement. This year we celebrated the centenary of the first women being able to vote in parliamentary elections, and 90 years since we were given the vote on equal terms. Gender equality has come a long way in those 90-or-so years, but it hasn't come far enough. There is still a huge gender pay gap, unnecessary...
Caroline Jones: 5. Following the UK Government's decision not to back the Swansea bay tidal lagoon, what action is the Welsh Government taking to encourage and support energy production schemes in Wales? OAQ52490
Caroline Jones: 8. What recent discussions has the Cabinet Secretary had regarding alternative proposals for energy production in Wales? OAQ52489
Caroline Jones: What action is the Welsh Government taking to encourage closer working between health boards and local authorities through public service boards?
