Jane Dodds: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I raised, yesterday, the very upsetting case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, an eight-year-old boy in Solihull, who was subjected to months of physical abuse by his father and his partner. As I said yesterday, we must not forget that they were the people who killed him. And services, as we know, are being reviewed and we're unclear of any outcomes from that. But child...
Jane Dodds: I raised yesterday the deeply upsetting case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who died in Solihull—[Interruption.] I'm sorry.
Jane Dodds: I do apologise. Sorry.
Jane Dodds: Could I ask the Deputy Minister what steps are being taken to address recruitment challenges in child protection services and to ensure that partner agencies are properly equipped to identify possible safeguarding issues? Can I then give the background—
Jane Dodds: I do apologise.
Jane Dodds: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you for allowing me to ask this question today.
Jane Dodds: 1. What resources and guidance is the Welsh Government providing to local authorities and other statutory agencies to identify potential child safeguarding concerns, following the death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in Solihull? TQ586
Jane Dodds: During the period immediately before the pandemic, 11.7 per cent of Welsh people suffered severe mental health issues. This share climbed up to 28.1 per cent in April 2020, particularly affecting young people and children during that time. So, I just wondered if I could ask for some clarity on what the commitment in the arrangement with Plaid Cymru is to improve the referral pathways that are...
Jane Dodds: Thank you, First Minister, for your statement this afternoon. I want to focus on one issue, and that's mental health.
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Trefnydd. I'd like to ask for an urgent statement from the Deputy Minister for Social Services with regard to child protection services across Wales. We will all be absolutely horrified at the very tragic death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes this week, and we must not forget that the people responsible for that are not people working in social services, or, indeed, in any other...
Jane Dodds: Thank you very much to Plaid Cymru as well.
Jane Dodds: Yes, of course I will.
Jane Dodds: I thank my colleague for that intervention, and you’re absolutely right—the exponential growth of that debt adds to the real weight on that particular family. The second idea, again, possibly seen as a socialist, utopian idea, is one of universal basic income, and I do welcome the Labour Government’s commitment to this. But I would also like to see it going further and extend it to...
Jane Dodds: Thank you to Plaid Cymru.
Jane Dodds: I really welcome this debate here this evening. Debt is a terrible thing. It is something you have on your mind all of the time; it weighs you down; it makes you feel you can't find a way out; it makes you shout at your children; it makes you feel unwell. I'm really interested in what would help and we've heard some possible solutions through the debt report that was issued by the Equality...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Minister. I'm appreciative of all of the work that you've done; you have an incredibly busy job. But I just want to talk about teeth and dentists, specifically the teeth of people in mid and west Wales, and specifically the teeth of the people in the town of Llandrindod Wells. As you know, I've written to you on a number of occasions, but there are massive concerns around the...
Jane Dodds: May I thank Sam Kurtz for bringing forward this debate to the Siambr today? Thank you very much, Sam.
Jane Dodds: If I can start from a personal perspective, I've spoken about my own eight-year-old rescue dog Arthur, who was a racing greyhound. Arthur came to us when he was six, he was in a pretty bad state. That was down to the fact that he had been a racing greyhound, where they are very cruelly treated, and also in relation to the rescue home, where they were doing their best in order to look after...
Jane Dodds: Thank you to Rhys and others who support this.
Jane Dodds: And let's start with the individuals, because that is what it's all about. As Rhys, Mike and Peter have talked about, this is about people, people like the leaseholders in South Quay in Swansea, who are facing service charge increases of up to £4,000 a year; people like the leaseholders in Cardiff, facing costs of up to £8,000 a year, with that figure sadly set to rise; people who feel that...
