Leanne Wood: First Minister, last year, Plaid Cymru tabled amendments to the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill, but you declined at that point to take up the opportunity to ban excessive letting fees, apparently against the wishes of your own backbenchers. And banning excessive letting agency fees is not the only issue on which your backbenchers have wanted to vote with Plaid Cymru amendments to improve...
Leanne Wood: I’m glad you raised that point about Scotland, because the banning of letting fees there has shown, according to the ONS, that rents in Scotland and Wales rose at a substantially lower rate than in England over the past six years, with rents in Scotland actually falling over the past year. So, it shows that this ban on letting fees doesn’t actually increase rents. Now, you’re...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. First Minister, a ban on letting agents fees was announced in the recent autumn statement announcement, with England now joining Scotland. When it comes to Wales, your finance Secretary told the BBC that he wanted to wait and see how the ban in Scotland worked first. Do you know which year they banned letting agent fees in Scotland?
Leanne Wood: Will the First Minister make a statement on the importance of new treatments and medicines being made available to all?
Leanne Wood: In the last Assembly, Rhodri Glyn did.
Leanne Wood: Will the Member take an intervention?
Leanne Wood: Do you accept that, when the legislation on pay was going through, a Plaid Cymru member, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, laid an amendment to put a cap on the senior salaries and pay? Do you accept that Labour voted down that amendment?
Leanne Wood: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. There are fears that the company’s strong Welsh identity and interest in this country could be lost with this takeover. Dee Valley Water works with 80 local suppliers, and there are real concerns amongst the workforce about job security. The fear is that centralisation will lead to fewer local jobs. Can you tell us, First Minister, what contact...
Leanne Wood: First Minister, I’m surprised that you can’t even tell me that you’ve written a few letters about this, given the concerns. Perhaps today’s question will push you into some kind of action. This proposed takeover raises serious questions about the future of our natural resources. Those resources should be benefiting the people in this country, but they are being bought and sold as we...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. Will the First Minister make a statement on the proposed takeover of Dee Valley Water by Severn Trent Water?
Leanne Wood: The Welsh Government is organising a subsidised trade mission to Saudi Arabia in March of next year, and I’m sure I don’t need to remind Members that Saudi Arabia is a place where people are executed for crimes, such as speaking out against the regime. With the help of UK exports, they’re also waging a brutal war against Yemen, which has claimed the lives of thousands, and the blockade...
Leanne Wood: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement about the value of overseas exports to the Welsh economy? OAQ(5)0280(FM)
Leanne Wood: I share your concerns, First Minister, and I’m glad that you agree with my position. I’ll give you an opportunity to demonstrate how much you agree. I’ve got a constituent who is claiming employment support allowance and wishes to claim a disability grant in order to enter education. Her GP is demanding that she pays a charge of £95 for completing the forms. Without those forms, she...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. First Minister, do you agree that cuts to disability benefits and changes to assessments brought in by Westminster Governments have gone too far and are now harming people who are in genuine need?
Leanne Wood: Thank you, First Minister. The Ken Loach film ‘I, Daniel Blake’ is resonating with people everywhere. I’m sure you’ll be aware that that film explores hardship, the root causes of hardship and how the system seems to be rigged against those people who are most in need of help. A major part of the hardship experienced by disabled people has come down to flaws in the way in which...
Leanne Wood: Will the Minister provide an update on the work of the individual patient funding request review?
Leanne Wood: Well, given that the campaigners are pushing for a law and that funding follows legislation, and that your Minister has said that the door is open to this, will you now commit to changing your mind and supporting an autism Bill, should a new motion appear before this Assembly?
Leanne Wood: I note your answer, First Minister, and the words of your Minister, but your vote on the motion just over two weeks ago flew in the face of what campaigners actually want to see on this. The National Autistic Society back legislation, which has got cross-party support—I suspect there are even Members on your benches who support legislation—and I’m sure that, like me, you’ve received...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. First Minister, do you agree that there needs to be specific legislation covering services for those on the autism spectrum?
Leanne Wood: The events of 21 October 1966 resonate right across Wales. Many of our communities were created as a result of the rich seam of coal beneath our feet. Coal brought employment, it brought opportunities, it gave us infrastructure, but it did also extract a very heavy price. Many of us grew up with a coal tip perched upon the mountains above us. What happened in Aberfan could have happened...
