Helen Mary Jones: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, I'll end with this: I just ask the Government to consider whether we can vary the people who are affected by these restrictions, because some people have got more options and more choices than others. We just need to show a bit of humanity and a bit of understanding about how people live their lives, as well as, of course, prioritising reducing the spread...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to be able to participate in this debate, and I will address my remarks mainly to our amendment 9, as Rhun ap Iorwerth has said. We're grateful for the Government's acceptance of that amendment. These are, of course, incredibly difficult times. Restrictions are inevitable to protect public health. We may even need, as Lynne Neagle has just said, to restrict further over...
Helen Mary Jones: I thank the First Minister for what he's had to say; it's obviously a very difficult time for everybody. I've got some very specific questions I'd like to ask. First of all, First Minister, how will this affect hotels, many of which have taken bookings for the period twenty-third to the twenty-seventh? They assumed they were safe to do that. If hospitality is closing down completely on...
Helen Mary Jones: 2. Will the Minister make a statement regarding flooding in Mid and West Wales? OQ56056
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to you, Minister, for that answer. This weekend, I visited residents and businesses at Capel Teilo Road, which is between Trimsaran and Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire. A relatively small number of properties are affected, but very seriously affected, sometimes going weeks without being able to get their vehicles in and out. It's a complex pattern, Minister, with tidal flooding...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Last month, rugby referee Nigel Owens put Pontyberem on the map when he made history, becoming the first referee to reach 100 international test matches as he took charge of the Autumn Nations Cup match between France and Italy in Paris. He is an international icon who continues to be deeply rooted in his local community. For the community of Pontyberem, there have...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to rise to commend this report to the Senedd, a report on the effect of the COVID crisis on the Welsh language. I want to begin, of course, by thanking members of the committee, our witnesses and our staff, who have continued to support our work through the pandemic. I'm very grateful to them all. The COVID crisis has of course had a massive impact...
Helen Mary Jones: Witnesses raised serious concerns about the workforce in this important sector in a number of ways. We have, for example, highly-skilled individuals who will find it easy to find other work, and may be permanently lost to the Welsh language sector. The Urdd highlighted the issue that qualified youth workers who could work through the medium of Welsh are worth their weight in gold, but they...
Helen Mary Jones: Thank you very much, Llywydd.
Helen Mary Jones: Thank you very much, and can I thank everybody who has contributed to the debate? I must begin by thanking you all for your kind words about my chairing of the committee. I have to say that I've been so very well supported by Members and by staff that I don't think I can take particular individual credit for the work that we've done, but I am proud of what we've achieved through this...
Helen Mary Jones: Siân Gwenllian, I think—
Helen Mary Jones: —I think I'm summing up. I might not be.
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the acting Presiding Officer for calling me, and I'm very grateful to all who have taken part in the debate. I won't repeat the points that have been made very ably by my colleagues; I think the case has been powerfully put. I will try to respond to some of the points made by other Members. I was surprised to see Suzy Davies's 'delete all'. I know she doesn't usually do that,...
Helen Mary Jones: Plaid Cymru cannot support this deal and we cannot support the motion unamended. We have never supported anything that we know will damage the interests of Wales, and this deal does that. The background to the situation we find ourselves in today is a litany of broken promises. We were promised that Wales would not lose a penny; now, let me provide you with a reminder of what we have lost....
Helen Mary Jones: While I share some of the obvious and genuine anger that the First Minister feels about the way in which the benefit system affects people here in Wales, I'd like to put it to the First Minister that there is something that he could do for some of those families. It's estimated by the Child Poverty Action Group that there are about 70,000 children in Wales whose families are in receipt of...
Helen Mary Jones: 4. Will the Counsel General provide an update on correspondence between the Welsh Government and the UK Government regarding the case of the Women Against State Pension Injustice campaign for 1950s-born women who have been denied their pensions? OQ56095
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Counsel General for his answer, and I know that the members of the Llanelli WASPI group and other WASPI groups across Mid and West Wales and across Wales will be grateful for the Welsh Government's continuing stance on this. I wonder if the Counsel General has any further information with regard to the timing of the investigation currently being undertaken by the...
Helen Mary Jones: 5. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government regarding the legality of housing asylum seekers in the Penally military base near Tenby? OQ56093
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Counsel General for his answer. Does he believe that the temporary planning permission that has been granted, which expires in March this year, is actually lawful and will continue to be, and what further steps can he and the Welsh Government take through that legal process in an attempt to ensure that this evidently unsuitable site for these people ceases to be used in...
Helen Mary Jones: I'd like to request, Trefnydd, a statement from the education Minister on a number of matters relating to how the system is responding to the current crisis. Firstly, there's a question of school deficits, school debts. Before COVID-19, Carmarthenshire County Council was working very hard with school leaders to bring down school deficits. However, since March 2020, schools and local...
