Sioned Williams: I could go on to detail our objection to many other clauses contained within this lengthy Bill, which will have a detrimental and disproportionate impact on minorities, women, children, our civil rights, and which will certainly worsen the inequalities in our justice system. But I will conclude by stating that the Bill is another example of why we need to devolve justice to Wales. Devolving...
Sioned Williams: 5. What new steps is the Welsh Government taking to address COVID-19 transmission levels? OQ57467
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Minister. I welcome the steps that you have outlined in your respone. The pandemic has clearly revealed the socioeconomic inequalities that exist within our society, and indeed have exacerbated those inequalities. These inequalities are also health inequlaities, with a clear relationship between one's socioeconomic situation and the impact of COVID on them. Figures from England...
Sioned Williams: Thank you very much, Deputy Llywydd. Our motion this afternoon calls on the Welsh Government to publish an emergency action plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that is hitting families in Wales. It's a crisis affecting households across the UK, but Wales will be and is being hit hardest by the economic storm and the huge social damage that will emerge from it in light of the fact that...
Sioned Williams: We must listen to and act with urgency upon the evidence and suggestions being proposed for ways that we in Wales can do more to address this crisis. An emergency summit, as I said, would be a first step that could help inform an emergency cost-of-living action plan. We need initiatives to support renters, for example, who have been amongst the hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis. The...
Sioned Williams: In discussing tackling the pandemic, the Government has often talked about the importance of early action. That is exactly the approach that we need with this crisis. We need to provide protection, yes, but we also need to try and prevent the storm from reaching its destructive height. This is not a short-term economic shock. Like the pandemic, its impact will remain for years. We must show...
Sioned Williams: 8. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Government’s strategy to tackle the growing problem of stalking? OQ57529
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Brif Weinidog. I welcome your answer. In 2012, following a campaign led by the former Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd, new laws came into force that, for the first time, recognised stalking as a specific crime. My Plaid Cymru colleague Delyth Jewell also played a pivotal role in this campaign. With this being National Stalking Awareness Month, I would like to urge the Welsh Government to...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. In his excellent book Yr Erlid, Heini Gruffudd of Swansea tells the story of his mother, the scholar and author Käthe Bosse-Griffiths, and the appalling impact of the growth of Nazism and the Holocaust on her and her family in Germany. They, like millions of other families who weren't considered people by the Nazis and their allies, were persecuted and some, like...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Llywydd. Monday of this week was the International Day of Education, a day that celebrates the role of education in terms of promoting peace and development worldwide. The International Day of Education this year takes place once again during the COVID-19 pandemic and, as Plaid Cymru's spokesperson on post-16 education, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the sector...
Sioned Williams: In their contributions to this debate, my fellow Plaid Cymru Members have highlighted concerns that are shared by many organisations, charities and other institutions. The people at most risk of losing their democratic voice as a result of this Bill are those from groups who are already disenfranchised. Yesterday, I spoke in relation to Holocaust Memorial Day about how guarded we must be as...
Sioned Williams: Research by Stonewall has found that among those trans and non-binary people who have had their ID questioned or rejected in the past, 34 per cent cited that the problem was a difference in appearance between photos and appearance. Thirty-two per cent said their ID didn't match their given name. Twenty per cent said that the gender marker didn't match their appearance. Sixteen per cent noted...
Sioned Williams: We cannot on the one hand say that we support the rights of groups such as trans and non-binary people in policy areas such as health and education, but then not allowing them to express their democratic views. This Bill will also have a disproportionate impact on young people, as we've already heard. All of our efforts here to ensure that young people engage with the democratic process...
Sioned Williams: Blind and partially sighted people experience a unique set of challenges when voting. The practical act of voting, making a cross in a specific location on a piece of paper, is fundamentally a visual exercise. It requires the ability to locate the boxes, read the names of the candidates and make a mark on the paper. Current provisions provided in every polling station to allow blind and...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm grateful to the Deputy Minister for her statement and I'm very pleased on behalf of Plaid Cymru to record our support for LGBTQ+ History Month and our ongoing commitment as a party to ensuring that the voices of LGBTQ+ people are heard, their experiences are recognised and their contributions to our communities and our nation are celebrated. I'm also pleased,...
Sioned Williams: The theme of this year's LGBTQ+ History Month is art. The power of art to challenge societal norms to which Welsh artists have made a notable contribution is, of course, well recognised. And gay, lesbian, trans, queer and non-conforming ideas and images have been part of artistic culture for millennia, but the long history of prejudice often drove artists to conceal their inspiration, their...
Sioned Williams: Thousands of households in Wales, a number corresponding to the whole of Swansea, are already having problems paying for everyday items, and, as we've heard, the increasing energy costs and tax rises are approaching, and therefore those additional costs of over £1,000 will be a step too far for those already facing social and economic disadvantage. I welcome the Government's steps to tackle...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Llywydd. On the last Saturday of January in 1872, Neath Rugby Football Club met with Swansea to compete in the first recorded club fixture in Welsh rugby history. On Friday, this historic match will be commemorated as Neath and Swansea do battle again. Neath RFC, the oldest club in Wales, are celebrating their hundred and fiftieth year. Over that time, the Welsh all blacks have seen...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank everyone for their contributions to this afternoon's debate and to the Minister for her robust response, and I agree with her: fundamental to our motion this afternoon is the need to tackle violence against women and girls, which is an unacceptably common experience in our society. Stalking mainly impacts women and girls, with over 80 per...
Sioned Williams: Thank you for the statement, Minister. Without doubt, many patients who are suffering these terrible symptoms can access support from their GPs, and, of course, the role of GPs is crucial in all of this, but we do know that some can't be referred; they return to their GPs time and time again and aren't getting the specialist support that they need. You mentioned learning, and it has been a...
