Jane Dodds: I would firstly like to thank the committee for their work and also Fenella Morris as well for her hard work in cataloguing the serious failings of the fire and rescue service here in Wales. For those of us on the committee, some of the evidence we heard was breathtaking in its total disregard for the experiences of those who were brave enough to come forward. Focusing on those serious...
Jane Dodds: Could I just draw your attention, please, to a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health with regard to the situation in Powys Teaching Health Board and, indeed, I'm sure other health boards as well? We're facing cuts to our services and the potential closure of our minor injury units in Brecon and in Llandrindod as well. The concern that residents have is that this is the beginning of...
Jane Dodds: Thank you, just one more sentence.
Jane Dodds: Just one more sentence. I'm calling on the First Minister to say that she believes that the two-child benefit cap, and the failure of the Labour Government to scrap it, is a mistake. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Jane Dodds: You'll know that, over the past six years, we've seen a startling increase in the number of larger families who are living in relative poverty. Forty-three per cent of children in households of three or more are now at risk of relative poverty. That represents a staggering 100,000 children here in Wales. The two-child benefit cap is a key factor driving that crisis. This policy, widely...
Jane Dodds: Thank you for that response.
Jane Dodds: 5. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's current strategy to reduce the number of children in relative poverty? OQ61674
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Trefnydd. Could I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, please, regarding the raising of the energy price cap by Ofgem only yesterday? With the recent announcements that Welsh councils will see their gas and electricity prices rise by 10 per cent, energy prices this winter will be hundreds of pounds higher than they were last year....
Jane Dodds: Welcome to your new role, Counsel General. As just highlighted by Rhys ab Owen, the abrupt ending of the pilot last September, following the denial of a one-year extension due to budget constraints, led to a devastating human cost. The evaluation itself declared that funding uncertainty was the most crucial factor affecting FDAC sustainability. As somebody who over many years has worked in...
Jane Dodds: Will the First Minister make a statement on the number of children living in poverty in Wales?
Jane Dodds: Thank you so much. I do have the greatest of respect for you, and I know that you have been a champion for this, which is why it is so bitterly disappointing. But I am still unclear. I am really struggling to understand what has changed. We know that this was going to be pushed forward to 2030, and we accepted that. We were fine with that. So, we'd be grateful if that's not gone through...
Jane Dodds: Countries across the world have introduced legislation to ensure that women's voices are not ignored, or worse, silenced. One hundred and thirty-eight countries have adopted legislation on gender quotas at the parliamentary level. Doing it on a voluntary basis does not work. Giving guidance, it doesn't work, because we are still where we are decades later. The best way to ensure that there is...
Jane Dodds: Winter is hard, but winter is harder if you're poor. If you're a family where there are two or more children and you can't get child benefit for that third child because of the cuts and because of the unwillingness of the Labour Government to scrap the two-child benefit, then it's harder still. If you're an older person and you're living in a cold household and you're poor, then, again, it's...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Cabinet Secretary. I really do welcome this. It’s a great step forward, but I have just got a couple of points, really, on pace. We continue to wait for this. The complexity in my mind is about the reorganisation and the new culture that’s needed. People in our care sector and our health sector are really overwhelmed at the moment, and to pile on them, yet again, another...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, Trefnydd. I'd like to request two statements, if I may, with one from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning with regard to rural banks. Lloyds Bank have announced a third closure in Brecon and Radnorshire. They've closed one in Ystradgynlais, they're intending to close one in Presteigne, and another one in Brecon. Lloyds Bank made a profit of £7.5 billion...
Jane Dodds: Good afternoon, First Minister. I'm sure we all know the real thankless task that many of our carers, both unpaid and paid, adopt, and I know that many in this Siambr as well have undertaken that role in relation to their relatives or friends. I myself have done it, but only for a very short time, and I have total admiration for all of those people who are unpaid carers and paid carers. You...
Jane Dodds: Congratulations to you.
Jane Dodds: And on behalf of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, I extend those best wishes. It is very nice to have a female voice joining me, this one, when we have the leaders debates and discussions, so it's really lovely to see you in that role. And this is about signalling a really new politics for me. It's about a more equal politics, a more compassionate politics. This is a historical moment, coming at...
