Natasha Asghar: Thank you, Presiding Officer. In the film Back to the Future, Doc Brown says to Marty McFly, 'Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.' Listening to those words, he could have easily been talking about Wales today. It's a sad fact that they reflect the attitude of the Welsh Government, and, in particular, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change. However, Wales does still need roads to...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, hospice care, especially for children, is a sensitive and emotive subject, but the pandemic and lockdowns have made a difficult subject worse. Last year, Tŷ Hafan and Tŷ Gobaith jointly published 'Family Voices', a report that gave voice to the most important concerns of families who have children with life-limiting conditions. They stressed that they urgently needed more of the...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns across the United Kingdom resulted in a loss of months of driver training and the cancellation of 28,000 HGV driver tests. This has undermined efforts to grow the pool of 300,000 qualified lorry drivers in the UK, which is urgently needed as a third of those drivers are over 55 and, as you mentioned, heading for retirement. The Road Haulage...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, the Welsh Government set out in its child poverty strategy in 2015 that its ambition was to make sure no child was living in poverty by 2020. Needless to say, we're now in 2021. Save the Children has reported that Wales has the highest child poverty rate of any nation in the United Kingdom. Figures from 2019-20 showed that 31 per cent of children in Wales were still living in...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change on measures to encourage people to switch to electric vehicles here in Wales? The UK Government's grant scheme for electric cars, vans and trucks has been updated to target less expensive models and reflect a greater range of affordable vehicles to people. This allows the scheme's funding to go further and help more...
Natasha Asghar: First Minister, I want to just agree with you on exactly what you said—that I commend all of the transport operators who have been working under such difficult circumstances. But I also welcome the announcement that Transport for Wales is to receive £70 million to help in meeting operating costs during the pandemic. It comes on top of the £153 million of emergency funding provided to TfW...
Natasha Asghar: I'm very grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this Parliament on the subject of bus services in Wales, and I'd like to thank my colleague for raising this and tabling this as an issue. Now, it's without a doubt that this is an issue of great concern to people all across Wales, and this is clearly demonstrated by the support for this motion by Members from every political...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, the UK Conservative Government has already begun the process in Parliament of banning primates being kept as pets in all except very specific circumstances. RSPCA Wales has expressed concern that the Welsh Government has indicated it will not bring forward a similar ban here in Wales. Minister, I'd like to ask you: could you clarify your policy on keeping primates as pets? If you do...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you, Minister. From 2013 to 2014, Wales replaced the bus services operating grant with the bus services support grant, with funding set at £25 million. This fixed pot of £25 million has not changed since the BSSG's inception, with 10 per cent top-sliced for community transport and a further £100,000 top-sliced as the operators' contribution to running Traveline Cymru, leaving £22.4...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, congratulations on your new role. I'd like to ask you:
Natasha Asghar: 6. What consideration has the Minister given to decarbonising transport when allocating the budget to the climate change portfolio? OQ56629
Natasha Asghar: Deputy Minister, this statement today will be met with dismay and disappointment by businesses and road users alike. It's a fact that, after 22 years in power, successive Welsh Labour Governments have failed to build an adequate road network. From 2000 to 2019, the Welsh road network has increased by less than 3 per cent, despite the fact that the volume of road traffic has increased by...
Natasha Asghar: First Minister, the latest figures for coronavirus in Wales reveal the stark contrast between case numbers in various parts of the country. Figures vary from 91.3 cases per 100,000 people in Conwy, 77.3 in Denbighshire and 73.7 in Flintshire to only 6.6 in Merthyr Tydfil and 7.2 in Blaenau Gwent. In view of these regional disparities, can you, First Minister, please clarify your...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you so much, Presiding Officer. Today marks a very sad day for all residents across south-east Wales, as it marks the first anniversary of Mohammad Asghar's, the regional Assembly Member, or Member of the Senedd for South Wales East, passing. Known to many here as Oscar, he was a pre-partition baby and born in Amritsar, India, and raised in Pakistan. He came to the UK in 1970 and made...
Natasha Asghar: Minister, I know we already had our congratulatory message at the lifts earlier, so I'll spare you of the horror of saying it in front of you all today. I just want to ask you: research by the NUS Wales reveals that students are at a higher risk of developing mental health problems than the general population. Many people first encounter mental health problems when they are at university or...
Natasha Asghar: I would like to congratulate both Ministers on their new appointments. I must say, I'm very much looking forward to working with both of you and I'll definitely be taking you up on that invitation to work together. Minister, I welcome your commitment to reduce air pollution and to improve air quality. It's a fact that Wales has some of the worst air quality in the UK with Cardiff and Port...
Natasha Asghar: May I ask for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change on the impact of the proposed closure of the A465 on residents and businesses in Gilwern? Last Friday, I met with Monmouthshire councillor Jane Pratt and local businesswoman Fay Bromfield, who expressed their concerns on behalf of residents and businesses about plans by the Welsh Government and Costain for six weekend closures of...
Natasha Asghar: Thank you, First Minister. Yesterday, I met with the representatives of Paragon ID, the leading providers of smartcards for transport and smart cities. They are responsible for providing smartcards for over 150 cities worldwide and were behind the Oyster card, as seen here, in London. First Minister, it is a passion of mine to see an all-Wales travel card. I'm hoping to have a card just like...
Natasha Asghar: 2. What action will the Welsh Government take to improve transport connectivity across Wales? OQ56609
Natasha Asghar: Minister, there are more than 22,000 young carers aged between 14 and 25 in Wales. The pressure faced by these young people because of their caring duties can have a negative impact on their own physical health, mental health, education and employment opportunities. The pressure on these young people has been increased by the pandemic—there's no doubt about it. Looking after a family member...
