Lynne Neagle: Thank you, First Minister. As you've highlighted, in July Torfaen became the second part of Wales to go live with the full service operation of universal credit, and after just two months our main housing provider, Bron Afon Community Housing Limited, had recorded £27,000-worth of arrears, with 300 tenants in arrears. Citizens Advice Torfaen is monitoring closely the impact locally, which...
Lynne Neagle: 7. Will the First Minister provide an update on the impact of universal credit in Torfaen? OAQ51439
Lynne Neagle: No, I don’t accept that, because we have now an independent mechanism in place. It is crucial that any investigation is not just independent, but is seen to be independent, and completely above party politics. Andrew R.T. Davies yesterday made much in questions of my colleague Jeremy Miles’s interview on the Sunday Politics show, suggesting wrongly that Jeremy Miles had questioned the...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I want to say from the outset that anyone here who knows me knows that, as a Labour Member, I have never, ever shied away from scrutinising my own side. There cannot be a Minister in any Welsh Government, past or present, who I haven’t asked difficult questions of, and that includes the First Minister, both in his current role and...
Lynne Neagle: What is the Welsh Government doing to promote access to green spaces and parks in Torfaen?
Lynne Neagle: I just wanted to make a brief contribution in this group of amendments, but before I do that I would like to take this opportunity just to place on record my heartfelt thanks to the clerking team and the research team for the Children, Young People and Education Committee, who have done an absolutely fantastic job of work on what has been a complex and long-awaited piece of legislation. As...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you. Last month, I was really proud to present Griffithstown Primary School with their dementia friendly award, the first school in Gwent, and one of the very first schools in Wales to receive the award. Every single class in the school has taken part in the initiative from reception to year 6, with older pupils also visiting patients at County Hospital and participating in an...
Lynne Neagle: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government efforts to make Wales a dementia-friendly country? OAQ51303
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Yesterday, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children launched their new Take 5 positive parenting campaign, which looks at encouraging parents to stop and react calmly when faced with a challenging parenting situation. The campaign was developed with parents in Wales and provides easy-to-remember advice to help them keep their cool. It urges...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, and I was pleased to see in the Nest annual report that the installation of a Government-funded home energy efficiency improvement package will see, on average, an energy bill saving of £410 per household each year. These figures demonstrate clearly that the scheme is performing above expectations and is making a real difference to fuel-poor households. I just...
Lynne Neagle: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what support is available to protect the most vulnerable households in Wales from fuel poverty this winter? (OAQ51209)
Lynne Neagle: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what support is available from the Welsh Government to enable parents to develop positive parenting techniques? (OAQ51208)
Lynne Neagle: Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the Welsh Government's priorities for local government in Torfaen for the next 12 months?
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement and welcome the plan that she’s published today? We know, of course, that there are challenges, but I think that it is a very welcome plan and that it is very useful to have everything in one document, in one place, with the timescales attached. I also welcome the announcement that you’ve made about the curriculum and the phased...
Lynne Neagle: Cabinet Secretary, can I ask for a debate in Government time on the impact of welfare reform on devolved services in Wales? It has been some time since we’ve debated this issue here. As you’re aware, universal credit had its full service roll-out in Torfaen in July—the second part of Wales to go live on the full service—and already the signs are deeply worrying. The six-week wait for...
Lynne Neagle: Will the First Minister make a statement on the impact of welfare reform in Torfaen?
Lynne Neagle: Cabinet Secretary, I know that you are aware of my concerns about access to medicines generally, and I’m grateful to you for meeting with me previously to discuss Avastin. And I do understand the difficulties, but I think we also have to recognise that it’s very difficult for people to understand that something can be made available in Scotland, and in England, and not in Wales. I have...
Lynne Neagle: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government’s housing priorities for the next 12 months?
Lynne Neagle: Cabinet Secretary, the proposals put forward by the Department for Work and Pensions over the future of their estate in Wales will see a relocation of some 200 skilled staff out of Cwmbran town centre. Not only would this have a devastating impact on the local economy in Cwmbran, but would pose enormous difficulties for staff with caring responsibilities who are unable to travel to the...
Lynne Neagle: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline how the Welsh Government is working to improve prosperity in the south Wales valleys? OAQ(5)0207(EI)
