Siân Gwenllian: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on Natural Resources Wales's recommendations for new byelaws on catch control, which have been submitted to the Welsh Government for approval?
Siân Gwenllian: Will you take an intervention?
Siân Gwenllian: Although you say it's not in the Bill, what about the unintended consequences that I raised, not necessarily in the legislation itself, but the knock-on effects?
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru supports this motion today, as we do accept that there are pragmatic reasons as well as sound budgetary reasons for this legislation. The categorisation of housing associations as public corporations means that they will be treated like public bodies in terms of their accounts, and that, of course, has major implications as borrowing of the housing associations will be counted...
Siân Gwenllian: The settlement that we’re discussing today for the police services shows clearly, once again, why we need to devolve policing to Wales as a matter of urgency. This settlement is worsening the financial problems facing the police here in Wales. Whilst the United Kingdom Government alleges that the settlement gives a boost of £450 million to police budgets, in reality, £270 million of the...
Siân Gwenllian: I too welcome the report of the expert panel on Assembly electoral reform, and I congratulate everyone who has been involved in the work, and I congratulate the Commission and the Llywydd for commissioning the work in the first place and moving with a sense of urgency following receipt of the Wales Act 2017, which makes all of this possible at last. Without that Act, of course, we wouldn't be...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much for the statement, and I too am very pleased to mark today as an important day on the journey towards equality for women. The journey continues. It continues in trying to arrive at full equality in all aspects of life. It's a journey that’s seen loss of life, and it continues to be a long and tiring journey. But I do believe that my generation of women is determined to...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. Thank you for bringing this issue to the Assembly's attention. I'm very pleased to be able to participate in this debate. At the outset, I want to refer to one example—just one example but one that's quite complex and demonstrates the problems in this area, and one I'm very familiar with in my constituency. I want to mention a block of flats built for people over the...
Siân Gwenllian: This place was an excellent role model for gender equality, but since 2003, the situation has changed and has moved backwards. I'd like your opinion on the principle of introducing legislation to create equality in terms of representatives in the National Assembly as a means of leading to equality in other areas, including in our schools and education more generally.
Siân Gwenllian: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the progress that has been made in relation to the Welsh language Bill?
Siân Gwenllian: I want to focus on three aspects that you've noted in your statement this afternoon, and all three relate to increasing participation and better representation within local government. The way that young people come into contact with politics in their early years is crucially important for the future of representative democracy, and therefore Plaid Cymru welcomes your intention, as a...
Siân Gwenllian: The increase in rough-sleeping is seen as a problem for Cardiff and the large urban areas, but I am very concerned to see an increase in Bangor, which is developing into a destination for homeless people from across north-west Wales and beyond. There is some support available—there are two hostels—but we do need a welfare centre in the city where people can access practical, medical and...
Siân Gwenllian: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government efforts to tackle the issue of homelessness in Arfon? OAQ51655
Siân Gwenllian: In arguing that there is a lack of equality in Wales today, we will now turn to equality in public life. Twenty eight per cent of councillors in Wales are women. The same figure, 28 per cent, of MPs from Wales are women. And here at the Assembly, 42 per cent of AMs are women—where there was equality back in 2003, and where the Assembly was in the vanguard at a global level. And...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much, Llywydd. It’s a pleasure to bring this debate forward today. I will be inviting Jane Hutt, Joyce Watson, Suzy Davies and Julie Morgan to participate in this debate. I’d like to thank them for their contributions. A century since women were given the vote, is Wales a truly equal nation? I will be presenting evidence to demonstrate that Wales is a long way short of...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. I’m pleased to hear every word of that. Of course, we are now talking about how decisions by public bodies can have an impact on services for trans people, but there are also examples of decisions having a negative effect on other groups, which perhaps wouldn't have happened if we had more diversity among senior management in the public sector. You will be aware that...
Siân Gwenllian: You will have seen over the weekend that the British Medical Association Cymru has expressed concerns about the behaviour of officials and health boards in relation to the development of sexual identity services for Wales, which was part of the first budget deal between your party and mine. A recent report by Stonewall has found that 36 per cent of transgender people in Wales haven’t been...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. As you are responsible for issues of equality, can you explain how you ensure that all departments within the Welsh Government, and the bodies that you fund, do take equality issues seriously?
Siân Gwenllian: I wanted to raise the issue of taxing holiday homes and second homes. Steffan Lewis and I sent you a letter before Christmas, noting concerns about the issue of second homes transferring into the holiday home category in order to avoid paying council tax. There are 500 properties that have been transferred from council tax to business tax in Wales, leading to a loss of over £1.7 million to...
Siân Gwenllian: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on Welsh Government efforts to tackle any weaknesses in the tax system in Wales? OAQ51625
