Altaf Hussain: Anyway, let me carry on. The Bill will retain all the substantive rights in the Human Rights Act 1998 and the convention. Again, I fail to see what is wrong with this. We can all agree the NHS is something we can all be proud of. However, under the NHS flag, the Human Rights Act Labour wants to retain does not always protect the rights of patients. The NHS is an attractive organisation for...
Altaf Hussain: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. You've done a good job. I'm delighted to contribute to this debate today. I pay tribute to the Minister for bringing the debate to the Senedd. I wish to speak to the amendment tabled in the name of Darren Millar, and I want to tackle, head on, the accusations that the UK Government is seeking to erode human rights. The rights of individuals and groups...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, I would like you to secure a statement from the Deputy Minister for Social Services, for her to respond to Professor Donald Forrester, who has called for a review of children's social work in Wales following the death of Logan Mwangi. The professor told BBC Wales that, across the UK, there has been quite a number of child deaths requiring reviews with the involvement of social...
Altaf Hussain: Now, as we plan for our economic renewal, there are huge opportunities for communities to be engaged in what this looks like and for local authorities to act as the leaders and facilitators. There are examples of this in England, in Preston, where there is an ambitious wealth-building strategy. What strategy does the Minister envisage for Wales to harness the benefit of local procurement,...
Altaf Hussain: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you, Deputy Minister. Being a member of the LGBT+ community is not an illness to be cured, and any step we can take to ban conversion therapy for good must be welcomed. Banning conversion therapy is a huge step in providing equality for the LGBT community. Conversion therapy is toxic and can have a huge impact on the mental and physical well-being of...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, I have always been proud of Bridgend as an exciting and vibrant place to live. But, it has become clear that the town centre is struggling, with so many empty shops and premises giving a sense of abandonment. Many businesses have struggled to get back on their feet since the pandemic. Many have reverted to online sales, but the town centre remains important to keep that sense of...
Altaf Hussain: Good afternoon, First Minister. Local government has shown exceptional leadership in Wales as a key economic driver, able to identify needs and build relationships with partners. What discussion has the Welsh Government had with local authorities on the spending of their allocations under the shared prosperity fund? And does he share my excitement that we're recognising the important role...
Altaf Hussain: Good afternoon, Minister. The Welsh Government has been clear that RSE should support learners to develop the knowledge, skills and values to understand how relationships and sexuality shape their own lives and the lives of others. Learners should be equipped and enabled to seek support on issues related to RSE and to educate themselves and others. On developing healthy relationships, I would...
Altaf Hussain: Good afternoon, Deputy Minister. Minister, owner-occupied homes make up more than 70 per cent of the 1.4 million homes that we have in Wales. On average, our properties are older than elsewhere in the UK, and many will have a challenge in achieving decarbonisation to the target you have set. If the problem is one of energy supply, how does the Welsh Government expect families to move away...
Altaf Hussain: Thank you, Sioned Williams, for raising this important issue. Good afternoon, First Minister. During the height of the pandemic, we saw huge restrictions placed on new mums and their families, who were not allowed to visit them in hospital. The charity and campaign group Birthrights has monitored the impact across the UK to articulate the challenges that many have faced. Apparently, they...
Altaf Hussain: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I just want to make my declaration of interest, since I'm a councillor in BCBC as well. That's Bridgend County Borough Council. Thank you.
Altaf Hussain: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer and Minister. I am grateful, and it is nice to be back here, one among you. Minister, you will be aware of a recent internal audit report at Bridgend council that exposed the payment of £316,192 to a company for home insulation work, where the director was a Labour council cabinet member, and where the moneys were paid to a company that the...
Altaf Hussain: Thank you, Minister. Let me take it a little further. Minister, many employers already offer flexible working conditions, recognising that organisations can very often benefit from arrangements that respond to people's lifestyles, family arrangements and responsibilities. Has the Minister reached out to organisations that offer more flexibility to understand the evidence of those benefits,...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, last month, I was delighted to donate three defibrillators—two to primary schools in Bridgend and one to Brynawel rehab centre. And it is to highlight, really, yet again the importance of building our Wales-wide network and number of defibrillators in the fight to save lives. Can the Government, as part of this ongoing mission, also commit to reviving progress within the next 12...
Altaf Hussain: Yes, Deputy Presiding Officer. Along with that, there's a medical debt, which we have not addressed so far, but the Chair has agreed that we'll be looking into that. It is a huge concern for me, personally, that this is going on here, and we are not doing anything about it. Thank you very much.
Altaf Hussain: As a member of the Equality and Social Justice Committee, I am delighted to contribute to today's debate on our report, 'Debt and the pandemic'. The pandemic has taken its toll in different ways. For many people it hit financially—they faced job insecurity, less income, higher bills. It has compounded the financial problems that families have been grappling with. I believe this inquiry and...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, digital technology has the potential to reshape the way that justice operates and how people access it. The courts and tribunals service is investing roughly about £1 billion to reform its systems with the aim of bringing new technologies and modern ways of working into the courtrooms, and the Ministry of Justice has created a £5 million innovation fund to promote these new ways...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, many of our most hard-pressed families will face major financial challenges over the next few years, and not just in the cost of fuel. As your Government continues to press ahead with its carbon-neutral target, it is those least able to afford a change in their heating system and other areas of their lifestyles that will bear the brunt of meeting these climate targets. What...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, as a Senedd friend of Srebrenica, I would like to call for a debate in Government time to discuss the worrying developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many of our colleagues here, including Ministers in the Welsh Government, have been long-standing supporters of Remembering Srebrenica UK, ensuring a strong Welsh voice alongside our colleagues in Westminster. There have been debates...
Altaf Hussain: First, let me speak about Elin and what she said. Language is the heart of the nation. Now, let me speak about Professor Robert Owen. Bob Owen was a farmer’s son, born in Chwilog in the Llŷn peninsula in north Wales in 1921, and would have been 100 this year. He grew up on the family farm. From local primary and grammar schools, he studied medicine at Guy’s Hospital in London, followed...
