Jenny Rathbone: I want to use this opportunity to focus on one aspect, which is children in poverty. I know that other people have also mentioned it, but I just wanted to look at the way in which we look after our children. Prue Leith, one of the most iconic cookery experts, said at the Hay Festival last week that food is a demonstration of love and, frankly, we don't love our children enough, because too...
Jenny Rathbone: So, these are some of the complex issues that would be great if we had a really good strategy that we could all be scrutinising. Thank you.
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much for your statement and for your earlier remarks, particularly about the fair pay for supply teachers—that is very welcome. I just wanted to probe a little bit further on how standard is it to have lesson planning and evaluation done by teachers collectively, appropriately, in their year group or key stage, because we've all read the alarming figures about burn-out of the...
Jenny Rathbone: I very much liked the focus in your report on the fundamental motor skills that children need to develop at an early age, and the misconception that all the skills that they require will develop naturally in childhood just by running around, and this is absolutely incorrect. Just as one of your witnesses says, you wouldn't expect people to learn to read by chucking a bag of letters at them...
Jenny Rathbone: 6. What plans does the Welsh Government have to use public procurement to strengthen local businesses? OAQ54039
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much, First Minister. Obviously, the declaration of a climate emergency means we have to reduce our carbon emissions in everything we do, and that, of course, includes reducing food miles. When we are aware that the front runner for the Tory party leadership seems determined to take us out of the European Union with or without a deal on appropriately named Halloween day, when...
Jenny Rathbone: As you say, the single biggest problematic source of air pollution is road traffic, so it isn't sufficient to simply move from diesel to petrol, or even, indeed, to electric cars. You still get loads of particulates from the wheels. You mention that you're getting these feasibility studies from Cardiff and Caerphilly councils on how they're going to achieve legal limits for nitrogen dioxide...
Jenny Rathbone: I agree with Neil McEvoy that we have got to change the way we do things. Clearly, we do need to introduce electric trams and buses. I absolutely agree that we need to highlight the need to change planning policy, so that we're not building housing developments in areas where there is insufficient public transport to enable people to get around, but I would invite Councillor McEvoy to focus...
Jenny Rathbone: Okay.
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you for that intervention. I think when the facts change, we have to change our mind, and I think that is why the First Minister made the right decision on the M4. I think that we will need to revisit the local development plan, because the climate emergency is now much worse than we had estimated when the local development plan was implemented. So, it does require us to look at...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much, Minister, for your statement. I'm interested in the fact you state quite openly that the Government—there are certain matters beyond your control. So, the Aberthaw power station is obviously—we can't close it; we have to wait for the UK Government to do the right thing. But it's great to hear that we already have 48 per cent of our energy from renewable sources, and...
Jenny Rathbone: I understand the quasi-judicial hoops that the Welsh Government had to jump through in order to arrive at its decision, which would have made it very difficult to have a plan B up its sleeve, because that would have been seen as prejudicing the decision that the First Minister has made. So, I disagree with Rhun ap Iorwerth that we, somehow, have to convert this whole problem into a new...
Jenny Rathbone: Okay. But in the future we will have 5G infrastructure that will enable us to plan the minutiae of thousands of daily journeys and deploy the public transport system to meet that demand. But we are some way off that for now. So, we absolutely have to get on with the issues that will relieve the congestion today. So, I'd like to press the Government on the timelines for the things that the...
Jenny Rathbone: 10. What were the outcomes of the Minister's recent visit to Ireland which sought to promote links with Wales? OAQ54121
Jenny Rathbone: Janet Finch-Saunders raised important issues, but I just want to look at this from a slightly different angle. In the context of the climate emergency that we've declared, we obviously need to reduce our food miles and encourage more people to grow their own or source their food locally. So, I just wondered, when you're considering surplus assets, whether you might consider the provision of...
Jenny Rathbone: I agree with you, Minister, that trade relations with Ireland are really important to our country. I just wondered if you'd had the opportunity to mention to all the people you met something very significant that happened 25 years ago this month. It's something called the Loughinisland massacre, where six civilians were killed and five wounded in a pub while they were watching the world cup....
Jenny Rathbone: I agree with what has been said by all Members who have spoken so far, and particularly Helen Mary. I agree that we as political parties have a duty to ensure that the candidates parties put up endeavour to reflect the diversity of the communities they're hoping to serve. I was very proud on Saturday night to see our new Cardiff mayor on stage, on a world stage, for Cardiff Singer of the...
Jenny Rathbone: Yes, I think it's perfectly possible for large companies to have some designated days set aside for public duties and that doesn't need to be to be a council representative, it could be to be on a governing body of a school or to work in a voluntary organisation, advising them on how to do their bookkeeping or whatever it might be. I think a lot of business in the community does support that...
Jenny Rathbone: But that can be done behind the scenes; it doesn't need to be done by making those people subject to criticism.
Jenny Rathbone: 9. Will the Minister make a statement about the number of antibiotic resistant infections recorded in the last available 12-month period? OAQ54185
