Ruth Jones: I am privileged to be able to speak in this Chamber as the new Member of Parliament for Newport West. County lines is a growing issue across the UK, and no more so than in my constituency. May we have a debate in Government time to discuss the way in which it is damaging our communities?
Ruth Jones: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Ruth Jones: I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the current funding cuts that all police forces are facing. Does she agree that the £30 million that has been cut from the Gwent police budget has a direct impact on the way the police in my area can carry out their role both reactively and, just as importantly, proactively, to prevent shop crime from happening in the first place?
Ruth Jones: Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a great honour to be able to make my maiden speech during this debate on climate change. This topic is very close to my heart, and I am so pleased to see the importance that is being attached to it here in this House. I stand here today as the newest Member of Parliament, representing my home constituency of Newport West. I feel very proud and privileged to be...
Ruth Jones: What recent assessment the Government have made of trends in the level of pension credit take-up in Wales.
Ruth Jones: The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales has found that £170 million of pension credit went unclaimed in 2016-17. This is a massive amount of money that could make a real difference to some of the poorest people in Wales. We know that pensioners in Wales are not taking up pension credit, but how are the Government monitoring this to note any recognisable trends, and what are they doing to...
Ruth Jones: What assessment the Government have made of the effect of the annual tapered allowance on the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of doctors in (i) hospitals, (ii) primary care and (iii) the armed forces.
Ruth Jones: A number of hospital consultants who live in my constituency have written to me to express their concern at the implications of the tapered annual allowance. With GP numbers continuing to fall, ongoing shortages across consultant specialties and armed forces doctors currently experiencing a 23% workforce shortfall, how is the Chancellor going to help doctors and patients by resolving the...
Ruth Jones: As a former physiotherapist, I share my hon. Friend’s interest in this important subject. Anna Lockey, a young woman in my constituency, has psoriatic arthritis. She is planning on going back to work following her maternity leave in September. She is one of many who want to work and contribute to the wider economy. Does my hon. Friend agree that utilising the access to work scheme and the...
Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will reclassify school notice boards as wall linings in his review of fire safety in schools.
Ruth Jones: I thank my hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian (Martin Whitfield) for instigating this debate, which I am delighted to be able to co-sponsor. The whole point of the development of a new sign—Grace’s sign—is to be welcomed as a physical reminder that not all disabilities are visible, but also as a general encouragement to us all to not take people at face value. We need to have...
Ruth Jones: The Leader of the House is well aware of the plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has already been mentioned in the House this morning. Richard Ratcliffe, her husband, is now on hunger strike outside the Iranian embassy here in London to show solidarity with his wife and to highlight the appalling conditions in which she is being held. Mr Ratcliffe’s sister lives in my Newport West...
Ruth Jones: I commend the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) for bringing the important subject of refugee family reunion to the Chamber—I apologise for not being able to pronounce his constituency; I promise to rectify that. I commend the Red Cross for the drop-in event it held earlier this week, with refugees from various areas. I was able to meet up with one of my...
Ruth Jones: I commend the hon. Member for Poole (Sir Robert Syms) for bringing this important debate to the Chamber. I did not intend to speak, but I feel obliged to do so now. I understand why this scheme was brought forward. It is not the scheme that I have problems with but its implementation and the unintended consequences, which have already been raised. The situation in the NHS is complex. We have...
Ruth Jones: Absolutely. The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point, and much more eloquently than I could. These things are coming in at the end of people’s working lives, and it is difficult for people to budget for them when they do not know what will land on the doormat. When we enter working life and take on board pensions, we know what we are signing up to. These changes are being made in the...
Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals on humanist marriages.
Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will allocate funding to support proposals for a permanent home for the collection of designer, Abram Games.
Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines have been (a) issued and (b) fulfilled since January 2018.
Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to introduce tougher sentences for animal cruelty.
Ruth Jones: I pay tribute to my hon. Friend; although I am new to this place, I know that she has led the way for many years in fighting for the rights of LGBT people in our country. I stand with her every single step of the way. Online homophobia is growing across the UK, even in my constituency. Given the ability of criminals to access and hack cyber-security measures, does my hon. Friend agree that...