Caroline Jones: 4. What action is the Welsh Government taking to reduce the cost of agency staff in the teaching profession? OAQ52959
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, we are spending around £40 million a year on supply teachers, with most of that going to agencies, which overcharge schools and underpay staff. We cannot manage without supply teachers, but as Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru have highlighted, supply teachers tend to be treated exceptionally poorly in terms of pay, working conditions and with a general lack of respect....
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank everyone involved in tabling this important debate today. Our further education colleges are an essential link in the education chain and it is vital that we ensure that they're properly funded and adequately resourced. I've had the pleasure to work closely with Gower college in my region, which is a large further education college with over 4,500 full-time and 10,000...
Caroline Jones: What steps is the Welsh Government taking to improve access to new medicines?
Caroline Jones: The decision to commission a feasibility study into creating a national gallery of contemporary art and a national sport museum is something I personally welcome because I want to see Wales, my country, prosper in terms of the abundance of talent we have in the arts and encourage people from other countries to partake and compete in Wales, therefore adding growth to our economy. Rural areas...
Caroline Jones: Yes, certainly, Adam.
Caroline Jones: This is what I was coming to, and this is what I'm trying to raise in my point. I'm passionate about the arts, being a former drama teacher and PE teacher, so arts are my thing. But looking at the other ways of raising, as you've just enlightened me about, so thank you very much for that. I want to keep our vital services open, like the libraries and so on, because people depend on them and...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee for their report and to thank the clerks for helping with the inquiry. The inquiry into the funding of the arts predates my membership of the committee, so, unfortunately, I was unable to interact with the witnesses, but I would also like to thank them for providing robust evidence. There are those who believe that, in...
Caroline Jones: Leader of the house, good-quality sheltered housing can play a vital role in ensuring older people remain independent and can help tackle loneliness and isolation. Providing good-quality sheltered housing can also help ensure that family homes become available as older people downsize. Recent studies have also found that utilising sensors in sheltered accommodation can help predict and avoid...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Leader of the house, could I ask that the Cabinet Secretary for Education makes an oral statement to the Siambr regarding your Government's plans to tackle bullying? I am aware that the Welsh Government is consulting on draft guidance on bullying, but I would question whether guidance is sufficient, and I am not the only one. The coroner in the Bradley John inquest has...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, the city deal has a big part to play in improving the economy of my region, as does true collaboration between the public and private sectors. The region's small and medium-sized enterprises need a Government that understand their needs when it comes to infrastructure and regulation. What advice would you give your successor when it comes to creating the right environment for...
Caroline Jones: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline how changes to planning regulations can help tackle climate change? OAQ53083
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Planning and building regulations aimed at improving the energy efficiency of new-build homes require homes to be so well insulated that they require little heating. However, as a result of climate change, the UK is set to experience more frequent heatwaves, summers like this year are thirty times more likely. During the summer, many new-build properties...
Caroline Jones: 3. How does the Welsh Government ensure that disabled people in Wales receive equal treatment and opportunities? OAQ53090
Caroline Jones: Leader of the house, I have received representations from constituents expressing dismay about their inability to travel on public transport with friends, because they all need wheelchair spaces. And, if you're lucky, most public transport has one or two spots for wheelchairs. Most of us take for granted the ability to travel together, yet disabled people in Wales are being denied that right....
Caroline Jones: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the implications for Wales following the COP24 United Nations Climate Change Conference?
Caroline Jones: Abstain.
Caroline Jones: It's been 70 years since the United Nations universal declaration of human rights was adopted, and we've come a long way in the last seven decades, but we haven't come far enough. For millions of people around the world, those universal promises and protections are nothing but a distant dream. The 30 articles that we hold so dear have little meaning to the people in Yemen or Venezuela, Syria...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank Professor Holtham for producing yet another insightful report, which will help inform one of the biggest decisions facing our nation: how do we pay for social care? No-one can deny that this is a pressing concern. Social care is in crisis, as the health committee has pointed out. The current level of funding is insufficient to meet current demand, let alone future need. The...
Caroline Jones: Minister, in recent years we have seen a drop in the number of adults pursuing lifelong learning opportunities at our FE colleges. However, the sector still provides learning opportunities to nearly 65 per cent of Wales's 250,000 adult learners. The FE sector is facing a funding crisis due to recent cuts. What assessment has your Government made of the impact these cuts will have on lifelong...
