Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. We will be voting against this Bill today. I've been inundated with calls and e-mails from concerned parents who fear they will be turned into criminals as a result of the Welsh Government's proposals. I am not advocating for wholesale assault on children. Indeed, as a teacher and as a person who looked after two children for many years, I can confirm they were never...
Caroline Jones: Minister, as a result of cuts to local government budgets over the years, the over-60s have been hit disproportionately. We have seen the closure of day centres and libraries, which have increased loneliness and isolation in this age group. Minister, how will your Government ensure that your future budget decisions do not contribute to increasing loneliness and isolation?
Caroline Jones: I thank the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee for their report on endoscopy services. As I, and many others, have highlighted, pressures on diagnostic services in Wales are impeding our ability to improve cancer survival rates. Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in Wales. Around 17 people die of bowel cancer each week. We have lost two of our own to this horrible...
Caroline Jones: I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic and thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this debate. As I've highlighted many times, poor air quality is one of the biggest public health challenges facing Wales. This is particularly true in the region I represent and live in, South Wales West, which has some of the dirtiest air quality in the UK. PM10s are often well...
Caroline Jones: Certainly.
Caroline Jones: Well, because the traffic congestion on junction 41 and so on is awful.
Caroline Jones: But the congestion there of vehicles stopped has—
Caroline Jones: We can have a conversation later. In addition to local authorities monitoring air quality, there needs to be a reporting system to alert residents of poor air quality. Developments such as the British-made Sentinel-5P satellite, which monitors air pollutants, could be utilised at a national level to improve forecasting of high levels of air pollution and should be used to warn the public...
Caroline Jones: Not another one, sorry. Oh, go on. Go on.
Caroline Jones: I have always been of that mind. [Interruption.] I'm speaking for myself. You've asked me a question; you haven't asked my party. You've asked me—my point, and I've emphasised it. Thank you. So, both Wales and Westminster need to invest in the development of wireless vehicle charging. Both Governments also need to ensure the roll-out of electric vehicle charging is not impeded by the...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, the news that Ineos will be producing project Grenadier in the region will be welcome relief for my constituents in Ogmore and the wider South Wales West region. However, we must diversify and futureproof our jobs market if we are to change the economic fortunes of Ogmore and the wider region. First Minister, how will your Government equip the current and future workforce with...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. The need to address Wales's desperate need for housing, particularly affordable housing, whilst at the same time tackling climate change, is crucial, which is why schemes such as the innovative housing programme are so important, because a lack of affordable housing impacts upon so many lives and our communities. So, I welcome this latest update on the...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. Decarbonising our housing is the biggest challenge that we face, and I therefore welcome the report on the decarbonisation of homes in Wales advisory group. I, too, would like to thank the group for their wide-ranging report, which helps to highlight the stark challenges that we all face. I'm pleased that you've accepted the recommendations of the...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, our NHS buildings are in a bad state of repair, and some are falling down. There is a £0.25 billion backlog of works deemed to pose high or significant risk. Thirteen per cent of the estate is not safety compliant. Of the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust buildings, only a little over a third of them are deemed to be functionally suitable. Minister, you have...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Minister. There is at least a £0.5 billion backlog in building maintenance. I say 'at least' because most local health boards cannot even afford to do the assessments necessary to determine the extent of maintenance issues—maintenance issues that are impacting upon patient care. BBC Wales heard from staff at the University Hospital of Wales who stated that there...
Caroline Jones: I thank the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee for their report on voting rights for prisoners. I was not a member of the committee during their inquiry, but had I been, I would have joined Mark Isherwood and Mohammad Asghar in opposing the recommendations. It must be noted that prisoners on remand do have the right to vote, and I do not agree with the premise that prisoners...
Caroline Jones: Go on, Huw.
Caroline Jones: Nobody has written anyone off, Huw, but what I am saying is that when people are rehabilitated, then they have the right to come back in and have that vote. It’s been a long-established practice in our country that those who break the laws of our nation lose the right to have any say in the making of those laws, and we should not abandon that practice. By breaking our laws, prisoners have...
Caroline Jones: Not another one, sorry. They will be demonstrating how out of touch they really are with public opinion. By giving the vote to those who reject our society’s rules, you are in danger of disillusioning ordinary voters—voters who won’t turn out at future elections because they refuse to vote for an out-of-touch political elite. And for what? A handful of votes from people convicted of a...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Before I come on to individual contributions, I’d just like to put the view forward that the union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is one of the greatest and long-lasting unions in history, and for well over 300 years this union has endured. And, despite calls for independence— and initially, when devolution when devolution was given to Wales,...
