Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. Welsh Governments have been responsible, as you know, for co-ordination of cross-cutting measures to promote prosperity and tackle poverty in Wales for over 22 years. As the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported last year, Wales has retained the highest poverty rate of all the UK nations throughout devolution since 1999. Further, their 'Poverty in Wales 2020' report, last...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. I regret you didn't answer my question, and I quoted various bodies that pointed out that these problems long pre-dated COVID, and they're calling, therefore, for a change of tack. As I stated here last November, the recent Building Communities Trust report, 'Building Stronger Welsh Communities: Opportunities and barriers to community action in Wales', is about harnessing the...
Mark Isherwood: As I've indicated, these were the bodies that made clear these are longstanding problems. Yes, we must treat the symptoms, but we must also tackle the causes. The Building Communities Trust 2021 manifesto for healthier, happier and more resilient communities in Wales begins, 'Every community in Wales has the resources and influence it needs to build community capacity, and develop and run...
Mark Isherwood: Too many disabled people continue to suffer social injustice because of the barriers to access and inclusion placed in their way at all levels of society. On 24 February this year, the Senedd voted in support of my Member's legislative proposal for a British Sign Language—or BSL—Bill. As a member of the cross-party group on deaf issues in the Senedd since 2003, and as chair of the...
Mark Isherwood: With the twenty-sixth UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, scheduled to be held in Glasgow under UK presidency in four months' time, this debate re-emphasises the need for parity between actions taken by the Welsh Government to tackle climate change and those taken to tackle biodiversity loss. The Welsh Conservative amendment re-emphasises the need for Welsh Government to work more closely...
Mark Isherwood: —plays an important role. We need it for the food that we eat, the air that we breathe, and the water that we drink. I will conclude. The Welsh Government therefore needs show that it is serious about tackling the nature crisis by committing to introduce legislation during the first year of Government to set legally binding targets for nature recovery in order to harness efforts across...
Mark Isherwood: Well, as a member of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee that produced the report on 'Benefits in Wales: options for better delivery' last year, we heard, in Scotland, that devolution of administration, particularly assessment of certain benefits, had secured complete cross-party support in Scotland. But our report also stated 'the potential prize of delivering services...
Mark Isherwood: Last summer, it was reported that almost 40 per cent of properties sold in Gwynedd in the year to April 2020 were purchased as second homes, but strong anecdotal evidence indicates that this resulted from a disproportionately large number of existing second homes on the market. When I previously asked the Welsh Government what analysis it had therefore undertaken to establish whether this was...
Mark Isherwood: —when deliverable solutions were proposed to us. So, instead of conflating this issue with second homes built for that purpose, as most were, what direct action will you therefore now take to identify the specific local need in these hotspots for both homes for social rent and, separately, affordable homes for intermediate rent, or low cost home ownership, and then to target increased...
Mark Isherwood: [Inaudible.]
Mark Isherwood: Well, I was copied in on a patient's e-mail to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board last week, complaining that a lack of permanent GPs at St Mark's surgery in Connah's Quay is, quote, 'now causing major problems as unable to book an appointment to see a doctor'. They tried to get through to the switchboard from 8 a.m. on 22, 23 and 24 June, and on each occasion, they were kept waiting for...
Mark Isherwood: How is the Welsh Government supporting people with learning disabilities?
Mark Isherwood: I call for two Welsh Government statements. Firstly, on Welsh Government support for people with learning disabilities. Three weeks ago, the Royal College of Nursing launched its report on learning disability nursing, 'Connecting for Change'. The report highlights a significant decline in learning disability nurses across the UK. The RCN states that some of this reduction is due to the...
Mark Isherwood: Given their form over many years, Labour Welsh Government denials of long-standing calls for an independent public inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales have not been unexpected. However, this issue is too important to be dodged in this way. Yes, we need a UK-wide inquiry, but the people of Wales also need their Welsh Government to be held accountable. The Welsh...
Mark Isherwood: 4. How is the Welsh Government supporting sustainability in the rural economy? OQ56799
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Earlier this month, I visited farm owners Einion and Elliw Jones at Mynydd Mostyn farm in Trelogan near Holywell whose innovative and hugely popular COVID-driven milk vending machine business supplying fresh milk and milkshakes is under threat after Flintshire planning officers said the site was not lawful. In accordance with the Welsh Government's 'Planning Policy Wales' 11—PPW...
Mark Isherwood: We continue to maintain our long-standing commitment to Wales as a nation of sanctuary. As the Minister may recall, I sponsored and hosted the Sanctuary in the Senedd event five years ago. We must ensure that Afghans who have had to flee their homes, including those coming to the UK who worked closely with the British military and the UK Government in Afghanistan, and risked their lives in...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. In your statement, you say you will place fair work, decarbonisation and well-being at the heart of procurement, but don't mention the current guidance for procurement, which is based on quality, value and price and also the flexibility of locality and community causes to benefit local communities. So, how will you ensure that the priorities you identify will not lead to higher...
Mark Isherwood: How does the Welsh Government ensure the accountability of local government officers to elected councillors?
Mark Isherwood: Speaking here in February, I stated that 'the Welsh Government's increased land transaction tax higher rates, which hit large numbers of legitimate small and medium-sized businesses, many of them with properties near the internal UK border with England, are higher than equivalent stamp duty land tax higher rates in England for purchase prices up to just £125,000, and higher for all purchase...
