Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister. I've recently met with a number of businesses in the Cynon valley who are seeking to invest in renewable energy sources, or more modern energy efficient machinery. Of course, this can be very expensive for small family enterprises. How is the Welsh Government supporting this type of investment so that businesses can innovate, modernise and play their part in tackling the...
Vikki Howells: 8. What consideration did the Minister give to supporting small and medium-sized businesses when determining the Welsh Government's budget for 2022-23? OQ58259
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Deputy Minister, for your statement today. I was delighted to have been able to visit one of the earlier Summer of Fun sessions back in 2017 in Penywaun in my constituency. I was really impressed with the way that the then lunch and fun club was providing benefit to learners, to staff with the additional hours that they could work, and to the local community. I've enjoyed following...
Vikki Howells: Thank you for your statement, Minister. I think there is certainly a lot to welcome in this new approach. I appreciate the need for transparency and openness, but when our schools, our learners and our communities are so varied, with widely different challenges, there were elements of the old system of categorization that could be somewhat reductive, and that was something that I saw and...
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to thank Eluned Morgan MS for her words here today. I'd also like to thank my fellow members of the Standards of Conduct Committee for their work on this matter and the clerking team for all of their hard work and professionalism in supporting our inquiry.
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Llywydd. As the Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee, I formally move the motion. The committee considered the report from the commissioner for standards in relation to a complaint made against Eluned Morgan MS regarding her conviction for speeding offences. The Standards of Conduct Committee gave the commissioner's report careful consideration, and our report sets out the...
Vikki Howells: First Minister, Rhigos Primary School in my constituency is celebrating after recently being awarded the title of best breakfast club in Wales. We've been providing free breakfasts for children in Wales for just under 20 years now, improving not just their health but also their concentration levels. And of course, the benefits of that universal access to good nutrition is set to be...
Vikki Howells: Thank you to my colleague Jack Sargeant for tabling today's motion on pensions divestment. I'm really pleased to speak in support of this important issue, and indeed it's something I've long agreed is essential. For example, I hosted a drop-in with Friends of the Earth Cymru for Senedd Members a few years ago, and the specific purpose of this was to generate consensus behind divesting the...
Vikki Howells: Thank you for your statement, Minister. It's really encouraging to see you focusing on recruiting Welsh-speaking teachers and progressing the Welsh language skills of the current teaching workforce. If we're to achieve our ambitious goal of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, then investing in our teaching workforce is absolutely vital. Minister, you recently announced a scheme to boost the...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, First Minister, for that answer. Recent statistics show that Wales was the only part of the UK to maintain its excellent recycling rates during the course of the pandemic, and I'd like to thank every Welsh citizen and council worker who did their bit to make that possible. Another remarkable achievement is the fact that food waste here in Wales is converted via anaerobic digestion,...
Vikki Howells: 3. What are the Welsh Government's priorities for further increasing recycling rates? OQ58108
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Today is International Museum Day. First celebrated in 1977, last year over 37,000 museums in over 150 countries took part. The day aims to raise awareness of museums as arenas for cultural exchange, where we enrich our understanding of ourselves and others. This year's theme, the power of museums, taps into this transformative potential. It explores how museums...
Vikki Howells: Thank you for your statement, Minister, and I'd also like to place on record my thanks to you for the work that you've done to date to work with communities to reduce vulnerability to the increased risk of flooding that we see as a result of climate change and for your announcement of over £71 million, the largest ever package of investment in Wales to reduce flood risk. In your statement,...
Vikki Howells: Thank you for that answer, Minister. For over 70 years now, Aberdare park has been home to the world-renowned national motorcycle road races. These races are incredibly important to Aberdare and to the Cynon Valley, injecting many thousands of pounds into the economy and bringing in around 5,000 visitors annually, a figure that can actually double in some years. Minister, I know that you and...
Vikki Howells: 4. What action is the Welsh Government taking to promote tourism within the south Wales valleys? OQ57997
Vikki Howells: I thank you, Minister, for that answer, and of course the food and drink sector is incredibly important to the Welsh economy, contributing £17.3 billion in gross sales annually. It's really important, then, that our skills policy aligns with the needs of the sector so that it can thrive and support good quality jobs. So, could you tell us what discussions you've had with colleagues across...
Vikki Howells: 10. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government priorities for the food and drink sector in Wales? OQ57932
Vikki Howells: I thank you, First Minister, for that answer. Under the recently released and long-awaited details of the shared prosperity fund, it is clear that Wales is set to lose more than £1 billion over the next three years. Funding will also be top-sliced to support the delivery of UK Government pet projects, and there will be duplication of existing provision within Wales. What is the Welsh...
Vikki Howells: 1. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the shared prosperity fund's potential to address economic inequality in Wales? OQ57939
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Deputy Minister, for your statement today. The first point I want to make is a simple one: the 2,500 disused coal tips across Wales are a legacy of our industrial past and the systematic extraction of the mineral wealth from communities such as mine in Cynon Valley and your own over a sustained period of coal mined, wealth leached, lives sacrificed. It is staggering, but not...
