Angela Burns: Today's newsreels talk of the new wars—Afghanistan and Iraq—and our charities and Governments look to rebuild the current young lives that are wounded, and support the families that have lost in recent conflicts. I want to talk about the veterans of the forgotten wars—people like my father, because he represents the essence of the very ordinary men and women of the armed forces who have...
Angela Burns: Thank you for your answer to Delyth Jewell, First Minister, but, of course, the media is only part of the solution. Education plays a vital part, and, with the next Welsh general election seeing the franchise being extended to include 16-year-olds, it is essential that young people gain an objective, fair and balanced view on the important role that politics plays in all of our lives. The new...
Angela Burns: Thank you for that, and, first of all, may I say welcome to the role? I think it's excellent that mental health has a focus specifically on it, especially at this time. I was delighted in your answer just then that you talked about the inter-governmental and cross-departmental working, because I believe that there has been good progress made with mental health support for college and...
Angela Burns: Minister, I listened to your answer to Vikki Howells with interest. You will know that I have expressed my concerns about the accuracy and reliability of data collection surrounding hospitalisations due to COVID many times already this year, because it's vital for our understanding of the disease that we really get to grips with who has COVID and then subsequently dies from COVID, and who,...
Angela Burns: 3. Will the Minister outline the Welsh Government's priorities for mental health for the remainder of the current Senedd term? OQ55804
Angela Burns: First Minister, I think, actually, I will not ask the question I was going to, but I think I need to follow up on the observations made by the previous Member. We all recognise that we are in a very difficult world. We all understand that there are many people who flee to our shores for all sorts of reasons, whether it's because they are incredibly poor, or their lives are in danger. I feel...
Angela Burns: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I just listened to your response to Joyce Watson very, very carefully, and the particular issue I want to raise is the children who will be, or the students who will be, scheduled to take exams next year. Quite a few parents have raised concerns with me that their children are the ones that they feel should be—forgive me for using the word 'prioritised', but,...
Angela Burns: I'd like to thank Jenny Rathbone for suggesting that we should hold this debate, because this is an incredibly important issue that does affect so many people. One of the points that Jenny made at the very beginning is that this is not simply a woman's issue, but actually it is very much something that affects the men who are in the lives of the women who have this chronic and debilitating...
Angela Burns: How does the Minister ensure that rural development projects funded by the Welsh Government provide value for money?
Angela Burns: As you will know, Sunday was the International Day of the Girl, and in many places in the world girls are still a commodity, to be used, to be abused and to be trafficked. In many places, Minister, you will know that girls have little education, become pregnant too young, feel abusive relationships are their only route, are pressured to marry, suffer genital mutilation, and are treated as sex...
Angela Burns: An interesting response, and I ask this question because there are a number of areas where there does not seem to be value for money for the Welsh taxpayer. The sustainable management scheme clearly states its aim is to support collaborative action that improves natural resources. The scheme has just received a further allocation of £3 million, despite the fact that only £6 million of its...
Angela Burns: 6. How does the First Minister ensure that Welsh Government spend provides value for money? OQ55711
Angela Burns: 4. How is the Welsh Government promoting gender equality in Wales? OQ55712
Angela Burns: First Minister, a report by Barnardo's earlier this year highlighted the crisis that's facing fostering, with a 45 per cent rise in children needing foster care within Wales, and yet, conversely, a 51 per cent drop in the availability of foster carers because of the pandemic. Obviously, we can all appreciate the issues that this has thrown up for being able to find foster carers for young...
Angela Burns: The committee was damning in its condemnation of NRW following contracts it had agreed on timber sales. They highlighted the auditor general's findings that the contracts were novel, repercussive and contentious and reinforced views that uncertainty existed around whether Natural Resources Wales complied with principles of public law and state-aid rules. What makes these findings worse is...
Angela Burns: The evidence is clear and unambiguous: over £1 billion has been wasted by successive Welsh Labour Governments in the past decade. It makes no odds whether they're joined at the hip with Plaid Cymru or the Liberal Democrats—the waste goes on and on. As I will demonstrate during this contribution, too many projects, policies and initiatives struggle—and I'm struggling, sorry, with my...
Angela Burns: Diolch, Llywydd. The motion tabled by the Welsh Conservatives today is very clear: do not waste the taxpayers' money. And the motion is clear because the Welsh Conservatives are the party that understands the true value of the taxpayers' money—money the people of Wales and the United Kingdom have worked hard to make—the graft it takes and the hope it gives for a decent way of life. We...
Angela Burns: Deputy Minister, they say that often the loneliest place to be is in a crowd and you will know of the older people's commissioner's report that was issued earlier on care homes and loneliness, isolation, the whole blanket bans that we're having on care homes and how difficult it is with all the lockdowns. Before we go back down that road again, how can the Welsh Government ensure that this...
Angela Burns: Thank you for your answer to Mr McEvoy and also your previous answers to the last couple of questions, because it's all along the same theme. But I think the real barrier to being able to provide and to meet the Cymraeg 2050 target is actually the difficulty of getting Welsh-speaking teachers in play. We need more of them and we need them in all the different areas of Wales. There are some...
Angela Burns: Good afternoon, First Minister. Please forgive me if I cut across anything you've already said; unfortunately, the translation wasn't working on my computer. Many of the visitor experiences in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire are provided by microtourism businesses, whether they are eco tree lodges in the forests of Carmarthenshire or small campsites and businesses along the...
