Jane Hutt: There are positive stories coming from the banking sector. For example, the Welsh Language Commissioner has collaborated with Santander to launch new cash point machines that remember consumers' language preference, and also Welsh Government has business officials who assist businesses to use more Welsh. We've got a helpline that's being launched in the next few months to offer support to...
Jane Hutt: —a very merry Christmas to you all.
Jane Hutt: Nadolig Llawen, Jack Sargeant—you will get your bank back in Buckley. Diolch.
Jane Hutt: Dirprwy Lywydd, as we enter the new year, we recognise that the cost-of-living pressures continue to be relentless. Too many people are desperately worried about staying warm and having enough food to eat, and for many people, the challenges are more stark. The cost-of-living crisis has shone a harsh light on different groups' ability to deal with fast-rising prices. The Resolution Foundation...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood. As I said in my statement, it is very clear that we are taking responsibility, and thank you for acknowledging that, and, indeed, for chairing the cross-party group on fuel poverty, which I attended pretty much every session held last year. But also, recognising that clearly, there are key responsibilities for the UK Government in terms of tax and...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams, and thank you very much particularly for drawing attention to those who are particularly affected by the cost-of-living crisis. I made it clear in my opening remarks, in terms of the statement, the recent evidence, that, particularly, I was focusing on the income gap between disabled and non-disabled people in the UK and what impact that has, particularly in...
Jane Hutt: When I went to visit the warm hub in Caerphilly at the former miners’ hospital—the Caerphilly Miners’ Centre—I met with some women who themselves were helping to work to develop a centre for children and families in the Lansbury estate. They themselves said, 'For us, coming into the centre, we can also benefit from a meal and heat and support for our children in that warm hub.' But...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Jack Sargeant, and thank you for consistently raising this issue in terms of the injustice of the pre-payment meter arrangements. Members will want to be reminded, I’m sure, that approximately 200,000 households in Wales rely on pre-payment meters for their mains gas and electricity—that’s about 15 per cent of all households. Twenty-four per cent of tenants in the...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Jenny Rathbone, and thank you for raising the issue of food poverty. We've provided £2.4 million to support community food organisations to meet that increase in demand for emergency food as a result of the cost of living. But also, additional to that, another £2.5 million to support the development of cross-sector food partnerships in Wales to help support resilience...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. This Friday, we remember the millions of people who were persecuted and killed during the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2023 is 'Ordinary People'. During the Holocaust and the genocides that have followed, it was ordinary people who found themselves persecuted and murdered because they belonged to a community of...
Jane Hutt: We are pleased to work alongside the trust once again, both to support this work at a grass-roots level as well as with the organisation of the national commemoration. The Wales national ceremony will be available online from 11 a.m. on Holocaust Memorial Day. It will be an opportunity to hear the harrowing testimonies of Holocaust survivor Joan Salter MBE, and Antoinette Mutabazi, a survivor...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Altaf Hussain, and thank you so much for your support for this statement, again reminding us of those horrific statistics of those slaughtered in the camps and the horror afflicted on 6 million Jews, but also on the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people. We stood shoulder to shoulder at the candlelit vigil—very moving today, cross party—hosted by Julie Morgan, as she's done...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. Can I just thank you again for your powerful statement as well as questions and your support for this statement today? As you say, the Holocaust didn't happen overnight; it began with a gradual erosion of human rights and divisive rhetoric against people who were different, who were perceived to be different to others. This is about the commitment again that...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, indeed, Jenny Rathbone, recognising that so much was suppressed, so much in our generation—in fact, in many family histories across this Chamber. We need to revisit that history. Some Members may have had the opportunity—if you haven't, I do recommend it—to watch How the Holocaust Began, which was a film broadcast last night presented by James Bulgin. It was about...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Jane. And it is so hard, but it is so essential, as you say. And I did want to also respond to the point that follows up what Sioned has said about the strength and the bravery of people who have spoken out. And I think the fact that Joan Salter was filmed confronting the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, in January, about the language used to describe refugees—. And Joan...
Jane Hutt: Diolch. Can I thank the Member so much for his—? Well, he is a testimony today to the impact that the experience had on you as a young person growing up in Wales. And that has been very powerful as a contribution to the statement this afternoon. I've already highlighted the fact that this is really moving forward in 2023, in terms of our visits, back in-person, in terms of the the Lessons...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much for reminding us of that Holocaust survivor, who you met in the House of Commons, who died last year. And as I said, we're honoured to meet and to hear from a survivor tomorrow, and, indeed, in the national commemoration as well. This is why this event, this day and this statement are so important—it is not a one-off; this is about the way we live. I think it goes back...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Alun Davies. Thank you, again, for highlighting that theme of the ordinary people: the victims and the perpetrators, so clearly expressed in that broadcast last night. But, also, we've seen it in all the genocides; we saw it, as was mentioned, in terms of Rwanda, and the experience that Jane Dodds had. Thank you for sharing your experience of the impact of genocide yourself,...
Jane Hutt: I thank Rhianon Passmore for her contribution. It is a contribution—. Everyone who's spoken has been so moved by the fact that we're making this statement, and just recalling all the horror of the Holocaust. We must never forget that. It is about those ordinary people, and we must watch those programmes—we must learn from them. And also we must be very clear what we want to do in Wales. I...
Jane Hutt: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm pleased to provide an update to Members about our ongoing work to support people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary in Wales. When I last updated Senedd Members on arrivals in November, Wales had welcomed just over 6,100 Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, including our supersponsor route. Arrivals have slowed in the recent months, with just over 6,300 Ukrainians,...
