Jenny Rathbone: I very much thank the Conservatives for tabling this motion, because women’s health gets much less attention from the NHS, from medical research and the pharmaceutical industry, so anything that shines a light on women’s health is really welcome. And we should all be concerned that less than a third of gynaecological referrals are seen within 62 days, but having talked to some of the...
Jenny Rathbone: We should all be concerned about the possibility of nearly 1,800 vacancies across Wales, because there's no doubt that a shortage of nurses will compromise nursing care; it's inevitable. Buffy Williams has told us that it has led to a change of behaviour by health boards, and I hope, therefore, an improvement and a greater focus on ensuring that staffing levels are up to complement in acute...
Jenny Rathbone: So, we shouldn't be surprised that, in the first week of term, only just half the reception children at Tredegarville Church in Wales Primary School in Cardiff were eating the school lunch they were entitled to. It's difficult to understand the complexity of the reasons why the others weren't taking it up, but some of it is to do with the anxiety of the parent, who wants to ensure that the...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I've agreed to give a minute of my time to each of Joyce Watson, Peter Fox and Luke Fletcher to enable them to contribute to this debate. As rolling out universal free school meals to all primary schools is one of the most important and radical proposals in the partnership agreement with Plaid, and we've allocated £260 million to make it happen, we have...
Jenny Rathbone: Just looking at what other people have said, we need to—. As Altaf has reiterated, a recession beckons, and therefore things can only get worse. Sioned Williams spoke about the damp conditions that families have always had to put up with every winter, regardless of the current crisis. I think several Members spoke about the need to really take on board the audit office's report, which was...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much. Thank you to all the people who took part in the debate, particularly those who haven't been involved in the committee's deliberations. I think it's particularly important to hear from other people who are able to give a particular specialist view, whether it's of their constituency or of their specialist interest in fuel poverty. I think that there is still quite a lot...
Jenny Rathbone: We're pleased as a committee that the Welsh Government has accepted the first three of our recommendations, which relate to the immediate action required to review the effectiveness of the winter fuel support scheme, to maximise the benefits of the VAT cut for energy-saving materials and insulation. Is the Welsh Government in a position to now share the outcome of its review of the winter...
Jenny Rathbone: Diolch yn fawr. This debate on fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme I hope will be useful to all Members, as this is something that I know all our constituents are extremely worried about. The committee started this inquiry in the spring of this year, when energy prices were a third of what they are today. And Wales is particularly vulnerable to this unprecedented hike. Wales has some of...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much for making this statement, and I'm sorry our very able Minister for Climate Change is unable to be with us, but we wish her a speedy recovery, I'm sure. I just wanted to ask you why the Bill is proposing to make it a criminal offence for somebody to supply single-use plastics, but it would be a civil offence only for somebody to wilfully leave their plastic rubbish on the...
Jenny Rathbone: Behind every threat, there is an opportunity, and I've long been an advocate of community-focused schools. So, I've already had conversations about heat banks in schools, in community centres, in churches, and people are really pulling together. And I just wondered if we can somehow extend the remit of community-focused schools to enable us to offer community learning, community-focused...
Jenny Rathbone: I'm concerned that borrowing over £100 billion on underpinning overpriced and unsustainable energy markets will still leave the poorest households in my constituency having to choose between heating and eating. What, if anything, can the Welsh Government do to protect citizens from having to pay for this mountain of debt for the next 20 years or more? And what levers, if any, does it give...
Jenny Rathbone: 8. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of how the new Prime Minister's agenda will impact the Welsh Government's strategy to tackle the climate emergency? OQ58414
Jenny Rathbone: As the French President reminded us last week, we talk about 'our Queen' or 'your Queen', as he was saying, but in France it's simply 'vive la reine', because she is the Queen of the whole world. She is the most recognised person in the world, despite social media. So, it was a little bit disconcerting for me when I visited a primary school in June to be asked by this child was I the Queen....
Jenny Rathbone: Jane Dodds and Siân Gwenllian have already mentioned the important role that the Queen had as a female leader. It is difficult for us to understand that, in 1952, public life was completely dominated by men. It wasn't until 1958 that women could be appointed to the House of Lords. And, when in 1966 Harold Wilson wanted to appoint Shirley Williams as a Minister in the Department of Labour,...
Jenny Rathbone: As a cyclist, I agree that it is perfectly possible to go at 20 mph as a cyclist, but that is a good reason for having 20 mph for cars. Surely you understand that it will take over a year before this actually becomes the default option, and that gives us plenty of time to educate people that it is going to be a default 20 mph, except where we designate 30 mph.
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much for your statement and your description of all the varied things that you're doing to try and capture all these young people. Because I agree with you that 13,600 young people who are not in education, employment or training is a really worrying statistic, because everybody needs to make some form of contribution to society, and if you're between 16 and 24 and you're not...
Jenny Rathbone: I wonder if we can have a written statement on what contribution the Welsh Government could make to a just global transition. Bangladesh has been absolutely devastated in the last few weeks by really appalling floods in Sylhet, where at least 100 people have been killed and, according to the United Nations, 7 million people have been displaced. Most of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Cardiff come...
Jenny Rathbone: I just wondered if I could ask you about what the take-up was of the original scheme. Because you talked about the 350,000 people or householders who were eligible, and the Minister for Finance referred to 200,000 households that had taken it up. Are we talking the same numbers of people, or could you clarify how many people you thought were eligible and actually were able to be made aware of...
Jenny Rathbone: Okay. So, what is the status of the provisional centre at Singleton Hospital, and how do you envisage ensuring that all women in Wales have access to secondary and tertiary care, where required?
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much. Ignaz Semmelweis identified why women giving birth cared by midwives—nearly all women—had a much lower mortality rate than a randomly identical cohort cared by doctors—all men—in 1847, but it took over 100 years in a male-dominated profession for hand washing between patients and before surgery to be mandatory practice. And so that really illustrates just the size...
