Luke Fletcher: 4. Will the Minister provide an update on progress towards a Welsh welfare system? OQ57799
Luke Fletcher: Diolch. Last Wednesday in the Senedd Neuadd, End Youth Homelessness Cymru presented their road map to end youth homelessness. I'd like to thank Jane Hutt for sponsoring that event; it was incredibly insightful. One of the take-home messages for me was how we should listen to those young people who have experienced youth homelessness as we look to solve the issue. I was pleased to meet with...
Luke Fletcher: 5. Will the First Minister provide an update on policies to tackle youth homelessness? OQ57815
Luke Fletcher: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. In this Senedd and previous Senedds, a number of us have adopted a threatened species in our regions or constituencies. Before this place, before the beard, I wanted, when I grew up, to be a marine biologist, so, presented with the opportunity to adopt a threatened species, there was no better place to look than in the waters that surround Wales. And that's why I'm...
Luke Fletcher: The Farmers Union of Wales has warned that the proposals contained within the refreshed TB eradication programme will have a detrimental impact on farmers' mental health. This of course when we are already seeing 50 agricultural workers take their own lives each year, as well as veterinarians being three to four times more likely to commit suicide than any other profession. In light of that,...
Luke Fletcher: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you to the Minister for his statement. There's much to welcome here, but I'd like to focus on a couple of points. Access to high-quality employment is strongly linked to mental health: 43 per cent of unemployed people report poor mental health, compared to 27 per cent who are in employment. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has noted...
Luke Fletcher: I wish to call for two statements, and I'll try and keep it within two minutes.
Luke Fletcher: One minute, then. [Laughter.]
Luke Fletcher: Firstly, I would like to ask for a statement from the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being on residential mental health facilities in Wales. I've recently been contacted by a constituent who is under the care of a mental health team in south Wales who, due to lack of local facilities, was referred to a residential unit based in London. After a resident at that unit tested positive...
Luke Fletcher: I thank the First Minister for that answer. I was recently contacted by Nadim, who was awarded a grant from the fund to renovate his business, Zia Nina, in Bridgend town centre. After the awarding of the grant, Nadim began the necessary work, including planning and architectural designs, but has struggled to find builders to complete the work on time due to difficulty in acquiring the...
Luke Fletcher: 6. Will the First Minister provide an update on the urban centre property enhancement fund in the Bridgend local authority area? OQ57768
Luke Fletcher: Thank you to Sarah Murphy for bringing forward this question.
Luke Fletcher: I'd like to associate myself as well with some of the words Sarah said about how mental health can show itself in many different ways. I'm sure the First Minister is aware of the event held before the recess by myself and Huw Irranca-Davies for Men's Sheds Cymru, highlighting the vital work men's sheds do across Wales within all of our communities. I know that it's a source of pride for many...
Luke Fletcher: In a recent labour market update, the unemployment figures for Swansea West were roughly three times the national average, at 10.3 per cent. One in 10 people in our second largest city are currently without employment. This situation becomes even more stark when you factor in that youth unemployment is typically higher than regular unemployment. The unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds in...
Luke Fletcher: Will the Minister provide an update on funding for mental health services in South Wales West?
Luke Fletcher: I have two statements I wish to call for. Firstly, the cost-of-living crisis is hitting everyone hard, and on a recent visit to the Anthony's family farm in Aberkenfig I learnt just how much the crisis is hitting farmers. They detailed how inflation has taken the price of fertiliser, for example, from £8,000 to £18,000 a year, with similar trends across many of the utilities and equipment...
Luke Fletcher: No matter your economic theories or beliefs, I think it's difficult to argue that Wales doesn't have an extractive economy. There are historic and contemporary trends of economic extraction and exploitation of Welsh resources by outside interests. The coal industry is a perfect historical example of that resource extraction. Wales powered the world, the first £1 million cheque signed around...
Luke Fletcher: I have a few points to make. Firstly, the co-operation agreement and what it sets out to achieve is something that I am actually quite proud of, especially when it comes to free school meals. And it has to be said, to say that the budget doesn't deliver at all for people in Wales is quite out of touch. Is it perfect? No. But, take it from somebody who was on free school meals, that policy...
Luke Fletcher: Thank you, Minister, and of course, as a member of Plaid Cymru, it's a subject of pride to see a number of policies that Plaid Cymru and others have been campaigning for to tackle poverty being implemented in the Government in the wake of the co-operation agreement.
Luke Fletcher: Further to the First Minister's answer to me on the topic of tackling poverty and the role the education maintenance allowance can play, on 14 December, I noted that he estimated that the total cost of increasing EMA payments to £45, as well as increasing the threshold to make it easier for people to access, would cost roughly £10 million. Of course, I recognise the constraints on Welsh...
