Sioned Williams: Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you for your statement, Minister. The attitude of the Westminster Government in relation to the appalling situation in Ukraine is entirely paradoxical. On the one hand, the people of Wales and the UK are united in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and are united in their anger towards Putin and his illegal war and his war crimes. And the...
Sioned Williams: Okay?
Sioned Williams: Diolch. As we've heard from Mabon ap Gwynfor, the cost-of-living crisis currently hitting all our communities is directly interlinked with the severe housing crisis in Wales, with devastating consequences for our young people especially. And from the conversations we've all been having, out knocking doors over the past week and through our case work, I'm sure that you have found, like I have,...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Weinidog. Our communities have all suffered due to the economic effects of COVID, and this has been compounded of course by the cost-of-living crisis, which is hitting our most disadvantaged areas the hardest. As well as mitigating these crises now, we also need to be ensuring that our communities are resilient enough to be able to weather any future economic storms. So now more than...
Sioned Williams: 2. What consideration did the Minister give to supporting the introduction of community wealth-building strategies when allocating the budgets of local authorities in South Wales West? OQ57934
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd, and thank you to the Deputy Minister for her robust statement this afternoon. I'd like to identify myself and my party entirely with what you have said about the disgraceful stance of the Westminster Government on this issue. Having the powers to improve the lives of trans people in Wales and to safeguard those people is crucially important if we are to ensure...
Sioned Williams: I thank the Minister for the statement. Last Saturday morning, I was at an event in Resolven to mark the support of the community for Ukraine. The event was on the local primary school yard at Ynysfach school, and people of all ages had turned out to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Money was raised for the support fund of the local branch of the Women's Institute who had baked...
Sioned Williams: Across my region of South Wales West, there are more than 900 disused tips, with over 600 of them being within Neath Port Talbot, where I live. The overwhelming majority of these are deemed lower risk, but 39 are within the higher risk categories. It's important to remember that coal tips are not the only type of tip that must be made safe. In Godre'r-graig, in the Swansea valley, for...
Sioned Williams: Our industrial heritage has helped shape our nation. The history of our people can be read in our landscape. Entire communities were built around industry, they provided jobs, a living, and a sense of common identity. The reach and impact of Welsh history was felt far beyond our borders, reshaping the global economy and the way of life for countless people. But for everything it gave, it...
Sioned Williams: Differences in access, availability and quality of childcare for different social groups reinforces inequality and outcomes between these groups, which is why universal, high-quality childcare access is so important when trying to create a prosperous Wales, without child poverty, where children of all backgrounds get the best start in life. It is thought that children from the poorest...
Sioned Williams: I'm pleased to contribute to this debate as Plaid Cymru's spokesperson on equality and social justice and also as a committee member. A few weeks ago, we marked International Women's Day and discussed here in the Chamber the annual Chwarae Teg 'State of the Nation' report. That report revealed that we have a long way to go in terms of gender equality. When the committee asked our witnesses...
Sioned Williams: Given the utterly inadequate and unsuitable approach of the UK Government to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, and the warning issued in a statement by the heads of the Refugee Council, the British Red Cross, Save the Children and Oxfam that the visa system was causing great distress to already traumatised Ukrainians, the Welsh Government's aim to make it as easy as possible for us to welcome...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Brif Weinidog. A constituent of mine from the Swansea valley, named Laura, recently got in contact with me about her awful experience of having to undergo pregnancy scans on her own without her husband due to COVID rules. Since COVID restrictions and measures came into place two years ago, she's unfortunately had three consecutive miscarriages. Two of these were classed as 'missed...
Sioned Williams: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on the effect of COVID on maternity services in South Wales West? OQ57865
Sioned Williams: Minister, the University of New Europe, a collective of academics from across Europe and the US, has published a comprehensive document that contains emergency contact details and funding opportunities for scholars, students, artists, cultural workers, journalists, lawyers and human rights activists fleeing Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. As we accommodate and welcome refugees fleeing the crisis...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Weinidog. When prompted to rank what they would like to see in their local town centre or high street, thriving small, independent shops came out on top in a survey conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses for its recent report, 'A Vision for Welsh Towns'. Even before COVID, town centres in my region were struggling, and the pandemic has had an especially negative effect on...
Sioned Williams: 7. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the effects of COVID on town-centre businesses in South Wales West? OQ57835
Sioned Williams: Our motion calls for ensuring that school meal debt doesn't negatively impact a pupil, be that through stress, stigma or even having to go without food, as we have heard in some cases. Consideration should always be given to why school meal debt could have accrued. The reason is never within the control of the child, the child that it affects and harms. The child should therefore never suffer...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, acting Deputy Presiding Officer.
Sioned Williams: I move the motion, and I'm glad to open this important and timely debate before the Senedd. Education is considered to be, in that famous phrase, the greatest of equalisers. However, despite the best efforts of our teachers and support staff, poverty is an insidious creature. It creeps into settings where everyone should be treated equally, hampering attempts at levelling the playing field,...
