Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank the Finance Committee for their report. The state of our roads is one of the frequent complaints I receive as an Assembly Member. Anyone who uses any of Wales’s 21,000 miles of road will tell you that many of those roads are in a poor state of repair. Avoiding potholes has become a fixture in our daily commute. According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance, it will take over...
Caroline Jones: We are fast approaching a crisis in public services. Local authority budgets have been cut to the bone in recent years, and this year’s local government finance settlement will do nothing to relieve the pressure on local public services. Wales’s local authorities, on the back of this year’s settlement, are planning massive cuts to local public services and the laying off of teachers,...
Caroline Jones: What action will the Welsh Government take over the next 12 months to improve public services in South Wales West?
Caroline Jones: Minister, my region depends on Tata, Ford and Sony, which are all major employers and a vital part of the supply chain. My region cannot afford to lose any more jobs. In recent years, all these major employers have scaled back their operations, leading to large job losses. This is a particularly worrying time for workers at the Bridgend Ford plant, and, as with Tata and Sony, the key to...
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank Paul Davies for his continuing efforts to make an autism Act for Wales a reality. This Bill will help deliver what those on the ASD spectrum have been calling for for years—action to improve autism services in Wales, action that the ASD action plan has so far failed to deliver. The Minister has, on a number of occasions, denied that there is any need for this Bill, but...
Caroline Jones: How will the Welsh Government improve public health in South Wales West?
Caroline Jones: Minister, do you accept that Wales does not need 22 separate local authorities and that previous Ministers' attempts to solve the issue without actually reorganising local government has led to massive waste and bureaucracy? On Monday, I met with a group of headteachers from my region to discuss the funding crisis in education, and one of their primary concerns was with the extra tier of...
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank Darren for bringing forward his proposal for an older people’s rights Bill. I fully support the intention behind Darren’s proposals, and will do all I can to help ensure this Bill becomes an Act of this Assembly. I'm passionate about tackling loneliness and isolation and I have spoken in this Chamber many times on the subject. Protecting the rights of older people...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for your statement, Minister. Obesity is one of the greatest challenges facing our nation, and I welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has unveiled this strategy, because we are the most obese nation in Europe. So, a strategy is very welcome. Minister, there is much about your plan that I support and I welcome the focus on prevention, particularly in the...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. Homelessness and rough-sleeping are one of the nation’s greatest shames. The fact that we don’t have enough housing for our citizens is bad enough, but the fact that we neglect those in mental anguish, leading to them sleeping in shop doorways, is disgraceful, and I hope you'll agree with me. A large percentage of those forced to sleep rough are...
Caroline Jones: Minister, I was recently invited to visit the new school in the shadow of the Port Talbot steelworks, one of the most disadvantaged communities in Wales. Whilst the new building will help combat the disadvantages of crumbling facilities, it's the curriculum and how it's delivered that will help young people escape disadvantage. The steelworks are one of the region's biggest employers, and...
Caroline Jones: 7. What is the Welsh Government doing to tackle missed appointments in the NHS? OAQ53351
Caroline Jones: Minister, I recently had a hospital appointment rearranged at short notice. Thankfully, I received the notification letter the evening before the appointment. However, I know others who weren't as lucky. Given that we're constantly reminded of the cost to the NHS of missed appointments, what is your Government doing to ensure that patients are informed of appointments or any changes, and will...
Caroline Jones: I'd first of all like to thank David Rees for tabling this debate today, and it's a pleasure to take part. Steel is in the blood of my region. It was at the heart of the industrial revolution and transformed south Wales into the world’s powerhouse. Without the steelworks, large parts of South Wales West wouldn’t exist. Port Talbot grew out of this revolution to become one of Britain’s...
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank the Minister for tabling this debate, and I acknowledge the progress that has been made. However, we have so much more to do. Substance abuse affects every section of our society; 34 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women drank more than the recommended limits on at least one day during the last week. Adults living in households in the highest income bracket are twice...
Caroline Jones: Minister, I was pleased to see the new economic contract, given the hostility to private enterprise displayed by the UK leadership of your party, particularly the shadow chancellor. Minister, will you confirm that the key to economic success in Wales is true partnership between the public and private sectors, and Government providing the best environment for private enterprise to thrive?
Caroline Jones: Natural Resources Wales exists to make best use of our resources, to protect our environment, to conserve our natural heritage and to enforce environmental protections. Unfortunately, NRW is dysfunctional, as highlighted by the Public Accounts Committee Report into NRW’s 2017-18 accounts. I would like to thank the Public Accounts Committee for producing their report, and for the fact that...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales for his annual report. It's a report card on the performance of Wales's education system, and it appears that we are not doing well enough. While eight in 10 primary schools are deemed good or better, only 8 per cent of Wales's primary schools are classed as excellent schools. Every child in Wales deserves to...
Caroline Jones: Minister, it's not just air pollution that we have to worry about in Port Talbot and my wider region. Other pollutants are also having an impact. A recent review in the journal of Biological Conservation highlighted the impact pesticides were having on invertebrate species. As the species champion for the fen raft spider, whose habitat is in the shadow of the steelworks, one of only three in...
Caroline Jones: I had the privilege of being a member of the committee whilst the inquiry into suicide prevention was undertaken. I would like to thank the Chair, fellow members of the committee, the clerks and all those who gave evidence over the course of the inquiry. As Dai quite rightly points out in the foreword to the report, the number of deaths by suicide in Wales is truly staggering. In 2017, 360...
