Mohammad Asghar: Leanne Wood.
Mohammad Asghar: First Minister, between 2014 and 2020, Wales will benefit from around £1.8 billion of European structural fund investment to support communities such as Islwyn. In view of recent warnings that this funding could end after 2020, even if the UK stays in the European Union, what action will you take to ensure that the future of European structural funding for Wales is there?
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much, madam Presiding Officer. Minister, I congratulate you on your new post. I will say it’s a very noble job to give organ donation. An independent report by the organ donation taskforce found that people of Asian and Afro-Caribbean origin make up 23 per cent of the kidney waiting list, but only 3 per cent of those donors come from these communities. Studies also show that...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer. I also thank the Minister for her statement today. A skilled workforce enables a nation to prosper in an increasingly competitive global market. It is essential that we develop and adapt our skill base in Wales. We need to address the skills gap and end the inequalities in the existing system. To do this, it is vital that we can mobilise between all aspects...
Mohammad Asghar: My best wishes to the Minister for climbing the economic mountain of Wales. A recent poll by the Federation of Small Businesses in Wales asked members about the key priorities they wanted to see from the Welsh Government. Twenty per cent of respondents wanted to see the creation of a single body to support small businesses in Wales. What consideration has the Welsh Government given to setting...
Mohammad Asghar: 7. Cabinet Secretary, what measures will the Welsh Government introduce to support businesses in Wales in the fifth Assembly? OAQ(5)0001(EI)
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the reply, Secretary. Business rates can be a company’s biggest expense after wages and rent. The Welsh Retail Consortium has warned that Welsh retailers could see the steepest rise in business rates in the United Kingdom from the next year, once the revaluation of properties takes effect. Does the Minister agree the time has come for a radical review of business rates, to...
Mohammad Asghar: 2. What action will the Welsh Government take to improve services for diabetes sufferers in Wales in the fifth Assembly? OAQ(5)0002(HWS)
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the answer, business Secretary. Figures revealed by Diabetes UK Cymru reveal that the number of people living with diabetes in Wales is at its highest ever level. Their director has highlighted the lack of understanding when it comes to people being aware of the seriousness of diabetes. Given that Wales has the worst rate of child obesity, does the Minister agree that we need to...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. May I begin by congratulating Wales on qualifying for 2016—the first major football tournament we have qualified for since the World Cup in Sweden in 1958? It has taken nearly half a century to achieve this goal and it’s a wonderful goal and I congratulate the team, the managers and everybody who made an effort to be there. I hope they’ll win...
Mohammad Asghar: Will the Minister make a statement on the results of the Welsh Health Survey 2015?
Mohammad Asghar: First Minister, a businessman claimed recently that traffic problems were having a damaging effect on businesses in Newport. One of the reasons he gave for this increased traffic was the fact that the valley line train from Newbridge, where he lives, bypassed Newport. Minister, in 2007 and 2008 promises were made in this Chamber by the then economic Minister that, prior to the Ryder Cup, the...
Mohammad Asghar: We all recognise the benefit of increasing access to the countryside for recreation and to improve the health and well-being of the public. However, groups such as the Countryside Alliance have warned that unrestricted access to the countryside could have an environmental impact on river habitats, damage lands and limit landowners’ ability to manage and protect their land. Minister, I’ve...
Mohammad Asghar: Recent research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies found that universal credit does a lot to help make work pay for many of those who currently face the most severe disincentives. They went on to say that the number of people facing very weak incentives to enter work will fall by two-thirds. Does the Cabinet Secretary agree with the institute when it says: ‘universal credit should make the...
Mohammad Asghar: Food poverty remains a problem for many households in Caerphilly and throughout Wales, Cabinet Secretary. Last winter, more than 2 million of the most vulnerable people benefited from help with their fuel bills from £310 million of assistance through the UK’s Government’s Warm Home Discount Scheme. Will the Cabinet Secretary join me in welcoming news that changes to the scheme mean that...
Mohammad Asghar: 15. Will the Minister make a statement on adoption services in Wales? OAQ(5)0004(CC)
Mohammad Asghar: Earlier this year, the Children, Young People and Education Committee raised concerns about the lack of post-adoption support and the significant and very serious impact this could potentially have on children and families. They also are concerned about the regional variations in post-adoption support across Wales and call on the Welsh Government to instigate a review of services. Will the...
Mohammad Asghar: Local government in Wales is suffering from a lack of community engagement. This lack of engagement has led to voter apathy and poor voter turnout in successive local elections. At the last local election in 2012, average voter turnout was under 39 per cent—a fall of 4 per cent from the previous election in 2008. According to the national survey for Wales, 88 per cent of people had not...
Mohammad Asghar: 3. What action will the Welsh Government take to improve treatment of cancer in Wales in the next twelve months? OAQ(5)0076(FM)
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much for the reply, First Minister. Cancer Research UK has said there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people diagnosed with the most serious form of skin cancer in Wales in the last 40 years. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has approved a pair of cancer drugs, ipilimumab and nivolumab—these are the two medicines—for use in England, which, when...
