Joyce Watson: Okay. The Commission staff are working on broadening the appeal of our Parliament and we are trying to encourage more diversity in the demographic of people who visit us here. A number of activities are targeted at families with young children and they're already programmed, and no doubt that will be the case when we host the eisteddfod here. So, linking those two things together and also...
Joyce Watson: Thank you for the question. The Senedd is recognised as a breastfeeding-friendly space, and we have signs on screens throughout the Senedd, at the entrance and in the cafe area that promote that. We have purchased a breastfeeding chair, and I'm sure the Member will be pleased to hear that, especially since she pressed us to do so. Following consultation, that has now been placed in the...
Joyce Watson: There is evidence of forced labour in hand car washes, and it's believed to be growing from 10,000 to 20,000 businesses in the UK, and many of those are unregulated. We know that the UK Government has launched a hand car wash inquiry last April, and the main goal is to look at, principally, environmental impacts and the regulations that govern hand car washes, but it is also going to look at...
Joyce Watson: Thank you, First Minister, but I'm sure that anyone would be moved by the story that broke last week of an eight-year-old boy, Kobi Barrow, who helped design a park that could be used by both able-bodied and disabled children, and he did that in memory of his best friend, Rhianna, who sadly passed away in 2016. It emerged that Rhianna had to travel for three hours from her home to play in a...
Joyce Watson: 7. Will the First Minister make a statement on the accessibility of children's play areas? OAQ52559
Joyce Watson: I'm pleased to contribute to the debate today. I'd also like to thank my committee colleagues and the support team for putting together what I think is an interesting and useful report. Contrary to what the title might suggest, the inquiry was a chance to revisit Wales's eight enterprise zones, rather than going where no-one had been before. By doing so, we were able to assess their progress...
Joyce Watson: I find this a really useful announcement, because in Wales we're facing the same challenges as the rest of the UK to train and recruit medical practitioners, and I'm pleased that this scheme will help to deliver and to promote that. I understand that there's lots of work and detail that will follow, and I look forward to the updates. I support a pragmatic approach to delivering maximum...
Joyce Watson: Thank you for that, but every summer I'm alarmed by the number of hedges that are being trimmed during peak nesting season. They do provide an important food source for all types of animals, and vital nesting habitat for birds, particularly in the spring and summer months. And this year, travelling the roads, I've already witnessed unnecessary hedge cutting on several occasions across my...
Joyce Watson: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on summer hedgerow management? OAQ52485
Joyce Watson: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the expansion of medical education and training in north Wales, following the announcement made earlier this week? 203
Joyce Watson: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on waste management in outdoor recreational areas?
Joyce Watson: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the impact of the new economic contract on businesses in Mid and West Wales?
Joyce Watson: Leader of the house, on Wednesday—that's tomorrow—Sarah Champion MP will lead a debate in Westminster on tackling demand for commercial sexual exploitation. It centres on the question of whether the UK should follow the United States and other countries by banning so-called prostitution websites. There's mounting evidence that websites like Vivastreet and AdultWork are enabling a huge...
Joyce Watson: What assessment has Welsh Government made of the recent report by Natural England and the Mammal Society regarding the decline in UK mammal species?
Joyce Watson: I'm just going to focus on one area and that's going to be the urban tree cover in towns and cities, and support that urban tree management. We all know, don't we, that trees are a valuable habitat for wildlife and pollinators, that they help reduce air pollution, urban flooding and surface temperatures—which would be welcome today—all of which are hugely important to the health and...
Joyce Watson: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Just for the record, between 2017 and 2018, 3,962 nurses from the European economic area left nursing, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council's register, and they were replaced by just 805. That is the lowest level of recruitment to date, so I think we need to make it clear that this isn't scaremongering—these are actual figures. The good news in this is that...
Joyce Watson: I have seen the study. In fact, I've got a copy of it on the back here. I don't know that we break down the numbers, but I think it's something that we can do and I think it'd be quite useful. In terms of what more we can do, we do offer all of the facilities that are available to everybody, so there are gender-specific showers here, six of them, for male and female. But I suppose what we...
Joyce Watson: Thank you for that question. I'm pleased to confirm that the Commission provides an extensive range of facilities and support to promote cycling to work. That includes an onsite cycle store facility for 67 bikes. Shower and locker facilities are also available, as well as two tumble dryers, tools for minor bike repairs and maps of local cycle routes—all that to encourage further numbers of...
Joyce Watson: I'm not going to repeat, obviously, everything that people have said, but I particularly want to support what David Melding has said about, particularly, people who have had animals for a long time, and those animals are ageing, and are being subject, really, to a death sentence, because nobody will take them on. But I also want to focus on the whole intention of what we're trying to do. What...
Joyce Watson: I think the first thing that I want to say today is that I'm sure some of us have seen the scenes in America where children are being literally ripped out of the arms of their parents and the damage that is being done to both the parents, but also to the children, and to the nation. So, with respect, I would ask if you will condemn those actions. I'm also pleased that we don't follow those...
