Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for your statement today, expanding on the written statement published last week. I clearly welcome the emphasis on how we are focusing on those learners who are in poverty, and we do know that poverty affects attainment. We don't need to rehearse that—we're already aware of it. But, given the cost-of-living crisis specifically, we are seeing more and more learners...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for this important statement today. I fully accept the point that you've made, we all know people who haven't ticked that box in terms of the Welsh language in the census. But, I have to say that I am concerned in hearing you say a number of times, as the First Minister has also done—you used the words 'just' the census. But, the census is exceptionally important. In...
Heledd Fychan: Certainly, I would like to associate myself with all the comments made. The programme was a very difficult one to watch. It does raise questions, because we've rightly been proud of rugby as a national sport alongside football, and everybody should feel safe in the workplace, and they are absolutely abhorrent, those allegations. What has equally been abhorrent, in my view, has been the public...
Heledd Fychan: May I also add my thanks to the clerks, my fellow Members and everyone who provided evidence? As the Chair said in opening this debate, the situation is worse than it was when we were taking evidence, and the situation was grim enough in terms of the future of arts and culture then. And Alun Davies's point is crucially important, I think, in terms of equality, because I despise seeing surveys...
Heledd Fychan: The NHS workforce do heroic work every day. I'm sure that all of us have many reasons to thank them for the care that we've had personally, or members of our family have had, let alone our constituents. But, we can't deny the great stress on them or the fact that very experienced staff are leaving every week because they can't deal with the stress anymore.
Heledd Fychan: Visiting hospitals, visiting picket lines, and speaking to NHS workers, they describe a system in crisis that is stopping them from being able to do their job to the best of their ability. They know that people are dying that they could save, and that is taking a toll on their health and well-being, meaning that retention is increasingly becoming a concern. That's why this is the second step...
Heledd Fychan: Will you take an intervention?
Heledd Fychan: The hospital in question, I visited in August, and this is the situation I was told then. I visited again recently, and that was still the situation—just for some context.
Heledd Fychan: Will you take an intervention?
Heledd Fychan: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Deputy Minister, an Institute of Welsh Affairs report published last year described communities in Wales as the least empowered in Britain. It further stated that people are facing an arduous and demoralising process to save assets, such as leisure centres, libraries and land, and that it is extremely likely that libraries and land have been lost due to Welsh Ministers...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Deputy Minister. But we know that councils will be cutting these vital services—services that, as you outline, are rightly incredibly important in terms of the future generations Act, health and well-being and so on. We know that these cuts are coming from 1 April unless something drastically changes. We know that financial settlement hasn't been adequate to ensure that those...
Heledd Fychan: 9. What steps is the Minister taking to improve recruitment and retention in the NHS? OQ59056
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister. When I've visited hospitals and picket lines in my region, staff have shared with me time and again the immense stress and pressure that they're under and the fact that many of their experienced colleagues are leaving on a weekly basis. They can no longer cope with the pressure that they're under, the stress of not being able to give the best possible care to all patients...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Minister, for the update and for the opportunity to see the statement in advance. I particularly welcome the fact that the Minister has stated his commitment to ensuring that all learners in all schools have the best possible opportunity to be confident Welsh speakers. This is an important principle, and takes us further than the commitment in the 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy, which...
Heledd Fychan: Trefnydd, we have all rightfully been horrified by the testimony that has come forward relating to sexism, misogyny and racism within the Welsh Rugby Union. As Members will be aware, a Senedd scrutiny committee had the opportunity to question both the WRU and the Deputy Minister for arts and sport last week on the matter. During the scrutiny session with the Welsh Government, it was clear...
Heledd Fychan: I think there's a point of order necessary here, because we're not debating the co-operation agreement; we're debating the draft budget. And if anybody is trying to score political points, I would say that it is our colleague Hefin David. I don't see the relevance of this in terms of the draft budget. I would like to know why you think our amendment is pointless. It is a proposal. It's about...
Heledd Fychan: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I think, very clearly, listening to this debate, there are two things that strike me: first, that certainly the biggest risk to Wales and its citizens is remaining part of the UK and not having these levers under our control, and secondly that all the Brexit dividend promises were lies. We're not seeing that reflected in the reality here in Wales. Last night, I...
Heledd Fychan: Secondly, if I could turn to the Welsh language, this is the first draft budget since the publication of the census results, as Delyth Jewell mentioned, and we know that significant investment is needed in a number of areas if we're reach the target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050. However, a real-terms cut of 2.4 per cent in expenditure on the Welsh language is contained within this...
Heledd Fychan: Yes. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd. I just wanted to check, really, that I'd heard correctly earlier, and I'd like to ask for a ruling, Dirprwy Lywydd, as to whether the language used and one phrase in particular used by Hefin David in the course of the debate were acceptable. I won't repeat the words, but they were crass, insensitive, and in a workplace setting, arguably...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, yesterday, during the debate on the draft budget, I asked the Minister for finance to consider the budget implications in terms of the target of a million Welsh speakers, and, specifically, whether there are any plans to support free entry for local families or low-income families to the Urdd Eisteddfod and the National Eisteddfod this year. Last year, you...
