Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I am here today to bring forward two legislative consent motions for the UK Government's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. This is the second debate that we've held in relation to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, and I'd like to thank Members for their contributions in the first debate. The need for two debates reflects the complex and chaotic...
Jane Hutt: Formally.
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much indeed, Heledd Fychan. Again, we must pay tribute to all of those pioneers who have made their mark. In terms of local authorities—and I recall when Elyn Stephens was taking this forward—actually, local authorities have embraced this. We have a round-table, we have local authority representation, officers from the council. We must never forget our officers, must we,...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Jenny Rathbone. I do remember well—I think probably we co-signed and debated it together—putting the motion forward a few years back on period poverty and period dignity, and that started the conversation in this Chamber. It is very important that we look at the environmental impact issues in terms of the use of reusable or eco-friendly products. We did discuss that...
Jane Hutt: Diolch, Sioned Williams, clearly a campaigner all your life from that time as a very powerful school student. You had that protest in your school and made a difference, showing the courage of your convictions and also bringing people together so that they could feel empowered by your statement. And, of course, we know that that has been reflected by many campaigners that have been mentioned...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Laura Anne, and thank you for such a constructive—. You know, it is all of us, women here, will know what you've been saying about your experiences, sadly. We've got to make such a change, haven't we? But actually, I think one of the things that I said in my statement is that one of our aims is to have this national conversation, so we're starting that today. And it is a...
Jane Hutt: The closure of schools and community settings during the peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges in ensuring period products reached those in need and, according to research by Plan International, over 1 million girls in the UK struggled to afford or access period products during the pandemic. In Wales, we worked with local authorities to ensure that, even in lockdown, individuals...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Deputy Llywydd. Periods are natural. They are not a choice. We all either have them, have had them, or know people who do. They are not dirty and they are not something to be ashamed of. No-one should be disadvantaged because they have periods. Everyone should have access to period products, as and when they need them, to use in a private space that is safe and dignified. But,...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Can I thank Members for their powerful contributions to this very important debate this afternoon? I'll start by thanking the Chairs of the committees—the Chairs of the Health and Social Care Committee and the Children, Young People, and Education Committee—for the thorough way that they have examined the evidence and have considered my views and perspective, and...
Jane Hutt: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motion today, the consent motion on the framework for determining age in the UK Nationality and Borders Bill. I will be calling on Members to withhold consent on the clauses on the framework for determining age in this Bill. I am grateful to the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, the Health and Social Care Committee, and the Children, Young People and...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much for your important question.
Jane Hutt: It's really important that I draw this to the attention of my colleague, the health and social services Minister particularly, in relation to Be My Eyes as one example of how we can reach out to those people who are finding it difficult in terms of the use of lateral flow tests because they are inaccessible to them. I will want to take this up with our accessible communication group, which...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Siân Gwenllian. During the pandemic the disability equality forum commissioned research on the impact on disabled people, including those with visual impairments. As a result, the disability rights taskforce has been established to address the impact of the pandemic, and one of its first priorities will be to tackle health inequalities.
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much for that very helpful question, because we did have a third sector COVID recovery plan. I chair the third sector partnership council; it's co-produced, it sets out our joint priorities and it's got three work streams: support, relationships and volunteering. We've also got the third phase of our third sector resilience fund with over £6.5 million available, and again, I'm...
Jane Hutt: Thank you, Paul Davies. If we are to create a fair, green and just society, the third sector will have a vital role to play. A strong and vibrant third sector can help those disproportionately affected by the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much. I think the strong support from this Chamber—some sides of this Chamber, anyway—in terms of calling for a windfall tax, which is precisely what Julie James and I called for last week when we responded to the Ofgem rise in the cap, which, of course, is devastating households across Wales, and in your constituency of Islwyn in particular—. I actually very much...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Natasha Asghar. This shows how cross-Government this policy area is, because this will also be a question for the Minister for Climate Change as well, but it also can feed into the consultation that I've just been talking about, responding to the question about energy efficiency, the Warm Homes programme and the consultation. So, clearly, we need to look at every...
Jane Hutt: Our existing Warm Homes programme for lower income households saves an average of £300 a year by improving energy efficiency. Additionally, on 1 February, I increased our winter fuel support payments to £200.
Jane Hutt: Thank you. Again, a very useful contribution, because, as you say, Peredur, we are consulting on the next iteration of the Warm Homes programme. It started in December and the consultation goes on until 1 April, and we have a fuel poverty advisory panel. The points that you make are very important. I think it's important that we do see both as objectives that we should be pursuing in terms of...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr for that really important question in terms of the cost-of-living crisis, and particularly our concerns about tackling fuel poverty. I can relay to the Member and to Members across the Chamber that, as I think I've already said, 350,000 people should be eligible for the winter fuel support scheme; the £100 has doubled in the last fortnight to £200; we've had 146,000...
