Carolyn Thomas: Diolch. The impact of climate change is all too evident, and Wales is at the forefront of addressing the challenges of decarbonising energy generation, with policies and support for renewable energy. Plans for a publicly owned renewable energy developer ensure profits created in Wales will develop greater benefit for residents with profits reinvested in improving energy efficiency in homes in...
Carolyn Thomas: Thank you. I welcome the committee report. Public transport is a lifeline for many, ensuring that nobody is left behind. It's a social issue, as well as maintaining access to work. I know in rural areas the bus journey for regular passengers is where they enjoy a social chat with each other and the driver, and we've heard at the culture and sports committee that public transport is essential...
Carolyn Thomas: What consideration did the Minister give to highway maintenance when deciding this year’s local authority settlement?
Carolyn Thomas: I talked to nurses on the picket line, because I wanted to hear their views as well, and they did say to me that it's not just about money, but it's also about work-life pressures as well. Many are doing 12-hour shifts. And there's a lack of flexibility as well, with childcare et cetera. They did also mention agency costs, and it upsets them if they know they're working with somebody who's...
Carolyn Thomas: Diolch. I welcome this statement, and also the investment in coastal defence in north Wales, which is significant. Flooding, like rainfall, impacts on our highway infrastructure, roads, bridges and pavements, and we’ve seen what’s happened in north Wales, with landslides in Flintshire, Newbridge and Llanerch Bridge that have cost millions to put right. Heavy rainfall also power washes...
Carolyn Thomas: I've also been meeting with the leader of Denbighshire and officers and I was shocked now at the cost—due to inflationary pressures, it could be an £82 million capital build. I understand that capital funding has been cut by 11 per cent over the next few years, and that the borrowing limit for Wales has been restricted as well by the UK Government. We do need to do something, as Darren...
Carolyn Thomas: I would like also to thank the Chair and committee staff who put together this report and organised visits across Wales, and to all those who contributed. Community facilities can empower communities and ensure that nobody gets left behind. They can help with sustainability and well-being. Community halls, pubs, playing fields and other areas should be protected for people and nature, such as...
Carolyn Thomas: Diolch. Can I declare also that I'm a member of Unite the Union, and I was formerly a member of the Communication Workers Union as a postal worker? Counsel General, two years ago, we were standing on our doorsteps clapping the workers, and now we see what the Tories really think, by bringing forward a Bill to sack them. As you said, the Bill is known as a 'sack the workers' Bill. It's really...
Carolyn Thomas: I'd like to commend all that you do and the priority that's given to nature and biodiversity in Wales. It's really heart-warming. I'd just like to talk about nature-based solutions regarding flooding, the attenuation of water, and beavers. So, Eurasian beavers are native to Wales, to Britain, and have been living wild in Wales since 2013. I know somebody has introduced one quite locally to me...
Carolyn Thomas: I'd like to start by thanking the Welsh Government for their continued recognition of the highly skilled workforce that we have in north Wales and for the investments being made in the health sector, including the medical school in Bangor. Medical radioisotopes can now be created by particle reactors, as was mentioned earlier, rather than nuclear reactors, and have been for some time in other...
Carolyn Thomas: Like many adverse childhood experiences, poverty impacts a young person in many ways, from their health and cognitive development to social and educational outcomes. The consequences of this can stay with a person all their lives. That's why it's so unforgivable that most vulnerable families have had to bear the brunt of Tory austerity measures over the last 12 years. The introduction of...
Carolyn Thomas: The draft budget is being set in some of the most challenging of times in recent memory for Welsh Government, and I welcome the way in which Welsh Government has continued to provide support throughout the cost-of-living crisis to those most in need, in spite of too often being handcuffed by Westminster. To be consistent, I'm going to make a plea for highway resilience funding to be put back...
Carolyn Thomas: Across Wales there are approximately 90 residential park home sites, which are home to over 3,000 households. Research undertaken in 2016 on behalf of the Welsh Government showed that there was evidence of fuel poverty on these sites. This situation will have no doubt worsened in the current cost-of-living crisis. The majority of park home residents are elderly and disproportionately likely...
Carolyn Thomas: Thank you, Mabon, for giving me a minute of your time for this important debate. Making our energy systems sustainable is one of the challenges of our time. Like the climate crisis, it's a challenge that reaches beyond our borders, therefore finding a solution must be an international task. Nuclear is both controversial and potentially dangerous, and it splits opinion. We have to be honest...
Carolyn Thomas: I welcome that the Welsh Government's focus remains on sustainable public transport, despite significant real-terms funding cuts from the UK Government. The title of my petition to the Senedd three years ago was, 'Buses for people not profit', and as you said, it's a real social justice issue, ensuring that no-one is left behind, and that's the difference a Welsh Labour Government makes here....
Carolyn Thomas: I remember in March 2020 sitting in the leader's office at Flintshire County Council, working out how we could send everyone to work from home and keep front-line services running. We were stunned and it was frightening for our workforce. Initially, I spent time collecting PPE of any type from playgroups, schools, businesses and volunteers who had been printing 3D face masks. Flintshire care...
Carolyn Thomas: I'd also like to thank all the committee staff and all the organisations that took part in giving evidence for the report. I think the stand-out message is that sport should be a level playing field, but there are many hurdles that need to be overcome to achieve that. Deprivation is a formidable opposition in all aspects of governance, and sport is no exception to the rule. As was said by...
Carolyn Thomas: Will you take another intervention?
Carolyn Thomas: Would you take another intervention, from me? I understand that a levelling-up funding bid for railway infrastructure was declined by the UK Government and the authority has to put it back in again. But do you agree with me that local authority officers have said it's like going back 10 years now to move forward with this, so it's not really achieving very much, is it?
Carolyn Thomas: Minister, I'm aware that Conwy County Borough Council has a rapid rehousing policy that has gone down well in dire circumstances, and also that councils are advising private tenants to stay in place if they get no-fault eviction notices while they try and help them with that funding you've just mentioned. And I must say, it's really twisted of Welsh Conservatives to blame Welsh Government,...
