Helen Mary Jones: I am going to focus most of my remarks today on universal credit, particularly as it affects women. Now, this was sold to us as a new, more flexible system that would help people move more easily between work and benefits, and would be easier for people needing benefits to understand and navigate. But behind these apparently laudable aims lurked a poisonous, archaic and, I would argue, as the...
Helen Mary Jones: Will Mark Isherwood acknowledge that the Government's own assessment in 2011 highlighted that some of these problems that are arising with universal credit, particularly in how they affect women, were known. They were known in that assessment, which is a public document. How can Amber Rudd—how can you believe Amber Rudd now when she says that she's going to mitigate these effects when the...
Helen Mary Jones: Leader of the house, yesterday at the winter fair I published a consultation document about economic futures for Powys. And there at the show, and also in e-mails that I've received since, I've had numerous communications highlighting the difficulties faced with the poor access to 4G in the Newtown and Llanidloes areas. Now, I appreciate from your response to Russell George that there are...
Helen Mary Jones: Will you take an intervention, leader of the house?
Helen Mary Jones: I think the concern would be that very point, that it is the First Minister making a decision about whether or not independent investigation should be undertaken. I'm concerned that—I'm not suggesting in any way that that's ever been improperly used—but I'm concerned that from a public perception point of view, that is putting a lot of responsibility on the First Minister. As Llyr...
Helen Mary Jones: It is undoubtedly the case, as this report highlights, that the political nature of our organisation inevitably leads to a heightened power imbalance, and it is all the more important, therefore, that we get this right, creating a culture here in which harassment of any kind is not tolerated, where bystanders routinely call out unacceptable behaviour, and where survivors are empowered to...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this debate as a new member of the committee, and in doing so I'd like to begin by thanking the Chair for her welcome and the other committee members, the committee staff, who've been very supportive in the last couple of weeks in getting me up to speed, and to thank Llyr Gruffydd for having represented Plaid Cymru so ably on the...
Helen Mary Jones: Well, thank you, again, Minister. Obviously, nobody's going to blame the Welsh Government for Brexit, but I think it is appropriate that we raise some questions about how long it's taken to get this information, because, of course, there are many other reasons why we ought to have a better and clearer idea of what the skills mix and what the qualifications mix of our social care workforce...
Helen Mary Jones: Thank you for the response, Minister. I'm sure you would understand that, while taking on board what you've said about the complexity of the sector compared to the health sector, it is a source of frustration that we don't know, and, this close to Brexit, that we still don't have—whether you would ever be able to have as comprehensive and accurate a set of figures as we can have for the...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. I wanted to use my first spokesperson's questions to address issues in social care rather than health, as a symbol of how important people across this Chamber, particularly here in our party—. We see health and social care as an equal partnership, not one being more important than the other. So, can I ask the Minister for Social Services: does the Welsh Government know the...
Helen Mary Jones: First Minister, we often hear in the winter period of orthopaedic operations and other planned surgery being cancelled because of winter pressures. How confident are you that the arrangements that have been put in place by the local health boards and by the Cabinet Secretary for health for this winter will avoid those levels of cancellation that we have seen in the past?
Helen Mary Jones: Can I associate myself with what Lee Waters has said about the commitment that the workforce has shown over a period of very many years to that company, and how much they've contributed to their success? I hope that the discussions that you're having will have a positive outcome, but I have to say there's a faint sense here of shutting the stable door after the horse has already gone, and it...
Helen Mary Jones: Thank you very much for that answer, Joyce Watson, and I'm sure we'll all be very proud of that recognition and we would want to continue this institution's reputation as one of the best family-friendly employers. One of the consequences, as you will know, historically, is that women taking flexible working practices have faced issues in terms of promotion. I would be very surprised if that...
Helen Mary Jones: Leader of the house, physical infrastructure is obviously crucial to small businesses in counties like Pembrokeshire, which, of course, is a county of lots of small towns. The physical infrastructure is crucial, but we also need cultural change if we're going to achieve a really full digital renaissance. We also know that our small businesses—our small retail businesses—are very much...
Helen Mary Jones: Cabinet Secretary, in discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services in committee last week, examining the budget proposals, it was highlighted that the data that we currently have on the prevalence of people with mental health problems in Wales is not necessarily robust, and the Cabinet Secretary was able to outline plans that are in place to improve that collection of...
Helen Mary Jones: 3. Will the Commission make a statement regarding flexible working practices available to Commission staff? OAQ52925
Helen Mary Jones: I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement. I'll just start with a general issue. Cabinet Secretary, you quite rightly highlight at a number of points in your statement the huge pressure that there has been on staff. I think you said in a recent interview: 'Last winter was really difficult and meeting staff who were at the sharpest of sharp ends. Knowing they are committed, and...
Helen Mary Jones: Can I begin by saying how much I welcome the statement? I'm really pleased to see how much progress is being made in this very important area of work. Of course, we would expect no less, particularly with my friend David Melding chairing the ministerial advisory group. I think we all know that his commitment to the well-being of children, particularly very vulnerable children and children in...
Helen Mary Jones: Leader of the house, would you consider asking the Cabinet Secretary for the environment to make an oral statement with regard to best practice as to how local authorities should consult with communities about proposed major planning applications, particularly when the local authority itself is the applicant? I met this weekend with residents of Abermule, a village in Powys, who are very...
Helen Mary Jones: First Minister, you'll be aware that the report shows clearly—and, of course, we already knew this—that empty shops detract from the overall performance of town centres and deter new businesses from locating themselves there. You will probably know that the Plaid Cymru-led Carmarthenshire County Council has made a big investment in Llanelli, buying shops, breaking them into smaller units...
