Jenny Rathbone: ...that Sioned mentioned, we heard lots of good examples of good practice by different agencies where migrant women had disclosed evidence of being victims of domestic violence, where the police, the schools, employers, health, community centres and voluntary advice bodies all understood that they needed to act and not be a bystander and had referred people, in the main to BAWSO or another...
Jenny Rathbone: ...they have children, therefore whether they're in touch with public services, which is much more likely than if they're not working and are without children to ensure they're picking them up from school et cetera. Recommendation 10 calls for the Welsh Government to use data from the equality, race and disability units to establish baselines to inform future monitoring and targeting of...
Jenny Rathbone: ...we spend on breastfeeding is absolutely negligible. So, we absolutely need to change children's relationship with food. If we're going to continue to be able to afford to roll out universal free school meals to all primary schools and beyond, we hope, in secondary schools, the £260 million that we are currently dedicating to that will only be affordable in the long term if we are drawing...
Jenny Rathbone: ...to people young and old who may be unable to participate in other sport. So, it's a really important thing. Turning to swimming, I appreciate the money that has been made available to extend schools into community hubs, but £24 million isn't really going to resolve the problem we have with our swimming pools. It's really, really difficult to teach somebody to swim unless it's in a...
Jenny Rathbone: ...Government needs to set out how it intends to ensure that the centre of excellence and the procurement sub-group will drive collaboration and change. There is also an issue about whether further education institutions, higher education institutions and registered social landlords should be required to follow Welsh Government procurement legislation in the same way as public sector...
Jenny Rathbone: ...that needs to happen, to ensure that they feel confident that they can insist on responding to their instincts that things are not right, particularly when children who are at risk are not in school. It must be essential and mandatory that the child is seen by somebody else at home, under all circumstances. Which brings me to my second point, which is around looking at how you would feel...
Jenny Rathbone: ...is why people don't do it. And that is why people end up next to busy roads with polluted air, where nobody else would ever dream of living. They're also the lowest performing ethnic group for educational attainment by a racing mile. The curriculum needs to be flexible enough to meet every pupil's needs, and that includes the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma community. There are many careers...
Jenny Rathbone: ...such a good ambassador for mental health; I feel confident that we're in good hands in terms of keeping this flag flying. I think that the important work that the Government is doing around a whole-school approach to mental health is absolutely crucial. Mabon, you reminded us in a timely fashion about the importance of community asset transfers, which exist in other parts of the UK. At the...
Jenny Rathbone: We've talked a lot about the epidemic of mental distress in our schools and colleges as a result of COVID and, obviously, people living in overcrowded, inadequate housing will have suffered greatly during the lockdown, but it isn't just poor housing that's the problem. Any child living in a dysfunctional home, where domestic violence is lurking under the radar, would have suffered from not...
Jenny Rathbone: ...serve the poorest students, because of the breadth of their curriculum. The UK Government gave no money to colleges in the financial statement last week, even though they did give some money to schools. What can colleges in South Wales Central expect from the Welsh Government?
Jenny Rathbone: ...that each acre of land can generate one job. So, if we had a proper training scheme for people to develop a career in horticulture, we could quickly start to deliver the food we need for our free school meals programme locally and not bring it in from outside Wales. We are blessed with people like Castell Howell who are dedicated to this campaign as well, but we are still doing far too...
Jenny Rathbone: ...Jones said, the level of sexual harassment is so widespread that it really requires a response across society. But it really does underpin the importance of compulsory relationship and sexuality education, because young people need educating on how to keep themselves safe. These bad beasts, which we all find really convenient, parents give their children these things without realising what...
Jenny Rathbone: ...have already taken up the claim. Obviously that's a reflection of need, but it's also a reflection of the competency of people to ensure that they're getting it. I think that the universal free school meals is a missed opportunity to have a proper conversation with parents on whether they are actually claiming everything that they're entitled to, because I know that local authorities in...
Jenny Rathbone: ...listened carefully to what Sam Rowlands said about the inverse care law going on here, which is that some of the most deprived local authorities are the ones that are having the least outdoor education, it clearly is a major problem. But we have to surely ask, 'Are schools properly using their pupil development grants?' as well as, we have to consider how well we are addressing the inverse...
Jenny Rathbone: ...cars is to persuade people to walk or cycle short journeys, as I know, Minister, you agree. Obviously, the quickest wins are going to be eliminating car use for travelling to work and travelling to school. This isn't just about creating a better cycling infrastructure on our roads. We also need loan schemes for families who can't afford to buy a bike for their child, and who are struggling...
Jenny Rathbone: ...; it clearly buys a lot less than it used to that long ago. It is a vital—. Even the reduced amount that it currently buys, is still a really, really vital way of enabling young people to stay in education who otherwise might be pushed into going into a job that leads nowhere. It's absolutely vital that we encourage people to stay on in education post 16, so that we have the workforce we...
Jenny Rathbone: What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the number of school leavers continuing their education in further and higher education?
Jenny Rathbone: ...-olds vaping has gone up significantly, and that this has a major impact on brain development up to the age of 25. And if we're going to deal with young people, it needs combined action by health, education and regulatory services. So, I wondered if it would be possible to have such a statement from somebody in the Government, because there are three different departments involved. But it...
Jenny Rathbone: ...vaping is a gateway into smoking, and we now have a veritable epidemic amongst young people of vaping. I just wondered what plans, if any, the Welsh Government has to really clamp down on this in schools and colleges, because, undoubtedly, the tobacco companies are using it as a way of getting people to take up smoking, which we know is so harmful.
Jenny Rathbone: ...are people in primary care not dealing with issues themselves, when they ought to be? Now, we need to start, of course, with prevention, and I think that the mandatory relationships and sexuality education helps all citizens be aware of how their body works and what is normal and what is not normal, and when they should be seeking advice. That's a really important issue. We need to...
