Jane Dodds: Diolch, Prif Weinidog. On Valentine's Day this month, we are being asked to have a heart for refugees in a show of love, friendship and solidarity with people who have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety. It stands in stark contrast to the UK Government's approach in the Nationality and Borders Bill, and I know that our approach here in Wales stands again in stark contrast to...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Trefnydd. I wonder if I could ask for two statements, please, the first from the Minister for education on the decision of the UK Government to bring forward regulations to freeze the student loan repayment threshold. This will result in a real-terms increase in repayments for graduates on plan 2 student loans. I think it's important that we have clarity about the impact of...
Jane Dodds: Diolch, Gweinidog, and I hope that you do recover soon. On 29 January, Minette Batters, the National Farmers Union president said, and I quote: 'I feared farmers would be used as a pawn in trade deals—and that's what happened.' My clear question to those Conservatives who've spoken is this: do they think she is not representing farmers' views if they continue to say that these trade deals...
Jane Dodds: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Thank you to Peredur Owen Griffiths for raising this issue, which is important to many of us in the Senedd. As you've heard, the track in Caerphilly boasts as having one of the sharpest bends of any racetrack, and I want to read to you something from their literature. They say about this bend in their racetrack: 'greyhounds frequently find themselves flying...
Jane Dodds: As Members of the Senedd, it may be that some of us are living with one or more of the seven ACEs. Sometimes we can cope with them, and sometimes we can't. Having had over 25 years of working in child protection, with many of those years at the front line, I could recount many, many children and young people that I've met where the cycle of abuse and poverty, as Jack has told us about,...
Jane Dodds: Diolch, Llywydd. Firstly, I'd like to thank Darren Millar for tabling this motion, and I make a very brief contribution because, with others, I, too, would like to extend my congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen on the seventieth anniversary of her accession to the throne. Her Majesty has remained a constant reminder of public service throughout my life and has served with dedication,...
Jane Dodds: Thank you very much, Queen Elizabeth.
Jane Dodds: 5. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to support residents and landlords in buildings with potential fire safety defects in light of recent statements by the UK Government? OQ57606
Jane Dodds: Diolch. At the end of January I hosted a public meeting here on the steps of the Senedd to listen to those affected and caught up in what is a tragedy and a scandal. I spoke to a pensioner, Eileen, who pays £511 a month in service charges alone. Her income—her monthly pension—is just £800 a month. Another attendee was sent a bill of thousands of pounds and given just 25 days to pay....
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Minister. Thank you so much for your statement. I recognise the anger and passion that you feel when you're addressing the complete lack of empathy and fairness that we hear from the party opposite in their role in making families poorer, and particularly when we face this massive, massive effect on their lives. I can afford to pay the fuel increase that is coming on, and I'm...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Minister. Thank you so much for the work you've done on the budget, and thank you for your engagement with me as well. Thank you.
Jane Dodds: I'd like to start by welcoming the proposals in the draft budget. I and the Liberal Democrats in Wales support them. Those are: investing in mental health services; an increase in the pupil development grant, an initiative introduced by the Liberal Democrats again; continuing with the discounted travel scheme for those under 21 years of age; planning to provide free school meals to every...
Jane Dodds: I wonder if I could just focus on three areas: transport, health and cladding, which I mentioned earlier in the Siambr. If I could start with transport, I welcome the outline detail provided in terms of funding to aid public transport and the decarbonisation agenda. I wonder if you're able to provide more information on how the budget allocation will enable socially beneficial routes to be...
Jane Dodds: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and thank you to Mabon, and thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate.
Jane Dodds: Just another angle—I won't repeat what's been said and I have no claim to any sporting abilities either—I asked a young person in a little village called Llandinam, which has 911 people, in Montgomeryshire, what would help him and what did help him when he was growing up in terms of involvement in sports activities, and he said 'youth workers'. And so I'd just like to pitch here for more...
Jane Dodds: 8. How will the Welsh Government ensure a fair and just transition to net-zero for rural communities? OQ57674
Jane Dodds: Thank you, Llywydd. First of all, may I send the party's condolences, and all of our condolences, to Llinos and the family? It's a great shock to all of us—here and in the Liberal Democrat family. Aled was one of the kindest, friendliest and most hard-working people that I and others ever met. Aled made a major contribution to the political life of Wales, and to the communities that he...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, First Minister.
Jane Dodds: Thank you, First Minister. I'd like to raise the matter of the commitment of the Welsh Government to plant 86 million trees by the end of this decade as part of the plan to reach net zero by 2050. According to the Farmers Union of Wales, only 25 per cent of the plans to plant more than 50 hectares of woodland, which is equivalent to 93 football pitches—.
Jane Dodds: Farming unions are fully in support of the Government's climate and zero-carbon agenda, but there is concern, First Minister, that policies that drive tree planting, particularly where funding exceeds the level of support available for agricultural land, have the potential to impact on tenant farming categorised by short-term tenancies. Glastir has helped many, many farmers to diversify, as...
