Leanne Wood: Diolch i bawb. Thanks to everybody for their contributions, especially those supporting the premise of our argument. I’m particularly grateful to the Minister for being so open to so many of our suggestions. I also welcome the suggestion on using the business rates system to tackle the problem of second homes. It’s not rocket science, and it’s actually something that could be done...
Leanne Wood: I'd like to request a debate in Government time on staff shortages within the NHS. In the news today is the report about maternity services at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, and these services have now been centralised. A large number of angry and worried people from Maerdy in the Rhondda have also been in touch with me over the weekend about problems with their local surgery. At one minute to...
Leanne Wood: What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure schools in the Rhondda have enough funding to provide pupils with a good education?
Leanne Wood: 4. How is the Welsh Government ensuring that parents are able to afford costs associated with their children's education? OAQ53552
Leanne Wood: In the words of the Association of School and College Leaders, there is a 'severe funding crisis' in schools, which is having a 'detrimental effect...on...young people.' Those are direct quotes from them. This comes at the same time as a report by the children's commissioner, Sally Holland, last week, who said 'Financial demands are flying at families from all sorts of angles and it's the...
Leanne Wood: How is the Welsh Government ensuring that schools have adequate funding?
Leanne Wood: On Thursday, we'll observe the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and it comes just after the horrific race-based far-right attack that killed 50 people and wounded just as many as they were worshipping in New Zealand. And yesterday, of course, there was another terrorist attack in the Netherlands. Many people are feeling nervous, understandably, in the current...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, and I move the amendment. It's no surprise that we've tabled this amendment. We've been pushing this agenda for several years now, believing that the only way we can really tackle the scandalous attitudes towards the poorest in our society is through taking responsibility for ourselves. It's worth noting at the start the impact the political choices that are austerity and welfare...
Leanne Wood: I don't need to reel off a long list of policies that have had a devastating, cumulative impact on the poorest people here in Wales. These policies are well documented, and as the recent proposed changes to universal credit illustrated, these impacts are quietly now being accepted, even by many Tories. It's been amusing on one level to see ex-Tories like Anna Soubry realise the scale of what...
Leanne Wood: Will you take an intervention?
Leanne Wood: Do you accept the point that I was making about the officials who wrote the report being out of touch with the situation on the ground? So, for example, the report examines the decision to limit tax credits to the first two children but completely ignores the scandal of the rape clause. Do you share my concerns about this?
Leanne Wood: These amendments are to ensure that the court requires repayment of a prohibited payment from the offender directly to the person to whom it was paid. We've tabled these amendments again, because we think it's important that there is no room for debate here; any unauthorised fees must be repaid. Now, these amendments were rejected at Stage 2 because the previous Minister said, and I quote, ...
Leanne Wood: Diolch. These amendments are tabled to give the court the power to revoke a licence for somebody who has been charging unauthorised payments. It would be a discretionary power, not mandatory, but there for the courts to decide. Now, at Stage 2, the previous Minister rejected these amendments on the grounds that it would undermine the role of Rent Smart Wales to decide what action to take....
Leanne Wood: Amendment 64 is an amendment we've agreed with the Government on allowing Green Deal payments to be permitted as payments. It follows a recommendation by the committee and also some confusion, as was just outlined, at Stage 2 as to whether the legislation and amendments at that stage would have ensured that this was the case. But we've tabled this with the agreement of the Government in order...
Leanne Wood: Is this group 6?
Leanne Wood: Oh, sorry. I move formally.
Leanne Wood: Move.
Leanne Wood: Amendments 65 and 66 provide for a 48-hour cooling off period, during which the contract holder can receive a refund of the holding deposit. These amendments were rejected at earlier stages, but with the Government committed to engaging with Shelter Cymru and NUS Wales on the way forward. So, I would like to hear from the Minister what the latest is on that. Amendment 67 is to clarify that...
Leanne Wood: It remains a concern to us that default fees have not been defined by the Welsh Government. As you're aware, the committee in its Stage 1 report asked the Government to bring forward amendments at Stage 2 to put on the face of the Bill that all default fees should be fair and reasonable. Our amendments seek to both restrict default fees to only include late payment of rent and lost keys and...
Leanne Wood: I move.
