Vikki Howells: I'd like to start by congratulating you, Cabinet Secretary, on the publication of your long-awaited economic action plan, and looking at the way it's cross-cutting across all aspects of Government, I think it very much was worth the wait. I welcome, in particular, the commitment to develop new structures to support the key foundational aspects of the Welsh economy. This is something that I,...
Vikki Howells: How is the Welsh Government prioritising the improvement of public transport links to enhance work opportunities for residents of the Cynon Valley?
Vikki Howells: Llywydd, Friday, 1 December marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the publication of the Beveridge report on 'Social Insurance and Allied Services'. This had been commissioned during the second world war by a committee responsible to Arthur Greenwood, then Minister with responsibility for post-conflict reconstruction. It's task was twofold: first, it aimed to carry out a survey of existing...
Vikki Howells: Cabinet Secretary, I was very excited to hear in the draft budget that you were considering a vacant land tax. This is a real issue in my constituency, often with small pieces of land being hoarded for decades, usually the sites of former chapels or workingmen's halls, for example, and the cost to local authorities of trying to take action being prohibitive. As well as the economic loss of...
Vikki Howells: 'There is no one to-day who would doubt that air pollution is a social evil and, being a social evil, should be dealt with immediately and drastically.' Those are the words of Gordon Macdonald, Flintshire-born former miner, MP and Governor of Newfoundland. Macdonald was speaking in the House of Lords, but he was doing so in 1955. As his words show, recognition of the dangers of air...
Vikki Howells: I'd like to thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your answer and join others in congratulating you on your new role. RCT council recently received a gold award from the Ministry of Defence for its commitment to its armed forces community. It's the first and, so far, the only council in Wales to do so. Will you offer your congratulations to RCT, and how will you promote this best practice across...
Vikki Howells: 6. What are the Welsh Government’s priorities for supporting members of the armed forces community and their families in Wales? OAQ51358
Vikki Howells: The recent FSB Wales report on self-employment in Wales provides a useful snapshot of the current state of entrepreneurship and self-employment in Wales. The report reminds us that the number of self-employed people in Wales has grown by 15,000 between 2007 and 2016. So, nearly two out of every five new jobs created in Wales are actually self-employed. And across the UK, self-employment rates...
Vikki Howells: First Minister, how does the work of Rent Smart Wales help towards supporting the most vulnerable members of our society who live in private rented accommodation?
Vikki Howells: Will the First Minister make a statement on the role that improving public transport links plays in enhancing employment opportunities in Wales?
Vikki Howells: As a member of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee I’d like to place on record how important I thought this report actually was. My thanks to all those who came to give evidence to our inquiry. Since being elected, one of the thorniest issues I’ve had to deal with in my postbag relates to internet provision to domestic properties. One such example relates to the village of...
Vikki Howells: Thank you Counsel General. I'd like to join others in congratulating and welcoming you to your new role. As you've stated there in your answer, I can see you understand that the introduction of tribunal fees and continuing increases in court fees have alarmed many professionals in the sector. Alongside this, advice centres, which provide straightforward advice to people, have closed across...
Vikki Howells: 7. What discussions has the Counsel General held regarding access to justice in Wales? OAQ51336
Vikki Howells: First Minister, I'm really glad that supporting innovative ways of delivering mental health services is also a strand of 'Our Valleys, Our Future'. Cwm Taf university health board has the highest number of people taking antidepressants—one in six of the population—and that actually reaches a staggering one in three in the town of Mountain Ash in my constituency of Cynon Valley. I recently...
Vikki Howells: 7. How is the Welsh Government prioritising support for mental health services in Cynon Valley during this Assembly term? OAQ51317
Vikki Howells: Cabinet Secretary, I'm sure you will be aware tha,t a few weeks ago, Cwm Taf health board and their partners Rocialle and 1000 Lives Wales won the collaboration award at this year's Made in Wales Awards for their development of a pack aimed at speeding up clinical responses to sepsis. Will you offer Cwm Taf and its partners congratulations on this significant achievement? Do you agree with me...
Vikki Howells: Cabinet Secretary, I've been having some interesting discussions with Rhondda Cynon Taf Council about their work with Welsh Government on the pilot project that you referred to, and I'm quite surprised that the directly elected Member for the Rhondda appears not to know that RCT council has been engaging in that pilot. I know that RCT believes that this could improve standards, enhance...
Vikki Howells: How is the Welsh Government improving early diagnosis rates of cancer in the Cynon Valley?
Vikki Howells: First Minister, flexible working patterns could provide one key to alleviating pressure on our motorways and trunk roads at key times. What work has the Welsh Government done to speak to big employers about the benefits of flexible working?
Vikki Howells: First Minister, how does the Welsh Government plan to use procurement levers in the context of the Valleys taskforce delivery plan to create jobs and boost prosperity in the northern Valleys?
