Natasha Asghar: Minister, I'm sure you'll be aware that there has been a dramatic fall in the number of bank branches across south-east Wales. Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent have the smallest number of bank branches, with around five each, whilst Newport has seen the biggest drop in the number of branches since 2010, which started at 90, to around about 10. From February next year, Barclays is closing...
Natasha Asghar: 5. What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve financial inclusion in south-east Wales? OQ57225
Natasha Asghar: First Minister, in the summer it was announced that more than £3 million-worth of improvements were set to be made on the road network of Blaenau Gwent. Local government funding was to be combined with an additional sum of Welsh Government funding to bring the total investment to over £3 million to improve the conditions of the roads in Blaenau Gwent, improvements that were described, and I...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you to my colleague Jack Sargeant for bringing this topical question to our attention today. Deputy Minister, the current strike action by drivers employed by Arriva Buses Wales is, without a doubt, causing considerable disruption to the lives of people across north Wales, particularly the elderly and vulnerable who do not have access to other forms of transportation. I agree with my...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, as we approach winter, the subject of fuel poverty is on our minds and on the minds of many of my constituents in south-east Wales. The Equality and Social Justice Committee recently called on the Welsh Government to publish revised plans to tackle fuel poverty to ensure that they are indeed in place by April 2022. What discussions have you had with the Minister for Social Justice...
Natasha Asghar: How will the proposals in the Welsh Government's animal welfare plan improve animal welfare in Wales?
Natasha Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change on the importance of the logistics industry in our everyday lives? The logistics industry is worth over £127 billion to the UK economy, but its true value is in the role it plays in making sure we get everything we need—from those all-important toilet rolls to turkeys on our tables, and, in the name of...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, in principle, I have absolutely no objection to children in Wales learning about black, Asian and minority ethnic history in Welsh schools. Nearly 35,000 people signed a petition calling for this to be made compulsory, thereby recognising the legacy of colonialism and slavery in the communities across Wales. I do have one concern, however. There is a danger that focusing on...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you, Deputy Minister. I know that you often like to use the central UK Government as a reason and justification for a lot of things, and I know, on many occasions, you don't like answering my questions, so sometimes I think to myself would you be happier going back to ITV Wales and actually working on answering the questions that I'm asking you, as opposed to diverting the answer...
Natasha Asghar: Thanks for that, Deputy Minister, but from my records, Labour has been in power for the last 22 years here in Wales, so let's just focus on that first. The second question from me is: the Welsh Government recently announced its plans to promote electric vehicles in Wales, which was overdue and lacking in detail. I know I've said this to you previously. But under your proposals, you state...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Deputy Minister, you'll be aware that First Bus has withdrawn its X10 bus service between Cardiff and Swansea. One of the reasons given by First Bus for this service withdrawal is that, and I quote, 'It carries a disproportionate amount of concessions customers, and not commercial customers, which makes it impossible to sustain the costs.' Senior citizens and...
Natasha Asghar: First Minister, I appreciate your response to my honourable colleague. Caerphilly continues to have the highest number of newly recorded cases of COVID in my region of South Wales East. You are a learned person, and I'm sure you've seen the stories that the UK medicines regulator has recently approved the first antiviral medication for COVID that can be taken as a pill, rather than injected...
Natasha Asghar: Deputy Minister, the decision to scrap the Llanbedr access road scheme has been met with dismay by residents in the locality. It's no secret; I know my colleague from Plaid Cymru has just said the same. I was actually contacted by a resident from the area before I came to the Chamber, and they showed their utter disgust by telling me how upset they are by the decision. The latest decision to...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, analysis of the age profile of people with coronavirus shows that 39 per cent of cases are aged under 19 and that 27 per cent are aged between 10 and 19. A constituent has contacted me who has a family member attending Crickhowell High School and also Monmouth Comprehensive School. The requirement to wear face masks has been retained in both classrooms and corridors at Crickhowell...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, I'd just like to echo what my honourable colleague John Griffiths has just said, that south-east Wales has got a lot of potential, particularly in technology. I recently visited Forth in Chepstow, which is an innovative biomarking tracking platform, which helps people navigate their way to better health. This company is one of a number of technology businesses—another is Creo...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister of health on the threshold for a public inquiry into cases concerning the care and treatment offered by health boards in Wales? I know the answer will probably be, 'Go and Google it, Natasha', but the reason why is something different. I've actually been in correspondence with the health Minister and the Aneurin Bevan University Local...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, concerns about chronic understaffing at the Grange hospital have been circulating since the hospital opened in November 2020. On announcing the early date of the opening, the previous health Minister said that the facility would provide more capacity and resilience in the system. However, at present, the Grange hospital has the worst A&E waiting times in Wales, with fewer than 41...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Firstly, I thank the Deputy Minister for his statement today. I wish to put on record that the Welsh Conservatives do fully support the metro projects across Wales, but I do want to also just put in there that we don't think it's going to be a fully fledged solution to the environmental crisis. We do share your hope that it'll make it easier for...
Natasha Asghar: Thanks, Minister. During a recent meeting of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, it was revealed that only 4.2 per cent of staff employed in the Senedd identify as BAME. Now, of those—and pardon me for saying this, but I prefer the term 'ethnic minorities', so that's what I want to continue with in my question—ethnic minority members of staff, 81 per cent are in the...
Natasha Asghar: 2. What action is the Welsh Government taking to encourage diversity in employment in the public sector? OQ57042
