Vikki Howells: 6. Will the Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's priorities for town centre regeneration? OQ57321
Vikki Howells: Thank you, First Minister, for your statement today. I’m really glad you gave that robust message around the importance of vaccinations and boosters, which will, of course, underpin what we want to do over the coming period. Will you also reaffirm the importance of face coverings, physical distancing and hand washing to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe this Christmas? I also welcome...
Vikki Howells: Trefnydd, you may have seen in the press the furore around the owner of Aberdare Market and Town Hall Company invoking a mid-nineteenth-century Act of Parliament to effectively threaten charitable and fund-raising Christmas fairs from taking place in my constituency. This included planned events at St Elvan's Church, at the new Welsh Government-funded Cynon Linc community hub and in Aberaman...
Vikki Howells: Will the Minister set out the Government’s priorities for supporting business on Welsh high streets over the next 12 months?
Vikki Howells: Will the First Minister provide an update on Welsh Government interventions to ensure the Welsh public sector is carbon neutral by 2030?
Vikki Howells: Thank you for that answer, Minister. I recently met with Adult Learning Wales who told me about the barriers that asylum seekers can face in being able to take up education opportunities, such as affording public transport or being able to access childcare. I know that one action in the 'Nation of Sanctuary' plan commits to work towards changes to the education maintenance allowance and...
Vikki Howells: 4. What action is the Welsh Government taking to make Wales a nation of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers? OQ57217
Vikki Howells: Ninety-five years ago, Penrhiwceiber's war memorial was completed. The bronze plaque commemorating those who lost their lives in the first world war was sited at the base of a castellated tower that would also serve as the village clock. It was designed by Mountain Ash architect W.H. William, paid for by public subscription, and built with stone from the old Aberdare canal. It's a striking...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for your answer. And while recognising the fact that, of course, this is a non-devolved issue, this is something that, like many Members of the Senedd, my postbag is always full about at this time of the year. Now, Welsh councils can put in place a suite of actions to mitigate the impact of fireworks, such as voluntary or localised measures, to increase public awareness,...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Trefnydd. I'd like to request two statements, please, from the Minister for health. Firstly, Wednesday is World COPD Day, and across Wales over 76,000 people live with COPD, which can have a considerable impact on a person's quality of life. Constituencies like mine, with an industrial heritage, have above-average rates. So, can we have a statement on how the Welsh Government is...
Vikki Howells: What are the Welsh Government's priorities for responding to the climate emergency?
Vikki Howells: Minister, it was a pleasure to join you for the official opening of the new £10.2 million Hirwaun Primary School last Thursday, which was 65 per cent funded by the Welsh Government. This is just the latest in a series of new schools for the Cynon valley, all jointly funded by Rhondda Cynon Taf council and the Welsh Government, and really investing in local young people. The Hirwaun school...
Vikki Howells: 8. Will the Minister provide an update on the twenty-first century schools programme? OQ57137
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Deputy Minister, for your answer. Last month, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council cabinet announced they'd work with independent social care providers to help them access funding under the Welsh Government's social care recovery fund. This is so that they can provide the real living wage for the social care staff that they employ. Whilst looking forward to further...
Vikki Howells: 5. Will the Welsh Government provide an update on plans to ensure social care workers receive the real living wage? OQ57108
Vikki Howells: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. So, Tower Colliery stayed operational until 2008, giving people work, keeping money in the local economy, and the tale of Tower, one of triumph, tenacity, and proving the coal board and the Department of Trade and Industry wrong, is remarkable. But the principle of supporting and enabling employee acquisition of the company is one that shouldn't be, and neither should...
Vikki Howells: It's a pleasure to be speaking in support of the Member for Ogmore's legislative proposal today. He's a passionate champion of co-operative principles. I want to put on the record my membership of the Co-operative Party and also my role as chair of the cross-party group on co-operatives and mutuals. In my contribution today, I want to briefly mention one very famous incident in my...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Minister, for your statement today. I welcome your comments about ensuring people are signposted to the appropriate source of medical support and advice, and community pharmacies obviously have a key role to play, as you acknowledge. But how can we make sure that people know they are there and that people have a good knowledge of the common ailments scheme and how it can be used?...
Vikki Howells: [Inaudible.]—economic benefits. So, there is much more that we can do, and that must be the focus of the Welsh Government.
Vikki Howells: I had a very timely visit last week to the Pen y Cymoedd windfarm. For anyone not familiar, it's the largest onshore windfarm in England and Wales, and it straddles the top of my constituency and several others. It has got 76 turbines, hardly any of which are visible from the valley floor, and in an average year it will power the equivalent of 188,000 homes. To put that in perspective, that's...
