Mohammad Asghar: 6. What measures will the Cabinet Secretary take to support Welsh farmers in the next 12 months? (OAQ51001)
Mohammad Asghar: 3. What measures will the Cabinet Secretary take to combat modern slavery in the next 12 months? (OAQ51004)
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I just ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health, please? The first concerns the availability of Orkambi to treat cystic fibrosis sufferers in Wales. In his reply to my written question on 15 August this year, the Cabinet Secretary said this medicine was not available routinely due to its high costs and modest clinical benefits. He...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much for the reply, Cabinet Secretary. During the general election in 2010, Labour promised to provide every cancer patient in Wales with a key worker by 2011. However, the recent Wales cancer patient experience survey found that 14 per cent of respondents still do not have a key worker. Also, it is not mandatory for Public Health Wales to collect data on key workers. What...
Mohammad Asghar: Cabinet Secretary, one of the best ways out of poverty is through work, and that means creating an efficient integrated transport network to allow people, particularly young people, to access jobs within a reasonable distance of their homes. However, the cost of fares can often be a deterrent to young people being able to access jobs. Given that the Welsh Government’s mytravelpass scheme,...
Mohammad Asghar: Cabinet Secretary, earlier this month, the director of the Welsh Centre for Tourism Research at Cardiff Metropolitan University said that Wales is not reaching its full potential in attracting high-spending international tourists. She pointed out that Wales was not doing as well internationally as our competitors, getting about 3 per cent of visitors and 2 per cent of spend. Given the...
Mohammad Asghar: 4. What action will the Cabinet Secretary take to improve services for cancer patients in Wales in 2017? OAQ(5)0197(HWS)
Mohammad Asghar: Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on plans for a new automotive business park in Ebbw Vale?
Mohammad Asghar: Can I ask the leader of the house for a statement from the Welsh Government on the financial deficit faced by our secondary schools in the Newport area? When setting up the budget for 2017-18, Newport City Council was warned that there was a funding crisis with all secondary schools in deficit and some without reserves. I have been told that one of the schools in that area is facing a deficit...
Mohammad Asghar: I am sure the First Minister will agree that higher education should engage with work-based learning to address the economic imperative for the supply of workers with appropriate skills and knowledge to equip them for the changing nature of work in the present job climate. What is the Welsh Government doing at the moment to encourage increased co-operation between employers, employers’...
Mohammad Asghar: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the Welsh Government intends to prevent job losses at Coilcolor in Newport? TAQ(5)0198(EI)
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the answer, Minister, but I’m sure the Cabinet Secretary shares my concern about the situation at Coilcolor and the threat presented to the jobs of over 40 workers employed there. I understand this situation has arisen from a dispute between the Welsh Government and Coilcolor over the payment of compensation after the company premises were flooded in 2016. The managing...
Mohammad Asghar: Cabinet Secretary, during First Minister’s question time yesterday I referred to the latest ‘Language Trends Wales’ report that found teachers were extremely worried about the future of modern foreign languages. The report said that Global Futures was popular with teachers, but, so far, it is having a limited impact on take-up of modern foreign languages in Wales. Can the Cabinet...
Mohammad Asghar: Cabinet Secretary, you represent one of the largest rural areas in south Wales in this Chamber. Rural schools are among the most community-focused schools in Wales. They are at the heart of the communities they serve. Since 1999, hundreds of local authority maintained schools have closed, with rural areas worst affected. What action does the Cabinet Secretary intend to take to address the...
Mohammad Asghar: I thank the Minister for her statement. The Minister says that the Welsh Government wants to support employers to recruit and develop talents within their businesses, boost productivity, and give local people the opportunity of better jobs closer to home. According to a Lloyds Bank report in December last year, 28 per cent of Welsh firms have experienced difficulties when taking on new...
Mohammad Asghar: Cabinet Secretary, just following on from Joyce Watson, can we ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government on the procedure followed by local authorities regarding the issuing of certificates of lawful use or development in their areas? A constituent of mine, who has been running a family business for over 30 years in the same area in Newport, applied to...
Mohammad Asghar: The latest ‘Language Trends Wales’ report found that the teachers were extremely worried about the future of modern foreign languages. More than a third of Welsh schools now have less than 10 per cent of 14- to 15-year-olds studying a modern foreign language. The statistic is that 44 per cent of schools have fewer than five pupils studying foreign languages at AS-level, and 61 per cent...
Mohammad Asghar: Go on, then.
Mohammad Asghar: Well, the thing is you know that the money that came from the centre was sent back, I think—that’s what I heard—and there is mismanagement in your own Government. Presiding Officer, regeneration is an important driver within the Welsh economy. The Welsh Government must address, as a matter of urgency, the financial mismanagement that has occurred. This is the only way to ensure the best...
Mohammad Asghar: The importance of regeneration projects to improving the economy and social conditions in the area cannot be overstated. This is particularly true in my region of south-east Wales, which has many communities that have, sadly, experienced decades of decline. Successful regeneration schemes, bringing jobs and investment to blighted areas, can bring jobs and other benefits that can last for many...
