Mark Isherwood: As a Member representing a north Wales constituency, will you acknowledge those same studies said that north Wales would benefit?
Mark Isherwood: Well, we heard that 40 schools in Wales are currently on nurtureuk's national nurturing schools programme, building a whole-school nurturing approach, but also, according to nurtureuk research, in 2015, there were 144 schools in Wales with some form of nurture provision, an increase on 101 from 2007. On the work of schools in north Wales, in particular we heard reference from Jack to Ysgol...
Mark Isherwood: Could I call for three short statements, if I may? The first is on improvements in autism services. On 23 September, a week ago yesterday, the health Minister issued a written statement with that title, which merits an oral statement or even a debate in Welsh Government time. It states, for example: 'Some see the answer is to introduce autism legislation, but we know that in England where the...
Mark Isherwood: Thanks for your statement. You referred, I think, near the beginning, to risks of recession. Of course, Germany, which is the motor of the EU economy, has 10 to 15 per cent of its GDP dependent on access to UK markets, including Wales, and we understand from press coverage during the summer that they might be on the brink of recession themselves. So there's clearly mutuality in ensuring that...
Mark Isherwood: If I could conclude with this question. Earlier this month, the Irish sea south trade director for Stena Line, the port authority at Holyhead, said the UK is now far better prepared for Brexit than in March, the original Brexit date, and he says that some of the worst fears that could have become a reality are not going to be borne out. He also said, 'Yes, I think—
Mark Isherwood: Okay. How will you ensure or are you ensuring that public service providers in north Wales are engaged with his statement that there will be disruption for a day or two because of uncertainty, but that will only be very short term?
Mark Isherwood: How is the Welsh Government developing integrated health care services?
Mark Isherwood: 12. What preparations has the Welsh Government made for the UK’s exit from the EU? OAQ54409
Mark Isherwood: Of course, the UK Government's requirement to seek an alternative deal is only because Labour voted down the previous deal three times in the House of Commons. How do you respond to the statements made earlier this month by the Irish sea south trade director for Stena Line, the port authority at Holyhead, a Mr Davies, who, when asked if there'll be disruption, said, 'Yes, I think there will...
Mark Isherwood: 'How do you respond to the statement by—?'
Mark Isherwood: North Wales is blessed with a rich and diverse network of historic industrial infrastructure. The too-often-forgotten heroes in local groups striving to maximise the economic and social regeneration this represents deserve recognition and support. They battle daily with the practical and financial challenges of bringing such infrastructure back into community use. Instead of Welsh Government...
Mark Isherwood: When the Wales Governance Centre reported that Wales has the highest rate of imprisonment in western Europe, and although the total number of prison sentences have risen in Wales between 2010 and 2017, they've fallen by 16 per cent in England, they said that wider research is needed to try to explain Wales's high rate of imprisonment. This is particularly relevant given that many of the...
Mark Isherwood: The Welsh Government tells us that its local government funding formula is heavily influenced by deprivation indicators. Anglesey is one of five local authorities where 30 per cent or more of workers are paid less than the voluntary living wage, and prosperity levels per head in Anglesey are the lowest in Wales at just under half of those in Cardiff. Yet, this financial year, Cardiff had a...
Mark Isherwood: During the Assembly's summer recess, Government Social Research published a report, 'Leadership development and talent management in local authorities in Wales', carried out on behalf of Academi Wales, the public service's leadership and management development organisation, based within Welsh Government. This said that, among the 22 local authorities in Wales, some have established...
Mark Isherwood: Can I just say, I'm not focused on trying to specify what good leadership looks like, but more how we develop good leadership. And in my professional background, it was a betrayal of people, from the lowest positions to the highest positions, if we didn't have a performance management system in place that was entirely interactive, and which respected people and agreed ways forward, so that...
Mark Isherwood: Well, appraisal systems are meant to be a snapshot as part of a performance management system. There should be no surprises in an appraisal system. No employee at any level should be either criticised or praised for something they weren't already involved with. So, I hope you will develop that into performance management, as opposed to just appraisal systems. But the upshot of all this was...
Mark Isherwood: I thank the First Minister for his partial response. What is extraordinary is the number of people in this Chamber and beyond who look to and expect the European Union to intervene as if it were a supporter of democratic national self-determination, when the reality is it will no more welcome a vote on national independence in Catalonia than it did our vote on 23 June 2016. I would associate...
Mark Isherwood: Can I call for two statements? Firstly, on the INTERREG Ireland-Wales 2014-20 programme, which, as you know, encourages regions to work together to address common economic, environmental and social challenges. In Wales, the two INTERREG regions are north Wales, with a population of just over 696,000, and west Wales, with 630,000—so, not dissimilar populations. But I've been given a freedom...
Mark Isherwood: As you know, the non-domestic rating Order specifies the terms you've just described—140 days' availability, 70 days' occupancy—in order to qualify as a self-catering business. And you referred to the gate-keeping role played by the Valuation Office Agency and the documentation they require, and that they'd investigated a few cases referred by Gwynedd. But what tripwire is in place within...
Mark Isherwood: Five million, I believe, of the £22 million investment in Tomlinsons in 2017 came from the Welsh Government, and, of course, that raises questions about the degree of contractual protection for the public pound. But, as we heard, this is the second milk processing plant in Wales to close, meaning that more than half of milk production is now having to be transported elsewhere. The dairy...
