Carolyn Thomas: Thank you to the Petitions Committee for bringing forward this important petition today, and thank you to Jack Sargeant for opening the debate. The petition has highlighted an important opportunity for us here in Wales to progress action to protect our wildlife. We are facing a nature crisis as well as a climate emergency, and we must take seriously the loss of biodiversity that will occur if...
Carolyn Thomas: Will the Minister make a statement on the pay and conditions of those working in higher education?
Carolyn Thomas: Minister, during 10 years of Tory austerity cutting public services funding, local authorities have reorganised, restructured and made all efficiencies they could possibly make. They've become so lean that any new pressures, for example because of adverse weather, pay awards or new legislation, put them at risk of not being able to provide front-line services. Some legislation, such as taking...
Carolyn Thomas: Can I just say to my colleague Jack Sargeant I'd be very interested in joining that cross-party group? Minister, going back about 10 years I recall Cadwyn Clwyd, a regional development agency, secured £14 million of EU funding to boost the rural economy in Flintshire and Denbighshire. Other funding came in to agencies across north Wales such as Northern Marches Cymru, Menter a Busnes and...
Carolyn Thomas: I would like to welcome this draft budget, which outlines continued support for local authorities as they continue to provide services at the forefront of the pandemic. I understand that it's more generous than what has been allocated for English councils by UK Government, and the fact that it is free from hypothecation, as in Scotland, is most welcome. However, I'd like to outline some...
Carolyn Thomas: Diolch, Llywydd. I omitted to declare I'm a Flintshire councillor in reference to the draft budget debate, agenda item No. 3. I apologise, and please could I do so retrospectively?
Carolyn Thomas: What advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government on the legal status of the Barnett formula in respect of the funding of railway infrastructure in Wales?
Carolyn Thomas: 6. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to provide vulnerable households with energy advice? OQ57465
Carolyn Thomas: Diolch, First Minister. I've been contacted by constituents who are struggling to make ends meet due to poorly insulated housing and rocketing energy prices. In response, last week, I met with Citizens Advice Denbighshire to hear more about the important role that they play providing advice to many families who are struggling with household bills, as universal credit cuts and astronomical...
Carolyn Thomas: 8. What measures has the Welsh Government put in place to improve employability prospects for young people in North Wales? OQ57466
Carolyn Thomas: Certainly. I saw the door. You have got a blurred background, so that helps. [Laughter.] Thank you, Minister. I recently visited a new community facility called Tŷ Calon in north Wales. It's been part funded by Welsh Government as part a learning hub. It was raised with me that there is a gap that needs filling for some of the young people that they support, in particular those who have...
Carolyn Thomas: I've heard the Conservatives say in the Senedd that they believe the way out of poverty is by working their way out, but many people in poverty are in work or struggling to find decent work that fits in with childcare. Expected long hours of work and shift patterns are often horrendous, and there has been a race to the bottom in employment standards, increasing productivity and the efficiency...
Carolyn Thomas: Could I begin by thanking Jane Dodds for this short debate? Public transport is an issue close to my heart as well. Before I was elected to the Senedd, I delivered a petition with more than 3,500 signatures on it, which called for buses to be run for people not profit. These were all people that were really worried and concerned about losing their public bus transport. As chair of the...
Carolyn Thomas: Infrastructure across several places in north Wales has been affected by recent storms, including the bridge mentioned before at Tremeirchion in Denbighshire. Newbridge in Wrexham keeps getting mentioned and there's also a landslide in Ffrith, in Flintshire, which is estimated to cost £3.8 million. When such natural events occur, they are often with very short notice and devastating...
Carolyn Thomas: I also mentioned this earlier, I think, in the questions, as a supplementary to Gareth Davies's one. Our highway infrastructure, including the drainage system of ditches, culverts and gullies, was built many years ago and is struggling to cope with the volume of rain that often falls these days. Many properties sit level with roads and some older ones are below road level. A lot of water...
Carolyn Thomas: Thank you. As we celebrate 100 years of the Urdd, I want to read a short extract from Urdd Gobaith Cymru Treuddyn, celebrating 100 years. Just over 100 years ago, Ifan ab Owen Edwards, from near Bala, wrote passionately about the plight of the Welsh language and culture. He was concerned that many children were reading and playing in English. They were forgetting they were Welsh, and so he...
Carolyn Thomas: As a Flintshire county councillor representing a rural ward, I know all too well just how important public transport is for communities like mine. Rural bus routes are rarely money makers, but they are a lifeline for many. Whilst highly populated areas tend to have better bus services because that is where they are most lucrative, it is rural communities that do not have access to amenities...
Carolyn Thomas: As I said before in this Chamber, our democracy is built on a foundation of fair, open and accessible elections. Our Senedd function is to empower the people of Wales, and, in turn, we as their elected representatives are empowered by the trust they place in us at the ballot box. I know many Members from across this Chamber will have joined me in taking opportunities to meet school pupils in...
Carolyn Thomas: 2. What conversations has the First Minister had with the UK Government regarding funding for rail infrastructure in north Wales? OQ57560
Carolyn Thomas: Diolch. The Tory UK Government are investing just under £100 billion in HS2 rail infrastructure. If the Barnett formula were to be applied, Wales should be entitled to the population share of 5 per cent, which is £5 billion. Scotland will receive £10 billion. But because the UK Government says that the line from London to Birmingham is going to benefit Wales, we are therefore getting...
