Mohammad Asghar: There is a growing concern about the number and the rate of bank closures in Wales, as earlier mentioned. It is a worrying fact that Wales lost more than 40 per cent of its banking branches in five years. Wales is on the top table of bank closures in the United Kingdom; not less than 239 branches closed between January 2015 and August 2019. There are only two branches in Newport East, where I...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the answer, Minister, but the Vagrancy Act 1824 goes back to 1824 and makes it a crime to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. This Act does nothing to resolve the root causes of homelessness, and in fact, is more likely to push someone further from the vital services that help them off the streets. Minister, do you agree with me that no-one should be criminalised for being...
Mohammad Asghar: Half of the answer to my question is done anyway. The Confederation of Forest Industries claimed recently that funding for tree planting is just a third of what it needs to be if Welsh Government is to meet its minimum targets. They went on to say that millions more pounds need to be put into tree planting if Wales is to have any chance of meeting the climate emergency aspiration. Minister,...
Mohammad Asghar: 1. What measures will the Welsh Government introduce to support homeless people in 2020, please? OAQ54817
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for Education about her approach to relationship and sexuality education in Wales? Constituents have contacted me to express their concerns that the Welsh Government advisors have called for lessons to be made compulsory in Welsh schools. In England, headteachers are expected to talk to parents who wish to exclude their children from these...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for that answer, Minister. The fact is that diagnosing people at the earliest stage is critical to giving patients the best chance of surviving cancer. However, all but one health board in Wales are struggling to recruit and retain radiographers. Approximately one in 10 nurse endoscopy posts are vacant, with some boards having to bring in teams from England to clear backlogs. First...
Mohammad Asghar: 8. What action will the Welsh Government take to improve cancer survival rates in 2020? OAQ54818
Mohammad Asghar: Adult learning, upskilling and re-skilling are key to forward thinking in a diverse economy. We all recognise the importance of providing people with the skills required by employers to gain good and sustainable jobs. It is a sad fact that the Welsh economy is facing serious skills shortages. Like other parts of the United Kingdom, the Welsh economy experienced a number of inefficiencies and...
Mohammad Asghar: Further to Hefin's question, news that the provision of rolling stock to boost the capacity of Valleys lines has been delayed has left passengers frustrated and dismayed in the south Wales Valleys. Overcrowding is a serious problem, and passenger numbers on the Valleys lines are increasing 7 per cent year on year. Minister, can you update the Assembly when you expect Transport for Wales to...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, may I ask for two statements from the Minister for Education on attendance at secondary schools in Blaenau Gwent. According to a recent report, over the last three years, attendance at secondary schools in the borough has failed to improve. Blaenau Gwent ranks lower than all the other local authorities in south-east Wales and well below the Welsh average of 93.8 per cent. Please...
Mohammad Asghar: Yes, it was. It was absolutely right, absolutely right. And, Presiding Officer, the list goes on and on. More than £5 million lost supporting the steel firm Kancoat, which went bust; £9.5 million spent on the acquisition and refit of the Pinewood Studios, now costing £400,000 a year to just keep it open; £114 million, as Angela just mentioned, had been spent on the M4 relief road project...
Mohammad Asghar: One of the arguments put forward in favour of devolution in the late 1990s was that Welsh interests were being neglected. We were told that the problems facing Wales could only be solved by tailor-made solutions created here in Wales. However, in spite of successive generous funding settlements from the UK Government, whereby Wales received over 20 per cent more spend than in England, these...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, the Welsh Language Commissioner recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of the need for further development of a bilingual workforce in the NHS in Wales. He warned that Welsh-speaking patients are suffering and may even be put at risk if they cannot communicate with health professionals through the medium of Welsh. International research shows that people with dementia...
Mohammad Asghar: I recently met with a representative of the National Union of Students Wales. They pointed out that the current legislation defines student unions and outlines how they should look, but it does not place a duty on post-16 education providers to actually have one. They say any reform of the post-16 compulsory education and training sector provides an opportunity to strengthen the legal footing...
Mohammad Asghar: 5. What plans does the Minister have to reform post-compulsory education and training in the next 12 months? OAQ54741
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for health about the results of a study by the European Heart Journal? The study found that more than one in 10 cancer patients die from heart and blood vessel problems rather than from their initial illness. The researcher advised that the increase in the numbers of people surviving cancer means that more attention should be focused on...
Mohammad Asghar: One of the responsibilities of this transport commission is to produce recommendations for fast-track implementation to tackle the acute problems of congestion and safety on the M4 around Newport. First Minister, can you confirm that work to implement any such recommendation will begin at the earliest opportunity and that they will not have to wait until the commission produces its final...
Mohammad Asghar: For many people, 'hospice' is a frightening word because it is associated with the end of life, but hospices are a way for people to prioritise the wishes of the patient and the family. They offer specialised care and support that works to create ease and comfort and maintain the patient's quality of life. The key to providing comfort in the final days is a comprehensive plan that involves a...
Mohammad Asghar: Minister, one of the aims of the international strategy is to raise Wales's international profile. You know the Commonwealth Games are coming in 2022, and there'll be more than 250 events and more than 18 different sports, with more than 5,000 athletes coming from 71 countries globally. This will give a great boost to Birmingham, which is very close to north Wales, but there are certain...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you very much for the reply, Minister, but work to widen the Heads of the Valleys road between Gilwern and Brynmawr began in 2014 and was due to end next month. In April it was announced that the completion date had been put back to 2020 and would cost an extra £54 million. Now we know and we hear that this project will not be completed until the end of next year. But it's claimed...
