Caroline Jones: Thank you, First Minister. While the steel industry is of national and strategic importance, we can't ignore the impact that it has on our environment. Living in the shadow of the Port Talbot plant, I see on a daily basis the effect the steelworks has on the environment, with huge plumes of acrid orange smoke released into the air that we breathe and thick layers of dust covering everything...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. The UK Government does indeed have a lot more to do for this sector. There's a strategy to use 3 million tonnes of steel in the next five years on infrastructure projects like HS2, Hinkley C and the upgrading of the UK motorways, but this doesn't go far enough, because every single infrastructure project should be using UK steel, and every defence...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, the whole of my region and communities breathed a sigh of relief when news broke of the deal being struck between Tata and ThyssenKrupp. It ended years of uncertainty for workers at Port Talbot and Deeside. So, the Port Talbot works is to get one of its blast furnaces repaired, helping to guarantee the jobs of the thousands of employees until 2026. However, I...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank Plaid Cymru for proposing the motion before us today. Human papillomavirus, or the easier to pronounce name HPV, is the most widespread sexually transmitted virus on the planet. It is believed four out of every five people will contract one of the 100 or so types of the virus at some point in their lives. In the vast majority of cases, the men and women infected show no...
Caroline Jones: As I expressed yesterday, I'm truly devastated by the short-sighted decision of Theresa May's Government to abandon the tidal lagoon. There is total devastation also in my region among the people who are certainly voicing their opinions, and rightly so, too. Yet again, the Westminster Government have shown their utter contempt for my region, reneging on the promise to deliver electrification...
Caroline Jones: Thank you once again for that answer, Minister. Our future Paralympians are relying upon their carers—paid and unpaid—to support them while they concentrate upon winning the medals. But who supports the carers? Minister, sadly, we know that two thirds of unpaid carers have not been offered or requested a needs assessment, and three quarters of those same carers say they do not get any...
Caroline Jones: Yes. Thank you, Minister. We were able to get a very satisfactory outcome in Paul's case. But what about those who don't have their Assembly Member fighting their corner? Minister, what is the Welsh Government doing to ensure that every single disabled person in Wales is able to pursue their goals, their dreams, unhindered by their disability?
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, we have discussed previously the case of my constituent, Paul Davies, the Paralympian who was facing the real prospect of missing Tokyo 2020 due to a lack of social care. Minister, with your help, I'm pleased to say that Paul Davies now has the support he needs in order to train for the Tokyo Paralympics. So, Minister, will you join me in wishing Paul Davies...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, my local health board, ABMU, has a deficit of over £3 million a month. In order to address this deficit, the health board are proposing to reduce the number of hospital beds that are available. Cabinet Secretary, given that bed occupancy rates in my region are nearly 90 per cent, do you consider the proposal to reduce the number of available beds to be safe?
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer. Cabinet Secretary, in Neath Port Talbot, the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals who attain level 2 or above fell last year, and fell quite significantly. The numbers are at their lowest since 2011. Cabinet Secretary, in light of this, and given recent comments about the effectiveness of the pupil deprivation grant, do you believe your policies are...
Caroline Jones: 3. What actions is the Welsh Government taking to improve attainment levels amongst the most deprived pupils in South Wales West? OAQ52407
Caroline Jones: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the progress being made in reducing the budget deficits of local health boards? OAQ52409
Caroline Jones: Like the majority of the UK voting public, I voted to leave the EU, and my opinion hasn't changed. Our NHS was created long before the EU and will be here long after we leave. Are there risks? Yes, but no-one really expects that these risks won’t be addressed in a future deal. We are leaving the EU, not Europe. Our continuing co-operation with European nations will continue, and I expect...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. I, like all of us in this Chamber, am deeply, deeply disappointed by the UK Government's announcement yesterday. Yet again, the UK Government has shown utter contempt for my region by reneging as well on the promise to deliver electrification to Swansea and now have scuppered Swansea's chance to lead the world in innovative renewable energy....
Caroline Jones: Yes, but we have to redress and look at the balance and have a level playing field. Unfortunately, according to Cardiff Metropolitan University's business school, it is too late to save our traditional retailers. According to Chris Parry, senior lecturer in accounting and finance at Cardiff Met, the time to cut rents and rates was 2008, not 2018. He said that the challenge for us is what we...
Caroline Jones: I appreciate what you're saying, First Minister, but, over the weekend, retail experts outlined the scale of the problem facing Wales's department stores, following the announcement by the House of Fraser and the news that Chepstow's Herbert Lewis was to close. Howells has been on Cardiff's high street since 1879 and will soon go the same way as David Morgan, which was the mainstay of...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, the past few months have been brutal for the Welsh high street, with many large retailers announcing closures of their stores. Mothercare is closing 50 stores across the UK, including its Newport branch. New Look is closing 60 stores, including its stores in Cardiff, Monmouth, Rhyl and Pontypool. Carphone Warehouse announced nearly 100 store closures across...
Caroline Jones: Angela, I take your point, but for the reasons I highlighted in the beginning I can't accept your—I had to put my amendment in. So, I do apologise. Thank you. These shortages don't just contribute to longer and longer waits for patients; they are placing existing staff under unbelievable strain, and one out of every three Welsh GPs feel they are so stressed they cannot cope at least once...
Caroline Jones: Yes.
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I would like to formally move the two amendments tabled in my name, and I thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this important debate today. As you can see from my amendments, I agree with 99 per cent of the Welsh Conservatives' motion. I cannot support granting priority treatment to NHS staff, and, while I have sympathy with the need to get staff back on...
