Mohammad Asghar: Minister, new ways of working in a climate of constrained budgets are indispensable for sustaining the quality and scope of service delivery. So, can I ask what Welsh Government is doing to assist local councils to identify common needs where they could benefit from innovative solutions and where shared solutions would allow more resources to be deployed?
Mohammad Asghar: May I ask for a statement from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs about air pollution levels in Newport? The Centre for Cities research institute recently found that the deaths of 113 people in Newport in 2017 were linked to air pollution. This research follows the British Heart Foundation's announcement of a new campaign to highlight the dangers of air pollution and the...
Mohammad Asghar: Last Thursday, 23 January 2020, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons announced that the withdrawal agreement Bill had received Royal Assent. The British membership of the European Union will end at 11 o'clock on Friday evening. The Conservative Government has delivered on the promise made to the people of Great Britain to get Brexit done. It is more than three and a half years ago that...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you, Minister. The proposed new regulations regarding nitrate vulnerable zones will impact on every farm, every sector and every area of Wales. You will be aware, Minister, that concern has been raised by National Farmers Union Cymru about the effect this is having on the farming community, which claims that our farmers are experiencing even higher levels of stress and anxiety....
Mohammad Asghar: 4. Will the Minister provide an update on the proposed introduction of nitrate vulnerable zones in Wales? OAQ54992
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for Economy and Transport on the continuing delay to completing works to dual the A465 Heads of the Valleys road? This work was originally due to finish by the end of last year. We now hear that the date for completion for this project is being reviewed again. Furthermore, there is a dispute between the contractor and the Welsh Government...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the reply, Minister. Welsh police forces recorded nearly 4,000 hate crimes in 2018-19. Eleven per cent of these incidents were disability hate crimes—shocking. The learning disability charity United Response has called for measures to be taken across the country and by the authorities to make the process of reporting and convicting disability hate crimes more accessible and...
Mohammad Asghar: 1. Will the Deputy Minister provide an update on measures to tackle hate crime in Wales? OAQ54993
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you, Presiding Officer. It gives me great pleasure to open this debate today on recognising the importance of further education in developing the skills of the Welsh workforce. The Welsh economy is failing to meet its full potential. It faces a number of fundamental challenges. These include a skills gap in advanced technologies, and the requirement of a workforce with the flexibility...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for Housing and Local Government about the housing support grant? Funding for housing-related support has fallen by £27 million in real terms since 2012. Local authorities, third sector support providers and social landlords say that, within current budget restraints, it is already difficult to meet the needs of people requiring support...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, sport plays an important part in supporting children with autism and their families. However, children with autism are often misunderstood and can find socialising and communication challenging in their communities and in their surroundings. The lack of autism awareness among other children can therefore lead to autistic people being isolated or bullied. Minister, what guidelines...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, I would like to have two statements, one from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs about Welsh Government policy toward energy generation by biomass incinerators. Campaigners in Barry have called for an immediate stop or halt to work on the biomass incinerator there, and I'm advised another incinerator is being talked about on the Wentloog levels near Newport,...
Mohammad Asghar: We all wish to see bustling high streets at the heart of our towns. To achieve this, we need thriving local businesses and positive engagement by our communities with their high streets. However, the sad reality is that today many of our high streets are in crisis. Too many shops in Welsh town centres are empty. Figures from the Welsh Retail Consortium show that, in the most recent quarter,...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, you may remember that I asked you in November last year about maximising the benefit for Wales of the 2022 Commonwealth Games being held in Birmingham. Then, you confirmed that you had met the games' organisers to see whether some of the teams competing could be based here in Wales. In view of your answer, could you say whether you have made some progress on this to attract some of...
Mohammad Asghar: Sorry.
Mohammad Asghar: It's not me, sorry.
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for health about the cost to the NHS in Wales of pest control in our hospitals? According to information obtained by the BBC, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has paid nearly £94,000 over the last four years to its contractor to deal with infestation, Swansea Bay University Health Board spent more than £52,000, and Powys...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the reply, Minister, but recently, the Royal College of Nursing in Wales produced a report on the implementation of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act, and the report states that the nursing workforce in Wales is facing a national crisis with a high number of vacancies and the prospect of significant losses of nurses to retirement over the next five to 10 years in Wales. The...
Mohammad Asghar: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on nurse staffing levels in Wales? OAQ54861
Mohammad Asghar: 'It's not just that Wales has underperformed, it's seen its performance decline.' These are not my words. These are the words of the head of education and skills at the OECD, speaking ahead of the publication of the latest set of PISA results. However much the Welsh Government seeks comfort from the slight improvement in the PISA scores, it is a fact that Wales still remains at the bottom of...
