Jenny Rathbone: Siân Gwenllian has already mentioned the importance of the relationships and sexuality curriculum, and I do hope that this will be a game changer in ensuring that the next generation really does understand respect for difference and ensuring that people are not consumed by their prejudices, which can lead to lifelong mental health problems.
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much to Leanne and Siân for bringing this debate, along with Mick Antoniw, because I think it's a very interesting debate and one that we don't often address. I want to talk about some positives, because I think we can all agree that there are lots of deplorable things going on in society. I want to highlight Just a Ball Game?, which is a charity that is combating LGBTQI...
Jenny Rathbone: I agree with the earlier two speakers: we are the most obese nation in Europe and our food system is absolutely broken. So, no change is not an option. It isn't just a sugar tax we need, we need a salt tax and a fat tax in order to control the actions of the food manufacturing companies who target people with this stuff that passes off as food. And in addition to that, there's been an...
Jenny Rathbone: Two issues: first of all, the Wales Audit Office has today published an important report on the roll-out of enhanced primary care, which highlights that change needs to be happening at a greater pace and scale to address all the long-standing challenges, and ensure that primary care services are fit for purpose. Certainly, investment in new buildings sometimes has unintended consequences. In...
Jenny Rathbone: I was a member of the committee when this inquiry started, but I wasn't on it when the recommendations were drafted, so I'm very pleased to join in on the debate. I think there are several things we need to bear in mind. One is that the more we actually limit the use of cars because of public health issues around air quality or trying to make shopping centres more attractive to people, to...
Jenny Rathbone: Okay. And they've phased out plastic goody bags at the event. All events could be doing this sort of thing to ensure that we're not producing this more, but we may need legislation in order to focus our minds.
Jenny Rathbone: I'm very pleased to support Huw Irranca's initiative, because we really can't go on eating plastic and breathing in plastic particles in the air we breathe. We cannot stand by and do nothing to prevent the plastic mountains we are creating from increasing further, according to the briefing we had from the various charities that are supporting this initiative, because of our failure to find...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you. I'm delighted that we've saved 5.5 tonnes in the 18 months or so since they've been used, but I'd be really keen to understand exactly what type of electric charging they are, given that there are two different types of electric vehicles, because I genuinely would like to move towards using a non-polluting vehicle, as I represent one of the most polluted areas—or probably the...
Jenny Rathbone: Excellent. Since the Government decided to revise the free swimming offer and make it more explicitly targeted on areas of deprivation, I've had lots of correspondence from some of the 6 per cent of over-60s who've enjoyed the untargeted free swimming offer, but no correspondence at all from young people or their parents who may have been affected by the revised scheme for...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you, Minister. Obviously, since the Government declared a climate emergency, back in April, which has been fully endorsed by nearly all Members of the Assembly, how does the Welsh Government plan to assess the upcoming budget in the context of the climate emergency and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015? And what analysis is being done about the impact of budget...
Jenny Rathbone: 2. What consideration has the Minister given to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 in preparing the Welsh Government's budget for next year? OAQ54525
Jenny Rathbone: 8. What role does Sport Wales play in delivering the objectives of the Healthy and Active Fund? OAQ54526
Jenny Rathbone: 3. What usage has been recorded of the Assembly's electric vehicle charging points? OAQ54527
Jenny Rathbone: I wanted to raise the matter of constituents who are having difficulty getting their ears syringed without having to pay considerable sums of money. They've got blocked ears through a build-up of ear wax and when they have been to their GP surgeries, they've been told that this facility no longer exists at their GPs and they've been referred to private businesses who are charging them as much...
Jenny Rathbone: Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day. Across our country, and across the world, people’s mental well-being is deteriorating. That includes those who, in theory, are amongst the more advantaged, namely our students. All Assembly Members bar one have signed the student mental health pledge, supported by Time to Change and Mind Cymru. It is our duty to ensure that those starting the most...
Jenny Rathbone: Well, it will be interesting to see the responses. I think last week we learnt that the state of nature report that was published last week is highlighting a terrifying loss of insects, including 60 per cent of Welsh butterflies and seven species of Welsh bees. Now, the overuse of pesticides, rather than allowing nature to thrive alongside man's and woman's use of the land, is clearly a cause...
Jenny Rathbone: 5. How is the climate emergency, declared in April 2019, reshaping Welsh Government plans for the Welsh food industry? OAQ54492
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you. Firstly, Transport for Wales messed up on this one, because they should've provided us with a briefing in advance and also to people who work in public services in our libraries, so that we knew that this change was coming, rather than having members of the public telling us what was going to happen, which certainly happened to me on 10 September. Secondly, you're absolutely right...
Jenny Rathbone: So, sticking with that argument, are you then prepared to discuss reducing the budget for health in order to put more money into education?
Jenny Rathbone: I think we need to hear from the education Minister. I think it's very important that we have set what's called the level 2 plus benchmark—that we need all pupils to achieve five GCSEs where possible, including language and maths. I think that's absolutely right. You can see how, in previous years, when that wasn't the benchmark, there was less attention placed on the language and maths. I...
