Mark Isherwood: Effective budgeting is about both how much and how well money is spent. Unfortunately, the pandemic has shone a spotlight on the failings of successive Labour Welsh Governments in managing our vital public services. In the year before the pandemic, NHS waiting times doubled in Wales and increased eight times during the pandemic. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported last year that Wales has...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Thank you very much for calling me. Further to my question to the Trefnydd earlier, when she suggested I raise these with you now, firstly, given your particular reference to the police, how would you respond to the call by the North Wales Police Federation for policing to be considered for some priority on the COVID-19 vaccination programme. As their secretary said to me in writing...
Mark Isherwood: I call for a Welsh Government statement regarding autistic adults being prioritised for the COVID vaccine. As a constituent wrote, 'My brother lives in north Wales and he has both a learning disability and autism. Recent research by Public Health England stated that the death rate from COVID is six times higher for people with a learning disability than the general population. We know from...
Mark Isherwood: The UK Government has boosted the welfare system by £7.4 billion in 2021, including the temporary £20-a-week uplift in universal credit standard allowance and working tax credit basic element. In common with the Welsh Government, the UK Government is keeping all its coronavirus measures under review as the pandemic position changes. As the Prime Minister reconfirmed last week, extending the...
Mark Isherwood: What support is the Welsh Government providing to self-catering businesses during the pandemic?
Mark Isherwood: Sorry, who did you call?
Mark Isherwood: Sorry, I didn't hear. Our UK has secured a trade deal with the EU nobody thought was possible. A truly historic moment for we Britons across our four nations. The first time the EU has ever agreed a zero-tariff, zero-quota trade deal. A deal that enables an outward-looking global Britain to strike trade deals with new markets as a liberal free-trading force for good in the world. A deal that...
Mark Isherwood: Well, the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a sharp shock to the UK housing market, with the number of new homes registered to be built in the first three quarters down in all UK nations. However, Wales was starting from the lowest base. Last year—the highest year for UK new home registration since 2007—the numbers in Wales fell by over 12 per cent on the previous year, and the number of...
Mark Isherwood: Well, I will emphasise the questions I've raised with you were raised with me by the sector, who deserve the full praise that we've both given them, but also are desperately worried that this year's budget won't repeat previous years' and that they won't get the uplift they need, given the fantastic job they've done and the essential role they play. If I may now finish by moving to the...
Mark Isherwood: In your statement of 23 November, you accepted in principle the recommendations in the third and final report of the homelessness action group, including taking forward earlier intervention and preventative activity so that people do not become homeless in the first place. Evidence shows that nearly 50 per cent of single homeless people first became homeless before the age of 21, highlighting...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. COVID has shown us just how important it is to properly fund services that take pressure away from statutory services. Services funded by the housing support grant play a vital role in preventing homelessness and reducing costs, particularly to health and social services. Homelessness and housing support workers have been at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19...
Mark Isherwood: 7. Will the Minister provide an update on the supply of new homes in Wales? OQ56028
Mark Isherwood: On 3 December, crime and justice specialist Crest Advisory published a report on county lines and looked-after children. Based on that report, I called for a Welsh Government statement on support for looked-after children in north Wales. Using police data and stakeholder interviews in north Wales and Merseyside chosen to reflect exploitation at both ends of a county line, they found that...
Mark Isherwood: As our motion states, we call upon the Welsh Government to adopt a more proportionate and targeted approach to tackling the coronavirus in Wales. They state that their actions are based upon technical advisory group advice, but although the group's 2 December statement acknowledges industry efforts to create COVID-secure environments, it then focuses instead on enforcement action against the...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Monday's Welsh Government written statement 'End of Transition and Traffic Contingency Plans—Holyhead' refers to work with partners across north Wales, which is good, but omits reference to its work with the UK Government, and with HM Revenue and Customs—HMRC—and to the key role being played by Anglesey's MP, Virginia Crosbie. A fortnight ago, the port's owner, Stena Line,...
Mark Isherwood: On a number times over recent years I've raised with you constituents' concerns regarding the proposed red route to the A55 at Northop, highlighting issues, including environmental impact on habitats, meadows and ancient woodland. You've also, as we've heard, received extensive representation regarding this in support of the open letter from North Wales Wildlife Trust, sent to you and the...
Mark Isherwood: 2. What discussions has the Counsel General had regarding the Port of Holyhead after the EU transition period comes to an end? OQ55989
Mark Isherwood: On 23 November, the Welsh Government announced a pilot programme for supporting visits to care homes in Wales. I call for a Welsh Government statement on provision for families to visit loved ones in care homes this Christmas. The Welsh Government statement said you were offering testing to care home visitors across a small number of care homes, intended to pave the way for a wider roll-out...
Mark Isherwood: The 'Left stranded' report, published by the National Autistic Society and partners, shows that as well as significantly exacerbating the long-established challenges that autistic people face, the coronavirus pandemic has had a severely detrimental impact on the mental health of autistic people and their families. The already long waits for assessment and diagnosis services have been...
Mark Isherwood: In late July, I was contacted by a constituent whose husband with a non-COVID condition had been told by nurses that three COVID patients had been diagnosed on his ward at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Only after my intervention was he moved to an adjacent, single-bed side ward. He did not catch COVID-19. Last month, I was contacted by a constituent stating that his father, who had a non-COVID...
