Leanne Wood: I'd like to start my contribution to this debate with a quote from the EHRC Wales committee chair, Martyn Jones: 'Behind the statistics are real people with lived experiences of discrimination and inequality. We need to shine a light on the positive contribution made by all groups in society on a daily basis. We must change the narrative from one of burden and negativity to one that empowers...
Leanne Wood: I've been contacted by many parents who have children with additional learning needs but who have not been offered a placement in the local hubs. Now, Rhondda Cynon Taf council tell me that they are acting upon Welsh Government guidance, but if children with additional learning needs and, in some cases, statements as well, are adversely affected by home schooling, then surely the guidance has...
Leanne Wood: What additional steps can be taken in schools to protect staff and pupils from asymptomatic COVID-19 spread?
Leanne Wood: I want to press the case for a COVID vaccination centre for the Rhondda and also for vaccines to the wider community to be available on the basis of need. There remains a high prevalence of COVID within my constituency, and many of us now know families who have lost someone tragically to this. The health board have discussed with the local authority where to locate the centres in Rhondda...
Leanne Wood: Will the First Minister provide an update on education provision for the most disadvantaged children and young people?
Leanne Wood: 'Our motion makes a very simple ask—one that I am amazed but not surprised that Ministers are running from: that we have an investigation to learn the lessons from the floods,...to protect more homes and businesses...look at...affordable insurance...and...timely pay-outs, an investigation into what measures are required from Government to fund flood protections and upstream catchment...
Leanne Wood: COVID has presented challenges for everyone, and while all of us here would agree that everything must be done to keep parents, babies and staff safe, we must also do whatever we can to ensure the best possible outcomes for everyone involved. We must start by acknowledging that the experiences of young children, babies and their families this year have been some of the most adversely affected...
Leanne Wood: Diolch. The Rhondda, my constituency, my home, is a place that has struggled for decades. Now, much as many people might like to, we cannot get away from the fact that since the start of the various pit closure programmes, but especially since Margaret Thatcher's attack on our communities in the 1980s, with no plan to replace those lost jobs, life has been a big struggle for many people, and...
Leanne Wood: I want to ask for a number of Government interventions, even though I understand that the Senedd time available this year is limited. The first relates to payments for self-isolation. I've had a number of supply teachers, among many other people, who have contacted me who are not eligible for this payment. So, can you tell us how you can extend eligibility to make it much easier for people to...
Leanne Wood: What initiatives are being planned by the Welsh Government to improve the mental health and well-being of young people?
Leanne Wood: Thank you very much for the statement.
Leanne Wood: The Plaid Cymru group welcomes this statement, Deputy Minister. We support the aims of identifying and removing barriers to disabled people's contributions to public life, and we will be happy to promote this new fund to enable and support people to elected office. Now, on that fund, I'd like to know what is being done, in an ongoing way, to ensure that the fund is administered and used in...
Leanne Wood: I have, in the last month or so, repeatedly raised concerns about the need to make schools safer places for teachers and pupils. Most parents in Wales will now have had direct experience of their child being off due to a positive case in class, or they will know someone else whose child has been off as a result of the pandemic. The prevalence of COVID in schools has had fatal consequences for...
Leanne Wood: First Minister, poverty was an acute problem in the Rhondda before the COVID pandemic hit, and things have got considerably worse for many people since. I know that because I run a food share scheme where demand is increasing and it's relying on some fantastic volunteers to do some pretty essential anti-poverty work. And we also know that the situation is soon to get worse with the changes...
Leanne Wood: 8. How is the Welsh Government tackling poverty in the Rhondda? OQ55974
Leanne Wood: I welcome the recommendation that all schoolchildren, college students, teachers and staff should be tested for coronavirus given the high numbers of people that are asymptomatic, especially in the younger age groups. This should have been a key priority when the schools reopened before the summer. Now, the current situation is not sustainable. As one teacher told me, just last week, 'We are...
Leanne Wood: 6. What is the Welsh Government doing to prevent the asymptomatic spread of coronavirus in schools to protect teachers and pupils? OQ55940
Leanne Wood: I'd like to highlight the frustrations of Rhondda businesses that have been left without any financial help since the beginning of the pandemic. We know businesses across Wales that have lost out after applying for the economic resilience fund. A new business in the Rhondda tell me that they've not received any support, despite losing a majority of their takings. They applied for a lockdown...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. Plaid Cymru wants extra support for communities that have been disproportionately hit by COVID. The areas with the highest rates of COVID cases are Merthyr, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Blaenau Gwent. The figures for Blaenau Gwent, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr have been higher than Liverpool's, which has benefited from extra support and priority for new...
Leanne Wood: I'd like to ask Members to imagine this: a bomb goes off and in a split second your life is turned upside down. A conflict has broken out and there's fighting in your street. The communities that you once called home are no longer safe, and your life, and your families lives, are at risk. You've got two options: to remain in your country, risk your life and the lives of your family members,...
