Natasha Asghar: Minister, thank you so much for your statement. I must say, I really did appreciate everything you said. International Women's Day is a moment to recognise past achievements, I 100 per cent agree with you when you said that, and to look at the future challenges is also vital for each and every single one of us. As a proud Welsh woman, I'm delighted to be sitting amongst so many hard-working...
Natasha Asghar: How is the Welsh Government supporting people living with cancer in Wales?
Natasha Asghar: I fully support the proposal that St David's Day should be a bank holiday here in Wales, and I'd like to thank my colleague Tom Giffard for leading the debate here in the Senedd today. A bank holiday on our national day will bring our nation together to celebrate our history, our achievements, our distinct culture and our diversity. As someone born and bred as well as living in Newport, you...
Natasha Asghar: Sorry. My apologies.
Natasha Asghar: Thank you, Deputy Minister. Deputy Minister, if you're serious about combating climate change and tacking the frequent delays on our railways, you must ensure Wales has a modern rail service. However, your own Government's figures show that 69 per cent of Transport for Wales trains are over 30 years old, and 44 per cent are 35 years or older. This presents an opportunity to replace our ageing...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you very much. I do apologise, Presiding Officer. Thank you very much. Deputy Minister, if you're serious about combating climate change and tackling the frequent delays on our railways—
Natasha Asghar: Okay. Deputy Minister, you were recently reported as saying that electric buses—this will be something that I know you'll enjoy [Laughter.]—should be made in Wales instead of being imported from China, expressing the wish to see an electric bus factory opened here to create greener jobs. In response, Andy Palmer, the chief executive of Switch Mobility, one of the handful of UK-based...
Natasha Asghar: Okay. Thank you, Deputy Minister. I can assure you we are all concerned about climate change. There's no denying that, and I think my colleagues across this bench, and even in Westminster, will agree with me on that. However, having seen the information that was released by the Minister for Economy, it was clear that some of the areas that were in question are protected, so that causes a...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Deputy Minister, last week, the economy Minister unveiled the Welsh Government's national space strategy, outlining its ambition to achieve a 5 per cent share of the UK space sector, which would equate to £2 billion a year for the Welsh economy. The strategy is focused on growing the potential of current and future developments in the space sector here in...
Natasha Asghar: 4. What action is the Welsh Government taking to support the decarbonisation of transport? OQ57685
Natasha Asghar: Minister, a vital component of any strategy to help tackle the cost of living is to ensure the Welsh Government's economic policy supports businesses, allowing them to keep people in jobs. The latest tracker survey of small and medium enterprises in Wales, conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, shows that over one third of Welsh SMEs are hopeful about growth...
Natasha Asghar: First Minister, I welcome your Government's commitment to providing 125,000 all-age apprenticeships in Wales over the next three years. However, I'm sure that you will agree with me that we need to ensure quality as well as quantity. It is vital that these apprenticeships should smooth the school-to-work transition of younger workers and support the transition of existing workers into highly...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you, Minister. Minister, the Welsh Government's Nest scheme offers a package of home energy efficiency improvements to lower energy bills. However, there are no specific grants for solar panels in Wales. In England, the smart export guarantee, launched on 1 January 2020, is a Government-backed initiative that requires some electricity suppliers to pay small-scale generators for...
Natasha Asghar: 3. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to help people with their fuel bills? OQ57605
Natasha Asghar: It gives me great pleasure to add my voice today to the tributes to Her Majesty the Queen to mark the seventieth anniversary of her accession to the throne. A Platinum Jubilee is a unique event in British history, and we should take time to reflect on the Queen's long reign and how things have changed. Most of us in this Chamber weren't even around in 1952; I certainly wasn't, and there's no...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, in 2018, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain launched its greyhound commitment, containing its expectations on how the sport should be run, with welfare at its heart. The safety of every greyhound racing at, as you mentioned, a GBGB licensed track is absolutely paramount—I 100 per cent believe in it. An independent veterinary surgeon is present at all GBGB tracks to check the...
Natasha Asghar: Thanks, Minister. In June last year, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change announced a freeze on all new road building projects in Wales. As a result, the Llanbedr bypass project was cancelled after nearly £1.7 million had already been spent on it. I tabled a written question in November, asking how much money had been spent on road projects that had been halted subject to the review. In...
Natasha Asghar: 9. What consideration was given to improving transport infrastructure when setting the budget for the climate change portfolio? OQ57548
Natasha Asghar: I'd like to thank my colleague James Evans for initiating this debate. It's a fact that 85 per cent of land in Wales is used for agriculture, forestry or as common land, and this is the same figure as England. However, whereas 18 per cent of the population in England lives in rural areas, the figure for Wales is 35 per cent. We know that practical and affordable public transport is difficult...
Natasha Asghar: At the end, please, Deputy Presiding Officer, if that's okay. There is no doubt that people living here in Wales are very car dependent, as bus services are inadequate, infrequent or non-existent. It is a fact that a lack of a decent transport service undermines the economies of rural areas, which therefore makes it more difficult for people to access jobs and services. It also has...
