Caroline Jones: I would like to thank Plaid Cymru for tabling this important debate, allowing us to mark Mental Health Awareness Week. With one in eight people in Wales currently seeking medical help for mental illness and an estimated one in four of us experiencing mental health problems at some point during our lifetimes, it’s clear that we need to give mental health a high priority. It was great to see...
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. My region has been blighted by the industrialisation of wind energy as a result of TAN 8 and is being targeted for unconventional gas extraction. We will also play host to the world’s first tidal lagoon. We need a truly diverse energy mix, but renewable technology should not be treated like twentieth century power plants. Cabinet Secretary, do you agree with me...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, given the number of incidents that have occurred at similar sites across Wales and concerns over the health implications of the large amounts of particulate matter generated in this type of facility, will the Welsh Government now consider introducing a moratorium on this type of plant? Will you also consider introducing tougher monitoring on existing licence holders and...
Caroline Jones: 13. Will the Minister outline how the Welsh government’s energy policies will lead to the diversification of the energy mix? OAQ(5)0045(ERA)
Caroline Jones: Thank you for providing us with this update today, Cabinet Secretary, and for providing us with the final delivery plan yesterday. When we discussed the draft plan in July, I raised the issue of access to psychological therapies. Early access to talking therapies, such as CBT, are proven to improve recovery and reduce the need for more acute services. I therefore welcome the commitment to...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, cuts in local authority budgets have put pressure on school budgets throughout my region. In addition to school budgets, Swansea council have also increased the amount they charge for service level agreements, which is impacting upon schools’ ability to deliver things like music lessons, swimming lessons and the supply of library books. Swansea now has one of the lowest per...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. I’d like to thank Huw for bringing forward this short debate and for agreeing to give me a minute of his time. Thankfully, for my constituents in South Cornelly and the surrounding areas, South Wales Wood Recycling have withdrawn plans for a plant in the village. The company have been beset with problems with fires at their Bridgend and Newport facilities, which...
Caroline Jones: Thank you very much—
Caroline Jones: Sorry?
Caroline Jones: Anyway, I was going to say, as a former business owner, I can assure you that the car parking—that customers came and told me it was essential to them, because they could go somewhere else where there was parking out of town, and that it did make a significant impact, especially when you’ve got traffic wardens chasing you for being two minutes over your time. So, it does have a...
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Without the more than a third of a million unpaid carers, our social care sector would be massively overloaded. It is estimated that unpaid carers save the health and social care sector over £8 billion a year. Research by the Carers Trust found that 30 per cent of carers don’t take any breaks and that 65 per cent of carers spend what little breaks they have...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your answer, Cabinet Secretary. The Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 will introduce massive changes to the social care sector. The entire social care workforce will now have mandatory training standards. There are currently many working in the domiciliary care sector who are likely to require significant training in order to meet the new training...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, with the number of people aged 65 and over projected to increase by 44 per cent in the coming decades, we must ensure that our social care sector can cope with the inevitable increase in demand for social care. Unfortunately, we have seen massive cuts in social care budgets and we are simply not training enough social care workers, or the ones that we...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, the biggest support the Welsh Government could give to small businesses across Wales, particularly those operating on our high streets, would be to level the playing field. Large out-of-town developments and supermarkets have the advantage of ample free parking, whereas small businesses operating on our high streets do not have that luxury. What assistance can the Welsh...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. I look forward to reviewing the refreshed delivery plans when they’re published. I note your comments that survival rates for many health conditions are improving and, whilst this is true, we still have much more work to do. I welcome the work that the stroke implementation group will be undertaking with regard to atrial fibrillation, and...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, since the introduction of the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour, only a handful of charges have been brought. Is it therefore welcome news that police forces across the country will be training officers to recognise the signs of controlling or coercive behaviour? It’s similar to Bethan’s, I apologise. However, we need to inform the public that domestic violence...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, if the Swansea bay city region is to be a success it will require collaborative working, not just between the four local authorities but collaboration with the Cardiff city region and with the Welsh Government, to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support the ambitious plans put forward by the city region board. What infrastructure enhancements is the Welsh...
Caroline Jones: It has a knock-on effect, and it has an impact on Wales. Nurses are the lifeblood of our NHS, and we should be doing all we can to encourage more people to choose nursing as a career, not make it harder for anyone to enter the nursing profession. Diolch yn fawr.
Caroline Jones: Yes, Angela.
Caroline Jones: I would like to thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this debate today, and it goes without saying that UKIP will be supporting the motion. Investment in training is of paramount importance, and, like the other parties in this Chamber, we disagree totally with the UK Government’s decision to remove bursaries for nursing students in England. We implore the Welsh Government to maintain...
