Helen Mary Jones: 6. What recent assessment has been made of the demand for Welsh-medium education in Mid and West Wales? OQ55607
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to you, Minister, for the answer. I know that you will want to join me in congratulating Powys County Council, who have recently put out to tender again to build the 150-place Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng in Welshpool. As someone who grew up in Montgomeryshire and was educated there, albeit a very long time ago, I very much welcome this investment. I'd like to ask you about the next...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm pleased to support the motion and grateful to Jack Sargeant for tabling it and giving us the opportunity to support and for his powerful opening speech. And of course, as Jack said, Mark Isherwood's contribution to the debate has just demonstrated that there will always be people who will look to find new and innovative ideas impossible and undeliverable. I would submit we have to be more...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. I know that the Minister agrees with me that the steel industry is absolutely vital to the future of Welsh industry, and I'm sure that he would also agree with me that, in terms of decarbonising the industry—. Sorry, is the Minister having trouble hearing me?
Helen Mary Jones: Shall I start again?
Helen Mary Jones: Of course. I know, Minister, that you'll agree with me how important the steel industry is to not only Wales's current economic activity, but to our future. And I'm sure that you would also agree with me that, in order to decarbonise our use of steel in Wales and in the UK, we should be decarbonising our own production, rather than allowing our production to disappear and then purchasing...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm very grateful to the Minister for his answer, and I'm sure that we all, across the Chamber, will be glad to hear that those discussions and negotiations are ongoing. We had a representative of UK Steel, the umbrella body, before our committee today, and he acknowledged the point that the Minister makes—that there will need to be UK-wide intervention, and that intervention is beyond the...
Helen Mary Jones: Thank you for that, Minister. I'd like, in my third question, to take you to a very different industry, and that is the hair and beauty industry. We, again, had representatives of that industry before us—before the committee—today, and they were emphasising the importance of those businesses as destinations on the high street. You know, you can't get your hair cut remotely; you might be...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I hope the Minister isn't getting fed up with me by now.
Helen Mary Jones: 3. What discussions has the Minister had regarding additional support for businesses in areas of new COVID-19 restrictions, such as Llanelli? OQ55636
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Minister for his answer. I'm sure he understands that in many communities across Wales, and Llanelli is one of them, many businesses, especially smaller businesses, have already suffered pretty seriously through the COVID crisis, particularly in fields like hospitality. They're working on very small margins. They won't have resources to enable them to invest in recovery....
Helen Mary Jones: 8. What discussions has the Counsel General had regarding the impact of a no-deal Brexit on the manufacturing industry in Mid and West Wales? OQ55637
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Counsel General for his answer. We had representatives of the steel industry in front of the economy committee, and they were highlighting the dangers of a 'no deal' Brexit as potentially very serious for their future. This, obviously, has a big effect potentially on the Trostre steel plant in Llanelli. What further representations can the Welsh Government make to the UK...
Helen Mary Jones: Can I thank Russell George for putting this very important question to the Minister today? I'm grateful to the Minister for all that he's said with regard to what has been done so far. Can I just ask him to be absolutely clear that he and his officials will take the most flexible approach possible to any potential business support to enable these jobs to be retained? A hundred and twenty-nine...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch, Llywydd, and can I thank everybody who has contributed to this debate? I think the number of people who've contributed—and indeed the number of amendments that were tabled—show us how important the parties across this Senedd take our responsibilities towards the arts sector. I should be clear at this point that I am speaking for my party here, not as Chair of the culture...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Minister for his statement today and very pleased to be able to say that we can maintain the cross-party support to which he refers. I'd echo what he says about the work of the taskforce: they've done an excellent piece of work and it seems to me that this pragmatic approach is a very sensible one. I'd echo too what the Deputy Minister has said about the seriousness of the...
Helen Mary Jones: 9. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the train derailment and diesel spillage at Llangennech on the local cockle picking industry? OQ55701
Helen Mary Jones: Thank you, Minister. I'm very glad to hear that very positive news, but you will be aware that people are concerned that deposits of diesel further up the estuary may work their way down towards the cockle beds. Can you give us assurance today that you will continue to monitor what is happening with regard to the ongoing pollution risk there to ensure that this small but very important local...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch yn fawr, acting Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I just say how grateful I am to Jenny Randerson, as many others have already said, for tabling this important motion—[Interruption.] Rathbone—I've gone into some kind of time warp. I'm very sorry, I've got my Jennys muddled up. I do apologise. But I'm really grateful to Jenny for tabling this and to everybody who has supported it. This...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I am grateful to the Conservatives for, once again, tabling an opportunity for us to discuss the economy. There are two things, I think, that are worrying our constituents across Wales at the moment. One of them is their health and the other is future prosperity and jobs, and I think it's really valuable for us to have these discussions. Of course, we don't disagree...
