Sioned Williams: In Wales and England, the police are nine times more likely to use their stop-and-search powers and almost eight times more likely to use tasers on black, Asian and minority ethnic people than white people. The percentage of black people in Welsh prisons is higher than the general Welsh population. And according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, a higher percentage of black, Asian...
Sioned Williams: I hope that we all stand shoulder to shoulder with those suffering racism, but there is room for us to be doing a lot more to tackle hate crimes. According to the Government's own figures for 2020-21, there was an increase in 16 per cent in hate crimes on the previous year, and 66 per cent of those hate crimes were racist hate crimes. This is consistent with the general trend, year on year,...
Sioned Williams: As we've heard today, for three consecutive years we've had this debate in the Chamber, where the motion had very similar wording, yet racially motivated hate crime is still increasing. How does the Government account for this? We, of course, welcome the race equality action plan, but what is going wrong here? We need to face it.
Sioned Williams: Black history is integral to Welsh history. There are aspects to celebrate, such as the translations of the slave narratives of John Marrant, Moses Roper and Josiah Henson into Welsh in the nineteenth century, which fired the radical abolitionist zeal of the Welsh; the connections with Paul Robeson, who argued that he witnessed the unity of working people of all races in Wales; and the myriad...
Sioned Williams: I'm very proud that Plaid Cymru co-submitted this important motion today, As we discuss it, we of course also mark Black History Month, a month that celebrates important black figures in our history, as well as noting how central the evidence of black people is to our culture, and that, of course, is important throughout the year.
Sioned Williams: Minister, if we want to improve the economic situation of the people of South Wales West, we need to tackle the high and unfair levels of council tax in local authorities and get to grips with the increased problem of council tax arrears. Neath Port Talbot council is setting regularly one of the highest levels of council tax in Wales. Residents can't understand why it costs so much more to...
Sioned Williams: The children's commissioner's annual report notes that groups of children currently face inequality due to a variety of factors, but it's on the effect of poverty that I'd like to focus. I welcome this report, and I really urge the Welsh Government to consider its recommendations with the sense of urgency that is suggested, particularly in regard to the expansion of eligibility for free...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Minister, and thank you, Llywydd, for accepting this important topical question.
Sioned Williams: The £20 uplift in universal credit comes to an end today. This cruel decision by a heartless Westminster Tory Government will affect over 275,000 of the poorest households in Wales. That's one in five households. According to the Bevan Foundation, the impact will be worse for Welsh families, as a higher proportion of families here claim universal credit or working tax credit. And for...
Sioned Williams: Minister, I've been contacted by the father of an additional learning needs pupil who's suffered months of lost education and, of course, all-important development during the pandemic, and, unlike with his other children, there's been no opportunity to continue his son's very specialist education at home. The local authority hasn't offered any coaching or training for parents to do this...
Sioned Williams: 1. What does the Welsh Government intend to do to mitigate the effects of the UK Government's decision to remove the universal credit uplift from today? TQ569
Sioned Williams: Will the First Minister make a statement on fuel poverty in South Wales West?
Sioned Williams: When I was elected, I told Beti George, who lost her husband, David Parry-Jones, to dementia, that I would do everything possible to improve the support for people like her and her husband. 'There's been plenty of talk in the Senedd, Sioned', she said. 'We need action.'
Sioned Williams: Due to the complex nature of dementia, the need for quality, long-term data is high, and I am therefore glad to support the call in the motion for the Welsh Government to establish a national dementia data observatory to improve the planning and delivery of dementia services. As a former staff member, I'm proud that Swansea University in my region is playing a key role in world-leading...
Sioned Williams: I am pleased to contribute to today's debate, and I thank my fellow Member from Plaid Cymru for South Wales West, Luke Fletcher, for raising this important issue about the need to develop and improve diagnostic approaches and to fund support in order to support the tens of thousands of people in Wales affected by all kinds of dementia. I say tens of thousands, because, as we've heard, rather...
Sioned Williams: Can I thank Joyce Watson for bringing this issue for us to be able to talk about it in the Senedd? And I of course raised this issue of the need to strengthen the violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence strategy in the Senedd yesterday, in light of Sabina Nessa's horrific murder. And I'm glad the Minister issued a statement later that afternoon, stating that the Government...
Sioned Williams: Will the Minister make a statement on terms and conditions of employment in South Wales West?
Sioned Williams: Trefnydd, everyone has a right to feel safe in public spaces, be that on public transport, as they walk along the street, or anywhere else. But, unfortunately, time and time again, we hear of cases of male violence against women in these spaces. We are all aware, of course, of what happened in London to Sabina Nessa, a 28-year-old teacher who was murdered whilst walking from her home at...
Sioned Williams: The response to the climate crisis calls for the reshaping of our economic system in several ways. The world of work needs to be at the heart of the zero-carbon economy, and working hours and how we define work are at the heart of that. To ensure that everyone has a voice in drawing up this sustainable society that we have to co-create, we have to ensure that everyone is empowered and...
Sioned Williams: Let's be clear, the four-day working week is no silver bullet for all these inequalities. Our understanding of work as a whole needs to change, and this is achievable, I think. Our acceptance of radically new working practices in such a short period of time shows this. Waged work is not the only sphere that needs to be reimagined, but the opportunity offered by a four-day working week to...
