3. 2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:37 pm on 27 June 2017.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 2:37, 27 June 2017

Just picking up on the concerns that have been raised about Tesco, I was very concerned to read that Tesco wrote a letter to staff, saying that their primary concern was to remain customer focused, while failing to mention that that customer focus was dependent on the loyal contribution of their staff, which seems to me an absolute own goal, as far as public relations is concerned. So, I’m particularly concerned to learn what the Government can do to ensure that the 1,200 people who are potentially going to lose their jobs within six months—what tailored services they’re going to be able to call upon to ensure that they have clear the options available to them in terms of their next career move?

Secondly, I just wanted to pick up the subject of excessive gambling that was briefly mentioned in First Minister’s questions. I was involved in a panel at a seminar last Wednesday, organised by the Living Room, called Beat the Odds, which is the only organisation, as far as I’m aware, that actually offers treatment services for people who are addicted to gambling. And given the amount of harm that gambling does in our community, I wondered if we could have a debate so we can discuss a lot further what we as an Assembly could do to beat this particular problem, because I detect there’s quite considerable cross-party support for doing something about this, before it becomes an even bigger problem.