Joyce Watson: In favour.
Joyce Watson: In favour.
Joyce Watson: I absolutely support an inquiry, but I want to first put on record and pay tribute to all those front-line workers who did keep us safe, and who we'll be relying on in the immediate and foreseeable future to carry on doing that work. And I think it's also right to put on record that people have complied with the restrictions that have been placed on them in a way that they would never have...
Joyce Watson: Thank you.
Joyce Watson: I also want to talk about tourism but first of all, I want to mention Sir Thomas Picton School. Two of my children went to Thomas Picton school, and were never, ever told, nothing ever came home to say about the name, the person behind the name, and there was certainly no education that informed either pupils, parents or the community about the person whose name that school bore. It doesn't...
Joyce Watson: I agree with everybody—with Rhun particularly—that the Agriculture Bill must include legal guarantees that animal welfare environmental standards won't be cut in post-Brexit trade deals with the USA, or anybody else for that matter. We've all seen the headlines about chlorinated chicken, but we've got issues with chicken farms in Wales, specifically in Powys, with the council just...
Joyce Watson: The first thing that I want to say as a member of the committee was we heard overwhelming support from the Federation of Small Businesses, the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry as to their satisfaction with the level of engagement with the Welsh Government and Welsh officials—I think it's worth saying that at the outset—and all the work that went behind that,...
Joyce Watson: Thank you. I am.
Joyce Watson: So, I would request an update, really, Minister, on your thinking, if you can't deliver that Bill, on what you're going to do regarding bus services or public transport in mid and west Wales.
Joyce Watson: 1. What assessment has the Minister made of last week's increase in school activities? OQ55427
Joyce Watson: I'm really proud that I'm able to stand here today and say that children in Wales have had an opportunity to go to school before people had the same opportunity to go to a pub. I think it actually does say something about the priorities here in Wales. I, like you, share my appreciation of all those people who've come together in the joint efforts to make that happen, and I want to thank all...
Joyce Watson: 6. Will the Minister provide an update on the social care workforce special payment scheme? OQ55429
Joyce Watson: I thank you. I do find it astounding that the Tories are trying to turn a real, genuine, positive way of rewarding those who work in the care sector into a negative, in the same way that the Prime Minister has blamed care workers for spreading coronavirus. Do you agree with me that it's time that the Tories showed some positivity towards care workers who have given so much to their...
Joyce Watson: I would like a statement about the new street layouts being introduced across Wales to support social distancing and rightly revitalising our town centres and helping us to socialise once again. But many of those layouts will present challenges to people with sight loss and they should, in my opinion, be equality impact assessed to ensure that they don't exclude the most vulnerable of people....
Joyce Watson: I've campaigned for many years to increase the use of 20 mph zones in Wales. I first looked at this in 2011, and at that time there were 237 serious pedestrian casualties in Wales, and sadly that included 82 children losing their lives or being very seriously injured, and I think it's those stats that we have to keep in our minds when we're talking about this. At that time, I focused my...
Joyce Watson: Former NFU chief economist, Séan Rickard, estimates that one in three farms could be driven out of business within five years in the event of a 'no deal' Brexit. So, the best way that Paul Davies can support Welsh farming is by steering his party away from that disastrous destination. Another way is by supporting sustainable farming that delivers public good for public money. Minister, in...
Joyce Watson: 6. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the findings of the OECD report, 'The Future of Regional Development and Public Investment in Wales'? OQ55579
Joyce Watson: Thank you for that. One of the findings in the report is the impact of the continued austerity inflicted on Wales by the UK Government spending plans. That austerity did reduce local authority investment in industries, and other forms of money that we would have expected to have come to Wales, and it was purely a political decision. So, what discussions have you had with the UK Chancellor to...
Joyce Watson: 1. What discussions has the Minister had with the UK Government regarding the autumn 2020 budget? OQ55560
Joyce Watson: Thank you for that answer. But at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Welsh Government capped the eligibility scheme for business rate holiday and excluded all retail, hospitality and leisure premises with a rateable value of more than £0.5 million. And that targeted approach enabled Welsh Government to add £100 million to the economic resilience fund that, in turn, helped safeguard...
