Dawn Bowden: Will you take an intervention?
Dawn Bowden: Thank you. Can I just quote you from UKIP’s small business manifesto, published in 2013? ‘UKIP would put an end to most legislation regarding matters such as weekly hours, holidays and holiday, overtime, redundancy and sick pay, and provide statutory standard very short employment contracts templates’. Does the Member recognise that?
Dawn Bowden: Leader of the house, there appears to be a growing trend by some to call into question the independence of our courts, tribunals and similar bodies. I’m sure you’ll agree with me, leader of the house, that the effectiveness of these bodies and the protections that they provide for citizens in this country rely on us all respecting the independent role that they play, even if we don’t...
Dawn Bowden: Can I say that I’m absolutely delighted to be able to speak in this debate as part of the celebration of International Women’s Day? It’s celebrate that I actually want to do. Today, we have heard, and we will hear, about a number of inspirational women—the famous and the not so famous—all of whom have made their mark, not just in Wales but across the world. For my contribution I...
Dawn Bowden: What discussions has the Welsh Government held regarding the impact of welfare reform on supporting housing in Wales?
Dawn Bowden: Cabinet Secretary, I’ve raised, previously, concerns with you over the impact of the Westminster Government’s changes to the local housing allowance from 2019 and the impact that that will have on Wales, compounded, I think you’ll agree with me, by the disgraceful decision that was taken last week to remove housing benefits for young people between the ages of 18 and 21. A study that...
Dawn Bowden: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the potential health impacts of the Ffos-y-fran opencast coalmine, following the announcement last week by the UN special rapporteur on hazardous substances and waste? EAQ(5)0118(ERA)
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Before this news broke on Friday, I had met previously with some of the local residents, protesters and Merthyr council, and I'd undertaken a site visit to Ffos-y-fran, including a lengthy meeting with the operators. So, I was already very aware of the concerns surrounding the operation there, and for some time I've been seeking assurances about a range of...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. After you chastising other Members, I’ve cut this down quite considerably from what I was originally going to say. Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his very welcome statement, setting out another example of the Labour Welsh Government delivering on one of its manifesto pledges in its first year in office? I would have to say that this is absolutely...
Dawn Bowden: They have had to discount that by £1.5 million. So, what I want to know, Cabinet Secretary is: given all the points that you’ve made in your statement today, have you made an assessment of how many homes you expect this policy to safeguard, now and into the future in the social housing sector, and more importantly, have you made an assessment of how this might relieve the pressures on...
Dawn Bowden: 5. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s strategy for tackling homelessness in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ(5)0515(FM)
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, First Minister. My concerns are similar to the ones that were raised by Jeremy Miles earlier on, but I want to focus on one specific point. I had the opportunity during January through to just this week of volunteering at the winter night shelter in Merthyr Tydfil that was provided by the council, and I’d probably like to place on record now my thanks to Merthyr Tydfil council...
Dawn Bowden: [Continues.]—that those people face. The question, First Minister, came about from a discussion I had with two relatively young men who decided that they could best lift themselves out of homelessness by joining together to get a place to rent. They’d found a suitable place—
Dawn Bowden: I need to explain—
Dawn Bowden: Okay. They couldn’t find a guarantor, because they had no access to anybody who could guarantee the rental with the private landlord. So, could you, First Minister, give some indication of what the Welsh Government can do, possibly working in conjunction with local authorities and housing providers, to break down the barriers that make it difficult for the homeless to secure rented...
Dawn Bowden: 11. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the provision of specialist learning support in schools in Wales? OAQ(5)0101(EDU)
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Minister. Minister, I’ve recently been made aware of a situation in my constituency where a learning support assistant is providing assistance to a girl with needs around her sight—Braille support. That LSA has left the council to work elsewhere and the council has been unable to replace that position, so she’s been unable to continue with that level of support through no...
Dawn Bowden: Will the First Minister make a statement on the provision of cancer services in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney?
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring forward this short debate on the important role played by credit unions in helping tackling financial exclusion, a major issue in parts of my constituency and in areas of deprivation across Wales. I’m happy to give a minute of my time to both Jayne Bryant and Mark Isherwood in this debate. Llywydd, the fundamental difference, of...
Dawn Bowden: Credit unions make their decisions on lending money not on largely automated and impersonal procedures but more often than not on the basis of one-to-one interviews with members. Part of any assessment on a loan will be based on the experience of that person’s membership with the credit union. As a result, low-cost loans will be provided to many applicants who might well be excluded from...
