, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr, Adam Price. Welsh Government is committed to ensuring all visually impaired people have equitable access to employment and voluntary work. Welsh Government's disabled people's employment champions are breaking down the barriers to employment…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, as I said in response, Delyth Jewell, to Carolyn Thomas's question, the energy market needs a complete overhaul. The energy costs, as you said, are almost double the pre-energy crisis levels. So, clearly, major reform is needed. Just in terms of looking…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for drawing attention to this injustice, particularly for your constituents in north Wales. There are two issues with standing charges: the postcode lottery around the amounts charged, and the fact that costs are applied even when people have used…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for your question, Carolyn Thomas. Despite the decrease in the price cap, energy costs remain almost double the pre-energy crisis levels, and are predicted to remain high for the foreseeable future. The energy market needs a complete overhaul, so…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you, once again, for drawing attention, Natasha Asghar, to Sparkle, to that all-important voluntary organisation supporting so many children across Gwent. I'm sure that I've drawn attention, as I've just done in response to John Griffiths, to GAVO, the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much, John, for that question. I was very pleased to visit Community House last year and indeed, last year, a choir came from Community House to an interfaith council event—a fantastic choir, a multicultural choir. There are so many things…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you, John Griffiths. Our third sector support Wales grant provides core funding to the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and county voluntary councils across Wales to provide a support infrastructure for community groups. For 2023-24, I've provided an…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch, Sioned Williams, for that really important question, and it is a cross-Government responsibility that we take to tackle poverty, particularly child poverty, as clearly laid out in our child poverty strategy. And, of course, that strategy, which I…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams, for that very important question drawing attention to that snapshot of poverty in this winter of 2024 from the Bevan Foundation. I'm very pleased the Bevan Foundation is playing a key role in delivering our charter of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Clearly, we condemn all attacks on elected representatives, but also recognise, and I'm sure many of us across this Chamber particularly recognise, the position of Natasha Asghar, but other elected Members also facing that kind of abuse, and also, in many…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for that follow-up question. Let me make it very clear that the Welsh Government speaks out and stands out against Islamaphobia and antisemitism. I think that it is really important that, in fact, in this Senedd, there was a really important event…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr, Altaf Hussain. Thank you for that really very important question for us today. It is a question that we've discussed and debated here in this Chamber, when we came together and debated this issue, and we were able to report, as a Welsh…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
I do hope, because you have questioned me on this before, Mark Isherwood, that you do recognise this is a major step forward in terms of the implementation of a Welsh benefits charter, but it is a first step in the journey to ensure that we do have a Welsh…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much for that question. Collaboration with local authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association, particularly, is the foundation upon which we've launched this charter, which all 22 local authorities have signed up to. And it's very…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much, Vikki Howells, for that question. The Welsh benefits charter, with its commitments for a person-centred, compassionate and accessible Welsh benefits system, was launched in January. Work on turning the commitments into actions is being…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Well, as I said earlier in response to the question from Darren Millar, extensive engagement has been taking place, but also there is a meeting on 7 March that the Minister for Climate Change is holding with the industry.FootnoteLink I do think this is…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you, Mark Isherwood, and your question about the Menai crossings, of course, we're committed to improving the resilience of the Menai crossings and agree with the view that access to and from the mainland is about more than transport. We understand the…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you very much, Natasha Asghar, and the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, I know, will be aware of this campaign, TRACS, for this station in Caerleon, and the fact that it has already been acknowledged in terms of the south Wales metro plan. So…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Diolch yn fawr. And crucially important in terms of the safeguarding of our collections. I think this is important as we move to the final budget debate this afternoon, in terms of the way forward, particularly recognising, in terms of ways in which we can…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you very much for that question, Darren Millar. Indeed, it is really important that the recycling at workplaces moves forward, and there has been extensive engagement. I'm sure we all know from our own constituencies the engagement that's been taking…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. There's one change to this week's business. Business Committee has agreed that questions to the Senedd Commission tomorrow should be reduced to 15 minutes. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
I would be very happy to meet with the Welsh Language Commissioner, and I'm sure the Minister also will acknowledge this in the work and the engagement liaison with the Welsh Language Commissioner. It's crucially important that we get this right. You…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
Thank you very much for that important question.
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
Thank you very much, Vikki Howells. You've raised a key point, which I think we've addressed in our external steering group of representatives from Welsh local government, local authorities, but also Disability Wales, Children in Wales, the Ethnic Minorities…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
Diolch yn fawr. Thank you for those key points. We do need to look at this wider, the key issues you have raised, the wider fiscal framework, but also look at what is feasible. I won't repeat again what I said about the constitution committee's findings, but…
