Dawn Bowden: Can I also welcome your statement, Minister? As you will probably be aware, last week, I welcomed the First Minister to the constituency and we visited one of those forward-thinking organisations that you referred to in your statement, Merthyr Valleys Homes. They were the first tenant and employee mutual in Wales and, as you know, one of the largest in the UK. It's a great example of social...
Dawn Bowden: Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's spending priorities in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney?
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. And, as a member of the Children, Young People and Education Committee, which is one of the committees that scrutinised this Bill, I'm very pleased to commend its recommendations to you. I believe that our scrutiny has been thorough, and can I also add my thanks to those of Lynne Neagle to those individuals and organisations that gave their time to come in...
Dawn Bowden: Can I thank the Government for bringing forward this debate today on the work of the Valleys taskforce? What I think we can now see is the vital shift taking place in the work of the taskforce as it moves to the funding and delivery of projects. And, before I go on, can I add my thanks to that of the Deputy Minister to my colleague Alun Davies, who spent a huge amount of time and energy on...
Dawn Bowden: Can I thank you for your statement, Minister? It's clear that, even with the limited increase that we're seeing in this year's spending round, the impact of 10 years of austerity is not being adequately addressed and Wales still faces some very difficult financial situations in the years ahead. It was interesting to hear Nick Ramsay's comments to the First Minister earlier and in response to...
Dawn Bowden: On the first issue of division, I struggle to recall an issue that has so divided opinion in our nation as this continuing debate about our relationship, future relationship, with the European Union. Indeed, I struggle to recall when the language of division has been so weaponised as to actually make me fearful for the state of our civil society. When to have an opposing view in a democracy...
Dawn Bowden: Proroguing of Parliament, or, to put it in a way that most of us would understand, the decision to shut down our Westminster Parliament, at such a critical point in our history is both deliberate and cynical, and it's absolutely right that our Welsh Parliament comes together today to express a view on that, for all the reasons that others have already pointed out. Now, it might, strictly...
Dawn Bowden: First Minister, on the back of the recent launch of an upskilling at work event at Merthyr College, I had the opportunity to discuss with them the importance of skills and apprenticeships to small and medium-sized firms in the constituency. And, from what I heard, it seems that there may be a reluctance on the part of some SMEs to actually take advantage of the apprenticeship schemes,...
Dawn Bowden: What assurances has the Counsel General received from the UK Government that plans for the shared prosperity fund will respect the devolution settlement?
Dawn Bowden: Will the Minister provide an update on the take up of apprenticeships by small and medium enterprises in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney?
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Minister. Can I say that I'm very encouraged that the package of work that you're announcing will lead to further initiatives coming forward as Welsh Government acts to deliver more homes for the people in Wales, including, as we've already seen, the greater provision of zero-carbon houses, more council house building—that can only be good for areas like mine in Merthyr Tydfil...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, First Minister, for the statement. It'll come as no surprise to you that I'm fully supportive of your commitment to embed social partnership working here in Wales through legislation. I've seen at first hand the benefit of social partnership, for example, in delivering the living wage to the NHS in Wales, and, as you mentioned earlier in responding to Paul Davies, the way in which...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. It's clear to me that the Welsh Government continues to deliver on its promises for my constituents, and yet we also know that far more could be achieved had we not suffered a decade of Tory cuts to our budgets. Yet, in recent weeks, we've heard those competing to be the next Tory leader suggest a series of spending commitments around infrastructure,...
Dawn Bowden: 2. Will the First Minister provide an update on how the Welsh Government’s annual budget supports the delivery of public services in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ54203
Dawn Bowden: Now, at this point, I believe it's worth noting that in the policy and legislative context of Wales, we are already very familiar with a rights-based approach. Perhaps the most notable for me has been the work in respect of the rights of children and young persons. Those were incorporated into Welsh law via the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011. Through this Measure,...
Dawn Bowden: So, first, let me set out the reasons why I believe that establishing such a right is important. At this point, can I immediately thank those organisations and people who've recently brought this subject to the fore for debate, including Tai Pawb, the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, Shelter Cymru and Dr Simon Hoffman of Swansea University? Indeed, my interest in this idea was sparked by...
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. My topic for this debate relates to a subject that I know is close to the heart of Members across this Chamber, and that is housing. More specifically, I want to propose that this National Assembly should consider making a national commitment to the fundamental principle that every one of us should have a human right underpinned by law to access adequate housing. I'll...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I rise to speak as the species champion for that most beautiful of creatures, the European eel. There is excellent work being undertaken by groups in my constituency, including Salmon and Trout Conservation Cymru and the South East Wales Rivers Trust, supported by members of Merthyr anglers and Natural Resources Wales, to try to restore our eel stocks. In...
Dawn Bowden: Could I thank Mike Hedges for giving me one minute in this debate, and in that minute, I cannot cover all the reasons for poverty or to talk in detail about how we can alleviate it? But I wanted to mention two things that I think we need to recognise. Firstly, the invaluable role of the trade union movement in the fight against poverty. It was the very experience of poverty amongst working...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Minister, and, in some ways, this question follows on from the earlier question from Rhun, and you mentioned earlier that we both have just come from an event organised by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, and they were talking about this very issue. I won't repeat what you and others have already said about the benefits of adaptations, but we all face the challenge of...
