Jenny Rathbone: 5. What plans does the Cabinet Secretary have to promote best practice in local government? OAQ(5)0070(FLG)
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you for that, Cabinet Secretary. Flintshire’s Food for Life catering mark is an excellent example, I think, of good practice. Providing nutritious and pleasurable school meals to children, it’s also cost neutral and it provides greater scrutiny of where food comes from, which is obviously very important when we’re dealing with children. It also puts more money into local...
Jenny Rathbone: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on additional funding allocated to the education portfolio to support lunch and fun clubs during the school summer holidays?
Jenny Rathbone: In light of Schools Challenge Cymru coming to an end, what measures are now in place to assist schools to strengthen networking and collaborate on good practice?
Jenny Rathbone: It would be great if the Chamber was as enthusiastic about decreasing rail or bus fares as they appear to be about decreasing tolls on roads. I think, before we rush into insisting that this is a universally good idea, I would like a bit more of a precautionary approach and understanding of what level of increase in traffic this might generate, because the implications for my constituents are...
Jenny Rathbone: The wise words of Dafydd Elis-Thomas. I do rather feel that Plaid is taking a purist position, confident in the knowledge that others are going to do the heavy lifting, and ensure that this legislative measure is passed. I’m very pleased to read Theresa May’s assurances in her speech today that no decision currently taken by the devolved administrations will be removed from them in the...
Jenny Rathbone: I think it’s a very interesting debate and I would praise Conwy council for its exemplary doorstep recycling, which I think is the way forward for all our local authorities. So, I think it’s really disappointing that one of the local councillors, who also happens to be an Assembly Member, is decrying the move made by Conwy council, because I think they’re doing absolutely everything...
Jenny Rathbone: If it’s a factual point, yes.
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you. I apologise for that mistake. As the amendment says, less frequent waste collections do not lead to increased fly-tipping or constitute public health risks. There’s absolutely no evidence of that. Nevertheless, it’s one of the issues that always gets raised whenever anybody suggests that we might reduce the amount of collections of residual waste. Because if people are...
Jenny Rathbone: I haven’t taken a further intervention.
Jenny Rathbone: No, I have not taken a further intervention. We have to be proud of our record in Wales as the best in the UK and the fourth best in Europe on recycling. So, in order to stay focused on achieving our target of at least 70 per cent by 2025, we have got to observe the three Rs. In case anybody isn’t aware of what the three Rs are, they are reduce, reuse and recycle. There is no such thing as...
Jenny Rathbone: Will you take an intervention?
Jenny Rathbone: Is it possible that the increasing amount of prosecutions is because of an increased enthusiasm for ensuring that we don’t have waste littering our streets?
Jenny Rathbone: Evidence, evidence. Where’s the evidence?
Jenny Rathbone: I think I agree with absolutely everything that everybody’s said. I think, on this issue, it is important that we do have consensus because tackling air quality is a fantastically important subject. There is no such thing as safe levels of particulates and, frankly, some of the things that we’re going to need to do will require us to tackle the holy motorist, and that will obviously be...
Jenny Rathbone: I’m pleased to say that one school has agreed to set aside a piece of its land for a community garden. My ambition is that all schools will be doing something along these lines to inspire people across this mainly quite financially challenged community to start to grow their own in their own gardens, or in easily accessible collective spaces. This is a fantastically important subject in the...
Jenny Rathbone: 8. What has the Welsh Government done to collate the starting points and destinations of the 43 per cent of vehicle journeys around Newport of less than 20 miles? OAQ(5)0104(EI)
Jenny Rathbone: It would obviously be very interesting for all of us to see this, because, clearly, it’s a crucial piece of information if we’re going to get the modal shift of people with the investment that we’re hoping we’re going to make in the metro. Obviously, there’s a wealth of evidence that people will only shift if there is either improved journey times and/or an improved cost for their...
Jenny Rathbone: Would you agree with me that what is needed is a full and effective public inquiry, similar to the one that Charles Hendry conducted into the tidal lagoon, not one that takes six years and comes up with one limp recommendation, as happened in Scotland? We need a full public inquiry, so that we know that the NHS is a learning organisation and has learnt from the dreadful mistakes that were made.
Jenny Rathbone: On Friday, I hosted a meeting, a mini summit, on climate change with 16 and 17-year-olds in the Tŷ Hywel chamber, and it illustrated just how well-equipped 16 and 17-year-olds can be to engage in political matters, because their ideas for changing the world and for delivering on Wales’s climate change obligations were absolutely excellent. So, I very much welcome that proposal and I hope...
