Buffy Williams: 1. What support is available to children who have suffered sexual abuse and exploitation? OQ57540
Buffy Williams: Child sexual abuse has wide-reaching and long-lasting effects on physical and mental health. Children who have suffered multiple traumas may develop post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. During the first six months of 2021-22, there was a 65 per cent increase in the number of National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children child sexual abuse and exploitation...
Buffy Williams: I know how busy the Minister is, so I'm not sure he had a chance to watch the clip on Channel 4 News last week, covering how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting residents in communities like Penrhys in my constituency. I know, just from the e-mails and messages I received yesterday, that the £330 million package of support the Welsh Government has announced has been welcomed with open...
Buffy Williams: 7. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on communities in South Wales Central? OQ57777
Buffy Williams: Thank you, First Minister. I've worked in Rhondda supporting our communities for the last 20 years. Never have I felt as concerned or angry as I feel right now. Residents in my constituency are facing a cost-of-living crisis through no fault of their own. Families on the breadline have been thrown into deeper poverty, and working families are experiencing poverty for the first time. I'm not...
Buffy Williams: Minister, generation after generation in Rhondda have been let down by consecutive Tory Westminster Governments. Time and time again, we have lost employment as a direct result of their decisions. Our forefathers lost their industry. More recently, we've lost the tax office, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency jobs, Department for Work and Pensions offices and the local courts. We've lost...
Buffy Williams: Diolch, Mike, for bringing this debate forward. They say that nothing in life is certain but death and taxes. Well, I can tell the Chamber today that nothing is certain but death, taxes and churches and chapels in Rhondda. You can't drive from Cymmer up to Treherbert or from Trehafod up to Maerdy without passing a church or a chapel. I've had many a conversation with Rhys ab Owen about the...
Buffy Williams: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd, and I'd like to thank the Minister for today's statement. The dramatic scenes we saw at Tylorstown and Wattstown back in 2020 have had a dramatic effect on some members of our communities in Rhondda. The Minister is right, our priority has to be that people living and working near coal tips feel safe, not just now but in the future. We need to know that everything...
Buffy Williams: How will the Welsh Government support the most disadvantaged pupils in Rhondda?
Buffy Williams: Minister, last week, I met with Ruby, who is a sixth form pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhondda and a young member of the Senedd for Rhondda. I know the Minister will be visiting the school soon, following the exciting plans to build a brand-new, twenty-first century school, and I'm sure Ruby would love to give you a tour. We discussed a range of issues relating to day-to-day school life, but the...
Buffy Williams: Today I'll be speaking about the Rhian Griffiths Forget Me Not fund, which is a tribute fund in loving memory of Rhian Griffiths, who sadly passed away at the age of 25 in June 2012 from cervical cancer. Rhian was a much-loved daughter and sister, who was committed to her work as a nursery teacher. Throughout her time receiving treatment at Velindre, she was a very well-thought-of patient at...
Buffy Williams: 2. How is the Welsh Government working with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council to improve the lives of people in Rhondda? OQ57967
Buffy Williams: Thank you, First Minister. Never has the contrast between the actions of a Tory Westminster Government and a Welsh Labour-led Welsh Government been so clear. The Prime Minister has broken the law, has flouted COVID rules and has wasted billions on contracts for his mates. His Government isn't willing to support coal tip remediation efforts in Wales, and has short-changed us by £1 billion,...
Buffy Williams: 5. Will the Minister make a statement on the role of third sector organisations in achieving social justice in Wales? OQ57968
Buffy Williams: Thank you, Minister. We're incredibly lucky in Wales to have such a diverse range of services and support provided by the third sector. In Rhondda alone we have Rhondda veterans, Valleys Kids, Men's Sheds, the Arts Factory and RCT Women's Aid, amongst hundreds of others. Since becoming the Senedd Member, I've had the opportunity to visit Barnardo's Better Futures, Wales Air Ambulance and...
Buffy Williams: 5. What percentage of mandated health visiting contacts through the Healthy Child Wales programme were conducted in person in the last year? OQ58025
Buffy Williams: Last week was Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Week. Untreated perinatal mental health problems can have a devastating impact on women, their families and children, and remains the leading cause of maternal death in the first postnatal year. One in five mums and one in 10 dads are affected by perinatal mental health problems, and this has unfortunately increased as a result of COVID. During...
Buffy Williams: Will the First Minister make a statement on the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on residents in Rhondda?
Buffy Williams: Households in Wales are facing the biggest fall in disposable income in close to 50 years, with the poorest households hit the hardest, spending over a quarter of their income on energy and food. Considering this is a Tory cost-of-living crisis, the solutions and comments we've heard from the Tory Westminster Government are a joke. We've been told to get better jobs, we've been told that we...
Buffy Williams: What discussions has the Minister had with schools in Rhondda regarding the health and wellbeing of young learners?
