Mandy Jones: Minister, during the referendum campaign, and well after, I always felt great disquiet as one of the major arguments for remaining, and then for thwarting the vote, was how the NHS may be affected by an exodus of workers in the NHS. It is almost as if civic leaders and politicians were celebrating the fact that other countries' health services and training were being plundered by the UK, and...
Mandy Jones: Thank you. Minister, I'm truly surprised to hear that answer, and I refer in particular—apart from the fact that I'm repeating so many other people—here to your mystifying decision on NVZs. I had meetings, as many others did, with the farmers unions a few weeks ago, and they reported that evidence and recommendations were provided in a report to you by the NRW Wales land management...
Mandy Jones: 4. How does the Minister use evidence to inform the Welsh Government's policy decisions relating to the environment? OQ56392
Mandy Jones: Thank you. First Minister, Kinmel Hall was in the headlines again recently. It's been dubbed the Welsh Versailles, but has fallen into dangerous disrepair, and this piece of Welsh heritage is at very serious risk of being lost forever, despite being a grade I listed building. I see that one of Cadw's first priorities is caring for the historic environment. First Minister, what is the point of...
Mandy Jones: 4. What assessment has the First Minister made of the performance of Cadw across North Wales? OQ56393
Mandy Jones: Minister, we've spoken previously in this Chamber about how the hospitality industry is probably one of the most COVID secure. Figures show that people are more likely to contract COVID in a hospital than a pub or a restaurant. Minister, there was a victory for common sense this week when the UK Government lost a case brought by the Manchester hospitality industry in terms of the restrictions...
Mandy Jones: First Minister, it's good that your Government is surpassing its own target of 20,000 affordable homes during this Senedd term, though recent headlines suggest that private developers see Wales as not being a particularly attractive prospect and cite many reasons, including the planning system and Welsh regulations being the most onerous in the UK. We know that the 20,000 target goes nowhere...
Mandy Jones: Minister, the 'Visit Wales. Later' slogan was used to great effect last year. Those using caravans in Wales are often people, as Darren said, who own their own, and coming to Wales feels, for them, like coming home. I'm deeply concerned though about the anti-English, anti-incomer rhetoric used in Wales, and also in Scotland. It has been noticed by a lot of caravan owners, and they're saying...
Mandy Jones: As said by the previous two speakers, Minister, waiting lists are at levels that we haven't seen for years. Many on those waiting lists before too long will end up being emergency admissions after their quality of life has been obliterated by pain and disability. Constituents report a very patchy and hit-and-miss non-COVID health service across the region, which suggests that we are facing a...
Mandy Jones: First Minister, I've raised this matter of the mental health effects of the lockdown policy since it was evident that the three weeks to flatten the curve was nothing of the sort. We won't know the full effects of lockdown policy in terms of suicide, mental health crises, cancers and waiting times for a long time yet. That said, your Government seems to be investing heavily in mental health...
Mandy Jones: Minister, I'm particularly concerned about the smaller bed-and-breakfast businesses that got little or no help last year. Many were thriving little businesses that provided pension top-ups and company for their owners and part-time employment for the locals. What analysis has your Government done to establish the toll taken on the tourism sector in Wales due to the pandemic? And what...
Mandy Jones: First Minister, since being returned to the Senedd and working on various committees, including the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, my view on devolution has evolved, and I'm leaning towards a more grown-up relationship between the UK nations and a move to a more federal structure. I'm interested to know, after hearing your thoughts on the future direction for devolution, is...
Mandy Jones: Minister, at the start of the pandemic, many people put themselves forward as volunteers, either in the community or as NHS staff for clinical duties. I hear from many constituents that their enquiries were never even answered, and the bureaucracy around getting back into the NHS workforce is a matter of public record. What lessons have been learned by local authorities this last year to...
Mandy Jones: Thank you. First Minister, many high street shops have gone and they are unlikely to ever return. The loss of Debenhams and the Arcadia Group brands and the jobs attached to the physical stores is being felt very keenly across north Wales. The pandemic has resulted in a moratorium on business rates, which, in turn, will result in the lowering of tax revenue for local authorities. Is it now...
Mandy Jones: 8. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans for the regeneration of high streets in North Wales? OQ56211
Mandy Jones: Counsel General, I see questions like this, and I hear the answers, and I understand completely why this place is called 'a bubble'. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, people have lost their lives and livelihoods, they've lost hope, and we appear in this Senedd to be navel gazing. That being said, I'd be grateful to know what is the Welsh Government prevented from doing by this Act...
Mandy Jones: First Minister, scaremongering again. That's exactly what I expect. The answer you gave was the sort of reply I always expect from you—doom, gloom and more fear. In many areas of workers' rights, as Janet has rightly said, including maternity and holiday allowances, UK workers have enjoyed and will still enjoy far superior conditions than those mandated by the EU, and the relevant UK...
Mandy Jones: Minister, while I understand that the collation of suicide figures is often subject to a lapse of time due to the need for investigation and inquests, I would draw your attention to the comments of the north Wales coroner, John Gittins, in December, who presided over seven suicide cases from the summer in the same week. He noted the effects of lockdown as a contributory factor in all of those...
Mandy Jones: Thank you for that answer, Minister. I'd like to raise the matter of those providing domiciliary care, those going into the homes of the elderly and the vulnerable to provide care, particularly those who have been taken on by direct payments, or those providing care privately. I've spoken to some in the workforce, and they are in some doubt about whether they will form part of the social care...
Mandy Jones: 4. Will the Minister provide an update on the roll-out of the vaccine for those working in social care? OQ56135
