Rhianon Passmore: I very much welcome the third supplementary budget from the Welsh Government. Our clear approach in Wales to scrutiny of public finances is both transparent and reliable. As a member of the Public Accounts Committee and the Finance Committee, I do very much value that we prioritise and spend wisely the public moneys available to us in Wales. However, in Wales, we have to operate—as has been...
Rhianon Passmore: I also support this budget, and I again commend the Minister and the Welsh Labour Government for the twin commitment of tackling ambitiously the successful efforts in Wales to bear down on the pandemic and to start the process of building back our economy fairer, after a decade of starvation of funding and underinvestment to Wales. It is also right that the Welsh Government has reliably and...
Rhianon Passmore: What is the Welsh Government doing to further the rights of LGBT+ communities in Islwyn?
Rhianon Passmore: Minister, I want to thank you for your statement and for the work of this Welsh Government in ensuring that we can continue with the urgently needed rebuild of our Welsh schools infrastructure. Education, apart from love, I believe, is the greatest gift that we can give our children. As a society, it speaks to who and what we are, to what we prioritise and what we value as a progressive and...
Rhianon Passmore: 10. Will the Minister provide an update on changes to the Welsh Government's taxation policy to support businesses in light of the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ56462
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Minister. The Welsh Government in its final budget stated it will set aside a further £200 million for businesses from its own reserves. This is additional again to the previous Wales-only additional spend made from its own budget, and further cements Wales as providing the best package of business support in the whole of the UK. What representations therefore has the Welsh...
Rhianon Passmore: 5. What has the Welsh Government done to invest in the physical infrastructure of schools in Islwyn? OQ56463
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Minister. As I said yesterday in this Chamber, education, apart from love, is the greatest gift that we can give our children. As a society, it speaks to who and what we are, what we prioritise and all that we value as a progressive, vibrant and dynamic nation. As such, I wish to thank you, Minister, for our often robust interactions and I wish to put on record my support for your...
Rhianon Passmore: I'm coming to it. Minister, thank you. How will, then, Islwyn communities and schools benefit from this innovative £3.7 billion programme, going forward, and what do you feel is your legacy?
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, today marks a year of the national lockdown, yet on 8 March 2020 Scott Howell, then 48, from Blackwood in Islwyn, became the first person from Gwent to go into intensive care due to complications caused by what turned out to be COVID-19. Scott Howell epitomises the communities of Islwyn and he thanks the Welsh national health service for saving his life. But...
Rhianon Passmore: It's been a privilege to sit as a member of the Finance Committee of Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, and this is especially so when it comes to the piece of work of this committee looking at the Wales Act 2014, which within it saw the biggest changes to the Welsh devolution settlement in over 800 years. I do wish to thank the Chair for his hard work and to my fellow committee colleagues for...
Rhianon Passmore: I want to also thank the Chair and committee staff for their unprecedented work on the future generations scrutiny in a virtual landscape, and providing Wales-first best practice on access and engagement, as I have highlighted to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association members and, of course, across the public accounts work in the Senedd. The Member for Monmouth, Nick Ramsay, has been a...
Rhianon Passmore: Education Cabinet Minister—can I also begin by congratulating you on your appointment as Minister for Education and Welsh Language? I know that the children of Islwyn and Wales will have no greater champion and I thank you for your informative statement today. Islwyn schools, children, staff, families and governors have done all they can and more to maintain learning and resilience during...
Rhianon Passmore: Minister for Health and Social Services, may I warmly, firstly, welcome your appointment on behalf of the people of Islwyn? Your statement today is informative on where Wales stands in this pandemic, and Wales is recognised as the world leader amongst countries over 1 million inhabitants for its vaccination programme. One of my pledges to the people of Islwyn in the election was that every...
Rhianon Passmore: The creative sectors across Wales and the UK have undoubtedly been devastated and traumatised by the ongoing COVID pandemic, as has already been referenced. The Welsh Labour Government is to be commended on its election pledge to establish a national music service to make sure that a lack of money is no barrier in Wales to young people learning to play an instrument or study voice. Members...
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. The constituency of Islwyn, which I represent, is made up of very strong communities of, in the main, working-class men and women, who continue to dream of a better tomorrow, even though our todays have never, ever been more challenging. So, that the Hollywood movie giants Warner Brothers Pictures recently portrayed Islwyn and Wales on the silver screen with...
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. First Minister, on behalf of the people of Islwyn, firstly, I wanted to briefly congratulate you on a stunning election victory in May, and for all that you have done personally in keeping Wales safe during the pandemic. The unprecedented pandemic continues to rightly dominate all our minds and has changed all assumptions about how we will live, work and play...
Rhianon Passmore: I warmly welcome this statement this afternoon from the Minister for Health and Social Services, and the recognition of the innovative work of Aneurin Bevan health board that was mentioned earlier. The Office for National Statistics has estimated that more than 1 million people in Britain have so far suffered from long COVID, and The Sunday Times only this week christened the UK as the long...
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Llywydd. The excitement and passion that Wales feels for its sport can be seen tonight, as we all know, at 5 p.m., as the men's team take on Turkey in our second match in the European Football Championship. So, I don't want to cross you, Llywydd, but I can't help but say 'good luck' to Robert Page and his team. Our Welsh Labour Government, though, has a proud and an enviable record of...
Rhianon Passmore: I note the Tory proposed amendments and I very much welcome this debate. Much of the contributions here today actually have been very interesting. We only have to look across the border to England and to the actions of the UK Government to see the very stark contrast in approaches to housing policy. It was revealed this week that the billionaire property tycoon John Bloor gave the Tory party...
