Jenny Rathbone: What plans does the Welsh Government have to introduce legislation to impose a minimum price for alcohol?
Jenny Rathbone: I welcome the fact that Janet Finch-Saunders says we need to double the amount of investment in social care, and I wish her well in her attempt to get that sort of money out of the UK Government—not likely with the current Government. But I also welcome the slightly more grounded position of Suzy Davies, that neither the Welsh Government nor the UK Government is a golden goose, and I think...
Jenny Rathbone: [Continues.]—other ways of doing things.
Jenny Rathbone: I wouldn’t disagree with that, but I think we need to look elsewhere for some of the solutions. I’m particularly interested in the model that’s been developed in Holland, the Buurtzorg model, because that has both massively increased the approval rate and also the job satisfaction of the nurses. In 2006, four nurses in the small town of Almelo in Holland realised that the relationship...
Jenny Rathbone: Cities are widely recognised by the policy wonks as the engine of economic growth, and connectivity between cities and their hinterlands is a key ingredient of spreading that economic success to the whole region, not just those at the centre. We have to acknowledge that the Valleys were the original engine of Cardiff’s past growth, and therefore we have a responsibility to ensure that the...
Jenny Rathbone: 8. What assurances has the First Minister had from the UK Government that Brexit won't be used to water down food standards currently guaranteed by our membership of the EU? OAQ(5)0439(FM)
Jenny Rathbone: Unfortunately, there are villains across the world who are keen to penetrate any weaknesses in our defences on this matter. We can remember the horse burger scandal. What I’m concerned about is that Theresa May seems hellbent on a deal of some sort with the United States, which has much lower standards of food provenance than this country or any other part of the European Union. So, what...
Jenny Rathbone: Yesterday was the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. I was very pleased to host a very well-attended conference here in the Senedd on this appalling subject. It was organised by BAWSO, but there were important delegates from NSPCC, Welsh Women’s Aid and from different parts of Wales as well as England. I think this is not just about the 30 million girls who...
Jenny Rathbone: We are what we eat and, sadly, far too many people are only eating food that’s absolutely drenched in fat, sugar and salt. And that, combined with poor exercise, is obviously a recipe for heart disease. You rightly point out in your statement that a lot of the target groups are those who are reluctant to go to the GP. I was pondering on that, and I want to applaud the work of people like...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, David, for your very thoughtful contribution. There's nothing more enticing, but misleading, than this slogan of taking back control, and one of the things that the Brexiteers have to do now is, as David says, define what we actually mean by that. And far from taking back control, I feel that we may lose completely control of something that is fantastically important to all of us,...
Jenny Rathbone: 8. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline how the successful collaborative work instigated by Schools Challenge Cymru will be continued? OAQ(5)0082(EDU)
Jenny Rathbone: The very successful London Challenge, which obviously inspired our own Schools Challenge Cymru, lasted for a full eight years. Ours is being wound down after three years. Some of the achievements of Schools Challenge Cymru have been really quite outstanding: in secondary schools, for those who are on free school meals, there has been a 65 per cent increase in maths and Welsh or English...
Jenny Rathbone: I acknowledge the importance of the Cardiff city deal and, as long as we get the connectivity through the metro, I’m sure it’ll be a great way of joining up Monmouthshire with Bridgend, and the Rhondda with our capital city. But, today I wanted to talk about something that’s more fundamental to both the UK industrial strategy and the Welsh industrial strategy, which is the issue of...
Jenny Rathbone: In the climate change committee, we heard evidence that businesses that have actually done the right thing and put solar panels on their roofs are actually being charged additional business rates. So, my question is, really: what levers does the Welsh Government have to support businesses that have a positive social and environmental impact, e.g. healthy food establishments, and to discourage...
Jenny Rathbone: I listened carefully to what other people have said and perhaps want to deviate slightly from what some other people have said. I particularly welcome the acceptance of recommendation 4, which is about aligning training packages, because it’s absolutely essential that we’re not overburdening public servants with too many different instructions. And so it’s really important that the...
Jenny Rathbone: Health experts are now telling us that we shouldn’t just eat five a day, but we need to eat 10 a day if we want to live a long life. I just wondered what discussions have been had around food security, in the light particularly of the reduction in the value of the pound, and particularly in relation to making us more self-sufficient across the UK in the production of fruit and vegetables,...
Jenny Rathbone: The Welsh NHS Confederation has called this Bill a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity to raise the profile of public health’, reduce health inequalities and reduce demand on the NHS. Several speakers have already mentioned the importance of tackling obesity and its absence from this Bill, but I want to raise a further issue that is linked to obesity but is, I think, an even bigger public...
Jenny Rathbone: 7. What treatments are available to mothers who become incontinent as a result of injury during childbirth? OAQ(5)0118(HWS)
Jenny Rathbone: One in 10 women have anal sphincter injuries as a result of childbirth. It’s hardly ever spoken about because people feel too embarrassed to raise it. But I’m glad to say that it’s rising up the medical agenda: there’s a conference being organised by a new charity, which is championing mothers with anal sphincter injuries in childbirth, and it’s being held at the Royal College of...
Jenny Rathbone: Last week I visited my local Royal Mail sorting office, and all the talk was about the way in which private companies are eating into the profitable parts of their business, while they continue to have an obligation to deliver the universal postal service. These predators have no obligation to meet the pay and conditions that Royal Mail workers have fought for over the years, and they are,...
