Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Minister. In the interests of lowering carbon emissions, procuring local produce for school meals would help towards the Welsh Government's targets and obviously help tackle climate change. I'd be grateful if you could outline how the Welsh Government is working with local authorities to understand, monitor, measure, assess how much local produce is being used in school meals and...
Laura Anne Jones: With respect, First Minister, 'pot, kettle, black' springs to mind in that respect. It is clear from Alun Davies's short debate last week, First Minister, that this Government and previous Welsh Labour Governments have merely paid lip service to the deep-seated economic issues in the Valleys. It is all well and good to have set up a Valleys taskforce and enterprise zones, but to achieve real...
Laura Anne Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Business Minister, could I ask for an urgent statement from the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, please? Llanwern High School in Newport has been forced to send home their entire year 9 year group due to a number of staff testing positive from COVID and having to self-isolate, and the lack of staff to substitute. Unfortunately, this is an issue that is now...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to move the motion laid before us in the name of Darren Millar. Moving to the amendments, amendment 1 we will not be supporting as it sets out to delete all after point 1 in our motion. This is a motion that puts forward a constructive plan that seeks to address the teacher recruitment and staff shortage crisis that we're currently facing in...
Laura Anne Jones: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you, Minister. We wholeheartedly support your statement from these benches, as we share your sentiments, your aims and objectives that you have outlined in your statement. Lowering the impact on the environment and fighting climate change needs to be at the heart of everything that we do now. We all have a responsibility to play our part to leave the...
Laura Anne Jones: I for one welcome the UK Government budget, which has provided Wales with the biggest ever increase in funding since the start of devolution. It shows that the UK Government is committed to the people of Wales, and it shows that it's committed to the development of our nation. From the levelling-up fund through to the community ownership fund, where the Queen's Ballroom in Tredegar, Blaenau...
Laura Anne Jones: 7. What assessment has the Minister made of the availability of healthcare within South Wales East? OQ57099
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Minister. The Welsh Government's flagship Grange hospital in Cwmbran recorded the worst A&E waits in September, seeing only 38 per cent of patients in four hours last month, when 95 per cent was the target. In the same week, reports found that staff were frightened to come to work in the brand-new Grange hospital. Yesterday, health Minister, you admitted that when your predecessor...
Laura Anne Jones: Minister, thank you for your statement and the formal introduction of this Bill. The Bill presents us with an opportunity in Wales to mould tertiary education to fit the specific needs here in Wales, and to ensure our learners in Wales receive the quality of tertiary education they deserve and the support they require on their educational journeys. It's fantastic to see that for the first...
Laura Anne Jones: What action is the Welsh Government taking to increase participation in sport across Wales?
Laura Anne Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Afternoon, Minister. It almost seems like old news now, it's been so long since I've had the chance to question you at spokespersons' questions in the Chamber, but it comes of great concern to education providers and myself that the new curriculum will see the separation of GCSE, the separate sciences, and also the separation of English and English—. Sorry, it will see the...
Laura Anne Jones: Many thanks, Minister. The majority of people I've spoken to, it's quite the opposite that I'm getting. A damning new report last night, which was released by the National Association of Head Teachers Cymru—another union, Minister—has highlighted the impact of the chronic underfunding of Welsh schools. 'A Failure to Invest: the state of Welsh school funding in 2021' provides troubling...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Minister. Also, the attainment gap figures recently released paint a very worrying picture. They have been exacerbated by the inequality between the better off and the poorest in Welsh society. Top GCSE results show a gap now of 11.5 per cent in 2021. Minister, how are you planning to tackle this attainment gap and ensure that young people in Wales are afforded the best start in...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Janet, for giving me a minute of your time. This is an important subject, and thank you for bringing it here for discussion and debate this evening. I too, like many others across this Chamber and beyond, share your concerns with NRW. But starting with positivity, I'm sure you'll join me in welcoming the announcement of a much-needed £10 million flood defence scheme in Lliswerry...
Laura Anne Jones: How is the Welsh Government supporting local authorities to improve public transport in rural areas?
Laura Anne Jones: First Minister, we all want Wales to achieve net zero as soon as possible, and I welcome some of the schemes that you've just outlined. But whilst the Welsh Government have been big on talk, declaring a climate emergency here in 2019, policies and change have been slow and cumbersome, key targets have been missed or changed, and successive budgets have been far from green. The state of nature...
Laura Anne Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you, business Minister. I'd like to call for a statement by the Minister for education given the recent news and worrying news that teachers are being recorded during lessons and that the footage is being uploaded to the social media platform TikTok. It is a situation that is getting out of hand, and I'm aware of many schools now having written to parents to increase...
Laura Anne Jones: As a farmer's daughter, Minister, I've seen first-hand the devastating impact that bovine TB has had on farmers and our rural communities, and I have to agree with Llyr; it literally feels like groundhog day to me in this Senedd. I stood here responding to a very similar statement back in 2003, hearing very, very similar arguments, and yet I stand here today and I've noted that hardly...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you for your statement, Minister. There is no doubt that through this pandemic, it is children and young people that have suffered the most. Schooling is so important, not just for learning and socialisation, but in terms of providing children with structure and routine. The three lockdowns were so harmful to our children's well-being and life...
Laura Anne Jones: I would like to thank my colleague Peter Fox for bringing forward such an important proposal, which I feel should be welcomed across the political divide. It's an excellent proposal for a Bill, and I commend my colleague Peter Fox for bringing forward this. As a Senedd, we have the opportunity to legislate in this important area and strengthen the security of the food supply, improve choice...
