Sioned Williams: And now we are facing a cost-of-living crisis that is both desperate and disastrous—an economic and social crisis that stems from, and is compounded by the aggregate impact of many of these elements, as well as some new elements such as the price of energy and the war on our continent, threatening some of the most fundamental human rights of our people to food and heat. What struck me was...
Sioned Williams: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate today. The Equality and Human Rights Commission continues to do vital work. Indeed, during these worrying times, when human rights are being threatened to an unprecedented degree by the Tory Government at Westminster, it is doing vital work to ensure that Welsh institutions and the Welsh Government take every opportunity to ensure...
Sioned Williams: It's a sad fact, isn't it, that it took a global pandemic and a movement ignited by a horrific murder in the United States, that of George Floyd, to open the eyes of many in Wales to the blatant truth of race inequality and its devastating and too often deadly consequences—a truth lived by thousands of Welsh black, Asian and minority ethnic people, an everyday experience of living with...
Sioned Williams: I want to focus on the impact of Brexit on research and innovation funding, which clearly illustrates the assertion in our motion that post-Brexit funding streams are not working for Wales. So, why is this a problem? Research and innovation is absolutely fundamental to our nation's productivity and prosperity. It further helps us understand who we are and how we can best plan our future,...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, First Minister. Parents of two disabled children in my region have contacted me following their difficulty in ensuring suitable childcare. The children have been attending a Flying Start nursery, where there is support available, but now that they are over four years of age the parents were expected to pay three times more for care over the school holidays than children without...
Sioned Williams: 2. Will the First Minister outline the Government's strategy to protect the rights of disabled children in South Wales West? OQ58096
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I could open this debate by reeling off the statistics that clearly show the need for action on health inequalities and the reason why we have tabled this motion before Members today, and that the lack of a women's health strategy merits scrutiny and debate, especially given the Government's own stated aim of becoming a feminist Government. But I'll save my own words...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Minister. In his speech in the Senedd to mark the tenth anniversary of the coleg, Dr Ioan Matthews, the chief executive, referred to the large number of Welsh speakers studying in universities across Wales who still don't make that choice to study part of their degree through the medium of Welsh. It's clear that there's still a challenge in terms of encouraging students to study...
Sioned Williams: 1. How is the Government supporting the work of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol? OQ58054
Sioned Williams: Thank you for your statement, Minister. There was a report in the Guardian recently that some refugees from Ukraine that have come to the United Kingdom were having to wait up to two years before being able to receive specialist therapy to help them deal with the atrocities that they have faced as a result of the war. We, of course, can't imagine the pressure on these people who've seen such...
Sioned Williams: What is most tragic about alcohol-specific deaths, alcohol-related hospital admissions and the consequences of alcohol dependency is they are completely preventable. What is unforgivable, perhaps, is that alcohol dependency disproportionately affects people who are socioeconomically deprived. On average, people on low incomes drink less than people on higher incomes. The minimum unit pricing...
Sioned Williams: Thank you, Llywydd. It gives me great pleasure to call on the Senedd to celebrate the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol's tenth anniversary, and I, as Plaid Cymru spokesperson on post-16 education, wish to congratulate them on their first decade of planning and developing Welsh-language and bilingual provision—provision that is providing valuable opportunities to so many students in our...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Weinidog. Swansea bay community health council's new report 'Accessing NHS Dental Care: Getting to the Root of the Problem' paints a damning picture of dental services in the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot areas. It emphasises these issues were present before the pandemic exacerbated them. Patients have had to wait years to see a dentist, many not having been able to get an appointment...
Sioned Williams: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on NHS dentistry services in South Wales West? OQ58013
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Weinidog. One of the aims of the Government's UBI pilot scheme is to enhance support available to young people who are leaving care in an attempt to tackle poverty and address inequality. Innovative and radical measures, such as UBI, are key in tackling the cost-of-living crisis. But Barnardo's Cymru, while welcoming the scheme, has raised some questions in relation to sustainable...
Sioned Williams: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, the oil and gas companies are making obscene record-breaking profits, billions upon billions of pounds. It's really hard to stomach and certainly feels unacceptable, while we are witnessing a cost-of-living crisis in Wales on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. Citizens Advice Cymru estimate that more than one in five people in Wales won't have enough money...
Sioned Williams: What action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure equality for disabled children?
Sioned Williams: This isn't a dry legal constitutional issue. It'll affect the lives of the people of Wales, those we want to welcome to Wales, and our ability as those who legislate on behalf of the people of Wales to ensure a fairer, more equal Wales for everyone who lives here.
Sioned Williams: I chair the Senedd's cross-party group on human rights, and we held a meeting this morning to discuss the motion and the implications of the reforms to the Human Rights Act. Altaf Hussain, you were there, but I don't think you were listening. The consensus among the group's members, who are among Wales's foremost experts on human rights legislation, on the rights of groups such as women,...
Sioned Williams: Plaid Cymru is proud to co-submit this motion, and agrees with the Welsh Government that this Parliament needs to send a clear message today that we oppose these efforts to limit the rights of the people of Wales and to undermine our efforts to ensure fairness, equality and justice for the people of our nation. We further agree that serious constitutional issues arise as a result of the UK...
