Rhianon Passmore: Mark Drakeford.
Rhianon Passmore: I will be voting for the amendment to this motion tabled by Julie James AM. The Tory motion is both cynical and politically opportunistic. The Tory motion is also fundamentally flawed. We know, do we not, that since 2009 there have been two National Assembly for Wales elections. Both times the Welsh nation has gone to the polls, and both times democratically following the elections a Welsh...
Rhianon Passmore: Will you take an intervention?
Rhianon Passmore: Would you agree with the OECD viewpoint, strongly made, that Wales is moving in the right direction in regard to its education reforms?
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you very much. I think the question has been asked. Can the Cabinet Secretary confirm that Welsh taxpayers have received their HMRC letter about Welsh rates of income tax?
Rhianon Passmore: That is the question in front of me, Llywydd.
Rhianon Passmore: What is the Welsh Government doing to protect public services in Islwyn from the impacts of austerity?
Rhianon Passmore: Diolch, Llywydd. This year's Welsh Government draft budget marks an incredibly important step in the devolution process. This is the first year that revenue raised from new Welsh rates of income tax will be included in the Welsh budget, following their introduction in April 2019. However, this momentous step in the devolution process is occurring against the backdrop of the bleakest...
Rhianon Passmore: That's not answering my question—
Rhianon Passmore: Do you accept or believe that the budget now is not 5 per cent lower than it was in 2010-11? Do you not agree with that?
Rhianon Passmore: It's an unfortunate reality that over the past near-decade of UK austerity, a shrink in local government budgets has resulted in a cutback to non-statutory services provided by councils across the UK. I therefore would like to request a statement from the Welsh Government on the status and health of music support services across Wales. As Members will be aware, this is an issue very close to...
Rhianon Passmore: It is right that this Chamber represents the very passionate and strongly held views of the people we represent. They deserve no less, but they also deserve far more, as we approach the most pivotal point for our citizens and our economy. The deal negotiated by Theresa May is bad for Britain, it is bad for Wales and it is bad for Islwyn. It is often repeated these days that contemporary...
Rhianon Passmore: Leader of the house, last week, the Welsh Government announced an additional £15 million funding to help increase joint working between local authorities and health boards to support adults with care needs in their homes. Leader of the house, what difference will this additional money make to avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions, returning patients back to their homes, and to aid the...
Rhianon Passmore: What is the Welsh Government doing to aid small businesses in Islwyn?
Rhianon Passmore: The UN special rapporteur's report on the extreme poverty in the United Kingdom is a wake-up call. The true impact of this Tory Government's austerity agenda is clear for all of us to see. It is a political choice that is placing the greatest burden on those least able to bear it, forcing people into poverty. I urge Members from across this Chamber to read carefully the report from the UN....
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you. You've stated often that, as a party, you have no confidence in any agreements with the UK. Do you have confidence that Wales will get the necessary budget to accompany any devolved welfare?
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you for that. I think you cannot divorce that from the fact that, since 2010, there has been an £850 million cut to Wales. This is strategic, this is long term, and we know that there is more to come unless there is a general election, and there’s quite a simple fact here: if your coat is too tight, you will get wet. I met with elected members of Caerphilly County Borough Council...
Rhianon Passmore: Let me just finish—and in the face of a cut of £850 million to our budget by the UK Government since 2010. That is a fact.
Rhianon Passmore: I haven’t finished yet, thank you. I will do it later—[Laughter.]—but has actually grown the UK deficit—[Interruption.] I will do this later, okay. We have been suffering now for nine long years, and it is not a laughing matter for the people in my constituency, who are suffering from the results of austerity and welfare reform. This is outside—[Interruption.] This is outside the UN...
Rhianon Passmore: I rise to support the Welsh Government amendment to this Tory motion, and I view the unedifying spectacle of the Tories opposite standing up saying that local authorities are struggling—well, let's be honest, quite frankly, shake that magic money tree, and we will have more money, more bang for our buck to do so. I, for one, am tired of hearing about austerity, as the people of Islwyn are,...
