Jenny Rathbone: I read your report with interest, as I'm not a member of the committee, but I used to manage a Sure Start programme, so I have a particular interest in the importance of outreach. I was a bit disappointed, then, when I read it that you didn't focus on the effectiveness of outreach within the geographical borders of Flying Start, as that, to me, is one of the most significant issues when...
Jenny Rathbone: Like colleagues on these benches, I'm very keen to celebrate all that you've managed to achieve. I think there are huge benefits from this new contract. Obviously, being able to buy our tickets on the phone and integrated ticketing so that the full journey is completed from when we go home to our destination and back again—that's all fantastic. And also being able to build our new...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I think it's a really interesting statement. I'm very pleased to hear about these four pilots, but I'm obviously a bit frustrated that we haven't been able to extend this further, because it's great that we're getting new businesses going into the Valleys, but for many of my constituents, having to travel more than half an hour is a real barrier to work,...
Jenny Rathbone: 3. What outcomes does the Welsh Government expect to achieve from the £60 million investment in active travel announced in May? OAQ52275
Jenny Rathbone: Would you agree with me, Cabinet Secretary, that we do really need a step change? I'm looking at the post-legislative scrutiny of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 and it does not make for comfortable reading, because whereas, in 2013-14, we had 53 per cent of children walking to primary school and 2 per cent bicycling, four years later it's gone down to 42 per cent walking and 1 per cent...
Jenny Rathbone: I just want to emphasise that whilst cyclists might pose a risk to a pedestrian, that is nothing as compared with cars. So, I think dangerous driving is far more significant an issue than poor cycling.
Jenny Rathbone: I very much welcome the debate brought forward by David Melding, and I think there are lots of really interesting ideas in the paper he presented to his own party's conference. Decarbonisation, I'm very pleased to say, is a key priority of the Welsh Government's economic action plan, so I think there are lots of exciting ideas that we can pick up on in delivering what we absolutely have to do...
Jenny Rathbone: That's a fantastic idea. I hadn't appreciated that, but I'll get onto that immediately, because one of the problems we have in Cardiff is that we've got over 1,000 city centre parking places, which is obviously allowing people to do absolutely the wrong thing. They should be coming in on public transport or park and ride, rather than trying to park in the middle of the city centre; it's...
Jenny Rathbone: I do. Basically, I'm sure I share your enthusiasm for the project, and do you agree that the £200 million that the Welsh Government has put on the table, as long as the UK Government is prepared to match the strike price that they've offered to Hinkley Point, is a very good way of proceeding forward on this important project?
Jenny Rathbone: Whilst I appreciate you're not an enthusiast for nationalisation, would you agree that Germany is hardly a hardcore socialist economy and there, what we have is a flowering of local energy companies that provide proper competition that is lacking in the UK? Would you and the Conservative Party agree that that is a model that we ought to be aspiring to here in Wales?
Jenny Rathbone: 6. What additional action will the Welsh Government take to tackle air pollution in Cardiff? OAQ52306
Jenny Rathbone: Clearly, this is a very serious matter because we have the potential for further legal action in the High Court hanging over us if we are not seen to be addressing this major health problem as quickly as possible. The KeolisAmey contract for delivering rail and metro is extremely welcome. The increased Wi-Fi on the trains will encourage more commuters to do the right thing and actually be...
Jenny Rathbone: You said at an earlier discussion in the Chamber that the health service either changes or it'll fall over, and that seems to me the challenge in front of us that we've all got to play our part in. And it's a really difficult job, because changing the way people do things is really complicated and many people find it difficult to adopt new ways of working. So, I think one of the challenges...
Jenny Rathbone: I'm rising to say that I think both these amendments are inappropriate, because we've been talking about this for quite a long time and we now need to get on with it. I've heard absolutely no evidence that the pubs will be anything other than beneficiaries of minimum pricing, simply because the organisations who are targeting people with ridiculously low alcohol prices are the...
Jenny Rathbone: 8. What plans does the Welsh Government have to revise the food and drink action plan to meet the challenges presented by Brexit? OAQ52304
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Brexit poses some major questions around the resilience of our food supplies to enable us to feed our populations. We currently import £9 billion-worth of fruit and vegetables across the UK, and that compares with a mere £1 billion-worth of vegetables and fruit that we grow here in the UK. So, there are some pretty major issues around food security if the UK...
Jenny Rathbone: Okay. So, diversifying into horticulture requires planning, training and the development of new distribution mechanisms, even before we start talking about food processing, which already occurs across country boundaries. So, how does the Government plan to proceed to tackle these strategic issues, either through revising the food and drink action plan or some other mechanism?
Jenny Rathbone: I think it's very heart-warming that a lot of Members who weren't on the committee and involved in the inquiry have shown an interest in it, because, obviously, I hope that you've found it useful. It was certainly a very interesting inquiry to be involved in. I just wanted briefly to pay tribute to a couple of local organisations that I deal with on a regular basis. One is Cardiff Council's...
Jenny Rathbone: We absolutely have to cherish carers, because if we don’t, we are not operating prudent healthcare, and we will end up causing the system to be far more expensive as well as far less responsive to the needs of individuals who need that care. I have in mind an elderly constituent, in her late 80s, who is still looking after her autistic son in his 50s. I do worry about that, because I do...
Jenny Rathbone: What does the Welsh Government intend to achieve from reforming the governance of fire and rescue authorities?
