Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I usually begin by saying I’m pleased to open this debate, but, today, I’m more than pleased; I’m proud and privileged to address this Chamber on the Children, Young People and Education Committee's 'Mind over matter' report. For me, the emotional and mental health of our children and young people is one of the most important issues, if not the most...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you. I recently attended the children, young people and democracy event here in the Senedd, where I was shown what seemed to me to be a really innovative Street Law project that is designed to give children a good understanding of the law and their rights. It was actually highlighted when Hillary Clinton visited Wales recently. Given our commitment to children's rights and given that...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I'm very proud that I've got hundreds of constituents employed in highly skilled, well-paid and unionised jobs in manufacturing in the automotive sector in Torfaen. I'm sure that, like me, you'll have seen numerous warnings from experts that Brexit, especially Brexit where we leave the customs union and single market, poses a very severe threat to automotive...
Lynne Neagle: 1. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the impact of Brexit on the automotive industry? OAQ52464
Lynne Neagle: 2. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the Welsh Government's powers to advance children’s rights? OAQ52458
Lynne Neagle: A few weeks ago, I hosted the launch of 'From bumps to babies', an important new report on perinatal mental health in Wales, which was a collaboration between NSPCC, the National Centre for Mental Health and the Mental Health Foundation. This publication, of course, followed the publication of the Children, Young People and Education Committee's report on perinatal mental health. As you'll be...
Lynne Neagle: First Minister, you are very well aware of my deep concern about the Welsh Government response to 'Mind over matter'. Now, I don't want to pre-empt the committee debate tomorrow, because it wouldn't be possible to do this issue justice in a question, but can I just ask you to give me your assurance that you will very carefully consider what happens in that debate tomorrow, with a view to...
Lynne Neagle: I'm very pleased to just make a brief contribution in this debate. As David Rowlands has highlighted, the petition 'Make the MTAN law' was tabled by one of my constituents, Dr John Cox, and I have worked closely with him on that petition and gave evidence to the Petitions Committee back in May 2013. As David Rowlands has said, the petition was tabled after Torfaen council had rejected the...
Lynne Neagle: Well, as Simon Thomas is aware, one of the key issues we've raised with the Welsh Government is around the whole transparency of the way that the budget is set out, and I hope that, in the budget round that we will be going into, that will be more transparent and that we will be able to better scrutinise those decisions. I hope, too, that our inquiry will make a big difference, because...
Lynne Neagle: Well, I have to say that I don't recognise this largesse that you've described from the Westminster Government, and I also think it's very difficult now to make comparisons between England and Wales on school funding, and that is one of the issues behind why I think this inquiry is so important. We do have to get to the bottom of exactly what is being spent, how much is going into the RSG,...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to make a brief contribution to this debate. As Members will appreciate, the Children, Young People and Education Committee has taken a very keen interest in funding issues since the time we were established. One of our earliest inquiries was into the decision to amalgamate the funding of the previously ring-fenced grants for minority ethnic...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you. I'm sure that the First Minister will have read, with concern, details of the UK Government's plans for a so-called 'doomsday' Brexit, under which the second-worst scenario of us leaving the EU without a deal would lead to the port of Dover collapsing, food shortages, fuel shortages, and the NHS running out of medicines within two weeks. Can I ask the First Minister what...
Lynne Neagle: 9. Will the First Minister provide an update on discussions with the UK Government on Brexit? OAQ52334
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and can I thank everybody who has contributed to this debate? It's been an excellent and very useful debate, much of which has reflected some of the tensions that are apparent in the report, really. Mark Reckless began by talking about the trade-off between universal and targeted provision, and that is something that is very much at the heart of this...
Lynne Neagle: In 2014, outreach arrangements were introduced in response to concerns that basing entitlement to the service on a family’s postcode was resulting in the exclusion of many children who were in greatest need of support. The outreach aspect of the programme was created to enable local authorities to deliver the four core elements of Flying Start to a small percentage of their population...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m very pleased to open this debate today on the Children, Young People and Education Committee’s report on the outreach elements of the Flying Start programme. Flying Start was introduced 11 years ago and is regarded as one of the Welsh Government’s flagship early years programmes. It is delivered by local authorities within defined geographical...
Lynne Neagle: I, too, would like to give a really warm welcome to this statement today. It is really exciting to see the progress that's been made and the scale of the proposals that will enable our young people to have a genuine voice in this new youth parliament. I'd like to thank the Presiding Officer and her team for all their work on it, because I know the scale of the logistics of this has been very...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for this important statement. As you're aware, the Children, Young People and Education Committee has recently published our report into the emotional and mental health of children and young people, and a number of themes arising in our wide-ranging inquiry resonate with the key findings of the expert panel. First, that the whole school approach is crucial in...
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary? I also welcome your recognition that the report does set out a range of failings that led to real harm being caused. I had a few specific points that I wanted to ask about in relation to the report. The first relates to the concerns that are raised about the treatment people get, with dementia, in A&E and in other medical settings in...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, First Minister. I'm very proud that, despite the challenges of austerity, Torfaen council became the first local authority in Wales to exempt care leavers from paying council tax until 21, or 25 in some circumstances. As you'll be aware, that decision was followed by six other local authorities. This exemption will provide care leavers with a vital opportunity to transition and...
