Jane Hutt: ...across this Chamber—that we want to drive out stigma and hatred and ensure people feel safe. I think what is happening over these coming weeks and months in terms of the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust is crucial in terms of ensuring that that underpins not only us as the Welsh Government but throughout all our public services, indeed every sector and facet of life. So, I'm...
Jane Hutt: ...+ people, but also reminding us of the genocides across the world as well. The theme is ordinary people, and I do want to just respond to your point about the NUS and universities. The Minister for Education and Welsh Language met the previous NUS Wales president last year. He had an introductory meeting with the new NUS Wales president in October. But he also met Lord Mann—you've...
Jane Hutt: ...Welsh Government offices, the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, and Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr. The trust has also worked with the Royal Drawing School to organise the (Extra)Ordinary Portraits competition, which was open to anyone in the UK under 25 years of age. Participants were asked to create a portrait of an individual affected by...
Jane Hutt: ...in the longer term, and much broader links. You will know about Food Cardiff and the initiatives that they've taken. We're sort of building on that and the Big Bocs Bwyd scheme, linked to schools, to get partnerships to tackle the root causes of food poverty and the focus, as you have always stated very clearly, that we need to focus on prevention, sustainability and also co-ordinate this...
Jane Hutt: ...But it is important that we see that the eligibility criteria for the childcare offer will mean that more parents will be able to reach out for that childcare—those enrolled in higher and further education classes. We know that well-paid work is the best route out of poverty and the greatest protection against poverty, so that significant investment of nearly £120 million will improve...
Jane Hutt: ...We will continue to provide support for households through our support for a more generous social wage. This includes initiatives such as our childcare offer, our council tax reduction scheme, free school meals and PDG access, the school essentials grant and help with health costs. All of these programmes leave money in people’s pockets. This financial year, we will be spending £1.6...
Jane Hutt: ...pilot. But the draft budget also will ensure that we can maintain all those other programmes in Wales, which put money back into people's pockets, from free prescriptions to universal primary free school meals—of course, as a result of our co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru—support with the cost of sending children to school, and a 'Claim what's yours' campaign to ensure that...
Jane Hutt: ...and information in BSL within Wales, including meaningful consultation and engagement with the deaf community. As well as building capacity for learning and teaching BSL at all levels of the education system in Wales, I'm keenly aware that, to enable full access to information services and to remove barriers to participation, there needs to be a drive to build the capacity of deaf BSL...
Jane Hutt: ...the future. Obviously, those options actually apply to all young people in Wales. The young person’s guarantee is crucially important—18 to 25-year-olds, every young person, a job, training, education, apprenticeships, setting up a business. We heard all of those things from our care-experienced young people. That’s what they want to do. That’s what they will be able to do. I think...
Jane Hutt: ...for me. The First Minister attended, obviously the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Lynne Neagle the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being, as well as Jeremy Miles as Minister for Education and Welsh Language, and myself. We spent the day listening to young people. It was sobering—I think that was the word the Deputy Minister for Social Services said—to hear of their...
Jane Hutt: .... There is a recognition that extra heating is needed for disabled people, in terms of keeping temperatures stable, needing to use more fuel. Disabled children and young people often in specialised education, respite settings, with more frequent medical appointments, access to transport—all these things are crucial in terms of the way we're taking this forward. It is very important, as I...
Jane Hutt: ...this challenge. As well as embedding a general anti-racist culture within public administration in Wales, we've committed to several actions specific to these communities, including guidance for schools, creating a national network of transit provision—and I accepted the recommendation on transit provision; that came through so strongly in your inquiry, and as you know, in my response, I...
Jane Hutt: ...the responsibilities between local government and between the Welsh Government and the UK Government, and that we look at those issues in terms of access to health. Indeed, I have mentioned health education, substance misuse. I understand that substance misuse treatments like Buvidal have been available for patients, but we need to identify if this is not happening. It is available outside...
Jane Hutt: ...of Justice, but the legislative line of responsibility changes from English services to Welsh ones when they've left prison and when they're in the communities in Wales. And therefore, health, education and substance misuse are the responsibility of Welsh local health boards and local authorities. There are many things that have been developed, and you will have heard of them from your...
Jane Hutt: ...the police and crime commissioners, but also, indeed, all of those who engage in the provision of services. That will include the devolved services in terms of local government, health, housing and education. I think it is important to recognise that what we are doing in Wales—and we're going to focus on it in the conference I mentioned, on Thursday—is the innovation that we are...
Jane Hutt: ...and specialist wraparound support that meet their needs. A small homes programme board, led by the Welsh Government and involving the Ministry of Justice and the UK Government Department for Education, will drive this ambitious work. This is only a brief snapshot of our achievements, which are set out in full in the implementation plans. On 26 October we also published an evaluation, which...
Jane Hutt: ...-of-living crisis. Our total period dignity grant for this financial year now totals over £3.7 million. Local authorities are working hard to ensure that, in addition to getting products in every school and college in Wales, they're available, as we all know, across a range of community venues, and this includes foodbanks and pantries, libraries, youth centres and community hubs. I'm...
Jane Hutt: ...Government has done, over a number of years now, on financial initiatives to tackle period poverty, because eradicating period poverty means ensuring that having a period does not lead to missed education, absences from work, or withdrawal, indeed, from sports and social activities. As Sioned Williams has said, this is a matter of social justice. So, since 2018, we have invested around...
Jane Hutt: Thank you, Joyce Watson, because we do need to go outside. We've commented on the opportunities and the work that's been done in schools with children and young people, and the importance of the new curriculum in terms of that relationships and sexuality education framework, but we also need to reach out to all of those organisations where young people gather and engage. I think it is...
Jane Hutt: ...two Members about Joyce Watson and her leadership as far as the White Ribbon cause is concerned? It is important what you say in terms of how we can reach out to our children and young people, and school obviously is the place to do this, because violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence obviously can have a huge impact on children and young people. I do think that it's...
