Rhianon Passmore: Will you take a question?
Rhianon Passmore: Would you acknowledge that, as you’ve referenced earlier on, £210 million so far, plus £20 million, has gone into Welsh non-domestic business rates? In regard to England, less than a third have had such similar rate relief. Would you acknowledge what the Welsh Government has done in that regard, and also the current consultation? And, in regard to the split multiplier, that there seems to...
Rhianon Passmore: First Minister, Andrew Evans, upon his appointment as Wales’s chief pharmaceutical officer, stated, and I quote: ‘Pharmacists in Wales are taking a central role in the Welsh government’s drive to provide patients with high-quality care promptly and closer to home. I look forward to working with pharmacists and other health and care professions, building on the significant improvements...
Rhianon Passmore: Will the First Minister update Members on whether any progress has been made on the UK Tory Government’s devolving of all the powers required to the Welsh Government to ensure a successful tendering process of the new Wales and borders franchise? The people of Wales want to see the First Minister of Wales and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure fully in charge of this...
Rhianon Passmore: First Minister, the Tory UK Government recently made a derisory deviation from their ideological obsession with austerity when they announced police officers would get a 1 per cent bonus funded from existing budgets. Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales said that this announcement would leave many officers angry and deflated. ‘We were not greedy in what we...
Rhianon Passmore: 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the progress of the ministerial task force for the south-Wales valleys? (OAQ51222)
Rhianon Passmore: May I congratulate the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language, Alun Davies AM, for the enthusiastic and energetic way in which he has launched his ministerial Valleys taskforce? The taskforce has stated that it will also explore the concept of a Valleys landscape park to help local communities build on many natural assets, including the potential for community energy generation and...
Rhianon Passmore: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the progress being made in meeting the Welsh housing quality standard? (OAQ51196)
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Cabinet Secretary. The figures released, as you said, earlier this month, show that 86 per cent of all social housing dwellings met the Welsh housing quality standard by 31 March, which was a rise of seven percentage points, unlike in England where there has been disinvestment. This significant investment by Welsh Government is having a significant and far-reaching impact and indeed...
Rhianon Passmore: Imagine my surprise to see that this Tory debate before the Senedd offered supposed largesse—the same group of Members opposite who support this ideological, obsessive policy of austerity that the Tory UK Government is inflicting on victims with no mercy: the removal, for instance, of housing benefit for 16 and 17-year-olds, and, where they are in power, as in England, removing from those...
Rhianon Passmore: Will you take an intervention?
Rhianon Passmore: Will you take an intervention?
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you. In terms of, as has been stated, improving the life chances, well-being and potential of young people, how do you see factoring in the side of the coin whereby you are going to get rid of the education maintenance allowance to pay for this wonderful proposed policy?
Rhianon Passmore: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on budget allocations to the economy and infrastructure portfolio in relation to the Welsh railway network?
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Llywydd. Carl Sargeant, Assembly Member for Alyn and Deeside was my friend, is my friend, and will forever be my friend. No words are sad enough to express his loss. To Bernie, Carl's wife, and to Jack and Lucy, his son and daughter, I want you to know that you do not walk alone. There are many Members of this National Assembly for Wales who loved and respected Carl. As a proud...
Rhianon Passmore: 2. What assessment has the First Minister made of the impact that the UK Government's austerity programme has had in Wales? OAQ51268
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, First Minister. The UK Tory Government's Chancellor, Philip Hammond, will deliver his budget on 22 November in the House of Commons chamber. Recently, the Welsh and Scottish finance Ministers jointly met with Treasury officials at the finance quadrilateral meeting in London. At that meeting, the Welsh and Scottish finance Ministers delivered a clear and unambiguous call for the UK...
Rhianon Passmore: First Minister, figures released last week showed that 86,238 landlords are now registered, meaning an estimated 3,762 are letting properties illegally. Registering as landlords costs £33.50 if completed online, and £80.50 on paper, irrespective of the number of properties they have. The scheme was launched on 23 November 2015, giving landlords 12 months to register, before it became law...
Rhianon Passmore: First Minister, the Welsh Labour Government has shown that, through its proactive approach to regulation, enforcement and wider initiatives, great progress can be made to protect the Welsh environment. This is clearly evidenced in the Welsh Labour Government's proactive ambition for Wales to recycle 70 per cent of all waste by 2025 and zero waste by 2050, with over 60 per cent of our...
Rhianon Passmore: First Minister, the Welsh index of multiple deprivation suggests that households containing children have a higher rate of income deprivation than the overall population, with 24 per cent of such households in deprivation, compared with 16 per cent overall. Members in this Senedd are very well aware that universal credit, the single monthly payment that replaces the six current working-age...
