Vikki Howells: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Thank you to all the Members who have contributed to today’s debate. For my closing remarks, I want to start by outlining a few reasons why the foundational economy is so different. In contrast to what has been described as ‘the monoculture of mainstream economics’, where growth and innovation have been constrained within a one-size-fits-all policy, a refreshed...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. We know that the renewable energy sector has enormous potential to boost the economy and through efficient supply networks, any benefits can be spread throughout Wales. How is the Welsh Government ensuring that finance is available so that these projects can be taken forward? I’m thinking in terms, here, of direct support for community generation, as mentioned...
Vikki Howells: 9. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the Welsh Government is supporting the renewable energy sector in Wales? OAQ(5)0109(ERA)
Vikki Howells: What action is the Welsh Government taking to promote equality for older women in Cynon Valley?
Vikki Howells: First Minister, there is a strong evidence base suggesting that medical students are more likely to want to practise in the long term where they have trained. Therefore, I welcome Cwm Taf health board’s initiative, whereby in partnership with Cardiff University School of Medicine, 60 medical students each year have experienced the early part of their training in GP surgeries in the south...
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Getting outdoors is so good for us, not just physically, but also mentally. It takes us away from the stresses of the fast-paced, technology-driven world that we live in and gets us back to simplicity and nature to give our brains that much needed rest. Those are the words of my constituent, Tracy Purnell of Newtown, Mountain Ash, who beat almost 500 hopefuls to...
Vikki Howells: Cabinet Secretary, for my question today I’d like to ask you about how you will assess the role of the foundational economy in reducing poverty. For example, do you agree that jobs created in the foundational sector could mark one measure of success in reducing poverty? In addition, will you join with me in congratulating Welsh Hills Bakery, in my constituency, for their success in winning...
Vikki Howells: What action is the Welsh Government taking to encourage Cynon Valley residents to make the right choices when it comes to accessing healthcare?
Vikki Howells: LGBT history month gives us the opportunity to look back and reflect on the progress made in advancing equality for LGBT+ people.As other speakers have noted, 2017 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of the Wolfenden report, and the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, decriminalising sexual acts in private between two men. And in remembering both...
Vikki Howells: Counsel General, I know you will be aware of the case of my constituent of Austrian nationality who came to Aberdare in 1996 as a foreign language assistant, studied for a PGCE, became a teacher and set up her own business, but who, because she took the decision to stay at home to raise her children—of UK nationality—now finds she cannot qualify for permanent residency. Paradoxically, if...
Vikki Howells: I very much welcome the opportunity to speak in support of this motion today. Tidal lagoons offer us the opportunity to develop a clean, modern, long-term energy policy that is safe and sustainable, with projected life spans of at least 120 years. That’s 120 years of clean and green energy generation, with the calculation that a network of tidal lagoons around the coast could produce enough...
Vikki Howells: I’d like to thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement today. In many ways, this is a bittersweet moment, and I would like to join with you and with previous speakers in acknowledging the ways in which Communities First has improved so many lives in some of our most challenging and challenged communities, but the nature and shape of poverty is not a static concept. It is quite right,...
Vikki Howells: Leader of the house, I’d like to request two statements today, please. Firstly, I’d welcome a statement from the health Secretary regarding any discussions he may have had with the UK Government about future access to the European Medicines Agency. Currently sited in London, this will move to Europe as a result of Brexit, and, more importantly, if we lose our membership of the EMA, not...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your response. ‘Talented Women for a Successful Wales’ has noted that girls are under-represented in most STEM subjects at A-level, despite performing as well or better at GCSE than their male counterparts, with particular challenges, for example, in physics, where just 20 per cent of A-level students are female. How is the Welsh Government tackling this...
Vikki Howells: 7. How is the Welsh Government supporting the study of STEM subjects in schools? OAQ(5)0084(EDU)
Vikki Howells: What are the Welsh Government's priorities for tackling poverty in Wales?
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your response. Sense, the national charity for those with sensory impairment, has found that 92 per cent of parents with disabled children feel their children do not have the same opportunities to play as their non-disabled peers. Current guidelines, as you so rightly say, state that local authorities must have due regard to making play accessible. I’ve...
Vikki Howells: 4. How is the Welsh Government working with partners to improve opportunities for accessible play across Wales? OAQ(5)0096(CC)
Vikki Howells: I would like to start today by thanking the Members in whose name this motion appears on today’s agenda. This is a very important subject, where we have the opportunity to call for redress for those lives touched by the contaminated blood tragedy. For my contribution today, I would like to focus on the stories of two of my constituents who were affected in this way. The first story is from...
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Lywydd. My first 90-second statement just before Christmas focused on Guto Nyth Brân and the Nos Galan. With the sad death of Bernard Baldwin MBE just days after the 2016 Nos Galan, it is only fitting that I use a second statement to pay tribute to Bernard’s legacy as creator of Wales’s most famous racing event. Born in Barry in 1925, Bernard trained as a teacher and took up a...
