, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: Update on Ukraine
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd, for an opportunity to provide an update to Members about our ongoing work to support people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary in Wales. When I last updated you in June, Wales had welcomed just over 2,200 Ukrainians to Wales under the…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Cost of living
Well, I mean, I think this goes back, I say to the leader of Plaid Cymru, to how are we going to get support in order to support our public services, because there is no indication that we're going to get any support from the UK Government on Friday in terms…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Cost of living
Well, I think it is important, as the First Minister did say yesterday on this point, that we actually do have a rent freeze in the public sector here in Wales until the end of March. I mean, these are crucial issues in relation to reaching out in terms of…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Cost of living
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Llywydd. Can I start by thanking Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this debate? We've just had a very powerful debate on the Equality and Social Justice Committee report on tackling fuel poverty, and indeed yesterday the First Minister…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Cost of living
Formally.
, Plenary
Debate on the Equality and Social Justice Committee Report—Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes Programme
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I do welcome the inquiry and report from the Equality and Social Justice Committee on fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme, and thank Members for their contributions in this important debate today. But the report from this inquiry…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Basic Income and the transition to a zero-carbon economy
These are challenging times for businesses and individuals, with costs of energy and raw materials increasing significantly. And it is against this background that we need to develop a more resilient economy in Wales whilst at the same time achieving our…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Basic Income and the transition to a zero-carbon economy
Diolch yn fawr, acting Presiding Officer. The topics of this debate today are close to the heart of this Welsh Government's priorities, as well as the priorities of Members who proposed this motion for debate today. Our programme for government sets out our…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you very much, Mike Hedges, and I do remember coming to visit your Faith in Families project, an important project, in Swansea East and seeing what they were doing as a charity supporting the local community, very much engaged in tackling food poverty…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
So, can I just say again: will you call on the UK Conservative Government to make sure that benefit payments—which has been called for—permanently keep pace with inflation and also that the two-child limit on child benefit and the benefit cap is abolished?…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Well, I do have to ask Laura Anne Jones: are you going to join us, are you going to join me, are you going to join those opposition MPs in Westminster today, raising the issues that were raised by the End Child Poverty alliance, and raised, actually, with us…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Well, thank you very much for those important supplementary questions. I did see that the End Child Poverty alliance made some very clear calls on the UK Government that benefit payments should permanently keep pace with inflation—3.1 per cent, the uplift in…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I thank Luke Fletcher for that question. The key levers for tackling child poverty—powers over the tax and welfare system—sit with the UK Government, but we will continue to do all we can with the powers we have to tackle inequalities and improve outcomes for…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Winter fuel support scheme
Thank you very much for that question. We weren't sure how many would be eligible—we're very much dependent on DWP data and information about that. As you recall, we actually created this to very much follow the cut to the £20 of universal credit, so we were…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Winter fuel support scheme
Diolch yn fawr. I'd like to thank Plaid Cymru for bringing this important debate today, and it's very timely. I thank Members across the Chamber for their contributions. I will be making an announcement within the next fortnight on the new fuel support…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Winter fuel support scheme
Formally.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Well, it's vital in terms of enforceability. It's about delivering our goals, isn't it, our national milestones. So, we've got agreed national milestone values, which do represent that shared vision for Wales. And we did develop those in collaboration with…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Diolch yn fawr, Rhys ab Owen. National milestones are an important part of Shaping Wales' Future. We're delivering the national milestones in two waves. The first wave was laid before the Senedd in December 2021 and the consultation on wave 2 was published in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Well, thank you for that supplementary question. We made clear our fundamental opposition to the proposals in the Bill of Rights Bill during consultation at the start of the year, and you know the Counsel General and I issued a written statement on 22 June…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Thank you, Huw Irranca-Davies. The Welsh Government did not see the bill before it was introduced. It requires and is now receiving careful consideration, and we certainly continue to hold fundamental concerns about its potential regressive impact on human…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
No, I think I shall disagree with every point. It's hard to answer, isn't it, a question like that? Well, it's not questions, it's comments—it's comments, which I won't be responding to in terms of your last point at all. We have an independent children's…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Diolch yn fawr, Jane. Can I just say, again—I want to put on the record, and the Deputy Minister for Social Services would say it with me, as we do as a Welsh Government—that removing profit from the care of looked-after children is a key component of our…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
The national approach to statutory advocacy, established in 2017, addresses the issue of access, availability and provision of advocacy for all children and young people, including those in residential care settings. The national approach is monitored by the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Thank you for your very important question, Jane.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
I look forward, Mark Isherwood, to joining you, as I have every time I've had this invitation to the cross-party group, and, indeed, also, it'll be just alongside our summit as well. We'll certainly look at this issue in terms of making sure that our bespoke…
