Mandy Jones: Minister, winter will soon be upon us once again, and it looks like it's going to be a bad one. What support is your Government going to give to the local authorities and delivery partners in the third sector to help rough-sleepers in particular?
Mandy Jones: Minister, in 2017 the decline in softwood planting in Wales was time-predicted to lead to a 50 per cent reduction in the availability of softwood by 2045. The shortfall in production in conifer woodland in Wales since the turn of the century is of considerable concern and has affected the supply of timber. What measures are being taken to increase the planting of trees by NRW and to also...
Mandy Jones: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. I welcome your statement today, Deputy Minister, and I wish to pay tribute to all of those who gave so much in various conflicts over the years. I cannot even begin to imagine the horror of war in 1914 or now. I am glad that I cannot. We must acknowledge the sacrifice of millions of lives, but also the sacrifice of mental and physical health, of lives planned and...
Mandy Jones: Moved. Okay, a quick change of speech in a minute. My group will be voting for this motion today, and the Brexit Party has also tabled an amendment in the name of Caroline Jones that calls on the Welsh Government to ensure that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and other health boards across Wales do not attempt to circumvent the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 by reclassifying...
Mandy Jones: I welcome this debate. It’s hard out there when you've got nobody. I stand here today as a mum to a serving soldier in the British army and as someone who was homeless for short time as a young 15-year-old person. Due to a really bad home life, I needed somewhere to stay, so I lived in a caravan with friends in return for odd jobs with a travelling fair. Six week later, when I was assaulted...
Mandy Jones: Minister, one of my staff members has just completed an ASIST training course—that is, an applied suicide intervention skills training. This involved having very uncomfortable conversations about suicide, and it's aiming to keep people safe for now. Are there any plans to roll this sort of scheme out with your own programmes to teachers and appropriate staff in Welsh schools?
Mandy Jones: Or the fact that Cardiff Airport—
Mandy Jones: No. Or the fact that Cardiff Airport has got yet another cash injection when north Wales, yet again, misses out under this Welsh Labour Government.
Mandy Jones: The Labour Party in Westminster—
Mandy Jones: The Labour Party in Westminster stopped a meaningful vote, yet the Labour Party in Wales wants another meaningless debate and another meaningless vote. Thank you.
Mandy Jones: No. Most workers' rights we enjoy today actually came through the UK Parliament, often following campaigns by your trade unions. Many such rights in the UK are far superior to the minimum provisions given by the EU. For example, paid holiday leave: EU legislation is four weeks, the UK is 5.6 weeks. Maternity leave: the EU is 14 weeks and the UK is 52 weeks. In the UK, it is 90 per cent pay...
Mandy Jones: No. Labour's argument is that it cannot vote for this deal because—
Mandy Jones: Yes, I love you too, Alun. Labour's argument is that it cannot vote for this deal because it doesn't protect—[Interruption.] I'll start again. Labour's argument is that it cannot vote for this deal because it doesn't protect workers' rights and environmental protections. What guff. What it will do, as we have endlessly discussed here, is transfer responsibility for doing that from the EU to...
Mandy Jones: I rise today with great disappointment that, once again, this Chamber is wasting the time and the money of the Welsh public. This motion is—[Interruption.]—contradictory. If point 1 of the motion comes to pass and the UK Parliament doesn't enact the withdrawal agreement Bill, then point 2 will not apply, as there would be no need for an LCM under Standing Order 29. It’s totally...
Mandy Jones: Will the First Minister make a statement on the allocation of school places in North Wales?
Mandy Jones: Thank you, Minister. I don't share your confidence, I'm sorry. I'm in regular contact with anglers on the River Dee, whose catchment area supplies water to 3 million people in north Wales and north-west England. These anglers are our eyes and ears on the rivers, and NRW need them. I'm deeply concerned that they describe a night-and-day difference between their interaction with the former...
Mandy Jones: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the performance of Natural Resources Wales? OAQ54476
Mandy Jones: Thank you for that answer. First Minister, it's been brought to my attention that a customer who went to buy a ticket from the Transport for Wales app was offered the price of £30.05 for a cross-border train journey. That customer then checked National Rail, to find the same journey for £22.10. That difference could feed his kids for a couple of days. What is the Welsh Government going to...
Mandy Jones: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on ticketing services on the Transport for Wales network? OAQ54477
Mandy Jones: You have no proof of this. It's all assumption on your part and the media's part, as usual. The Minister mentions shortages of vital goods. Would the Welsh Government publish those assessments and the preparations that it has made? Lastly, in this statement, you mention the risks of 'no deal'. But, would the Minister agree about the risks of no democracy, and the message that we send to the...
