James Evans: 4. What is the Welsh Government doing to promote St David's Day? OQ57691
James Evans: I'd like to thank you, Laura Anne, for giving me a minute of your time. Town centres in communities in my great constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire are at the very heart of the communities. It's where people gather in coffee shops, pubs, restaurants and shops for essential goods, where they recognise the great work of our high street. Rural Wales is home to some of the most deprived areas...
James Evans: Thank you, Minister. As you know, the latest COVID support package closed for applications. I've heard from a number of businesses in my constituency who did not meet the criteria for support, whatever the reason, and they're finding themselves now in a perilous position, facing significant financial loss and placing their long-term future in doubt. So, Minister, what long-term support can...
James Evans: 8. Will the Minister provide an update on the financial support provided to businesses during the last set of COVID-19 restrictions? OQ57665
James Evans: Deputy Minister, thank you for your statement this afternoon, and I too recognise some of the concerns raised by my colleague Gareth Davies, but I am encouraged to see that the Welsh Government are coming forward to give our social care workers in Wales the real living wage and recognise the vitally important work that they do caring for the most vulnerable people in our society. Let's hope...
James Evans: Minister, thank you for your statement this afternoon on COVID-19, and I, like my colleagues here, welcome the easing of restrictions across Wales. Minister, as you know, COVID-19 put huge pressure on our A&E departments, and on Sunday evening there were approximately 17 ambulances queueing up outside Morriston Hospital, waiting for patients to be admitted and seen. In A&E and over the...
James Evans: Trefnydd, I'd like to ask for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change on water quality in the River Wye. Last week, I met with the UK Government Minister responsible for water quality, Rebecca Pow, and she wants to work constructively with the Welsh Government to improve water quality in the River Wye and across Wales. The Minister for Climate Change was invited to that meeting and...
James Evans: I'll try, Llywydd. Diolch. I'd like to thank Mabon ap Gwynfor—
James Evans: I'll try. I thank Mabon ap Gwynfor for bringing this debate forward. The more I practice, the luckier I am, but as somebody who practices darts a lot, I'm not sure that's quite true on a Friday night. [Laughter.] But in our community, our sports facilities are the heart of the community, whether that be rugby clubs, football clubs, netball clubs, cricket, bowls—you name it, they are the...
James Evans: Do you not agree with me, then, that the Welsh Government's phosphate guidance is going to stop council house building and social house building in certain parts of Wales?
James Evans: I should declare an interest as somebody who's currently renting a property. Well, comrades, I never thought I would see the day that I would stand here this afternoon to fight against rent controls. Where have they worked? Where have they been a success for the people you claim they would help? No-one's told me so far, because the answer is they don't work. No-one is denying there are...
James Evans: Minister, the cost-of-living crisis taking hold across the UK is an extremely frightening prospect to many people in my constituency. Rural poverty is something many in urban Wales don't consider when making policies to counter economic hardship for many families on lower incomes who live in rural areas. There are ways in which we can counter the crisis within the devolution settlement. Your...
James Evans: Trefnydd, I would like a statement from the Deputy Minister for Social Services on domiciliary care, because the Welsh NHS Confederation has stated that one of the main sources of system bottleneck is the transfer out of discharge to recovery and access pathways to onward packages of domiciliary care. I'm receiving more and more correspondence from relatives of those who cannot be discharged....
James Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. It's an honour to close this debate today. I want to pay tribute to our longest serving monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her life and her reign can be summed up in a couple of words: duty, and, as Huw Irranca-Davies has said, a remarkable service to our country. At the age of 19, Her Majesty enlisted during world war two to serve in the women's Auxiliary Territorial...
James Evans: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. I move the motion in the name of Darren Millar. Obesity is one of the biggest health crises the world faces. For the first time in history, children are expected to live shorter lives than their parents, and most of this is due to obesity. COVID-19 has exposed the poor physical health of Wales. We have the highest death rate for COVID-19 per 100,000 of any of the UK...
James Evans: I was honoured to host the best dart players in the world at our Parliament this afternoon, as they prepare for the first night of the Premier League Darts in Cardiff tomorrow. As a keen darts player myself, it was great to host this alongside my friend, colleague and darts player and darts fan, Jack 'The Beard to be Feared' Sargeant. These players who visited our Parliament included Wales's...
James Evans: Minister, thank you for your statement. Since the people of Wales voted to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016, you and your Government have fought tooth and nail to prevent Brexit from happening. Court cases, calls for a second referendum and an out-and-out rejection of the mandate of the people of this country who voted to leave the European Union. Minister, in your statement, you...
James Evans: Diolch, First Minister. The number of people waiting for orthopaedic operations or assessments is increasing—the data is there—in the Powys Teaching Health Board area. This isn't just a Wales issue, this is a UK issue, with people waiting for operations. People are now living in day-to-day pain. A UK study found that 71 per cent of older people waiting for treatment said that their health...
James Evans: 3. Will the First Minister provide an update on orthopaedic waiting lists in the Powys Teaching Health Board area? OQ57538
James Evans: I will only be taking a minute of time, and a lot of this is to praise the good work that my colleague Russell George has done. I know from a previous life, when I was cabinet member for economy on Powys County Council, just how much lobbying Russell, Craig Williams MP and the previous MP who was in this place once upon a time, Glyn Davies, did to try and get the moneys to restore the...
