Jenny Rathbone: First Minister, you'll be aware that much of the city centre of Cardiff has already fallen to the mammon of redevelopment, and we currently face a threat to a very fine Victorian crescent at Guildford Crescent, which is owned by the Rapport family. Cardiff council is endeavouring to preserve this special area of architectural interest, and they will also need to apply to get the building...
Jenny Rathbone: I think this is a very important debate and, hopefully, the first of many, because it's a very complex subject. Before Christmas, I visited all the care homes for the elderly in my constituency, and by and large I was very impressed with the quality of the care that these homes provide and the dedication of their staff. My particular interest was prompted by the fact that one of the homes in...
Jenny Rathbone: What are the Welsh Government's priorities for achieving the objectives in 'A Healthier Wales'?
Jenny Rathbone: What plans does the Welsh Government have to increase breastfeeding rates?
Jenny Rathbone: I'm delighted about the extra money for food and fun and also the hope that all local authorities will take part in this important holiday scheme. I just wondered if you can have a look at the 'Appetite for Life' guidelines to ensure that what children are offered in school is what—you know, is being effective at ensuring that children are eating healthily in school. This is so important...
Jenny Rathbone: I didn't know Steffan very well, but I just wanted to rise very briefly to say what a wonderful man he was. My enduring memory of Steffan is meeting him just by chance out walking with his family on the Cardiff barrage one balmy October day during that Indian summer that we had. And it was one happy family, out with Shona and their son, enjoying the sunshine. But, for me, it was such a...
Jenny Rathbone: Trefnydd, I listened with interest yesterday to the statement by the UK environment Minister on measures to improve air quality across the UK, and whilst the measures to clean up wood and coal in open fires and stoves, as well as polluting substances in scented candles, carpets and paint, may be laudable, the major challenge in my constituency is pollutants from vehicles. So, I was...
Jenny Rathbone: I just wanted to add one or two comments to what's already been said by the Chair and other Members. Over the recess, I visited the site of the Grenfell Tower, and I think it remains a very devastating landmark to the disgrace that most of these residents have not yet been allocated a proper home, despite the fact that Kensington and Chelsea is one of the richest boroughs in Britain and they...
Jenny Rathbone: I think that whilst there may be some opportunities for import substitution in the medium term, the most immediate concern that any Government should have is to secure food security. So, with over three quarters of the food that we eat being imported from the EU, including half our vegetables and 95 per cent of our fruit being imported, this is all very significant. So, I'd be keen to know,...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much for your statement. We've heard earlier that DEFRA has a food chain emergency team that Lesley Griffiths is liaising with. I just wondered what consideration is being given to how we ensure local authorities have the raw materials for making school meals, as well as hospitals and nursing homes and residential homes, to ensure that vulnerable people are being properly fed....
Jenny Rathbone: What plans does the Minister have to update house building regulations to ensure all new homes are built in line with the Welsh Government’s climate change reduction targets?
Jenny Rathbone: Like Huw Irranca, I'd very much like to welcome Julie Morgan to the post of Deputy Minister because I'm sure that your huge experience will bring to bear excellence in this particular portfolio. I suppose I need to declare an interest as well: as a grandmother twice over, I have to probably be in the category of an older person, and we all face that music in due course. I think some of the...
Jenny Rathbone: No. I think I'm in the middle of saying something at the moment. I'll take it in a second, yes. I'm concerned that we're in the process of potentially lopping off bits of this very holistic approach to the way we determine our priorities, which was a path-breaking piece of legislation and that, potentially, this could undermine that holistic approach. So, I'm happy to take the intervention.
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, Helen Mary, for reminding me of what you actually said, because what I was going to say in response to that is that older people already have access to complain to the older person's commissioner if they don't think that they're being treated fairly, as well as all the other ways in which we can all complain. I think I have some concerns that we're focusing on one particular...
Jenny Rathbone: I'd like to wind up and say that I'm concerned about this piecemeal approach to human rights, and I'd like to see a much broader approach being taken. We're probably going to have to legislate, if we leave the European Court of Human Rights, and that seems to me a much better approach.
Jenny Rathbone: 2. What is the Welsh Government’s strategy for reducing the cost of agency working in the NHS? OAQ53329
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much, First Minister. Clearly, we have to replace people if members of staff become sick, particularly at very short notice. But it seems that there is an issue with the use of agencies that don't passport on what the health board is paying for those staff, as opposed to having bank workers who are able to come in at short notice. So, I think there's a particular issue here...
Jenny Rathbone: No change is not an option—the jobs haven't been invented yet for our primary school children to do, so we absolutely have to change the curriculum. It's pointless learning facts by rote when everybody can look up facts on their mobile phone. So, I completely support the philosophy and the approach of the Government on this matter. I just wanted to confine my remarks to a few questions....
Jenny Rathbone: I disagree with you one thing, where I think you were saying that poor diet shouldn't be a defining feature. Unfortunately, it is a defining feature of Wales. We are the most obese nation in Europe, and that is a pretty shocking statistic. So, we have to stop talking about it and we actually have to do things about it. I absolutely agree with the focus on the first 1,000 days; I agree that's...
Jenny Rathbone: 2. Thank you very much. How does the level of food waste generated on the Assembly's estate in the last quarter compare with the same period in the previous year? OAQ53293
