Vikki Howells: Thank you, First Minister. I was very pleased to see the written statement from the Deputy Minister setting out how Welsh Government was making additional funding available to childcare and play services to weather the impacts of COVID-19. I welcome the comments around play sufficiency assessments and supporting Play Wales in their work on the ministerial review of play. How will improving...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for your statement today. Once again, I want to place on record my thoughts for all those families who have been affected by this scandal, especially with data from the thematic stillbirth category report suggesting that one in three episodes of stillbirth might have been avoided if the care had been different. These numbers are shocking enough, but they represent real...
Vikki Howells: 5. Will the Minister make a statement on community transport provision in the Cynon Valley? OQ56960
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for that answer. Accessible Caring Transport provides a lifeline for those in need of community transport in my constituency, and it's been at the forefront of providing transport for clients to essential healthcare during the pandemic. As the Deputy Minister will know, the Wales Co-operative Party manifesto, 'Owning the Future', commits Labour and Co-operative MSs like...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for your statement today; I have a few questions arising. A whole-school approach is obviously one that ensures that a policy is embedded across school life, and indeed if it's done well, then that can be the case. However, there is a danger that a whole-school approach, if not well planned and adequately analysed, can, in fact, simply place additional measures on actual...
Vikki Howells: 8. What progress has been made in securing a sustainable financial settlement from the UK Government to support effective remediation of Wales's 2,100 coal tips? OQ57006
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for your answer. The physical scars of the industrial revolution are a legacy that we live with today, with nearly 40 per cent of all disused UK coal tips being here in Wales. As you so rightly said, the reclamation costs are on a scale in excess of anything that could have been anticipated when devolution began, but it’s important that we deal with this issue now. So,...
Vikki Howells: I had a very timely visit last week to the Pen y Cymoedd windfarm. For anyone not familiar, it's the largest onshore windfarm in England and Wales, and it straddles the top of my constituency and several others. It has got 76 turbines, hardly any of which are visible from the valley floor, and in an average year it will power the equivalent of 188,000 homes. To put that in perspective, that's...
Vikki Howells: [Inaudible.]—economic benefits. So, there is much more that we can do, and that must be the focus of the Welsh Government.
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for your statement today. I welcome your comments about ensuring people are signposted to the appropriate source of medical support and advice, and community pharmacies obviously have a key role to play, as you acknowledge. But how can we make sure that people know they are there and that people have a good knowledge of the common ailments scheme and how it can be used?...
Vikki Howells: It's a pleasure to be speaking in support of the Member for Ogmore's legislative proposal today. He's a passionate champion of co-operative principles. I want to put on the record my membership of the Co-operative Party and also my role as chair of the cross-party group on co-operatives and mutuals. In my contribution today, I want to briefly mention one very famous incident in my...
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. So, Tower Colliery stayed operational until 2008, giving people work, keeping money in the local economy, and the tale of Tower, one of triumph, tenacity, and proving the coal board and the Department of Trade and Industry wrong, is remarkable. But the principle of supporting and enabling employee acquisition of the company is one that shouldn't be, and neither should...
Vikki Howells: 5. Will the Welsh Government provide an update on plans to ensure social care workers receive the real living wage? OQ57108
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Deputy Minister, for your answer. Last month, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council cabinet announced they'd work with independent social care providers to help them access funding under the Welsh Government's social care recovery fund. This is so that they can provide the real living wage for the social care staff that they employ. Whilst looking forward to further...
Vikki Howells: 8. Will the Minister provide an update on the twenty-first century schools programme? OQ57137
Vikki Howells: Minister, it was a pleasure to join you for the official opening of the new £10.2 million Hirwaun Primary School last Thursday, which was 65 per cent funded by the Welsh Government. This is just the latest in a series of new schools for the Cynon valley, all jointly funded by Rhondda Cynon Taf council and the Welsh Government, and really investing in local young people. The Hirwaun school...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Trefnydd. I'd like to request two statements, please, from the Minister for health. Firstly, Wednesday is World COPD Day, and across Wales over 76,000 people live with COPD, which can have a considerable impact on a person's quality of life. Constituencies like mine, with an industrial heritage, have above-average rates. So, can we have a statement on how the Welsh Government is...
Vikki Howells: What are the Welsh Government's priorities for responding to the climate emergency?
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for your answer. And while recognising the fact that, of course, this is a non-devolved issue, this is something that, like many Members of the Senedd, my postbag is always full about at this time of the year. Now, Welsh councils can put in place a suite of actions to mitigate the impact of fireworks, such as voluntary or localised measures, to increase public awareness,...
Vikki Howells: Ninety-five years ago, Penrhiwceiber's war memorial was completed. The bronze plaque commemorating those who lost their lives in the first world war was sited at the base of a castellated tower that would also serve as the village clock. It was designed by Mountain Ash architect W.H. William, paid for by public subscription, and built with stone from the old Aberdare canal. It's a striking...
