Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Laura Anne Jones. As I said more than once in my statement, clearly more needs to be done, and we've got the evidence with 'Locked out: liberating disabled people's lives and rights in Wales beyond COVID-19', we've got the taskforce, and we're working together. So, I will take back what you've said today, when you called upon the role of Disability Sport Wales, and indeed...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, and thank you for those really important questions about direct payments. Again, like in the previous questions I've had today, many of these are shared responsibilities with other Ministers in the Welsh Government. So, direct payments are with my colleague, Julie Morgan, Deputy Minister for Social Services. In my statement, I talk about the fact that...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much indeed, Vikki Howells, for those two important questions. The elections and the outcome of those elections are important. In fact, this is something that I share responsibility for with the Minister for Finance and Local Government; she is specifically looking at this in terms of our diversity elected office fund and our diversity and democracy programme, and I know that...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams, and thank you for shining this light on the international context, that global context of the billion disabled people across the globe. Thank you for focusing on that international element, as an outward-looking nation, and indeed, engaging across the world. And I think the Disability Rights UK evidence as well is really important in terms of the situation in...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Altaf, and thank you very much for your support. Yes, this is an important annual statement that I make, and I would like to report on some of the action that has been taking place over the past year, and it is action with disabled people. I think that is the most important point. I actually co-chair the disability rights taskforce with Professor Debbie Foster, and on the...
Jane Hutt: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. The international day of disabled people falls every year on 3 December. The Welsh Government is very aware of the importance of marking this day, as it helps us highlight just how many people are impacted by disability-based discrimination. Since its launch by the United Nations in 1992, right across the world, this day has represented a crucial step towards the...
Jane Hutt: Those local authorities that have taken the lead are the exemplar authorities, but all authorities should be exemplar. There is more to do to bring others up to the level of those who have made that positive progress, and I do think that's why our 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan' has added new impetus to address this challenge. As well as embedding a general anti-racist culture within public...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, acting Llywydd. I want to take the opportunity, first of all, to thank the Local Government and Housing Committee for their important inquiry into the provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. The committee and the Chair, John Griffiths, today asked the very pertinent question of whether our legislative and policy framework is robust and sufficient to...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Peter Fox, and can I thank Monmouthshire County Council and other local authorities that are using this provision? They have got a provision to provide the guarantor scheme bonds. People accessing private rented sector accommodation will be aware of this. I will ask my colleague, the Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, about the application process...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Sioned Williams, for your very important question.
Jane Hutt: I am hoping that we will hear some news next week about the financial position. I suspect that we won't get the full assurances that we need, because this is not just about the 'thank you' payments, which are urgent, but the funding for the next two years, which is the tariff for local authorities, which are helping them provide the wraparound support for people who are hosted, and support...
Jane Hutt: It is interesting to remember, and it's not that long ago, that we committed to support 1,000 Ukrainians through our supersponsor scheme. We've now welcomed 3,000 through the supersponsor route. We also, actually, have a further 1,600 who we've sponsored who have visas but haven't arrived. I'm looking forward, very much, to meeting Felicity Buchan next week, alongside my colleague Neil Gray...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, and thank you for welcoming this statement. Your first point, of course, is about how we are progressing with our supersponsor scheme. I’m very pleased to say that we’re working hard welcoming Ukrainian guests into our welcome centres, but also we’re ensuring that people are moved on as quickly as possible from the welcome centres, with the help of...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide an update to Members about our ongoing work to support people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary in Wales. When I last updated you in October, Wales had welcomed just under 6,000 Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, including under our supersponsor route. Arrivals have continued at a slow but steady pace, and...
Jane Hutt: Can I just say I will take that point up? It is something that I’m sure will be raised. It’s not for the Welsh Government. It is criminal justice; it is about justice and local justice and justice for women in Wales, and I’ll take that up in terms of geographical difference. But also we should be following up Jean Corston’s report. We have to have an alternative to prison for women,...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr. I'm sure that I will get these questions as a result of recommendations from the committee. Clearly, there should be access to their elected representatives from their home base, their home town. I’m sure that, as constituency Members, many of you have represented—. But the women need to know who they are. So, I think that that’s information—that's something that we...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. I do have to say that I really look forward to the outcome of your inquiry and the recommendations that will come forward to Welsh Government, but also because it will be a report that will be shared much more widely, not just with Welsh Government, but also with the UK Government, in terms of all of the partners within the UK Government, and the criminal...
Jane Hutt: It is important, when we look at the youth justice blueprint, that it's actually a children-first, children's rights approach. This means working in a child-centred way rather than a service-focused way. It's about meeting the needs of children in the justice system, or for children who risk coming into it. I do think we should look at some of those key outcomes, like the forensic adolescent...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood. Of course, this is about how we are working together, the two Governments, the Welsh Government and the UK Government. In terms of developing these blueprints, the women's justice and youth justice blueprints, the way we are developing is actually shining a light on development and progress in Wales, which I think can also be useful in the rest of the UK....
Jane Hutt: The women's pathfinder whole-system approach concentrates on early intervention and prevention, taking a holistic and rehabilitative approach to divert women away from crime, and supporting women to access community-based services through one-to-one support. The practical help and guidance provided is essential, especially in light of the cost-of-living crisis. A recent evaluation underlined...
