Sioned Williams: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Child poverty exists in every part of Wales. It not only exists, but it stains our communities, because child poverty causes serious and lifelong harm to the outcomes of those who are our nation’s future, and the longer a child remains in poverty, the more profound the harms will be. How many times have we heard the shocking statistics that create those harms...
Sioned Williams: The main thrust of our recommendations concerns improving support for a particular group of women, who are too often neglected and even invisible to society. I have certainly heard evidence that will stay with me forever about the experience of survivors from migrant communities. We looked at what can be done to ensure these women are seen, are heard, are supported, and are able to feel safe....
Sioned Williams: Gender-based abuse and prejudice and hatred towards women in our front-line services are totally unacceptable. These are the services that are supposed to protect us and serve the public, and they are therefore supposed to represent the very best principles in our society. So, we cannot permit a service that has such close contact with the public and that has such a safeguarding role to hold...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Weinidog. The cost-of-living crisis, high inflation and rising energy costs in particular all pose huge threats to businesses in the hospitality sector especially—a sector that employs 200,000 people in Wales. And while I welcome the inclusion of more support on business rates in Welsh Government's draft budget yesterday, albeit with the caveat that perhaps support could be more...
Sioned Williams: 2. What support is the Welsh Government offering to businesses in South Wales West in light of the cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crisis? OQ58888
Sioned Williams: What is the Government's strategy to ensure accessibility for disabled people in the health service?
Sioned Williams: How does the Welsh Government promote the use of the Welsh language in South Wales West?
Sioned Williams: Diolch. Of course, the service we have in Wales here is for people who are over 18, isn't it? That's the difference. I recently met with the British Medical Association to discuss their 'Sexual orientation and gender identity in the medical profession' report, which highlights that LGBTQ+ doctors are regularly suffering abuse and discrimination. While it is concerning that this is even taking...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Llywydd. A UK-wide public consultation on the interim service specification for specialist gender dysphoria services for children and young people closed recently on 5 December. Although published by NHS England, the proposed changes will impact on young patients who are the commissioning responsibility of NHS Wales. Concerns have been raised by Stonewall and others that access to the...
Sioned Williams: Yes, I'd agree, Minister. Our local authorities are facing huge financial pressures, and I'd like to echo what Huw Irranca-Davies said about the importance of engagement not only in those briefings, but I know, in Neath Port Talbot, the council is going out into all the communities of the local authority area to have public meetings so that people fully understand what's at stake here and to...
Sioned Williams: 2. What consideration has the Minister given to the impact of the autumn statement on the Welsh Government financial support that will be available for local authorities in South Wales West? OQ58788
Sioned Williams: Thank you for the statement, Minister. According to the World Health Organization, a billion people, or 15 per cent of the global population, have some sort of disability. Marking International Day of People with Disabilities not only is an opportunity to ensure that we remember the importance of securing equality and fair opportunities for people here in Wales, but also for the billion...
Sioned Williams: I want to pick up on the points that Janet Finch-Saunders made towards the end of her contribution, because I'm sure you're aware, Minister, of the serious concerns raised by Welsh Women's Aid about the impact of the Act, in its current form, on Welsh specialist VAWDASV services and, by extension, on survivors. Whilst supportive of many of the positive elements of the new Renting Homes...
Sioned Williams: Definitely. All these things are preventative, aren't they, and I think that is shown very clearly in the report. As I was saying, Government must show that it values people and shares their concerns, hears their perspectives and works to create a society where people feel like they belong to foster a healthy social environment so as to avoid deepening the causes of poor mental health, which,...
Sioned Williams: I'm glad also of the opportunity to speak on this motion today, which I supported and which Plaid Cymru will be supporting, and I would like to thank Jenny Rathbone for bringing this debate to the Senedd. As she said, it's extremely timely. A person's social networks can have a significant impact on their health, both physical and mental, and studies have shown that a person's social...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Minister. Can you explain what work is being done to identify those subjects where there is a lack of Welsh-medium teachers in the secondary sector? We understand that there is a serious lack in terms of those training in physics and mathematics, for example, so I’d like to know what the Government is doing to analyse the data to feed in to the work of attracting more students...
Sioned Williams: 8. Will the Minister provide an update on any progress in attracting people to train as teachers to teach in Welsh-medium secondary schools? OQ58757
Sioned Williams: Thank you for your update, Minister. It's disappointing to hear that there hasn't been a clear response as yet from UK Government regarding greater funding for hosts and local authorities to assist with the provision of support for Ukrainian refugees in Wales during this cost-of-living crisis. For all Rishi Sunak's warm words in Kyiv, the Westminster Conservative Government is not showing...
Sioned Williams: Minister, it really brought home to me how that jagged edge of intersecting, unaligned, but shared devolved and reserved powers and responsibilities over which the criminal justice system operates in Wales is such a sharp one for women, which, of course, has been demonstrated so clearly by the book published recently by Professor Richard Wyn Jones and Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Minister. In your statement, and we've heard about the inquiry of the Equality and Social Justice Committee, and I'm a member of that committee—. I had an extremely valuable experience on that visit to HMP Eastwood Park. Because that's where I was able to understand in full the implications of the way that Welsh women are disadvantaged by the criminal justice system by being...
