Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the reply, First Minister. In 2014, the Children, Young People and Education Committee published a report of the inquiry into child and adolescent mental health services. The committee found that there was a 100 per cent increase in referrals for these services, but that the provision was insufficient to meet this increase. In recent meetings with the committee, the Children’s...
Mohammad Asghar: 9. What plans does the Welsh Government have to improve mental health services during the fifth Assembly? OAQ(5)0155(FM)
Mohammad Asghar: First Minister, thank you very much for this statement. I think four times you pledged in your statement that you want a Wales where the prosperity is right from the top. Actually, I represent the region that has the poorest population in the United Kingdom. The thing is, I’m glad that at least you have accepted it, and this is your first pledge: that you are going to bring prosperity after...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer. Health is the first law of the land, therefore we all want to see the NHS in Wales delivering high-quality healthcare. To achieve this, we need a well-resourced and high-performing workforce. However, it is clear that the recruitment and retention of front-line staff has become a major challenge facing the NHS in Wales today. We all know that NHS staff are...
Mohammad Asghar: The Labour manifesto at the Assembly elections promised to offer 30 hours a week of free childcare to working parents. This was to be delivered by a wide range of providers, including schools, childminders, play groups and day care. Will the Cabinet Secretary advise the Assembly what proportion of childcare in Wales is delivered by private nurseries compared to those attached to schools?
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer. One way of improving the environment in inner urban areas is to encourage the setting up of community green spaces. Tesco is using the money raised by its carrier bag charge to support community participation in the development and use of open spaces. Will the Cabinet Secretary join me in congratulating Tesco, and what more can the Welsh Government do to...
Mohammad Asghar: What plans does the Minister have to improve support for farmers in the fifth Assembly?
Mohammad Asghar: During the recent dispute, the PCS union declared they had no confidence in the management of National Museum Wales. It was also claimed that a survey taken last year showed that 22 per cent of workers had been bullied or harassed at work. Does the Cabinet Secretary have confidence in the management of National Museum Wales, and what action will he take to reconcile both sides around the core...
Mohammad Asghar: According to the Business Wales website, Ebbw Vale enterprise zone has ambitions to become a vibrant, high-technology hotspot for manufacturing companies of all sizes. However, between 2011 and 14, only 172 jobs were created at this enterprise zone. Last year, only eight jobs were created there. Cabinet Secretary, what is the Welsh Government doing to promote and to support Ebbw Vale...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much for the reply, Minister. Figures released by your Government reveal that Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil and Torfaen councils have the worst council tax collection rates in Wales. The citizens advice bureau has labelled council tax as Wales’s biggest debt problem—6,000 people are now struggling to pay their bills. Will the First Minister explain to those families in...
Mohammad Asghar: 9. Will the First Minister make a statement on council tax collection rates in Wales? OAQ(5)0110(FM)
Mohammad Asghar: I also want to congratulate the Cabinet Secretary on her new role. My first question to her is—. According to a Welsh Liberal Democrats press release, over 7,500 pupils in Wales were educated in classes of more than 30 pupils last year. In it, you also quoted—your quote— ‘our top education priority is cutting class sizes’. However, an adviser to the Welsh Government, Professor David...
Mohammad Asghar: I thank the Minister for her statement today. On behalf of the Welsh Conservatives, I give a broad welcome to the aims and objectives contained in this statement today. Improving the skills of the Welsh people will lead to a more prosperous society, with higher rates of employment and a lower level of poverty, and it will reduce inequality in Wales. We know that the skills of the Welsh...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much, acting Deputy Presiding Officer. I also thank the Minister for his statement today. According to the Office for National Statistics, one in eight children in Wales are living in long-term workless households. Many of these children live in the south-east Wales Valleys. Research shows that children living with long-term unemployed parents do less well at school and are at...
Mohammad Asghar: Both Conservative and Labour Governments have recognised the need to legislate to improve air quality by introducing measures to control and reduce pollution. Many of these measures were passed before we joined the European Union, for example, the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968. Does the First Minister agree that it is inconceivable that any future UK Government will take action to reverse...
Mohammad Asghar: Studies have shown the danger to public health that follows from repeated exposure to air pollution. Air pollution increases the risk of mortality by cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. The risk is particularly acute for children, with their exposure linked to diabetes, cognitive function, birth outcomes and liver and kidney damage. It is worrying, therefore, to note that Wales has...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, the gradual equalisation of the state pension age of 65 for both men and women was first set out in the Pension Act 1995. Rather than increase the state pension age overnight, successive Governments have introduced changes incrementally. Given that the employment rate for women is at a record high, does the Minister agree that the equalisation of retirement age for men and women is...
Mohammad Asghar: I nominate Nick Ramsay.
Mohammad Asghar: I nominate Nick Ramsay.
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much for the reply, First Minister. Cancer Research UK has said there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people diagnosed with the most serious form of skin cancer in Wales in the last 40 years. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has approved a pair of cancer drugs, ipilimumab and nivolumab—these are the two medicines—for use in England, which, when...
