Hannah Blythyn: I thank Dawn Bowden for her questions. She's right to raise the investment that is going into Merthyr Tydfil, and will continue to do, and also the importance of those communities that serve—the smaller communities that are vital to the people who live in and around them as well. In terms of actually who qualifies for it and how that money is allocated, in terms of the town-centre...
Hannah Blythyn: Thank you, acting Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm afraid I have to start by saying that I understand the frustration when it comes to the situation with their towns within their local area, but I absolutely reject the Member's assertion that the Welsh Government is not being ambitious in this area. I'm absolutely committed to driving creativity, to working with the town centre action group to...
Hannah Blythyn: Can I thank Vikki Howells for her question and her interest? I know she's very passionate about this agenda and this area in serving her constituents. In terms of the empty properties, I guess there are two elements and I'm not specifically clear which one the Member has referred to, so I'll do my best to try and address both. One is whether it's for mixed use or just for retail, well,...
Hannah Blythyn: If I respond to the points around Pontypridd BID and the role that they played in significantly driving forward the regeneration of Pontypridd town centre. We've talked previously about the importance of having that literal buy-in on the ground from people that live and work there to ensure the success of any regeneration project for a town or a community. We're committed to continue to...
Hannah Blythyn: Thank you, acting Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to propose this motion today and outline why it should receive support from Members of the Senedd. We all do, and very much should, remember the fire and incredibly tragic loss of life at Grenfell Tower over three years ago. We know from the public inquiry that the rapid spread of the fire and the resulting loss of life was largely due...
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch. I'd like to thank all Members for their contributions to this debate today. I'm grateful for the comments of both John Griffiths, in his capacity as Chair, and Mick Antoniw, in his capacity as Chair, particularly for the support and the important work with the ELGC committee to take forward the work we're doing and, also, the work on the expert group recommendations. I look forward to...
Hannah Blythyn: Thank you again, acting Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you for this opportunity to explain the background to the statutory instrument consent motion in relation to the Waste (Circular Economy) (Amendment) Regulations. I'd also like to thank the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for its work scrutinising the statutory instrument consent memorandum and to acknowledge the...
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I thank both Members for their contributions to this debate, and can I thank Mick in his capacity as Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for their support on this important piece of legislation? I also welcome Janet Finch-Saunders's support for the legislative consent motion, but the Member raises a number of issues that are beyond the remit of...
Hannah Blythyn: Thank you, deputy acting Presiding Officer. I am pleased to be able to make this statement today on recycling and the green recovery. Over the last 20 years, we have invested £1 billion in recycling infrastructure. Approaches like our universal household food waste collection are the envy of others and mean we have the ability to collect and recycle much more. Last month I launched the Be...
Hannah Blythyn: Can I firstly thank the Member for her warm words and joining me in recognising the work that our collection crews have played and the role they played the length and breadth of the country and in communities in our constituencies, not just during the pandemic, but throughout the year as well, and the role that they play there? The Member asked some questions around the challenge of...
Hannah Blythyn: The Member says we're still talking about taking action on a DRS scheme, we're talking about EPR and we're talking about action on single-use plastics. Well, to be clear, I'm not just talking about it—I'm taking action on it, and this Government is taking action on it. This is why we are not only going further than elsewhere in the UK in taking action on reducing single-use plastics, we're...
Hannah Blythyn: May I start by thanking the Member for his very thoughtful and reflective contribution there? I think you're absolutely right in terms of how we feel like we've almost gone full circle in terms of that consumer journey, where it was about convenience, and then we've realised, actually, convenience comes at a cost in a different sense as well—so, looking and thinking more now about actually...
Hannah Blythyn: I thank the Member for her questions. If I first touch on the issue of wet wipes, it was remiss of me not to pick that up in my response to Janet Finch-Saunders as well. The single-use plastics consultation here is perhaps a first phase in a phased approach at tackling problematic single-use plastics, and, within that consultation, we invite people to suggest perhaps things that they think...
Hannah Blythyn: There are no plans for reviewing the number or sizes of community councils. The Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013 places primary responsibility for this with principal councils. We are supporting town councils to exercise their current powers in delivering for their local communities in response to COVID-19, including, through access to Welsh Government funding schemes and our...
Hannah Blythyn: Diolch. Each November, as we pause for Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, we are reminded of the tremendous bravery and sacrifices of our past and present armed forces and their families. It's a testament to that service and sacrifice that the motion before us was tabled with cross-party support and it's right that we collectively reflect and recognise our armed forces communities here...
Hannah Blythyn: We are targeting support for low income families through recognised programmes like Flying Start and Families First and new initiatives outlined in our Income Maximisation Action Plan which will help families tackle the acute financial pressures that many are experiencing as a result of the pandemic.
Hannah Blythyn: Our income maximisation plan outlines new cross-Government measures to alleviate child poverty in Ogmore and across the rest of Wales. These will ensure practical steps are taken to help families maximise their income, reduce essential living costs and support financial resilience. It will be undertaken alongside existing child poverty programmes.
Hannah Blythyn: May I thank the Member for his question? Ensuring that families in Wales are aware and, importantly, are able to access the support they're entitled to rightly features prominently in our income maximisation plan, published just this month. We did put a range of actions into practice in the short term. We've put into practice a communications and awareness strategy to make sure people and...
Hannah Blythyn: Can I thank the Member for her question, and send my best wishes to the year 6 students, and hope they enjoy their experience watching the Senedd in practice today? And hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, they'll actually be able to come and sit in the gallery and watch in person as well. Let me tell the Member, in answering her question, clearly we're working across Government to not...
Hannah Blythyn: We know and recognise that our towns matter. We have provided £9 million to support town centres during the pandemic – £5.3 million for adaptations to enable safe reopening and £3.7 million in specific support for valleys towns. This is in addition to the £90 million Transforming Towns package of support I announced in January.
