Vikki Howells: 6. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to tackle bowel cancer? OQ58530
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister. I'm really pleased to see the recent lowering of the bowel cancer screening age to 55, as we know that screening people earlier means cancer can be identified earlier. However, it is also important that treatment can be accessed as speedily as possible. So, I was concerned to note that, in July, just 36 per cent of lower gastrointestinal patients in Cwm Taf Morgannwg...
Vikki Howells: 8. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the UK financial crisis on its current plans for the use of its borrowing powers? OQ58592
Vikki Howells: Thank you, First Minister. In terms of borrowing powers, I wanted to ask for your reflections on the Institute of Welsh Affairs's latest publication, 'Fiscal Firepower: Effective Policy-Making in Wales', which calls for reform of the Welsh Government's borrowing powers. In addition, in view of the Prime Minister's well publicised refusal to engage with you as First Minister of Wales, and the...
Vikki Howells: I'd like to start my contribution today by thanking the new children's commissioner and her team for their work in producing this comprehensive report. I'd also like to join colleagues from across the Siambr in offering my thanks to Professor Sally Holland for all that she achieved during her term of office. Sally was a robust champion of the rights of children and young people in Wales. I...
Vikki Howells: 10. Will the Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's work to improve animal welfare standards? OQ58604
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister. The Welsh Government's commitment to regulating animal welfare establishments is very welcome and has received support from animal welfare organisations to help ensure the adoption of best practice. The regulation of these establishments is also important, as it closes a loophole in Lucy's law that third party sellers can exploit. Given the importance of this regulation,...
Vikki Howells: 8. How is the Welsh Government supporting the work of the Valleys Regional Park? OQ58660
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Trefnydd. The Valleys Regional Park delivers a range of positive interventions, promoting health and well-being, offering adult education opportunities, protecting the environment, and enhancing the tourist offer in the Valleys, thereby boosting our local economies. Discovery gateways like the Dare Valley County Park mean that our Valleys communities can access these literally on...
Vikki Howells: I'd like to start my contribution today by echoing the remarks of colleagues thanking the clerking team and everyone who gave evidence that helped inform this inquiry. I think it's a really important piece of work. Around a third of the Welsh workforce is employed in the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors. The latter alone, Wales's largest private sector employer, accounts for just over...
Vikki Howells: Will the Minister set out the Welsh Government’s response to the recommendations contained in the Children’s Commissioner for Wales 2021/22 Annual Report?
Vikki Howells: First Minister, I recently met with Trivallis, the largest provider of social housing in RCT, and it was really good to receive an update from them on how they've been able to make use of the Welsh Government's transitional accommodation capital programme to bring empty homes back into use with the specific purpose of moving people and families out of temporary bed-and-breakfast...
Vikki Howells: 10. Will the Minister provide an update on work being undertaken to improve the provision of maternity services in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board area? OQ58687
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister. The announcement that you would be de-escalating Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board's maternity and neonatal services from special measures was very welcome indeed. I think this was testament to the hard work that has gone in from health board staff to deliver the service improvements that the local community, mothers, babies and families, who need to access these services,...
Vikki Howells: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on the recent news that Garth Bakery has gone into administration? TQ678
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister. Garth Bakery has been a prominent employer in Cynon Valley and also an important part of the local economy for over 36 years, so the news that it has gone into administration is a grave blow indeed. This is particularly so for the around 100 people who have lost their jobs just six weeks before Christmas. I appreciate the intense distress and worry that this will cause...
Vikki Howells: Trefnydd, last week I visited Capcoch Primary School in Abercwmboi to see the wonderful and truly heart-warming work that the school does to try and combat the effects of child poverty. The school's proactive interventions, including a clothes exchange, a foodbank and its approach to things like school trips, have been praised by Estyn. The Resolution Foundation estimates that relative child...
Vikki Howells: Minister, I mentioned, during First Minister's questions yesterday, my recent visit to Capcoch Primary School in Abercwmboi to see the work they do to tackle child poverty, which has been praised by Estyn. Their interventions include things like a clothes exchange, a foodbank and an inclusive approach to school trips, which are all the more vital when we are facing increasing pressures on...
Vikki Howells: What are the Welsh Government's priorities for improving access to public transport in Cynon Valley?
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Dirpwy Lywydd. Thank you, Minister, for your statement here today and for the support that you have always shown for disabled people. I have a few questions I'd like to raise, firstly with regard to the elected office fund. I was pleased to hear reference to the access to elected office fund. It's a little over six months now since the last set of council elections in Wales. What...
