Caroline Jones: Will the First Minister outline the actions the Welsh Government is taking to help small businesses?
Caroline Jones: Minister, I recently met with the headteachers of the Welsh-medium schools from Bridgend county borough, who were concerned over the impact cuts were having on Welsh-medium education. Upon visiting Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd, I was shocked at the poor state of repair of the building and the school's resources. Minister, what assessment have you made of the impact local authority cuts are...
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank the Petitions Committee for bringing forward this debate and give particular thanks to the petitioner, Stuart Davies, for bringing the petition to the Assembly. Only yesterday, my husband had to attend Neath Port Talbot Hospital for an extremely painful biopsy on his prostate. So, this is a topic that is dear to my heart. The fact that my husband and hundreds of men like...
Caroline Jones: What action is the Welsh Government taking to increase the number of Welsh speakers in South Wales West?
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. The RSPB's state of nature report highlighted the fact that erosion results in the loss of 2 million tonnes of topsoil each year in the UK. The loss of topsoil goes beyond the impact this has on the availability of fertile land for agriculture. The degraded land impacts the soil's ability to hold onto water, which can lead to increased flood risk. So,...
Caroline Jones: Would you take an intervention?
Caroline Jones: Thank you for taking it. Do you agree that Chairs are allocated—not two Chairs to one person? What you had was David Rowlands a Commissioner and also head of the Petitions Committee. Michelle Brown was totally left out. So, I think there would have been more sympathy with the UKIP group had Michelle Brown been allocated a Chair.
Caroline Jones: Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to improve social care provision?
Caroline Jones: 1. Will the Minister outline the steps the Welsh Government is taking to encourage more local businesses in South Wales West to exploit the power of artificial intelligence? OAQ53610
Caroline Jones: Deputy Minister, artificial intelligence and machine learning has the power to transform small businesses, yet the majority of businesses in Wales do not know how to harness its power. Machine learning is not just for large tech companies; it can be utilised by the local cafe, to assist with processing payments, VAT returns, and automating a whole myriad of tasks. With the majority of tools...
Caroline Jones: I have to declare an interest at the outset, because I am a WASPI woman. I'm a woman unfairly affected by state pension age changes and one of the Women Against State Pension Inequality. In 1995, the then Conservative Government introduced a new Pensions Act that would have raised the age of retirement for women to 65—the same age as men—by 2025. This would have given women 15 years to...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Deputy Minister. I'd like to begin by saying that for many years I looked after children who were not biologically mine and they were never smacked or tapped and, likewise, as a schoolteacher many years ago, the same applied. However, the changes you propose to the law have caused alarm to many, many loving and law-abiding parents. Indeed, I have received many...
Caroline Jones: Will the First Minister outline the steps that the Welsh Government is taking to protect the privacy of Welsh citizens?
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for your statement, Minister. We are three years into the recruitment campaign, and, whilst I recognise and welcome the progress we are making, we still have too few doctors and nurses. I recognise that the problem is not unique to Wales. Last week, the King's Fund, the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation launched a joint report warning that the NHS in...
Caroline Jones: Minister, thankfully, apart from a few training issues, large private sector organisations such as banks and utility companies already accept correspondence in both Wales's official languages. Do you agree with me that, if we are to encourage more private sector organisations to follow suit, we have to incentivise rather than penalise? Minister, what consideration has the Welsh Government...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I would like to thank Bethan for bringing forward this proposed legislation, and I want to say at the outset that I fully support her in this. Like Bethan, I met Mayameen when she came to the Senedd to present her petition, calling for the provision of child houses in Wales for victims of child sexual abuse. I spent time with Mayameen as she informed a couple of us...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Next to issues with the NHS, the vast majority of my postbag consists of issues with social housing. Consistent issues with housing associations has led me to question who benefits from social housing. In my experience, it certainly isn't the tenant. When social housing was provided by local councils, they weren't driven by profits and, for the most part, responded to the...
Caroline Jones: 2. Will the Minister make a statement on guidance given to local education authorities regarding ensuring that there is sufficient time in the school day to meet the health and well-being needs of pupils? OAQ53777
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Minister. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Nottage Primary School in Porthcawl are proposing to change their school day to align with the comprehensive school. In order to achieve this, without reducing teaching time, the proposals call for reducing playtime by 40 minutes and only allowing one 10-minute comfort break. Minister, do you agree with me that reducing play and limiting...
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank the Welsh Government for tabling this important debate today. It's a sad fact that we have to table such a debate in the twenty-first century. Racism has no place in our society, but unfortunately racist elements still exist. The United Nations ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in the 1960s, at a time when...
