Janet Finch-Saunders: I place on record my own interest in property within the private rented sector. Now, as the National Residential Landlords Association reported in January, around 60 per cent of our private landlords have lost rental income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-two per cent have lost more than £5,000, and 36 per cent have reported that losses are continuing to increase. Their bills...
Janet Finch-Saunders: —have a fair deal. Yes. The end of legal measures to prevent evictions is a good start. So, it is important that tenants are supported to move into properties they can better afford. So, Minister, will you consider policies such as the introduction of deposit passporting? Diolch.
Janet Finch-Saunders: First off, I would like to thank you, Gareth, for bringing this very important debate here to the Chamber. I think the points you very ably make about seeking this Bill to come forward—unless it's put into legislation, then things are going to be the very same. Older people's experiences during the pandemic have certainly strengthened the case for further protection of their rights in...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Yes, I move the amendments, thank you, tabled in the name of Darren Millar MS. When the Welsh Government declared a climate emergency some two years ago, we all hoped as Members that this would trigger a wave of action at home in Wales, the UK and internationally. We didn't, however, expect a series of failures to action such progress. We didn't expect a nature recovery and emergency to be...
Janet Finch-Saunders: I'll start off my contribution by just saying how disappointed, yet again, I am as a returned Member of this Senedd. I am part of your task group. Mabon and I have met with you, as Plaid Cymru and Welsh Conservatives, for two sessions now, and yet here we are, we find that the announcement was broken to the press yesterday. And Llywydd, I would just ask—. This is becoming quite an important...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 1. Will the Minister make a statement in response to calls from the leaders of Wales's 22 local authorities for the Welsh Government to review the powers and remit of Natural Resources Wales? TQ562
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. I wouldn't have exactly called it 'welcome feedback'. I was shocked, and I'm sure those employees on the front line were shocked also, working for NRW, that all of Wales's 22 local authorities have now called for a review. The letter sent by the leader of the WLGA had scathing comments on it, Minister, such as, 'when dealing with events at a local level there can still be tensions...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Well, today my Welsh Conservative colleagues and I are calling for many things—they're very sensible options—but, from my perspective, for urgent upgrades to be made to the A55. This is a key arterial route that not only supports the sixth largest roll-on, roll-off port in the UK at Holyhead but also brings goods and trade to my beautiful constituency of Aberconwy. The issue of poor road...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Trefnydd, I'm actually quite saddened and deeply frustrated to realise that, in Aberconwy, and on a frequent basis, some of our pubs, hotels and eateries are now having to turn potential customers and visitors away. I have one cafe that is only able to operate three days a week, and another licensee with two operations only able to keep one of his businesses open. And I have other hoteliers...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. In the year to March 2020, whilst 200 hectares of new woodland was planted in Northern Ireland, 2,330 in England, and 10,860 in Scotland, Wales only managed to plant 80 hectares. So bad is this failure that the Welsh Government have done what they've done in other areas—they've actually reduced the planting target from 5,000 to 2,000 hectares per year. Such a chopped...
Janet Finch-Saunders: What assessment has the Minister made of the effectiveness of the Welsh Government’s help-to-buy scheme?
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Llywydd, and good afternoon, First Minister. You'll be aware, of course, that housing associations provide around 165,000 homes and related housing services for around 10 per cent of our population. According to Community Housing Cymru, in 2019-20, associations spent £1.3 billion directly into the Welsh economy, and for every one of the around 10,000 full-time staff, another 1.5 jobs...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Trefnydd, I rise to request a statement from the Minister for Climate Change with regard to the Welsh Government's roads review. Recent correspondence obtained from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change appears to suggest now that the administration is progressing the statutory process for junctions 15 and 16 on the A55 despite the possibility that the works could actually be scrapped by the...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, after one of the busiest seasons ever experienced in Llandudno and north Wales, following the dreadful pandemic, we should instead be thanking our holiday-let operators for the immense economic benefit that they bring to our communities and our tourism offer. This benefit was even recognised in Dr Simon Brooks's report, and must be accepted by this Welsh Labour...
Janet Finch-Saunders: There are 2,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Wales annually. Immediate CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival. We are all in agreement that a network of defibrillators will save lives. I hope that you will join with me, though, in condemning whoever was responsible very recently for attacking and damaging a community-funded, newly installed automated...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Would the Member take an intervention?
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, acting Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, I'm becoming increasingly concerned of late to see a number of constituents presenting to me, in my office, whereby they suffer with wet macular degeneration and usually have drops every month. Obviously, during the COVID pandemic, some of these were then decreased to every six weeks. However, I now have constituents coming to see me...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 4. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Minister for Climate Change regarding calling in planning applications in Wales? OQ56870
Janet Finch-Saunders: What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the impact of COVID-19 regulations on access to places of worship?
Janet Finch-Saunders: Minister, our charities, voluntary groups and church groups rely on small-bank-balance accounts, so it is disheartening to hear that from November, one high-street bank will be charging these small-scale organisations £60 annually just to keep the accounts open. I'm informed that they also will be introducing new charges for branch transactions, including a fee to pay in and withdraw cash,...
