Sarah Murphy: I want to start, again, like everybody else, by thanking my colleagues and the clerks for their work on this report. As our Chair, Paul Davies, said, this is one of the first things that we said that we wanted to look into, and it seems like a very long time ago now. As you set out in your foreword, the staycation, at the time that we were looking at it, wasn't it—the bounce back from the...
Sarah Murphy: Diolch, Counsel General; thank you for your response on that and for that reassurance. As we now know, the UK Government has said that they are pausing their data reform Bill, but they are continuing to express their plans to scrap the general data protection regulation. Under GDPR, there is a legal requirement for consent to collect and share data; there is also an obligation for companies...
Sarah Murphy: 10. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the legal implications for Wales of the UK Government's Data Protection and Digital Information Bill? OQ58655
Sarah Murphy: Diolch. Minister, thank you for the statement today. The energy efficiency of homes continues to be a key issue for my constituents, especially when we do have some developments in the works at the moment, like the regeneration of Porthcawl. There's a real feeling from the community that they would love to have them as green and all of the things we were talking about today, really—energy...
Sarah Murphy: I'm asking today for a business statement on the criminal age of responsibility, which is currently just 10 years old in England and Wales. In 2021, Scotland changed their policy to increase the criminal age of responsibility to 12 years old, recognising the vulnerability of some young people in society and the need to improve rehabilitation opportunities. Despite criticism from the United...
Sarah Murphy: I want to use this opportunity to thank the Children's Commissioner for Wales for this report, and welcome the new commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, to her role. I look forward to seeing the work that Rocio achieves through engaging with young people, making Wales the best place to grow up as a young person. It is great to see how the Children's Commissioner for Wales has engaged with youth-led...
Sarah Murphy: As a new member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I want to start by thanking my colleagues and the clerks and everybody who contributed to this report, and I am glad that the Welsh Government has accepted, or accepted in principle, all 25 recommendations. As a Member with a hospital in my constituency, the Princess of Wales, hospital discharge continues to be one of the key issues,...
Sarah Murphy: Thank you, Minister, and I appreciate your response to this question. I know from many parents in my constituency and, of course, across Wales, that they want to be able to send their children to good schools, close to their homes. But this has been a slight issue for parents and pupils in my community, so it is really great to hear about the £1.8 million investment from Bridgend County...
Sarah Murphy: 1. How is the Minister working with local authorities to ensure enough school places are available for pupils across Bridgend? OQ58521
Sarah Murphy: Sorry. So, it'd be great to have an update on that, if possible. Also, I would just like to ask, Minister: do you agree that the Welsh Government does value the constituency of Bridgend and other communities as places to invest and grow our local economies?
Sarah Murphy: Thank you, Minister, for providing this statement today. Just to pick up on your points there, and, Luke, your questions about free ports, I would hope, then, that that would mean that the Welsh Government would never make a deal with DP World, which owns P&O Ferries and sacked 800 of their staff. Unsurprisingly, but disappointingly, the UK Government, two of their largest are run by DP...
Sarah Murphy: I want to start by also thanking my colleagues, the Chair and the clerks on the Equality and Social Justice Committee for their work on this vital and timely 'Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes Programme' report, as well as those who gave evidence and spoke before the committee. I am pleased that the Welsh Government has responded by either accepting or accepting in principle the recommendations...
Sarah Murphy: Free school meals for all primary school children will be known as a historic policy in this Chamber. This policy acknowledges that, despite the differences in background, when pupils enter the school gates they will be provided with equal access to food. Providing school meals prevents children from becoming collateral damage in an ever-changing economic situation that is completely out of...
Sarah Murphy: Thank you, Minister—sorry, thank you, Counsel General. I agree with what you've said: barristers in Wales are facing the brunt of the UK Conservative Government's underfunding of the justice system in Wales. This does not only impact barristers working in the industry—the lack of investment and support for them by the UK Government impacts the entire justice system and this inevitably...
Sarah Murphy: 1. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the implications of industrial action by barristers for access to justice in Wales? OQ58290
Sarah Murphy: Thank you, Minister, for this. I know that women's health is a priority for you and our Welsh Government, and so I very much welcome the statement today. I don't want to say things that have already been said; I just want to support what you, Minister, and Jenny Rathbone have said about the ruling being overturned in the US—the Roe v. Wade—and I really do believe that it's going to be a...
Sarah Murphy: First Minister, there has been a lot of goodwill in NHS dentistry for a really long time. Having talked to dentists in Bridgend, and the British Dental Association, unfortunately, it is the case that, with the new contracts, NHS practices are seeing lots of new patients and need to reach high targets of patients. Practices have to cover the cost of treatment due to the level of care needed...
Sarah Murphy: Thank you, Minister. I recently visited Hope Rescue centre with Huw Irranca-Davies, as he mentioned, and I think we can all agree that the visit from Hope Rescue and south Wales greyhound rescue has left a massive impression on a lot of us, just by the questions that we've had today. But I think we can all see, like you said, just how outstanding the care for the dogs was. On our visit to the...
Sarah Murphy: 5. How is the Welsh Government supporting animal rehoming centres to care for dogs rescued from illegal breeding? OQ58248
Sarah Murphy: Thank you, Deputy Minister, for this statement on the action plan today. Last week, we celebrated, as you said, what would have been the birthday of Welshman, Terrence Higgins, and remembered his passing 40 years ago from an AIDS-related illness. Terry was named as the first person in the UK to die from AIDS, but the crisis caused gay and bisexual men to face horrific homophobia and stigma....
