Dawn Bowden: Thank you for that answer, Deputy Minister. In asking about community safety, and as it’s the first opportunity I’ve had here, can I firstly offer my thoughts to the people of Christchurch and New Zealand on the horrors that they’ve recently faced due to the terrorist attacks by extremists? It’s another horrific event that, of course, we condemn, but it does reinforce to us the...
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm speaking on the Rural Affairs (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. We considered these regulations at our meeting on 18 March. We reported two technical points to the Assembly under Standing Order 21.2(vi). In our report we expressed concerns about defective drafting because they amended regulations that did not exist at the time that we...
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. I speak on the Seed Potatoes (Wales) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. We considered these regulations at our meeting on 18 March. We reported three technical points to the Assembly under Standing Order 21.2. Our first and third reporting points note errors in the Welsh text of regulation 2(12) and 2(17). The Welsh Government has accepted these errors and we welcome the...
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. Again, we considered these regulations at our meeting on 18 March, and we reported eight technical points to the Assembly under Standing Order 21.2(vi). These technical points relate in the main to the identification of potential drafting errors and the Welsh Government’s response highlights that they will, where necessary, be corrected through a wash-up statutory...
Dawn Bowden: Will the First Minister provide an update on any recent correspondence with the UK Government regarding the devolution of air passenger duty to Wales?
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. Last week, my colleague Vikki Howells made a statement to mark the thirty-fifth anniversary of the start of the 1984 miners' strike. But there is one aspect of that long, bitter industrial dispute that I believe deserves our further attention. I refer, of course, to the way in which the dispute politicised and radicalised women through the Women Against Pit Closures movement....
Dawn Bowden: 1. Will the Minister provide an update on how the work of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales brings benefits to Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ53715
Dawn Bowden: And it absolutely did, Minister, so thank you for that. And could I, just while I'm on my feet, just take the opportunity to thank you for being in Merthyr Tydfil recently to start the half marathon and for the Welsh Government grant funding—
Dawn Bowden: —that allowed it? He didn't run it, he just started it. Minister, many of us will have noticed the success that was achieved recently by putting Dippy the Dinosaur on a tour of museums around the UK, and I'm sure our own national galleries and museums similarly have exhibits that could be put on display in venues across the south Wales Valleys and beyond. Indeed, there are many exhibits...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Minister, for the statement. I have to say that I'm both shocked and saddened by what I saw in this report and the findings, and, like others, my thoughts, first and foremost, are with the families, many of whom are my constituents, of course, that have been affected by the failings in the Cwm Taf maternity services. While I know that many women have had good experiences and good...
Dawn Bowden: Thanks to Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this debate on workers' rights. I'll speak proudly of the work carried out by this Welsh Government and other members of these benches in promoting those rights. For some of us, this is a real and personal issue, and in my case it was 30 years as a trade union official fighting for and defending workers' rights every single day. I remain a proud...
Dawn Bowden: No, I'm quite happy with the amendment and I'll explain a bit further why as I go through. I would say that I'm sorry, Russell, despite what you say, the Tories' solution to the problems in the workplace is always to attack workers and those who represent them and while ignoring the fat cats in the boardrooms with their bonuses and while workers are constantly facing austerity and pay...
Dawn Bowden: I very much welcome this debate at a time when racism and intolerance is at the worst that I can remember for a long time, and I do further welcome the support of both Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives for it. The worrying rise of the far right across Europe, including Britain, is seemingly normalising racist language and behaviours and, as Leanne Wood said, blaming foreigners or those of...
Dawn Bowden: Can I thank the Welsh Government for bringing forward this debate? It is vital that these changes are seen as part of the main stream of delivering our healthcare services, not just something that's happening on the periphery. Last year, Llywydd, I spent some time taking a more detailed look at the health and social care provisions in my own constituency, and some of the innovation in...
Dawn Bowden: What action is the Welsh Government taking to tackle food poverty in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney?
Dawn Bowden: 9. Will the Minister provide an update regarding recent progress made on the A465 section 5 and 6 improvements? OAQ53818
Dawn Bowden: Thank you for that response, Minister. I'd just refer you to the Welsh Government’s website, which states that: 'The width of the road restricts traffic flow and opportunities for safe overtaking. In many areas there is poor visibility. Accidents on this stretch are concentrated around junctions and areas with poor visibility.’ So, I’m sure that you will agree with me that we do need to...
Dawn Bowden: Today, I want to thank you, Minister, for taking the correct step in commissioning an independent review of the maternity services in Cwm Taf, a review which must act as a fresh foundation in rebuilding greater faith in these important services. The fact that the Minister himself commissioned the independent review tells me what I need to know at this point. I believe that, last October, the...
Dawn Bowden: 3. What recent analysis has the Welsh Government made of the impact of austerity on equality in Wales? OAQ53851
Dawn Bowden: Thank you for that answer, Minister. I remain deeply shocked and saddened at the weekly visits to my constituency office from people who find that their lives are becoming harder and are facing an ever-more unequal society, largely due to the impacts of austerity. And in spite of what Theresa May has said, the Tories continue to impose austerity on our communities. Minister, do you agree...
