Heledd Fychan: Thanks to the co-operation agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government, more pupils are in receipt of free school meals since the beginning of this month, as part of the roll-out of free school meals to all primary school children by 2024. But we should be striving to expand this free school meals scheme to every secondary school pupil too, as a matter of urgency, to help to tackle...
Heledd Fychan: Trefnydd, I'm sure you've seen—like all of us—the impact of the devastating floods in Pakistan that have killed over 1,500 people since June, with 33 million people affected. Whole communities have been swept away and people remain in desperate need of help. This is the reality of the climate emergency. Given our commitments under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Deputy Minister, for today's statement. Obviously, we are pleased to see a further commitment from the agreement between the Government and Plaid Cymru being realised, not just on paper but also delivering for the people of Wales. And for Plaid Cymru, free childcare for two-year-olds is an important first step in our vision for free childcare for all. It shows that we can do things...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for today's statement. It was good to hear clearly at the beginning of your statement that the welfare of the workforce is a leading consideration in everything, and I echo those sentiments in terms of its importance. Like several other Members, I attended a lunch-time event here in the Senedd for the launch of the short guide, 'Tackling child poverty together', by the...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for your statement today.
Heledd Fychan: As you know, I was very keen to hear this statement before the summer. I was concerned prior to the recess that there were no plans in place, but I am really thrilled to see these announcements today. I was particularly pleased to see that you'd received 97 applications in total that could have been worth £7.1 million, which just shows that creativity that has been inspired by this historic...
Heledd Fychan: 9. How is the Welsh Government supporting the promotion and marketing of food and drink from Wales as part of the opportunities presented by the Cymru men's football team qualifying for the World Cup? OQ58440
Heledd Fychan: Thank you very much for that response, Minister. Of course, yesterday, we had a statement with some of this information from the Minister for Economy. What I would like to ask is how will you measure the success of these events in terms of the legacy of this investment following the world cup.
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for the statement. I'd like to echo your thanks to everyone who is associated with the statistics within this report. It shows partnership across Wales, and that's something to be proud of. I'm sure that we can all agree also that Wales has a long and proud history and that our language, which is thriving today, is a central part of our identity and has survived despite...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Deputy Minister, for this afternoon's statement.
Heledd Fychan: If I may start with the last point, I agree with the Deputy Minister—I think it's a fallacy to keep saying that the tourism tax will put people off coming to Wales. Actually, the real threat to tourism in north Wales and Wales as a whole is rising energy costs impacting businesses and the cost-of-living crisis meaning that people won't be able to go on holiday. Because, as we know, holidays...
Heledd Fychan: 4. What are the Welsh Government's expectations regarding the language category of the two new innovative schools under its sustainable schools challenge? OQ58540
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister. Certainly, I will be asking you to commit to ensuring that these two schools are Welsh-medium schools or ones that will become Welsh-medium schools. Clearly, it is vitally important. We discussed last week the 'Cymraeg 2050' report and the need for investment in Welsh-medium schools if we are to reach that target of a million Welsh speakers. But, at the same time, bearing...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Llywydd. Bearing in mind that it was World Mental Health Day on 10 October, I would like to take the opportunity today to celebrate one particular group in my region, namely the Metalidads.
Heledd Fychan: The Metalidads, also known as the Fathers of Metal, bring together that holy trinity of fatherhood, mental health and heavy metal and meet twice weekly in the town of Barry to encourage local dads to get out of the house and away from the children and partners in order to form new friendships and get involved in fun activities and initiatives such as beach litter picks, fundraising for local...
Heledd Fychan: Such groups are so important to support parents, and I'm sure that my fellow Members will agree that we need to support local organisations and initiatives in our communities that offer this kind of support that saves lives. Indeed, I received a very warm welcome by the Metalidads and derived great benefit from meeting them.
Heledd Fychan: To end with a frequently used quote by the Fathers of Metal, 'whether it's whammy bars or weaning, Napalm Death or nappies...it's always good to talk.' Rock on.
Heledd Fychan: What we're discussing today are urgent actions to support a crisis that we are all seeing. People are being made homeless now. More people will become homeless this winter—
Heledd Fychan: I've only just started, Janet. If I can carry on, and if you still want to intervene on something I've said—. But just to respond to Sam Rowlands: of course we need to be building more homes, but that's not going to solve things for people who are homeless now, where there are inadequate solutions now. And we know already that families have been struggling to make ends meet in recent years...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Luke, for bringing forward this debate today.
