Rhianon Passmore: Will the Minister provide an update on changes to the Welsh Government's taxation policy to support businesses in light of the Covid-19 pandemic?
Rhianon Passmore: Members of the Senedd will know that I'm also determined to advocate for the arts sector in and across Wales, and have long championed in this place and outside of it that the Welsh Government deploy activist measures to stabilise the health of the arts sector, following a decade of UK Government austerity measures. That was the landscape we were in. Since the COVID-19 outbreak has ravaged...
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. Minister, analysis published by the End Child Poverty coalition earlier in this pandemic showed that, across Wales as a whole—reporting 2015 to 2019—that child poverty fell marginally. During this pandemic, the Welsh Government have responded to the crisis with additional and very substantial investment to the Wales-only discretionary assistance fund, which...
Rhianon Passmore: First Minister, Wales's chief dental officer Dr Colette Bridgman has stated that there will be a phased and careful approach to the reopening of full routine dental services in Wales and stated that she is absolutely alive to the concerns of a prolonged period of inactivity of services for people's oral hygiene. Indeed, Wales's chief dental officer is on record as saying that the Welsh...
Rhianon Passmore: Will the Minister outline progress around aviation support from the UK Government? As he's aware, British Airways is proposing pan-Wales job losses, and amalgamating Blackwood jobs, potentially, in my constituency to the city of Cardiff, which would result in the closure of their site in Blackwood and the loss of high-skilled and high-value, well-paid jobs to the Valleys. What is his...
Rhianon Passmore: Right, sorry. Thank you. Will the Minister provide an update on the impact of COVID-19 on the completion of statutory assessments for children and young people with additional learning needs? Many local education authority staff continue to be vired across the different departments to provide the professional capacity to work with our most vulnerable children, so will the Minister therefore...
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you. So, I would just like to reiterate that I am extremely proud of the people of Islwyn for everything that they have done in this time of struggle, and I know that our Welsh Government are working in partnership, cross-party, and that with strong social partnership, we will build together a brighter future. Thank you.
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Llywydd.
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you. New figures announced yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, which includes fatalities in all settings, show that up to 8 May there have been 1,852 deaths related to the virus in Wales, and that is 1,852 families that have been devastated. So, I firstly wish to place on the record my appreciation, as the Member of the Senedd for Islwyn, and my sincere thanks for the...
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. There are few issues that actually do conjoin us with our different politics in this place. So, this is an important debate for the people that we all represent to have here in this Welsh Parliament. And as has been said, here in Wales, rugby is so much more than just a game. Six nations matches are etched in our national psyche. They are part of who we are, and part...
Rhianon Passmore: I also welcome greatly this debate brought forward by David Rees AM. It is factual that we are making real advances in this country, but it still remains the case, as has been said by many, that Wales is behind comparable countries for cancer survival, despite a decline in death rates. Late detection of many cancers is thought to be the main factor around this lag, and it has been stated by...
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you. Minister, may I begin by commending you personally for the calm and authoritative manner in which you have led the Welsh Government's response to the coronavirus outbreak? Yesterday in the Senedd, Minister, you made a most welcome statement updating the citizens of Wales on how the coronavirus action plan is developing. My constituents in Islwyn have greatly welcomed your...
Rhianon Passmore: 2. Will the Minister provide an update on the implementation of the Coronavirus Action Plan to safeguard the citizens of Islwyn? OAQ55225
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. It was reassuring to hear from the Minister that the recent and highly regrettable news that Flybe ceased trading on 4 March does not affect the overall viability of Cardiff Airport; but equally, aviation is indeed having a very difficult period, and we know that Brexit is playing its part in this. But, the on the record doom-mongering from the Conservative Party...
Rhianon Passmore: Will you take an intervention?
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you for that. Would you acknowledge that in regard to having too many children in a local authority being taken into care, as you have just stated, is based on an individual assessment of each individual case? And that has to go through a very long and drawn-out process, which I haven't really got time to go through at this moment in time. That has to be done because of that child's...
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you. I totally understand the aspiration behind that and totally share that aspiration in terms of that threshold figure around GCSEs. Would you also acknowledge that there is a wide range of ability and, for some children, being able to attend school and come out of school intact is a major achievement, and that it's not all about qualifications?
Rhianon Passmore: Will you take an intervention? Very briefly. Would you acknowledge that children who are placed into a care-experienced child's situation, they are not in that position lightly, and that there is a whole process that is undergone, and it is the last possible part of that process before a child is taken into care?
Rhianon Passmore: I want to start my contribution by acknowledging that there is a strong cross-party consensus in Wales that we all have a collective responsibility to ensure that care-experienced children are provided with the best care and support available. Last week, Deputy Presiding Officer, I asked the Brexit Minister, Jeremy Miles AM, a question about the European Union settlement scheme. It is an area...
Rhianon Passmore: What support and assistance can the Welsh Government offer communities in Islwyn following the recent flood damage?
