Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Counsel General for his response to Janet Finch-Saunders's question. I wonder if he agrees with me that, while the overall reduction target of 4 per cent is to be welcomed and that none of us wish to see children unnecessarily taken into care, no such overall targets should influence decisions regarding individual children. It has been put to me by some front-line social...
Helen Mary Jones: Well, Llywydd, I'm sure that what I would expect or demand of the Minister for health is unimportant. I would argue, however, that what the public, patients and, importantly, front-line staff expect is important, and they will come to their own conclusions about the way in which he responds to scrutiny, both here and in the health committee. To refer back to David Jenkins, he said, of course,...
Helen Mary Jones: I thank the Minister for his answers. He clearly doesn't speak to the same families as I do. But I'll be absolutely clear that I'm not calling for him to resign today. I think he needs to reflect on the fact that, as I've already said, eight reports, surveys and visits had taken place and raised concerns before his officials did anything. And we've had the first quarterly report that told us...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch, Llywydd, and I'm sure I speak for everyone today in the Chamber wishing our First Minister a speedy recovery. Can I draw the Minister's attention to the joint Wales Audit Office and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report into governance arrangements at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Local Health Board that was published yesterday? I'm sure that, once again, our thoughts will be with the...
Helen Mary Jones: 3. What discussions has the Counsel General held regarding access to justice in Wales? OAQ54698
Helen Mary Jones: 4. What recent discussions has the Counsel General had with law officers regarding the outcome of the judicial review about the alleged mishandling of raising the state pension age for women born in the 1950s? OAQ54700
Helen Mary Jones: I'm very grateful to Darren Millar for giving way. Of course, we have a real-life experiment where 16 and 17-year-old voters were able to vote in the Scottish referendum. I think if you look at the turnout figures for that age group, you'll find that they were substantially higher than the turnout figures for 18 to 21-year-olds. So, I don't think that we can extrapolate as you're suggesting.
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Minister for her answer. In her answer to the previous question, she made reference to the council tax premiums that now can be charged, but I'm sure that she's aware that there is, of course, a loophole allowing individuals to register second homes as businesses and then renting them out for a minimum number of days a year. By doing this, they can of course avoid those...
Helen Mary Jones: 9. What assessment has been made of the impact that a predominance of second homes is having on areas of housing need in Mid and West Wales, particularly in coastal towns? OAQ54660
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm sure that the Deputy Minister will agree with me that, when addressing issues in the Equality Act 2010, it's important that the appropriate language is always used. I'm wondering if she shares my concern that there has been an increasing tendency in public discourse to use the terms 'sex' and 'gender' interchangeably. Now, as things stand at present, gender is not a...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the First Minister for his answer, but I'm sure that he will agree with me that we can none of us be pleased that almost a third of our children are living in poverty, and that many of those children have parents who are working—many of them more than one job. I was pleased to participate yesterday in the launch of the Living Wage Week in west Wales, sponsored by the Burns...
Helen Mary Jones: I thank the First Minister for his answers to the two preceding questioners. I think we may perhaps conclude, given the noise from the Conservative benches, that—I quote from Shakespeare—'Methinks, my Lord, he doth protest too much' and maybe they're not quite as confident in their leader's words. But, given the seriousness of the situation, as outlined by Mick Antoniw and as outlined by...
Helen Mary Jones: 4. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the percentage of the Welsh workforce earning the real living wage or above? OAQ54662
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Deputy Presiding Officer and to all Members who have contributed to this debate. I have very little time. The Deputy Presiding Officer has been kind enough to say she'll be generous, but I know better than to push my luck. I'm grateful to Angela Burns for her support and we will be supporting her amendments 3, 4 and 5. She rightly highlights the increased demand, but that...
Helen Mary Jones: I think that's a very valid point that Huw Irranca-Davies makes, which is that in a country the size of Wales, 3.5 million people, we should be able to achieve some consistency. I don't know if it's the case in his constituency, but it's certainly the national experience that the poorer the community, the more poorly it is likely to be served. It's not always the case, and we get excellent...
Helen Mary Jones: I will happily give way, yes.
Helen Mary Jones: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. We want to focus in this debate—I'm pleased to move the motion, tabled in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth—we want to focus in this debate on access to community care services, community health services. Now, I don't feel I have to spend terribly long in this Chamber setting out the fact that we have a real problem. The number of GPs, for...
Helen Mary Jones: Will the Minister take an internvention?
Helen Mary Jones: I'm very grateful. Can we ask you to ensure that that awareness training will include some element of face-to-face training as well as the very useful stuff that can be done online? Because I know from your previous work that you understand as I do that attitudes need to be challenged in a way that a computer can't.
Helen Mary Jones: I want to introduce this Chamber to a constituent of mine, Mr Heddwyn Hughes. I first met Heddwyn and his family a good number of years ago, when they were experiencing some difficulties with the funding of his care placement in Mynyddygarreg and they came to me for some support and advice. I would have been perfectly happy just to talk to the family, but the family said to me, 'Heddwyn is...
