Siân Gwenllian: I agree with you, the strategy around precision agriculture is great, but couldn't some of those grants to the young farmers be used in specific areas as pilot studies for that?
Siân Gwenllian: Like the Cabinet Secretary, I was brought up in a home where both my parents worked for a local council, providing local services to children and adults in Gwynedd. I’ve been a community councillor and a county councillor, and I share the Cabinet Secretary’s view on the importance of local government. This is the safety net that safeguards our most vulnerable people and communities. The...
Siân Gwenllian: 'We are in a state of limbo...the workforce is anxious and fearful of the future.'
Siân Gwenllian: Leighton Andrews lost his seat in Rhondda in May 2016, given the substantial victory of my friend Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru. Mark Drakeford became Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, and there were new proposals on the table. Merging councils through legislation had been scrapped, and mandatory regionalisation of certain services was a central option to the...
Siân Gwenllian: It’s disappointing that the Government is determined to continue with the vote on these important standards that are to be set with regard to the Welsh language in the area of health, namely the Welsh Language Standards (No. 7) Regulations 2018. Plaid Cymru believes that this decision should be postponed to give the Government an opportunity to add to the standards that are before us...
Siân Gwenllian: The committee has also come to the conclusion that additional standards should be put forward. As things stand, the standards are entirely insufficient and deficient. As there will be a vote today, we in the Plaid Cymru ranks have no choice but to vote against these weak standards. The standards that are before us don't set any standard that acknowledges the need for face-to-face services...
Siân Gwenllian: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government's approach to river management? OAQ51940
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. Many fishing organisations and anglers have raised concerns regarding changes that have been suggested by NRW to bye-laws in relation to salmon and sewin. According to anglers, the bye-laws are strict and anglers themselves have not had much input into the process. The Cabinet Secretary has stated that the proposals have been approved and have been introduced formally...
Siân Gwenllian: One thing that’s likely to cause more people to get into debt is the period that they will have to wait for their first payment under universal credit. Receiving payments on a monthly basis after that first payment will also create major debt problems for many people. I can’t understand why your Government is so reluctant to take control of certain elements of administering the benefits...
Siân Gwenllian: 4. What discussions has the Cabinet Secretary had with the UK Government regarding what will replace European structural funds in Wales following Brexit? OAQ51987
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. It appears from that paper that the Government’s main argument is that we need to increase the baseline for the funding that Wales received from Westminster to put right the losses from structural funds and European Union investments. Now, with all due respect, I don’t see you shouting particularly loudly on this issue at the moment. Wales is facing the loss of significant...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. And an invitation has been issued to your office to come to Arfon too, if I may say so. During the past month, in a speech given in Oxford, the First Minister said that he will hold a review of the equality and gender policies of the Welsh Government, which will include, among other things, consideration of how to move gender to the forefront in making decisions, ensuring...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. I look forward to participating in that debate. In the context of the point made in the First Minister's speech in Oxford on making Wales the safest possible place to be a woman throughout the whole of Europe through legislation, you will be aware, of course, that that was one of the intentions underpinning the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence...
Siân Gwenllian: Well, I’m very pleased to hear that and it is about time if I may say so because education is crucial in tackling this particular problem. Yesterday, some Members mentioned in the Chamber the review of sexual health services, which drew attention to the postcode lottery that exists in terms of abortion services in Wales. The review states that abortion services in Wales are inequitable and...
Siân Gwenllian: I’d like to start by congratulating WASPI for their very powerful campaign drawing attention to this unfairness that we’re discussing today. In my area, there are a number of women who have come to Hywel Williams, the MP for Arfon, Liz Saville-Roberts, the MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, and me, and we’ve worked together with those women to establish local WASPI groups. By now, we have a...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the Leader of the House make a statement on Welsh Government efforts to ensure women's safety in Wales?
Siân Gwenllian: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's intention to further expand the TrawsCymru coach service? OAQ52055
Siân Gwenllian: Following the budget agreement, Plaid Cymru secured £400,000 to upgrade the TrawsCymru network from bus to coach, and following that, the new service from Aberystwyth to Cardiff was established last week, securing a more comfortable and swifter service. This is an important step forward in the process of creating public transport services fit for the twenty-first century in our rural...
Siân Gwenllian: May we have a statement on the Caernarfon-Bontnewydd bypass? This road was due to open this summer, but, instead, the construction work hasn’t even started. That is two years late and, of course, constituents in my area are becoming more and more frustrated and some are even starting to doubt whether this road will see the light of day at all. So, to allay their fears, can we have a...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. These are questions to the Minister for the Welsh language. Yesterday, my colleague the Member of Parliament for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Liz Saville Roberts, appeared on the Daily Politics programme defending our language following the latest attack on our language by Rod Liddle. Unfortunately, we live in an age where such attacks are seen increasingly acceptable. Attacking...
