Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising both of those issues, and I'd certainly agree with you that any kind of race-based discrimination, or discrimination of any kind, but particularly in the context of what's happened over the past few days, has absolutely no place at all in Wales. And you'll be pleased to see that the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip has just today provided a written statement that outlines...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. On the issue of train ticket pricing, I know that the Minister for Economy and Transport will write to you shortly on this matter, but it is a historical issue that goes back to the point of rail privatisation in 1998, and journey flows allocated to rail franchisees were allotted to the primary operator, which is normally either the operator whose services are direct over...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for those issues. On the first, I'll certainly ensure that the economy Minister writes to you with regard to any discussions that we have had with Manchester police or the local authority there in order to ensure there is smooth movement of traffic so that it doesn't affect our tourism industry in your part of the world particularly. And may I suggest that you write to the...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. Of course, the Deputy Minister was here to hear your contribution. I'm sure that she will give it some further consideration.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much to Jack Sargeant for raising what is a really serious and important issue. I remember, when I was in the sporting portfolio, I was very keen to explore how we could best work with the governing bodies to ensure that children and young people were safe when they were taking part in sport. I know that the current sports Minister will write to you with an update on those...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. You'll remember that Ken Skates did make a written statement on Dawnus immediately following the news at the end of last week, and officials are monitoring the progress of administration proceedings. We'll certainly be working with the administrator, once appointed, to ensure the best possible outcome for everybody who is affected. Officials are also working with partner...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. In relation to commercial radio in the first instance, obviously, the sector makes a vital contribution when we consider the importance of ensuring plurality of services in Wales. As a Government, we certainly don't want to see the further relaxation or removal of the current localness rules on commercial radio. We've regularly emphasised this to Ofcom, and in addition,...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising that. I will certainly write to you with the clarity you require relating to the apprenticeship levy, and I will also make sure that the appropriate Minister writes to you regarding the standard gauge heritage railways, but I will take this opportunity to join you in congratulating the volunteers on the work that they do in order to preserve this part of our heritage and...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. On the issue of cervical cancer, I refer you to the answer I gave to Jenny Rathbone earlier on this afternoon, but recognise, as you say, that earlier diagnosis is extremely important, which is why the turnaround times for cervical test results in Wales—we work very hard to ensure that we exceed our target of 95 per cent of results being received within four weeks, with...
Rebecca Evans: Formally.
Rebecca Evans: Well, I'd like to put on record my thanks to the Member in charge, Llyr Gruffydd, and the Finance Committee and their supporting officials for their time and their work over the last year. The Finance Committee has worked really constructively with the Welsh Government to ensure that the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Bill, which we have before us today, is an effective and robust piece of...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to today's business, and that is to change the order of the regulations for debate at agenda items 4 and 5. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out in the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for raising both of these issues. I hope that last week I was able to give a good oversight in terms of what the Welsh Government is doing regarding cervical screening in Wales, which is a different approach to that that is being taken across the border. However, I will ask the health Minister to write to you on the specific issue that you raised regarding home testing...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising this, and, of course, regional working is crucial if we are to raise standards in our school system. And we all have a duty to be working across local authority boundaries, not least in this important area. As you say, the education Minister and the Minister for Housing and Local Government did meet with ERW council leaders to discuss the issue further. I think, in the...
Rebecca Evans: I thank Joyce Watson for raising this important issue in the Chamber, and I know that she's also raised it directly with the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport. As a result, he's asked his officials to be in direct contact with Pembrokeshire County Council to express these concerns. And I'll ask the Deputy Minister to write to you with an update on those discussions.FootnoteLink
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising this issue, and you'll recall that last week, in response to a question from Alun Davies, I was able to express the concerns that we have in terms of the recent decisions regarding commercial radio stations and the impact that might have on their ability to provide the best possible news service for the local populations. But you make a good point and I'll certainly...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for raising that. It is my understanding that the GP could have referred the individual for the test that you described. However, given the interest that I'm glad there is in cervical cancer, I'll certainly ask the health Minister to issue a statement that does capture all the issues that have been raised in the business statement both this week and last week.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising both of those issues. On the first, as negotiations are currently still ongoing in terms of pay, it probably isn't appropriate for me to say anything further at this particular point. But on the matter of community cohesion, I've been having some discussions with colleagues regarding the kind of statements that Members are bringing forward on Tuesdays in the business...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising this issue and, obviously, the matter of responsible dog ownership is extremely important, and I know we've all been very distressed by the kinds of stories that we've seen recently. I think it's a fact that the legislation on this area is mixed in terms of being a mixture of devolved and non-devolved elements, but specifically the issue of the enforcement by the police...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the Welsh Tax Acts (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which make a number of changes to the Welsh tax Acts. In the main, these changes are technical in nature and are made to ensure the operation of legislation in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal. These regulations consist of six parts. Part 1 sets out the commencement dates for...
