Caroline Jones: 6. What actions are the Welsh government taking to reduce hospital waiting times in South Wales West? OAQ(5)0114(HWS)
Caroline Jones: What actions is the Welsh Government taking to improve tourism in South Wales West?
Caroline Jones: First Minister, the Welsh Language Commissioner said that, in order to increase the number of Welsh speakers, we need radical change to our education system. She has suggested we should consider teaching all primary schools through the medium of Welsh. It has been compulsory for every schoolchild in Wales to learn Welsh since 1999. Yet, despite this, the numbers of Welsh speakers has fallen....
Caroline Jones: It is in this spirit that I will not be proceeding with amendment 2, tabled in my name. Instead, UKIP will be supporting the amendment put forward by the Welsh Government, and I urge Members to do likewise.
Caroline Jones: No. But then we all know that being a nationalist doesn’t practice always what they preach. They care about political expedience. I urge Members—
Caroline Jones: No, thank you. I urge Members to reject Plaid Cymru’s motion today and support one of the amendments. UKIP, Welsh Labour and the Welsh Conservatives are united in the belief that we should not be interfering with a democratic consultation between Tata and its workforce. It is in this spirit—[Interruption.] It is in this spirit that I will not be—[Interruption.]
Caroline Jones: Not at the moment, Suzy, thanks. We all want to see Port Talbot steelworks survive and thrive, but our job as politicians is not to dictate to workers what the best deal is for them. It doesn’t matter if anyone thinks it’s a good deal or a bad deal in our situation; the only opinions that count in this matter are those of the workforce and their families. They are negotiating on all of...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. It is UKIP’s belief that we should not be debating this motion before us today. I will simply outline our position. On 16 February, workers at Port Talbot will make one of the most important decisions about the future of steel production in Wales. The unions have worked hard and negotiated the best possible outcome for employees. It is a decision that employees...
Caroline Jones: Will the First Minister make a statement on any plans the Welsh Government has to improve the NHS IT infrastructure in Wales?
Caroline Jones: I’d like to thank my colleague Neil Hamilton for proposing this debate today. Those who opposed the UK leaving the EU are determined to find any possible way of keeping us shackled to an unelected, undemocratic bureaucracy, overburdened by restrictive regulations and unable to control our own borders—all for the sake of access to the so-called single market. The First Minister visited...
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank the Welsh Conservatives today for bringing forward this debate on obesity, particularly just after Christmas, as Angela has said. Doing something good for ‘Jan-YOU-ary’ is a pledge we can all support during National Obesity Awareness Week. It is a matter of national shame that nearly two thirds of Welsh adults and a third of Welsh children are overweight or obese....
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this debate today. So far, winter 2016-17 has been a mild one and apart from the north-east of Wales, there haven’t been any major outbreaks of influenza-type illnesses. However, this hasn’t reduced pressures on our NHS. According to the Royal College of Nursing, our hospitals are so full all year round that the system...
Caroline Jones: What is the Welsh Government doing to increase the number of Welsh students studying medicine at Welsh universities?
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary, and your letter earlier today. The news that patients can now benefit from the new treatment fund is most welcome and will be of great relief to many Welsh patients, some of whom have gone to England previously for treatment. When access to medicines is discussed, it usually relates solely to cancer drugs, so it is refreshing to see that new...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. The goal of making Wales a dementia-friendly nation is one we all share. Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Wales, and the number of people affected by dementia is expected to rise by around 40 per cent over the next decade. The fact that Welsh dementia sufferers, their families and carers can directly feed in and shape Wales’s...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, the fact that the vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Wales says patient safety is compromised and staff are struggling to cope with the intense demands should deeply concern us all. Rightly or wrongly, the Red Cross described the situation across the border as a humanitarian crisis and Dr Roop says that in some areas performance is as bad as, if...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, one of the biggest challenges facing the economy in my region during 2017 continues to be poor infrastructure. A thriving economy is dependent upon good transport links. With the rail network undergoing electrification works, businesses in South Wales West are at the mercy of the traffic flows on the M4. What plans does your Government have to reduce congestion on the M4 over...
Caroline Jones: Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans for transport infrastructure improvements in South Wales West during 2017?
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Wales continues to have some of the highest levels of child poverty in the UK. Within my region, South Wales West, we have over 36,000 children living in poverty, and that’s 28.4 per cent of the region’s children. The UK Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission annual state of the nation report was critical of the Welsh Government’s policies, stating...
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. However, it was disappointing to read that a prison within my region has over 60 per cent of its 15 to 18-year-olds entering the prison with a drug-related issue. It was also highlighted that many of these teenagers will have spent time in the care system, truanted from school, or suffered with learning difficulties and/or mental health issues. With these...
