Caroline Jones: The UK Government’s budget announcement was not revolutionary and, while the additional funding for Wales is welcome, it was disappointing that there was no announcement on the Swansea bay tidal lagoon. It has been nearly a year since the Hendry review was delivered to the UK Government, yet we have been met by nothing but silence from UK Ministers. More worrying than the lack of any...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, may I also welcome you to your role? We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our armed forces. The best way of repaying that debt is to ensure that we look after them and their families. Servicemen and women may need additional help with financial products due to multiple postings. The families of these personnel may require additional mental health care and support. The...
Caroline Jones: I, too, wish to offer my congratulations to you. Cabinet Secretary—sorry; Minister—people living within my region have to contend with some of the worst air pollution in the UK. For a few days this month, children attending school in Margam had to contend with PM10s at twice the safe daily limit. According to Public Health Wales, this is one of the biggest public health challenges facing...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for your statement Minister. And I too would like to pay tribute to the work and dedication of Carl Sargeant in this area. As others have highlighted, outcomes for looked-after children are well below those of children who are not in our care system. We have to provide additional support for these children, who have already had the worst possible start in...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, despite the Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010, nearly a quarter of patients in Wales wait longer than 28 days for a local primary mental health support services assessment, and 20 per cent of those patients will wait more than 28 days for treatment following the assessment. In recent months, we have had warnings about insufficient consultant psychiatrists and problems...
Caroline Jones: What recent discussions has the First Minister had with the UK Government regarding the prison estate in Wales?
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Taxation, despite being one of the most divisive of topics, is one of the most important economic levers a Government can control. We all agree with the decision to give the Assembly powers over taxation. This has signalled the change from us being a spending institution to one now with responsibility for raising some of the funding we spend on public services. UKIP...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, despite 18 years of your Government's economic policies, the former industrial areas of Wales, particularly those in my region, continue to be among the poorest in Europe—shocking when you consider the expanded EU contains former Soviet satellite states. EU structural funding hasn't worked. The policies haven't work. We have an opportunity post Brexit to implement...
Caroline Jones: What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve transport links in South Wales West?
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank the Welsh Government for bringing forward this important debate today. Substance misuse ruins lives—not only the life of the person using the substance but the family unit as a whole all suffer. There is no winner in these circumstances, unless the person receives the help that is needed. During my time working in a prison, I can assure you I saw so many different...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, according to Health in Wales, dementia affects over 42,000 people in Wales alone, and it's estimated that, in just a few short years, this could increase by at least a third. It is therefore vital that Wales becomes a dementia-friendly nation as soon as possible, to ensure that those living with this terrible condition, and their families, are supported at every stage. First...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your answer, Minister. We are well aware that social care is facing increasing demand. Unfortunately, we are not meeting that demand. This is highlighted all too clearly by Age Cymru's recent 'Care in Crisis' report. Age Cymru found that older people in some parts of Wales were not getting the required carers assessments, and that there was huge variation between local...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your answer, Minister. Of course, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 is supposed to transform the way social care is delivered, and ensure everyone who needs care gets care. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Not only are we seeing patients sent home without anyone to help meet their care needs, but we also have large numbers of patients in hospital far...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, whilst in Bridgend last week, I was contacted—spoken to—by a constituent whose neighbour was released from hospital just days after suffering from a stroke, yet they didn't have, again, any care plan in place. The individual concerned had no family nearby and was left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, this constituent's situation is far from unique, as five...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. There has been a massive increase in the number of synthetic cannabinoids, such as spice, despite a change in the law. Hospitals across Wales are now treating more than three people every day for these substances. Spice intoxication has become a far too common sight in our towns and cities, and the effects have led it to be nicknamed 'the zombie...
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your answer. According to the access fellow at Jesus College, Oxford, Welsh students lack the confidence to apply to Oxbridge and, whilst the Seren programme is helping some students, we're still not doing enough to challenge our best and brightest pupils. Cabinet Secretary, what steps are you taking to ensure that Welsh students not only achieve excellent...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. So, will you undertake to investigate the prevalence of school staff bullying to make schools a bully-free zone not just for the children, but for all kinds of staff involved in the running of the school, and consider a specific disciplinary route for the investigation of claims of bullying, giving it the special status that it has rightly been...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. Also in the media coverage at that time, you quite rightly spoke about the damage that bullying can do to the learning and progress of children in school. Would you agree with me that bullying among teachers, aside from the distress it would cause to the teacher's personal and professional life, could also impact negatively on our schoolchildren,...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, in March of this year you were featured in the media talking about equality and bullying in schools. The announcements largely focused on homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in the schools. Can the Minister confirm to me that no form of bullying is acceptable and that whilst the article concentrated quite rightly on tackling bullying of this...
Caroline Jones: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the actions that the Welsh Government is taking to improve the numbers of Welsh students attending Oxbridge universities? OAQ51270
