Jane Dodds: Back in March 2020, we were told that we were all facing the same storm, but whilst we may have been facing the same storm, we weren't all rowing in the same boat—those on low incomes, the self-employed, the 3 million United Kingdom taxpayers not entitled to Government support, single parents, renters, and the list goes on. A separate report published today stated that UK households have...
Jane Dodds: First of all, may I thank Mark Isherwood for tabling a debate on this topic, which is so very important, and I'm also very grateful for the opportunity to participate?
Jane Dodds: I have done a very small amount of work with children and their families who have hearing problems, and obviously in my work as a social worker have encountered children and young people who are deaf. As we've heard, the issue is one of figures. We're not clear how many people, children and young people across Wales actually are deaf, but around 3,200 children in Wales are deaf according to...
Jane Dodds: Thank you to Carolyn for raising this question. I really support this proposal from Carolyn. Systems and schemes need to work as one to ensure that support in the short term, such as the winter fuel support scheme, can help individuals in the longer term with energy saving measures. Short-term measures must go hand in hand with longer term measures. One of the short-term measures that the...
Jane Dodds: Thank you, Minister, for your statement.
Jane Dodds: Can I thank Luke as well for highlighting issues relating to the region I represent, Mid and West Wales? You've highlighted some very salient points. Diolch yn fawr iawn. I have three really brief issues to raise. Firstly, I'm encouraged to see developments such as Banc Cambria coming to fruition. As I said during your recent statement on Banc Cambria, the whole gamut of local...
Jane Dodds: Thank you, Minister, for your statements. It's very clear that you're incredibly enthusiastic about what BlasCymru is doing. It's going from strength to strength and it's a really important opportunity to promote Welsh food and drink to the world at a time when Brexit and COVID have put huge pressures on producers and exporters, and I just wanted to briefly just share concerns about the...
Jane Dodds: Thank you, Minister, and thank you too to Huw Irranca-Davies for his work and for his committee's work too.
Jane Dodds: This is a very short contribution, because I agree totally with the last two contributions. I particularly want to agree with the contribution from Alun Davies. This Bill is pernicious and undermines our right to protest. Vast swathes of the 300-page Bill are destructive and draconian and undermine laws designed to protect people who need safeguards, for example under the Mental Capacity Act...
Jane Dodds: Thank you to the Minister, and to Jayne Bryant for posing this important question.
Jane Dodds: I'm sure we're all increasingly concerned about the situation in Wales, and particularly about the pressures faced by small businesses. The pile-up of the effects of COVID, Brexit and now of rising energy costs, national insurance increases and inflation is putting huge pressures on small businesses. Labour market statistics out today show that wage increases have been far outstripped by...
Jane Dodds: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and I'm delighted to hold this debate this afternoon and to draw attention to public transport in Wales. I'm pleased that Carolyn Thomas, Mabon ap Gwynfor and Jayne Bryant have expressed an interest in this debate, and I've agreed to give them some time so that Carolyn, Mabon and Jayne can contribute to the debate. It's a lonely place to be a Liberal Democrat in...
Jane Dodds: That's why the Welsh Liberal Democrats are proposing that we make public transport—bus and rail travel—free to all under 25-year-olds in Wales, as a key element of that recovery programme for young people. There are three areas that I want to briefly highlight. First, in bringing forward this debate, I want to reflect on my party’s record in this area. In the fourth Senedd, Welsh...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Minister. I just wanted to talk about heating in domestic homes. We know that homes are responsible for 27 per cent of all energy consumed and 9 per cent of all emissions in Wales. And with just 10 per cent of homes being built in the last 20 years, our housing stock is amongst the oldest and least efficient in Europe. Just focusing on homes in rural areas, and in mid and west...
Jane Dodds: Thank you to James Evans for putting forward this debate. I'm pleased to see this discussion about public transport continuing, after my debate last week. It's a vitally important issue, for a number of reasons, and it's important to those communities that I represent here in the Senedd. I'd also like to thank the Deputy Minister for his response to my debate last week, and for confirming...
Jane Dodds: I agree with James that public transport continues to come under pressure. Unless there is properly funded and co-ordinated investment in public transport, communities, particularly rural communities, will be left behind. Since 2009, around a third of subsidised services in Wales have been lost, and we've seen a 22 per cent decline in the number of journeys by bus between 2008 and 2019....
Jane Dodds: Thank you, Rhys, for bringing this important debate forward.
Jane Dodds: Let's take a step back and think about what this Bill could have been about. It could have been about strengthening our democracy by getting behind efforts to build a better politics with a fairer electoral system. It could have sought to expand the franchise, empower voters and communities, increase voter turnout, and rebuild trust in our electoral system. Instead, Conservative Ministers...
Jane Dodds: Thank you to Russell, once again, for tabling this debate and for allowing me to say a very few words. Thank you, also, for his work in supporting the Montgomery canal—a beautiful waterway that runs through Montgomeryshire and instils that mwynder Maldwyn, the spirit of Montgomeryshire. I just want to say a few words about the Heulwen Trust, which I also have encountered, like Russell. It...
Jane Dodds: 8. What support is available for refugees arriving in Wales? OQ57563
