Lynne Neagle: What discussions has the Minister had with Natural Resources Wales about the environment in the south Wales valleys?
Lynne Neagle: Minister, I believe that the plans for every child in Wales to have a mandatory right to developmentally appropriate RSE is one of the great strengths of the new curriculum. Will you take this opportunity to agree with me that having that provision is not just fundamental for children's rights, but is absolutely crucial in order to ensure that children and young people can keep themselves...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. I want to start by thanking my co-sponsors of today's debate, Leanne Wood and Bethan Sayed. I know Bethan's office has published some really valuable research into this area, but she also brings a vital personal perspective to this subject, having had a lockdown baby herself. I also want to recognise the support from Members across the Chamber and also the National Society...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you for the opportunity to speak in the debate today and to support the further steps being taken by the Welsh Government to keep people safe in this unprecedented public health emergency. My heart goes out to those in the hospitality industry who've worked hard to try to make their premises COVID secure, but I believe, as I have throughout this pandemic, that the top priority has to be...
Lynne Neagle: The situation that we face now in Wales is grave, and we are seeing exponential growth of coronavirus. When I spoke last week, I highlighted the huge pressure on the NHS and on social care in Gwent. Since then, the situation has worsened. On Friday, the Aneurin Bevan health board became the first in Wales to suspend all non-urgent treatment due to the immense pressure services are under. I've...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. I’m very pleased to contribute to this Stage 1 debate to outline the Children, Young People and Education Committee’s main conclusions and recommendations in relation to the curriculum and assessment Bill. I want to begin by stating that our committee supports the general principles of this Bill. The evidence we received made it clear that improvements are needed to...
Lynne Neagle: I’ll turn now to the main issues we think need further work between now and the Bill’s passing. Firstly, we think more reassurance is needed about the balance that will be struck between local flexibility and national consistency. We support the aim of empowering teachers to design a curriculum that meets the needs of pupils. We also recognise that the new curriculum will not be uniform...
Lynne Neagle: Will the First Minister make a statement on the implications of Brexit for manufacturing in Wales?
Lynne Neagle: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's priorities for the environment in Torfaen for the remainder of this Senedd term? OQ56057
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Minister. SL Recycling Ltd has been operating a waste plant on the former Shanks incinerator site in a residential area of New Inn, in my constituency. They were granted a permit by NRW many months ago, despite the fact that the company is only now applying for planning permission from the local authority. Since they've begun operating, I've received a huge volume of complaints...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you. I'm very concerned to hear this, and I certainly do share your concerns, because obviously planning and environmental permitting are complementary regimes. The planning permission determines if the development is an acceptable use of land, for instance, and it's absolutely right that the complaints went to the local authority in the first place, but I'll be certainly very happy to...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Acting Presiding Officer. It's two and a half years since I stood in this Chamber to say that I was both proud and privileged to address the Senedd on the Children, Young People and Education Committee's 'Mind over matter' report. At the beginning of that debate, I said that the emotional and mental health of our children and young people was one of the most important issues, if...
Lynne Neagle: Two and a half years ago, our committee made our commitment to this area clear. We called for the emotional and mental health and well-being of our children and young people to be a stated national priority for Welsh Government. We called for an urgent step-change in the support provided for our children and young people, arguing that provision had been too limited for too long. We called for...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. Can I thank everybody who has participated in the debate for their contributions? I'll try and respond in the time that I've got available to some of the key points that were made. Can I thank Suzy Davies for her contributions and her very well-made points about looked-after children? In our original inquiry, the evidence that we received on looked-after children from the...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Minister, and I very much welcome the action that you took before Christmas to take us into alert level 4, and I also wanted to pay my heartfelt thanks to our NHS and social care staff, who are dealing with an unprecedented public health emergency. You referred in your earlier comments to the importance of keeping children and young people in school, which I entirely concur with,...
Lynne Neagle: I'd like to ask for a statement, please, on the operation of the childcare offer for Wales during these tier 4 arrangements. Parents in my constituency have been told that if they decide not to send their children into nursery, because they're trying to follow the Welsh Government's advice to stay home, they will either have to pay the money themselves or lose their place. And further to...
Lynne Neagle: 4. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that learners in Wales are not digitally excluded? OQ56113
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, I very much welcome the findings of the Education Policy Institute, which said that digital devices in Wales had been rolled out much more quickly than in other UK nations, a finding of course that they also made in relation to school meal provision, which has certainly been brought into very sharp relief this week. As you know, though, the situation, as we...
Lynne Neagle: Will the Minister make a statement on additional financial support provided to the Welsh Government by the UK Treasury in response to the coronavirus pandemic?
Lynne Neagle: 2. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health in Wales? OQ56142