Mark Isherwood: I call for a single Welsh Government statement on support for Llangollen railway. The directors of this wonderful Welsh standard-gauge heritage railway announced last week that they've taken the reluctant step of inviting their bank to appoint a receiver. The trust board stated it will, 'need to take steps to negotiate with the receiver to try to secure the line and preserve rolling stock and...
Mark Isherwood: The Welsh Government's reserve can hold up to £350 million; on 1 April 2020, the balance was at £335.9 million. Three weeks ago, the Welsh Government and UK Government agreed additional flexibility, beyond the Wales reserve, going into 2021-22, enabling the Welsh Government to carry over any unallocated element of the extra £650 million provided by the UK Government into the 2021-22...
Mark Isherwood: In addition to safe and accessible homes, carers are key to the maintenance of independence, dignity and quality of life for people living with MND. As stated by Carers Wales, unpaid carers are saving the Welsh Government £33 million every day of the pandemic, but this comes at high personal and economic cost. A report by the Motor Neurone Disease Association found that a third of MND carers...
Mark Isherwood: As the petition regarding police officers states, they are in high-risk jobs. Speaking here in January, I highlighted calls by the North Wales Police Federation for policing to be considered for some priority on the COVID-19 vaccination programme. As they stated, 'Day in, day out, police officers put their own safety, health and wellbeing at risk whilst protecting us all. Sadly, in North...
Mark Isherwood: [Inaudible.]—Treasury funding for the UK shared prosperity fund initially announced was only for pilot programmes, and it was made clear from the outset that ramped up funding would follow. As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales said in the House of Commons last month: 'We have already made it very clear and demonstrated that the amount of money that is going to be spent...
Mark Isherwood: Each time the Welsh Government has announced financial support to help hospitality businesses survive the pandemic, it has excluded bed-and-breakfast businesses not eligible for small business rate relief because of rules that they have to comply with. They've been excluded from small business grants, unlike their counterparts in England and Scotland, and from each round of the economic...
Mark Isherwood: 4. How is the Welsh Government helping hospitality businesses in north Wales during the pandemic? OQ56345
Mark Isherwood: Well, following publication of your fuel poverty plan today, 'Tacking fuel poverty 2021-2035', it seems the plan is largely the same as the draft proposals, and while we certainly welcome the short-term actions, we're very disappointed in particular that there are still no interim milestones between now and 2035. How do you respond to the subsequent statement by National Energy Action, NEA...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. With several constituents in places like Llangollen asking me, 'If the fall in vaccine supply the Minister referred to last week has been felt by all health boards, why is it that England and south Wales are seeing consistent and indeed increasing vaccination numbers as ours locally fall?', how do you respond to the constituent who stated, 'My wife falls within target group 6 and I...
Mark Isherwood: Last week, the Mental Health Foundation called for a new cross-Welsh-Government strategy on preventing mental health problems, including widened access to social prescribing, such as arts projects, peer-to-peer projects and access to nature, and action to address rural mental health. How, therefore, do you respond to several retired constituents who e-mailed me last week stating, 'We're now...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Well, I thank Mike Hedges for his comments: 'The proximity of the election is no reason not to support this proposal; we need leadership to do something on behalf of the deaf community in Wales.' Dai Lloyd: 'There is a need for this legislation; we must safeguard the rights of a minority through the law.' Janet Finch-Saunders says, 'This legislation will help us create a better...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Based on official statistics, the British Deaf Association believe that 7,200 people in Wales use BSL, of whom 4,000 are Deaf. In October 2018, calls were made at the North Wales 'Lend me your ears' 2018 conference for British Sign Language legislation in Wales, looking at the 2015 British Sign Language (Scotland) Act, and their national BSL plan, published in October 2017,...
Mark Isherwood: The national vaccination strategy to 14 February included care home staff, but Care Forum Wales stated last week that the decision by Flintshire County Council to base care home fees on paying half the staff the minimum wage is an affront to care workers who put their own lives on the line and have heroically done their utmost to protect their residents from the deadly coronavirus pandemic....
Mark Isherwood: I congratulate everybody who is involved in not only closing the initial first-dose gap with England and Scotland, but also now closing the second-dose gap also. So, credit where it's due. I know I raised that with you previously and you said there would be good news ahead and you were right. So, well done. But what assurance can you give to the constituent whose daughter is an elite...
Mark Isherwood: All legislation should pass the merit test of doing what it says on the tin, and that's particularly essential when that is emergency legislation. So, our amendments sought to ensure that this would be the case. It is therefore both regrettable and concerning that all but one of these were defeated, and, in consequence, that avoidable allegations about the First Minister's motives are bound...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Clearly, we would not wish to exclude people who are, for example, shielding, or extremely vulnerable groups, and, as I said, eligibility existing under current legislation for proxy voting would continue accordingly, and we are here only talking about voting on polling day, not otherwise, where normal rules would also continue to apply. I believe that invalidates the Minister's...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. I move amendment 14, tabled in my name. As currently drafted, this Bill gives licence to absolutely anyone to have a proxy vote for almost any reason, setting a dangerous precedent and one that could be open to abuse. Our amendment 14 would therefore require an applicant's polling day proxy voting application to be accompanied by an NHS coronavirus isolation note. This will, of...
Mark Isherwood: I move.
Mark Isherwood: I move.
Mark Isherwood: I move.
