Dawn Bowden: No. There are so many aspects of this sorry business that I could talk about: the financial hardship suffered, the mass of maladministration complaints, the unfair way in which the changes were introduced, the blatant discrimination and the mismanagement of changes, but, being called late into this debate, I'm going to focus my comments on the outrageous way in which women were notified, or...
Dawn Bowden: —that be right? How can that be just? How can we not support the women in this campaign? However we got here—
Dawn Bowden: —it is the responsibility of all of us, in whatever we can do, to put this injustice right.
Dawn Bowden: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on school funding in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council? OAQ52032
Dawn Bowden: Indeed, and I know that the Welsh Government has a long-standing commitment to school funding, in spite of the UK Government's continued austerity programme, and this year's local government settlement, as you've already outlined, has reflected this. However, we also know that local authorities have successfully argued for education funding not to be ring-fenced, and I appreciate that much...
Dawn Bowden: I'm grateful to my colleague Dai Rees who's going to be bringing forward a short debate later on today about the impact of austerity, which is clearly at the heart of so much that we can and can't do. So, continuing that theme, Cabinet Secretary, even though you've been able to protect nursing bursaries in Wales, which the UK Government in England has cut—and the Royal College of Nursing...
Dawn Bowden: Dirprwy Llywydd, I think Dai Rees has said it all. The damage caused by austerity to the social fabric of our communities harms us all. I've become tired of hearing Tory voices in this Chamber calling on the Welsh Government to invest more in our services, yet we never hear those same voices raise any condemnation over the £1 billion or more that their Government has cut from our budget....
Dawn Bowden: I think we all welcome the potential economic benefits that Trago Mills is clearly going to be bringing to Merthyr Tydfil and the surrounding areas, but its location immediately off the Cyfarthfa roundabout on the A470 is a source of ongoing concern. The management of the opening of Trago Mills last weekend actually went very well and I think was generally very good, but the traffic...
Dawn Bowden: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the delivery of the wellbeing goals through public services? OAQ52138
Dawn Bowden: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer, because delivering well-being in all our policies is clearly a major challenge that's going to be facing our public services. It's going to require a set of outcome measures for our public services that, in turn, will help to provide them with a clear focus on community well-being. Public services, as you will appreciate, have a huge collective...
Dawn Bowden: I think the DWP's intentions for this relocation have been well known for some time, but it was due to a leak that we knew about the proposed site—it's only now just been confirmed. It's clear that, under this proposal, in my constituency alone, we're going to be losing more than 250—260 jobs, in fact—from Merthyr, to Treforest. And I'd reiterate exactly what Hefin and John have already...
Dawn Bowden: —what our strategy actually needs, so that they know that it's not relocating existing jobs, but it is actually putting them in more accessible places. The questions I wanted to ask were, firstly, whether the DWP has actually discussed with Welsh Government the plans for the relocation, which appear to be predicated on a private finance initiative project, or PFI-funded project, which, as...
Dawn Bowden: Can I thank the committee for their very detailed report on the work that they did from their inquiry? I want to take the opportunity to talk more widely about apprenticeships, before making some comments that I think are probably relevant to recommendations 6 and 7 around apprentice pay. It's clear to me that well-structured training can deliver the skilled workforces that we require, and...
Dawn Bowden: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on tourism investment in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ52176
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, First Minister, and given that this is tourism week, it's probably timely to remind ourselves that tourism, culture, our environment and our heritage will play a major part in securing a successful future for our Valleys communities as they make a valuable contribution to securing a diverse economy alongside the traditional sectors like manufacturing, public services and now an...
Dawn Bowden: 2. A wnaiff Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet amlinellu'r broses ar gyfer cyfrifo swm yr arian a ddyrannwyd i'r portffolio llywodraeth leol a gwasanaethau cyhoeddus i gefnogi digartrefedd? OAQ52175
Dawn Bowden: Thank you for that information, Cabinet Secretary. My fear is that now the worst of the winter weather has passed, the need to adequately fund the services required to meet the needs of homeless people will actually start to slip down the public agenda. However, as I'm sure you'll agree, this is probably the very time when we should be planning to ensure that adequate finance is provided for...
Dawn Bowden: 1. Will the Leader of the House make a statement on action to improve digital inclusion in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ52174
Dawn Bowden: Thank you very much. I'm very conscious, Cabinet Secretary, that you did have a major debate and statement on this yesterday. I have two questions for you today, and they're both on digital inclusion. So, please bear with me. My second question will be complementary to this one. But in the hope that you are shortly going to set out the track record of Welsh Government investment in broadband...
Dawn Bowden: 8. Will the Leader of the House make a statement on developing digital infrastructure in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ52173
