Vikki Howells: I would like to thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I very much welcome your announcement today. I understand that the Welsh Government is clearly at a very early stage with regard to the commission, but one thing I would like to focus on is the fact that these infrastructure developments that we are looking at must be linked back to good jobs and work and training opportunities. I was struck by a...
Vikki Howells: From my meetings with stakeholders, including groups of farmers in my constituency, kindly organised by the FUW and the NFU, but also meetings that I’ve held with animal welfare organisations, I know that the adoption of a balanced and bespoke approach to tackling bovine TB, outlined in the Cabinet Secretary’s statement, will be of reassurance to them. We know that 95 per cent of...
Vikki Howells: Building works will start in my constituency soon on a new community primary school at Cwmaman, where the local authority is using twenty-first century schools funding to deliver school facilities that are fit for purpose. Will you join with me, Cabinet Secretary, in congratulating Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council for the way in which it is engaging with the twenty-first century...
Vikki Howells: First Minister, just over a third of business premises in England and Northern Ireland, and just under half in Scotland, currently benefit from business rate relief compared to over 70 per cent of Welsh businesses. I look forward to the publication of the Welsh Government’s permanent rate relief scheme for small businesses, but will the Welsh Government make sure that this is still the most...
Vikki Howells: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the ending of the Schools Challenge Cymru programme? OAQ(5)0037(EDU)
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I recently visited Pontypridd High School in my constituency and had a useful discussion with the headteacher on how Schools Challenge Cymru was helping them to drive up standards. For example, 2016 marked their best ever performance in terms of GCSE results. Having taught myself in a Schools Challenge Cymru school, which last year was the second best improved...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Firstly, I must say how pleased I am to hear that Rhondda Cynon Taf will be one of the pilot authorities in this scheme. I’m sure it will bring enormous benefits to my area. I have three questions for you today. Firstly, Cabinet Secretary, I wonder what consideration you have given to flexible and alternative models of childcare delivery that fully take account...
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Lywydd and thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I’d like to place on record my full support for the proposal that you outline today. We all know how important tourism is as a sector to the Welsh economy, and it’s absolutely vital that we market that strongly moving forward, if it is to retain and enhance the presence that it currently has. My first question relates to the importance of...
Vikki Howells: 6. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government progress to reduce childhood obesity rates? OAQ(5)0063(HWS)
Vikki Howells: Publication of the UK Government’s action plan for tackling childhood obesity met with criticism from campaigners due to the watering down of many of the expected proposals, especially those around sugar and on the advertising of unhealthy foods. In the Cwm Taf Local Health Board area, which includes my constituency, 28.1 per cent of four- to five-year-olds, the second highest in Wales, are...
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Two questions and I’ll try to be concise, Chair. I’d like to thank you for the statement you’ve made today, as one of the members of the committee myself, and I welcome the comments regarding looking at the broader context of farming and the role of the rural economy, particularly with regard to the Welsh language as well. So, firstly, my question is: how can we...
Vikki Howells: This debate is a stark reminder of the challenges facing the natural environment, not only in Wales, but in the seas and oceans that border our country. The threats facing these fragile marine ecosystems, and the steps we can take to mitigate their effect, will be the focus of my contribution today. After all, we should never forget that Welsh territorial waters occupy an area equivalent to...
Vikki Howells: 1. How is the Welsh Government supporting people who have been affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? OAQ(5)0263(FM)
Vikki Howells: Thank you, First Minister. I recently met with the British Lung Foundation to discuss access to pulmonary rehabilitation services for the 2,000 people in my constituency living with COPD. While those in the north Cynon GP cluster are transported to Merthyr with relative ease, those in the south can face difficulties, having to travel to Tonypandy, often over two mountains, for their pulmonary...
Vikki Howells: Illegal off-road biking is a type of landscape crime that harms our natural landscape and can also pose a danger to the public. Natural Resources Wales recently revealed that 22 people had been arrested for illegal off-road biking in south Wales in November alone, and many residents I’ve spoken to in my constituency have highlighted the problems caused by this activity. What actions are the...
Vikki Howells: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the work of regional consortia in improving educational attainment in the Cynon Valley? OAQ(5)0052(EDU)
Vikki Howells: I recently met with representatives of the Central South Consortium at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School in my constituency and was impressed to hear about the year-on-year improvement the consortium has seen across every performance indicator, from key stage 2 to key stage 5. Success in areas like Cardiff is often based on work with pupils drawn from a range of diverse backgrounds where...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The wide-ranging educational reforms introduced by the Welsh Government in areas including the curriculum, qualifications and teachers’ professional development have been welcomed by teachers and fully supported by the OECD. I welcome your categorical assurances that we will hold firm to this agenda, not deviate from the path we’ve set ourselves and give...
Vikki Howells: As Public Health Wales reminds us in ‘Making a Difference’, their priority policy areas for creating a healthy Wales, over half of Welsh adults and around a quarter of Welsh children are overweight or obese, with particular issues in disadvantaged communities, such as my own in RCT, where the figure stands at 63 per cent of adults. If the numbers of people who are overweight or obese...
Vikki Howells: Does the First Minister agree that the completion of the cross-Valley link road in Mountain Ash will reduce congestion in this particular part of South Wales Central and, moreover, that it will play an important part in assisting the two-way flow of capital and labour in future economic schemes such as the Cardiff capital region?
