Jenny Rathbone: So far, everybody's talked quite a lot about COVID and what it's told us, but nobody's mentioned the elephant in the room, which is the end of the European Union transition period, happening in less than a month. In that small amount of time, we potentially face the most momentous upheaval in our food supply chains, which will make queues at supermarkets in March look like a tea party by...
Jenny Rathbone: Well, Minister, I agree with the Member for Newport West that we need action not options, because we know that this is a really serious problem, and there are many things that are going to concentrate our minds, not least the landmark inquest into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, which may well find that air pollution was the main cause of her death. And we have similar illegal levels of air...
Jenny Rathbone: I can't hear, unfortunately. He's muted.
Jenny Rathbone: I'd just like to say I share the concerns of Mark Isherwood, and it is not just looked-after children who are being targeted by county lines. I'm afraid it's a lot of other vulnerable young people as well. So, I would welcome very much a statement from the Government on that matter. I just wanted to raise another matter, which is that the people of Wales are very generous at giving to...
Jenny Rathbone: I was surprised—. No, I wasn't surprised with what Caroline had to say, because she said something last week that was equally appalling in my view. I cannot understand why it is derisory that a child has no understanding of what is going to happen to them aged nine when they start menstruating. About 30 per cent of all children do not know what is happening the first time they menstruate,...
Jenny Rathbone: This is all very much welcome food for my ears, as I've been arguing the case for universal free school meals in one way or another for quite a while. So, I really do welcome the level of agreement across the three parties on the importance of this issue. There is some disagreement at the edges, which we could hammer out in due course. But I think, picking up on some of the points that have...
Jenny Rathbone: This is a first for a trade agreement. It's unprecedented for a Government to enter into a trade treaty agreement that adds layers and layers of bureaucracy to selling or buying goods that we may wish to exchange with our European neighbours. Most trade deals remove barriers to trading, not increase them. This self-imposed cross we now have to bear comes on the back of an obsession about...
Jenny Rathbone: I will—with sending young people to the opposite ends of the earth, and not even allowing people in those host countries to visit ours. That is just typical of the way in which I fear the future beckons, which is a UK Government that simply has no respect for the interests of our different nations, but rather the narrow interests of the Tory party and its chumocracy in London and the south-east.
Jenny Rathbone: 2. What plans does the Welsh Government have to secure investment in electric vehicle battery production in Wales? OQ56105
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much for that information—that's very encouraging. This may seem a slightly odd question in the middle of this pandemic, but we do know that we have to stay focused on a green recovery, and to meet our climate and air pollution targets as well. We know that all new vehicles sold in the UK will need to be powered by renewable technology by 2030, and therefore existing vehicle...
Jenny Rathbone: I just wanted to return to the tragic death of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, who was one of my constituents. Obviously, I completely share the concerns expressed by the First Minister in response to questions from the leader of Plaid Cymru, but this could not have come at a worse time for the community, when everybody's in lockdown, when everybody's very tense about the virus as well as the...
Jenny Rathbone: 3. What priority is the Welsh Government giving to funding youth services in next year’s budget? OQ56107
Jenny Rathbone: 5. What is the Welsh Government doing to help schools find more innovative ways of delivering education amidst the constraints of suppressing the pandemic? OQ56106
Jenny Rathbone: There is obviously a great deal of concern about the viability of youth services going forward. A National Youth Agency report recently highlighted that nearly 70 per cent of youth clubs in England may be forced to close because of the Tory-led austerity squeeze on their finances via local authorities, which have forced them to cut services to the bone. I appreciate that in Wales we have...
Jenny Rathbone: Excellent. I know that prior to the return of all pupils in the autumn term, Estyn published a document collating the good practice that had been developed by many schools, and I know that some schools in Cardiff embraced the outdoor learning experiences as part of the well-being recovery programme. But I was shocked to learn recently of the hostile reaction of members of the public to one...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much for introducing these petitions. I fully appreciate, because I've had lots of constituents contributing to the discussion before this debate about the way in which gyms can really be a lifesaver for some, literally as a way of overcoming, or working through, traumatic experiences. So, I completely acknowledge the important role of that sort of intense exercise to work...
Jenny Rathbone: 9. What are the implications for Wales of the UK Government's decision to cancel UK participation in the European Erasmus programme? OQ56157
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, First Minister. I would agree with you—it is indeed an act of cultural vandalism. One of the most disappointing aspects of the UK Government's decision to turn its back on Europe and the opportunities that Erasmus offered for young people, particularly those from disadvantaged families, is that my understanding is that the Turing scheme, which they hope to replace it with, does...
Jenny Rathbone: It's good to hear Helen Mary Jones supporting the courageous decision by the Welsh Government to take forward this sustainable solution for tackling congestion around Newport, which has very significant impacts on people in Cardiff and particularly in my constituency. So, I very much welcome the opportunity to act as a catalyst for change that we have to seize on in order to meet our climate...
Jenny Rathbone: So, how do you think you're going to be able to, if you like, make the case for Wales to get support for upgrading its so severely neglected Welsh infrastructure in the context that we'll get absolutely nothing from the billions being showered on HS2? Surely Wales needs to get some of the UK money that's going to be spent on making the transport of the future?
