Delyth Jewell: He also spoke about how credit is denied, often, to older people and how, actually, people, because of their circumstances, can be affected even more. I thank the Minister for her contribution and her update on some of the ways in which the Government is acting on this. I welcome the news about the 'Claim what's yours' campaign. I would prefer automatic benefit payment, but I do welcome the...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Rhianon, I'm so delighted that you mentioned the talented Watkins brothers; their parents are very dear family friends. Music can change people's lives. We're even getting this from this short debate. Sadly, A-level music is too infrequently now being offered in schools, but young people need to be made aware of the exciting career prospects that exist for talented instrumentalists,...
Delyth Jewell: Trefnydd, I'd like a statement, please, about how decisions on NHS treatments are made in Wales. Over the weekend, a constituent of mine, Maria Wallpott, won her case in the High Court after the NHS in Wales had refused to fund a specialised treatment for her cancer that is available in Scotland and England. Now, I realise fully that the Government won't be able to comment on individual...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Last week, the head of Transport for Wales said that travelling on their trains was fundamentally safe. Welsh Government guidance states that the following measures need to be followed to ensure COVID safety: keeping distance from other people, avoiding crowded spaces, good ventilation when in close proximity to others, and wearing face coverings. So, are these...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, I fully agree that we need to be cognisant of the various challenges that the transport sector is facing. Regardless of whose fault these risks are, I struggle to see how it can be said that trains are fundamentally safe, but, maybe, at some times of the day, they're not. I saw last night that someone was quoting George Orwell on Twitter, but it was in relation to No. 10's...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, taking up that exact point, Wales could lose out on £5 billion due to being excluded from Barnett consequentials for HS2 spending. This, as you'll obviously know, represents around 5 per cent of the total expended expenditure of the project. It could, of course, be much higher if the cost spirals, which is likely. In the words of the Western Mail's Will Hayward, 'The decision to...
Delyth Jewell: Could you confirm, Minister, that the Welsh Government has received confirmation from Keir Starmer that a future Labour UK Government would provide Wales with the full Barnett share of HS2 expenditure, backdated to the first pound spent?
Delyth Jewell: This is a terribly timely debate as we are in the grips of what is already a difficult winter. Citizens Advice figures show that one in five people have already cut back on their food shop in the last three months to save money. One in 10 anticipate having to access crisis support this winter, like foodbanks or fuel vouchers. Crisis support, that is, to help them have things that they need to...
Delyth Jewell: First Minister, Boris Johnson has told people living in the UK that two vaccines are no longer enough to protect against the omicron variant. In Africa, 70 per cent of front-line health workers haven't had one dose. That, as we've been discussing, is in large part because of the intransigence of Governments like the UK and Switzerland, blocking attempts to waive patents on vaccines, when, as...
Delyth Jewell: On Sunday evening, Trefnydd, Boris Johnson's broadcast was on Welsh tv screens saying that everyone would receive a third vaccination by the end of the year. Now, at the time, this was an England-only announcement, and this isn't the first time for the Prime Minister to have made a statement broadcast on Welsh tv screens that was not relevant to us. The one in May was much worse, when Mr...
Delyth Jewell: I know the RSPCA is also concerned that trail hunting is acting like a smokescreen, allowing fox hunting to continue. For Members who aren't aware of how this works, trail hunting involves using the urine, body parts or carcasses of foxes, deer or hares being laid on a trail for dogs to follow, and, although traditional hunts, as we've heard, have been banned, training hounds to follow these...
Delyth Jewell: At the outset, I would say that I don't doubt the commitment of Ministers and the First Minister, who faced atrocious circumstances last year. This shouldn't be about personal attacks. I'm going to concentrate on a specific issue that I think exemplifies the need for a Welsh-specific COVID inquiry. On 27 April 2020, I was contacted by a care home manager who thought that COVID was brought...
Delyth Jewell: 1. What assessment has the First Minister made of hospital capacity in South Wales East? OQ57425
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, First Minister. As you've said, hospitals are under tremendous strain owing to the omicron variant of COVID-19. Dr Phil Banfield, the chair of the British Medical Association's Welsh consultants committee, has described how doctors are getting very distressed about their inability to assess patients in emergency departments, and that the sheer numbers of people getting this variant...
Delyth Jewell: I'd be grateful if the Trefnydd could please confirm the media reports that an urgent debate will soon be held about the change to cervical cancer screenings, after we've already heard this afternoon that over 1 million people signed petitions on this issue. I do think it's fundamentally important, because again, as we've heard, over the past week people in Wales, women in Wales, have been...
Delyth Jewell: 5. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government on coal tip safety regulations? OQ57426
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that answer. I know that the Welsh Government will be acutely aware of these concerns around coal tip safety. It's something I've raised many times in the Senedd, and I know that, as you have set out, there is work ongoing to find solutions to make the tips that are deemed highest risk, particularly, safe. I would be interested to gain an understanding of the Welsh Government's...
Delyth Jewell: Well, as we've already heard, health inequalities are as a rule symptomatic of other inequalities, with income usually the main factor. According to Public Health Wales, as Mike Hedges and others have referred to, people in the poorest areas of Wales live healthy lives for 18 years less than people in more prosperous areas, and people in those poorest areas are 23 per cent more likely to...
Delyth Jewell: 7. What discussions has the First Minister held with UK Government counterparts about measures to reduce COVID-19 infection rates? OQ57487
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, First Minister. As rehearsed already, the string of stories coming out of Westminster this past week about parties in No. 10 Downing Street, of an apparent culture in the heart of the UK Government that seems to have been intent on ignoring COVID laws and guidance—. Those stories will have had an indelible impact on public compliance, public support and morale. People will feel...
