Mark Isherwood: I'm sorry if you missed it. I stated that it's in our work programme and we'll be doing this in the autumn session of the Senedd. We'll be treating this as a priority matter and not something to take weeks and months before we've got anything to report.
Mark Isherwood: I'm pleased to speak in this debate as Chair of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, which you kindly referred to. The committee, which has the acronym PAPAC, has long-term interest in the implementation of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, with our predecessor committee having reported on 'Delivering for Future Generations: the story so far' in March...
Mark Isherwood: In your written statement update on the Homes for Ukraine scheme last Wednesday, you referred to the latest UK Government figures then, which stated that as of 30 May, 4,909 visas had been issued to people from Ukraine with a sponsor in Wales, which was up 1,609 in three weeks, of which 2,453 were sponsored by the Welsh Government, up 1,453 in just three weeks. You stated then that 1,961...
Mark Isherwood: Okay, I'll finish. The Welsh Government's cost-of-living support scheme guidance for local authorities allows for payments to be made until the scheme closes on 30 September, but leaves it to them to decide when. What action, finally, therefore, is the Welsh Government taking to address concerns raised by residents in a number of local authority areas about the delay in paying the council tax...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. You say—. I'll begin with the end and get the controversial bit over with. You say the cost-of-living crisis has 'its roots firmly in Downing Street'. In fact, inflation to May, which are the last international figures I can find, point to inflation in Holland at 8.8 per cent, the US at 8.6 per cent, Germany at 7.9 per cent, and in the Baltic states as high as 20 per cent. Is...
Mark Isherwood: It's more than regrettable that the Welsh Government has failed to deliver promised improvements at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and that successive health Ministers, term after term, have failed to address serious issues regarding the health board that I and others have raised with them on behalf of constituents. It would be a dereliction of duty if this Welsh Government rejects...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. I would be grateful if, as you stated, your officials would follow up with the group and myself as chair when they have the information to hand. Changing tack, reference was made earlier by my colleague Tom Giffard to residential women's centres in Wales. The UK Government's female offender strategy was published in June 2018 to divert vulnerable female offenders away from short...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Of course, we've also called for that, as have large numbers of Conservative MPs, alongside Labour MPs and other parties also. I hope that answer meant that that money will be going in its entirety to hardest-hit households. It wasn't exactly clear. But on the directly related question of fuel poverty, because my first question was more general around fuel poverty in Wales,...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. Well, as we heard, 13 days ago, the UK Government announced a new £15 billion cost-of-living support package targeted towards millions of low-income households, bringing its total cost-of-living support so far to £37 billion. As we heard earlier, this includes £650 cost-of-living payments for every household on means-tested benefits, and doubling of the October energy bill...
Mark Isherwood: Could I call for a single statement, on rail services in north-east Wales? I don't know whether you read in our local press last Saturday reporting of the Wrexham-Bidston Rail Users' Association saying that Transport for Wales appears incapable of providing passengers with a reliable service, that they were operating a reduced service last Saturday on the Borderlands line running from...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Thank you very much indeed. I'm sure we all share the same goals. The world passed peak oil production a few years ago, and the world is running out of fossil fuels, whether we love them or hate them, and therefore we've only got a few years to put an alternative energy system in place, but the technology is not fully there yet. How do you respond to the evidence that without fossil...
Mark Isherwood: In addition to the largest ever financial settlement from the UK Government, the £25 million extra household support funding and £180 million extra funding for cost-of-living support, so far received by the Welsh Government from the UK Government in consequence of its funding announcements, which the Welsh Government would not otherwise have had, the UK Government has said this week that a...
Mark Isherwood: Commenting on its 'Delivering Justice for Wales' report yesterday, the Welsh Government described 'a distinct Welsh justice policy based on prevention through tackling social challenges and rehabilitation' and contrasted this with 'a more punitive approach' by the UK Government—a theme continued in the statement we've just heard, but didn't receive in advance. Why have you claimed this when...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018, or ALN Act, aims to overhaul the current special educational needs system, placing the child or young person's views at the heart of the process and involving them and their families in the planning, intervention and review process from the outset, with schools themselves having more autonomy over their additional...
Mark Isherwood: Electric vehicle charging points will be key to a sustainable transport network in north Wales. In February I wrote to you in support of a constituent who asked for help in finding out why Transport for Wales, TfW, was taking so long to install the 21 rapid electrical vehicle charging points announced last June. In your reply, you stated that the project referred to is a complex one, there'd...
Mark Isherwood: 5. How is the Welsh Government developing a sustainable transport network in North Wales? OQ58037
Mark Isherwood: 6. How is the Welsh Government monitoring the implementation of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018? OQ58056
Mark Isherwood: In your update on Welsh Government support for Ukraine last Thursday, you referred to the latest UK Government figures, which stated that, as of 10 May, 3,300 visas have been issued to people from Ukraine to come to Wales via the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which is up 1,000 in just a fortnight, of which 1,300 were sponsored by the Welsh Government, up 630 in just a fortnight. Overall, a total...
Mark Isherwood: Autism is covered by the Equality Act 2010, requiring understanding of and adjustments for autistic service users, each of whom is a unique person with individual needs, just like everyone else. However, although autism spectrum conditions are not mental health conditions, I continue to hear daily from people with lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, or their families,...
Mark Isherwood: The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 places a specific duty on local authorities to promote the involvement of people in the design and delivery of care and support services. However, almost daily, I receive cases where public bodies have dictated how they will communicate with autistic and neurodiverse people and their families and carers, regardless of their individual...
