Joyce Watson: I want to nominate Ann Jones.
Joyce Watson: Carwyn Jones.
Joyce Watson: 8. What is the Welsh Government doing to safeguard unaccompanied refugee children who have recently arrived in Europe?
Joyce Watson: Thank you. We’ve all watched the crisis unfold, with a dramatic rise in the number of children on the move in Europe. According to Save the Children, they now make up one in three of those numbers this year, compared to one in 10 last year. It’s fairly obvious that, for those children, the risks of staying at home are greater than facing the dangers of being on the move. Some of those...
Joyce Watson: Minister, could we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure regarding Silcox coach company? You will know that, on Monday, the 134-year-old Pembroke Dock-based company went into administration and that that resulted in the loss of around 40 jobs. It is of course really sad that a company with such heritage and roots in the community has ceased trading....
Joyce Watson: The First Minister?
Joyce Watson: I want to congratulate the Cabinet Secretary on his appointment but I also want to pay some tribute to the previous Minister, who had a very tough job and has exercised some change. They are not veiled congratulations, I can assure you. However, moving swiftly on, I did last Friday visit Withybush hospital and I did speak with staff and patients about the new services and how they are bedding...
Joyce Watson: I’d like to start by recognising the enormous achievement of the Welsh national football team in participating in Euro 2016 in France. And as everybody has said, it’s the first time that Wales has accomplished that in 58 years. And yes, the 2-1 win against Slovakia in their first game was impressive, and I couldn’t mention the game without also mentioning one player, Joe Allen from...
Joyce Watson: Minister, you will be aware that there’s a recent BBC report that found that, last year, 3,000 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arrived in the UK, and they were often fleeing war and persecution. The report found that at least 891 of those unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have disappeared after arriving in the UK over the last three years—421 of those are still missing, and many...
Joyce Watson: Again, I am pleased to welcome you back to a role, Minister—or Secretary—that I know that you care passionately about. Passion does play a part, of course, on both sides of this debate. I would like to point you in the direction of a passion to do something positive about this, and I’d like, here, to commend the work of Coedcae school in Llanelli, from where the pupils came here and...
Joyce Watson: What are the Welsh Government's priorities for next year's UK presidency of the EU?
Joyce Watson: 11. Will the Minister provide an update on the slurry spill on a tributary of the afon Taf in Carmarthenshire in May that killed 230 fish? OAQ(5)0016(ERA)
Joyce Watson: I thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary, and, as you say, there was a large number of fish estimated to have been killed. But this is only one, or the latest, incident on that section of the water, and it isn’t the first time that such an incident has occurred. There was another incident of around 10,000 gallons of slurry spilled into a stream in the Towy valley in March 2015. I of...
Joyce Watson: I thank Julie Morgan, first, for bringing this debate and, secondly, for giving me one minute, which I shall try and stick to. I, like all the colleagues here, present now, want to pay tribute to Jo Cox. We are all stunned by what happened, but we are also, I hope, inspired by what she left behind, and want to pick up what she believed in and what she, hopefully, has left behind as a marker,...
Joyce Watson: Leader of the house, might we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure on the future of Nant Helen opencast mine near Ystradgynlais? Following the announcement that Aberthaw power station is to downgrade its operation from next April, Celtic Energy last week announced that Nant Helen could be mothballed, resulting in 90 redundancies. In October, the company...
Joyce Watson: I do.
Joyce Watson: I nominate Jayne Bryant.
Joyce Watson: 3. Will the Minister make a statement on his priorities for promoting equality in Wales? OAQ(5)0014(FLG)
Joyce Watson: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary, but the referendum campaign, particularly towards the end, became infected with intolerance, and that poison has seeped into public life. We’ve all seen the reports of racist abuse on our streets. We’ve also, thankfully, seen the reaction to it in Llanelli and elsewhere where local people are standing by and speaking up for their eastern...
Joyce Watson: Thank you, Suzy, for taking an intervention. Would you agree with me that children are not able to move on? I’ve heard an awful lot of stats today, but these are individuals with individual needs. Would you agree with me that, unless their emotional well-being is addressed first, then you cannot expect any levels of attainment while they’re still carrying that emotional baggage with them?
