Caroline Jones: First Minister, do you agree with me that the best way to secure jobs during this pandemic is to ensure that all employers affected by measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 receive support? I have been contacted by two such affected companies in my region, both of which operate amusement arcades and both of which have been refused support because they're classed as gambling businesses....
Caroline Jones: Minister, despite whether the First Minister misspoke on the Radio 4 interview or not, the reality is that Wales is the worst home nation when it comes to vaccine roll-out. We are well behind both Northern Ireland and England, and if the smallest nation in our nation can get its act together, why can't we? It's vital that we vastly accelerate the vaccine roll-out when you consider that Wales...
Caroline Jones: Minister, I'm sure we can all agree that there is no substitute for face-to-face learning. Attending school is not just about educational achievement, it's an important part of the emotional development of our young people. While COVID is impacting upon school attendance, it must not be allowed to impact a young person's development, and I've been contacted by a constituent who is concerned...
Caroline Jones: I thank the Minister for outlining the Welsh Government's 2021-22 budget. The fact that we are even able to debate this budget is remarkable, given the challenges of the past 12 months. I know that the Minister has criticised the lack of a three-year spending plan from the UK Government, but you must accept that in these uncertain times it's virtually impossible to plan. We don't know what...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister, and I'd like to take a moment to thank all the scientists and volunteers who've made it possible for us to be discussing this vaccination programme. Yesterday marked one year since the first ever recorded death from COVID-19, and in just 12 months we have approved three vaccines. This is truly remarkable. Minister, how will you be monitoring the...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your update, Minister. I too wish to thank those who work tirelessly, especially over the Christmas period. We have known about the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 for the past several months. During the intervening period, what assessment has been made of the severity of disease caused by the mutated virus? Is the infection fatality rate any lower or, God forbid, higher? Reports...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Unlike the Welsh Government, I, and the majority of Welsh voters, will be supporting the Brexit deal and the end of the transition period at the end of this week. We are finally free of EU bureaucratic control and can look forward to a modern free trade relationship with the rest of the world rather than continue to be tied to an insular, protectionist trading block....
Caroline Jones: Porthcawl Veterans Hub and the many volunteers there give so much support to veterans, and without this support, many of them would be lost. But Minister, the pandemic has highlighted the fact that we as a nation are still failing our ex-servicemen and women, and veterans are still struggling to get the support they need and deserve, and far too many veterans have now been highlighted as...
Caroline Jones: Minister, the use of snares is a barbaric act and has no place in modern cruelty-free Wales. The code of practice allows the immoral trade in fox fur to continue, and does nothing to stop immense suffering to target and non-target animals. The RSPCA regularly deals with badgers and pet cats that have spent days trapped in snares. Minister, do you agree with me that the code is unworkable and...
Caroline Jones: That's recorded. Teachers have confided in me that they do not have training in this subject, and some would prefer a healthcare professional to teach the subject, because they don't feel equipped to teach it. And I passionately believe that children should be allowed to be children and there is no developmental need to teach sexuality and relationships to young children, and especially, as...
Caroline Jones: And parents are now—
Caroline Jones: If it's a roll-out, if it's a national roll out, they have seen—
Caroline Jones: —things that can come.
Caroline Jones: Teachers have—. Thank you, Mike.
Caroline Jones: As it stands, we cannot support the curriculum Bill. If the Bill continues to remove the rights of parents as primary educators, I cannot, in all good conscience, vote to support its introduction, regardless of any other improvements it brings to education in Wales. The compulsory teaching of RSE, or relationships and sexuality education, and RVE, or religion, values and ethics, is derisory...
Caroline Jones: I thank the First Minister for providing us with a copy of the Welsh Government's updated coronavirus control plan. First Minister, Wales now has the worst infection rates in the UK, and, over the last seven days, the rolling infection rate per 100,000 was 450.4. Wales wide, the testing positivity rate was nearly 20 per cent, and this is despite Wales being under the level 3 restrictions...
Caroline Jones: Thank you, First Minister. Throughout the pandemic, you have followed the advice provided to you by the technical advisory cell, yet the pandemic is raging out of control in Wales. Therefore, many people are concluding that there is a problem either with the advice or with its implementation. And as we cannot see the advice given to Ministers, just summaries, we can only conclude that the...
Caroline Jones: 2. Does the Welsh Government have any plans to review the advice it has received in relation to tackling the coronavirus pandemic? OQ56051
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Before I move on to dealing with the motion itself, I have to place on record my disappointment at the way this institution has been treated. This Senedd was elected to legislate in the best interest of the people of Wales, but because of the contempt shown by the Welsh Government, we are once again being called upon to rubber-stamp decisions that have already been...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank Members for bringing forward this important debate, and I'm delighted to take part. COVID-19 has taken a terrible toll on all of us, and, as this motion rightly highlights, it has placed terrible burdens on the shoulders of new parents to a child born during this pandemic. It's worth reiterating that from conception to age 2 is a critical phase, during which the foundations...
