Delyth Jewell: That picture, Dirprwy Lywydd, I know is bleak, but I think what keeps coming up in this debate is that it need not be that way. Wales is a net exporter of energy and the potential for renewable energy development is enormous. The current crises just make the case for this shift all the more urgent. Beyond the application of energy necessities like electricity, warmth, food production,...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer. This debate is exceptionally timely. The cost-of-living crisis is causing real pain to ordinary people on a day-to-day basis, as is raised in the Senedd, and at a time of climate and nature emergencies and of course increasing international conflict. In several ways, these challenges that face our planet, challenges that affect everyone, albeit unequally,...
Delyth Jewell: The in-tray on the desk under which the Prime Minister is now hiding was substantial, but rather than face the economic challenges with seriousness, Truss favoured this fantasy of trickle-down economics with tax cuts for the rich. She has been forced to reverse nearly every measure, but the damage to the economy is here to stay. As a direct result, as we've heard, my constituents face soaring...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Minister. Plaid Cymru has campaigned for years to ban single-use plastics. I first called for a ban in 2019. This is an important step forward, and something that is very much to be welcomed. Because plastics have become an intrinsic part of our lives—from food packaging, our clothes, the way that people clean, the things that we eat, plastic is everywhere. I read this week that...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, I wanted to ask about the mental health impact of miscarriages. There's still this strange societal expectation that we don't talk about miscarriages, and people grieve for the little lives that were part of their world for a short time. They mourn the moments they never had together. And their grief is something that those parents are expected to process privately and then get on...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that, Minister. Recent data from the Wales Governance Centre paints an extremely worrying picture of racism within the justice system. As this information was not publicly available, they gathered it through freedom of information requests. They found that black and mixed race people are more than four times more likely to be arrested than white people, which is twice as likely...
Delyth Jewell: 6. Will the Counsel General provide an update on the Welsh Government’s efforts to reduce racial discrimination within the justice system? OQ58495
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Gweinidog. I'm glad that the Welsh Government is now, I hope, moving towards a more ambitious agenda when it comes to addressing the nature emergency. The debates on this area that we've had in the Chamber, I think, have shown that each and every one of us has acknowledged the vital importance of protecting and restoring biodiversity for Wales, but the wider world as well. And I'm...
Delyth Jewell: The people of Blaenau Gwent and across the Valleys have suffered disproportionately from Tory misrule. This is a direct consequence of the failure or, rather, the deliberate policies of successive UK Governments that continue to funnel wealth and investment to London while communities in the south of Wales get next to nothing. The Truss Government is probably the worst yet. The Tories won a...
Delyth Jewell: What is the First Minister’s analysis of the effect on the Welsh Government’s budget of the recent tax announcements made by the UK Government?
Delyth Jewell: I'd request a Government statement outlining the Welsh Government's tax-raising strategy, please. Last year, I asked the finance Minister whether the Government was in favour of gaining powers to introduce new income-tax bands, a power that Scotland has. I'd hope the Government would look into this, but, as far as I can tell, nothing has been said on it over the past year. Now, the fact that...
Delyth Jewell: Crises don't abate when it's inconvenient for them to be continuing. If we ignore them, they don't go away, and the cost-of-living crisis is not a crisis that has paled in significance, as one broadcaster put it, because of the events of the past week, nor had the turmoil and panic felt by people across the UK been put on hold when the Westminster Government put itself on hold over the...
Delyth Jewell: It was with terrible sadness that Wales learned about the death of Eddie Butler. A gentle giant, Eddie captained Pontypool RFC, he captained the Wales team and played for the Barbarians and Lions, but it was as a commentator that Eddie became not only a household name but a familiar household presence on match days. In our triumphs and our disappointments, Eddie's melodious voice accompanied...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Minister. You'll be aware of the recent report of the Education Policy Institute, stating that no progress has been made in trying to close the gap between pupils from different social backgrounds over the past decade. According to the report, the poorest pupils are two years behind their contemporaries from more affluent backgrounds, on average. I know that you are concerned about...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that, Minister. The second and final question I'd like to ask is on another issue—community empowerment. It cuts across portfolios, including climate change and also rural affairs. But focusing on this portfolio, there was community anger in Llanbradach recently after a private company destroyed a beautiful bluebell woodland that was important to many people. The company had...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Llywydd. I would also like to extend my best wishes to the Minister for Climate Change and hope for her speedy recovery. Minister, the Welsh Government has set a target of net zero emissions by 2050 and is, through our co-operation agreement, examining advice that could potentially bring this forward to 2050. The climate and nature crises, interwoven as they are, are the greatest...
Delyth Jewell: 3. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to reduce the attainment gap between school pupils from different socioeconomic backgrounds? OQ58412
Delyth Jewell: I would like to congratulate Côr CF1 on winning the Choir of the World competition at the Llangollen Eisteddfod last week. In order to win the title, the choir sang songs including an arrangement of 'Dros Gymru'n Gwlad', 'Gwinllan a Roddwyd i'n Gofal', and also a French folk song and a prayer in Russian—an appropriately international repertoire for a festival like this. CF1 was established...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that, Minister. The Welsh Government's commitment to global responsibility is a welcome move, especially in terms of biodiversity, climate change, sustainable economic development and employment rights when it comes to trade policy. There are, however, other less tangible impacts of global trade on the lives of people across the world. These international trade deals affect...
Delyth Jewell: 10. How is the Minister working to ensure that the Welsh Government's commitment to global responsibility is incorporated into its trade policy? OQ58361
