Jane Hutt
Welsh Labour · Wales
“But, clearly, this is something where I think it's important that people do turn to the opportunities that we have through the Warm Homes programme, through take-up not just through the Fuel Bank Foundation, but also through the discretionary assistance fund.”
“Thank you very much, Sam Rowlands, and thank you for bringing this to our attention as a result of the cross-party group on outdoor activities meeting in Llanberis and meeting with all those volunteers in mountain rescue.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Darren Millar. The Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership has heard your question about apprenticeships. I think it would be helpful to have an update on the positive progress that's been made in terms of delivery of apprenticeships.”
“In fact, I know Luke Fletcher was hosting this. Many of us attended, because this was an example of innovation at Cardiff and Vale College with their junior apprenticeship scheme route. I'm sure the Minister for Further and Higher Education was interested in that as well.”
“But I can say, you’ve raised this question, it is being considered, and there may be opportunities for a modal shift, which could be developed with the south-west Wales regional transport plan engaging with the corporate joint committee, and also having an influence on investment in the strategic road network by the Welsh Government in ou…”
“But it is also important that we link this to the Warm Homes programme. Of course, Jayne Bryant, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government is responsible for that programme, but is working very closely with me in terms of delivery. And I know that we’re going to be updating on this very soon.”
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“Thank you, Paul Davies, for that question, and I can assure you that Natural Resources Wales are working closely with the local authority, Public Health Wales and Hywel Dda health board to address the issues of concern at Withyhedge landfill site. You will be aware, I’m sure, that there is a public engagement session in Spittal church hall on Thursday 5 December, and so I would encourage anyone with any interest to attend that session. NRW, Public Health Wales, the local authority and Hywel Dda will all be there to answer questions from the public.”
“I hope the Welsh Government will be able to address, with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership, the important evidence that's come from that inquiry.”
“Thank you very much, Joel James. I'll be very pleased to issue a written statement on the international day of disabled people. I'm also very pleased to be holding and chairing a meeting of the disability equality forum on Thursday and, indeed, also addressing the Disability Wales conference, and meeting with the co-chair of the disability rights taskforce. So, I've got many engagements in terms of delivering, with a very busy business schedule for the Senedd over the next two weeks, to address this really important issue. I was glad to come before the Equality and Social Justice Committee yesterday for scrutiny in their all-important inquiry on the employment gap for disabled people.”
“So, on all aspects of policy, we are working to ensure that pensioners are able to withstand the pressures in terms of the cost-of-living crisis, and to support them to enable them not to fall into fuel poverty.”
“But, clearly, this is something where I think it's important that people do turn to the opportunities that we have through the Warm Homes programme, through take-up not just through the Fuel Bank Foundation, but also through the discretionary assistance fund. I think it's important that pensioners, particularly, can apply to the discretionary assistance fund, which, of course, is something where we have a real opportunity there to reach out when people are in particularly difficult circumstances in terms of emergency needs. But this is something where take-up of the pension credit, I think, is being addressed, and not just by local authorities. Yesterday, I was pleased to meet with all Welsh local authorities to talk about the Welsh benefits charter, to make sure that pensioners are—and many are—taking up the council tax reduction scheme.”
“Well, thank you, Natasha Asghar. I have responded to questions this afternoon about ways in which we are supporting people who may be in danger of being in fuel poverty. And I also would say that I have worked very closely—and it's a real opportunity to work—with the new UK Government on these issues. I've mentioned the fact that I met with the Minister for Energy Consumers and affordability on 8 November, and discussed issues like, for example, calling for a social tariff to protect the most vulnerable households, because I think that's a really progressive way that we can support our most vulnerable, without having significant negative effects on other households.”
“I was a Senedd Member, and in Government, when we made these decisions to devolve out of Cathays, that we weren't just going to be a civil service in Cardiff and that we were going to have these offices, particularly in the Valleys communities, Heads of the Valleys, and Aberystwyth and Llandudno. So, we need to look very carefully at how we manage this in terms of the future opportunities for our workforce and for the local labour market and economies as well.”
“Well, we have got a big change, haven’t we, as a result of the pandemic, and different ways of working? Hybrid working and flexible working have brought great benefits to our workforce, not just, indeed, in terms of the Welsh Government workforce, but our workforce here in the Senedd, our workforce and Members’ working arrangements, but also across all sectors, public, private and third sector. Certainly, this is an issue for Welsh Government and our Permanent Secretary to look at in terms of estate. It is good that in Cathays, for example, we now have other users of the building, and that is also the case in terms of our other Government buildings in Wales, looking at the future, responding to these changes in working practice.”
“We recognise that that route to apprenticeships is something that, of course, has always been a priority for this Government—a priority that, of course, was severely undermined this financial year, because of the 14 years of austerity and the £22 billion black hole that has meant that we have suffered as a result in terms of settlements. But now, of course, we look to how we can rebuild, and we look forward to discussing this in relation to priorities in the budget.”
“Thank you very much, Luke Fletcher. I think events like today are important, and reports. ColegauCymru—of course, we look to them and work very closely with them in terms of engagement and evidence from their members. We are fortunate to have the Minister for Further and Higher Education here and the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership. They’ve also heard the earlier question from Darren Millar. It is important we look at achievements and the positives, but also recognise the huge impact. And it is an investment in skills, isn’t it, particularly, that we see through our further education colleges?”
“Also, just looking at ways in which help can be given in terms of funding for protective equipment, technical access, Brecon Mountain Rescue has successfully got some funding from our community facilities programme back last year. So, there are ways in which—I’m glad you brought this to our attention—we can reach out to support.”
“Thank you very much, Sam Rowlands, and thank you for bringing this to our attention as a result of the cross-party group on outdoor activities meeting in Llanberis and meeting with all those volunteers in mountain rescue. And they are all volunteers, they're dedicated, brave, committed, and we do recognise the role the mountain rescue plays across Wales in keeping people safe in our outdoor spaces. And, of course, that can be at all times of the day, in all weather conditions. They need a lot of training and support. It’s a highly professional volunteer rescue service. Just in terms of how we can assist them further, there are different ways. I understand health officials are engaged with mountain rescue about funding to support elements of their work in the future, and they’re awaiting a business case from mountain rescue.”
“They can do this with fair and affordable payment plans and emergency support, and many of them are investing in that way. And in fact, the Bevan Foundation has encouraged customers to engage with their energy suppliers in this way. But I'm also going to speak to Ofgem about the most recent rise that was announced, because, although it was less of a rise, it still is a rise in the price cap. It's disappointing, on top of the increase of 10 per cent on the previous price cap of £1,568. So, I will be raising this with Ofgem. But when I am with Ofgem, I want to raise with them—and I know you've called for this, Delyth Jewell—we should call for them to engage fully on calling for a social tariff, because that's something that we believe would protect the most vulnerable households.”
“Thank you, Delyth Jewell, for that question. Following on from my response to Mark Isherwood about some of the measures that we're taking—bespoke measures—in Wales, like the support not just for the Fuel Bank Foundation, particularly helping those very-low-income households on prepayment meters and off-grid, but also our £30 million Warm Homes scheme, we were very disappointed with the energy price cap, not just the one that was increased in October, which is a blow to many households across Wales. I did meet with Ofgem, and, in fact, Ofgem also came to the cross-party group on fuel poverty. It is crucial also that we influence energy suppliers—I met with energy suppliers recently—to say to them they need to do all they can to support their customers through this difficult time.”
“We've got a package of measures to insulate and decarbonise homes, leading to a reduction in energy bills, to move families and households out of fuel poverty.”
“But it is also important that we link this to the Warm Homes programme. Of course, Jayne Bryant, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government is responsible for that programme, but is working very closely with me in terms of delivery. And I know that we’re going to be updating on this very soon. Can I just say, in terms of the Warm Homes programme, that this is something that is going to make, and is making already, a huge difference to people’s lives? It is a scheme that was launched on 1 April, and it is £30 million more that we’re investing to reduce the number of low-incomes households living in cold, damp homes. And I think it’s also important that we recognise that this is contributing towards achieving a net-zero Wales by 2050, and directly enabling a just transition.”
“Thank you very much for that question, and also for your stewardship in chairing the cross-party group on fuel poverty, which I regularly attend, and which I’m sure I'm probably going to attend in due course. It is also very important to recognise that this is something on which we’re working very closely, not just in terms of tackling fuel poverty through a number of initiatives, like, for example, the Fuel Bank Foundation funding. And, of course, last week the Fuel Bank Foundation came to the Senedd, and I was able to announce funding of £700,000 to the Fuel Bank Foundation—I announced that a couple of weeks ago—in addition to the £500,000 I’ve made available, which will meet many households’ needs, particularly those with prepayment metres and those who are off-grid.”
“And it’s important to recognise that, as far as Welsh Government support is concerned, we are promoting Wales in the UK and overseas markets, and life sciences businesses are crucial in terms of new quality inward investment projects and jobs coming into Wales. But I think it’s also important to look at this in terms of the fact that we have a dedicated relationship management team in each of the regions working on this. We have an export action plan for Wales, a programme for government commitment, and, indeed, of course, we have the Life Sciences Hub Wales, which works towards the mission of transforming the health and well-being and the economic well-being of the nation.”
“But I can say, you’ve raised this question, it is being considered, and there may be opportunities for a modal shift, which could be developed with the south-west Wales regional transport plan engaging with the corporate joint committee, and also having an influence on investment in the strategic road network by the Welsh Government in our national transport delivery plan. So, you’ve raised it, and I will know it will then be considered. And thank you for your question on life sciences. So, this is important in terms of the positive impact. If you look at life sciences in Wales, it comprises some 319 business sites, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises to large blue-chip companies, as you indicated, with that turnover—a £2.85 billion turnover—and an increase on the year before.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Mike Hedges. The issue about the M4 you of course know so well, as do those who travel along it to come and go through your constituencies to the Senedd and further afield. I'm very aware that this area that you refer to gets congested at peak times. The majority of this stretch of the M4 is subject to 50 mph for air quality particularly. I'm sure we can discuss this further. I understand that a traffic order would be required to restrict HGVs from using lane two—in terms of traffic flows, a traffic order would be required to restrict them. It’s been used in England, interestingly—and some of us may know this—on the M42, but on an uphill, two-lane section where there is no other speed restriction in place.”
“I'm sure that this is something that the farming community are fully engaged in in terms of influencing, if we have any influence on how that is undertaken. But thank you for raising the question.”
“In fact, I know Luke Fletcher was hosting this. Many of us attended, because this was an example of innovation at Cardiff and Vale College with their junior apprenticeship scheme route. I'm sure the Minister for Further and Higher Education was interested in that as well. So, yes, there's been huge pressures as a result of 14 years of Conservative austerity policies, but we have invested, we've made this a priority, and I've given two examples of how we've been delivering on apprenticeships. I'm afraid I have not got the knowledge in front of me here about the way in which slurry is spread, but I will be asking the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs to inform me and guide me, and also give you an answer on that point about the timing and the arrangements.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Darren Millar. The Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership has heard your question about apprenticeships. I think it would be helpful to have an update on the positive progress that's been made in terms of delivery of apprenticeships. I think you will also be interested that, yesterday, the Minister and I appeared before the Equality and Social Justice Committee, and it was really heartening to hear about the success of young Welsh people at the WorldSkills fair in Manchester last week, and how impressive it was. That was a cross-party committee in which people heard of the impressive ways in which our young people have gained those skills, and many through the apprenticeship route. But also perhaps I could use the opportunity to congratulate Cardiff and Vale College, who had—.”
“Diolch, Llywydd. Mae dau newid i agenda heddiw. Bydd datganiad llafar ar storm Bert. Bydd datganiad llafar ar baratoi ar gyfer diwygio bysiau nawr yn cael ei wneud ar 10 Rhagfyr. Mae busnes drafft y tair wythnos nesaf wedi'i nodi yn y datganiad a chyhoeddiad busnes, sydd ar gael i Aelodau yn electronig.”
“If we do that, we will be successful in shaping a good future not just for ourselves but, most importantly, for future generations. Diolch.”
“So, I would just say that, despite the many complex issues we are facing, I do believe your debate has touched on some key points of understanding, which we could perhaps take forward in other debates. The Welsh Government is seeking to strike the right balance in terms of supporting progress here in Wales, preserving the best things—and I'm sure that, from your Conservative ideology and the philosophy you've mentioned, you would agree—that have been handed down from previous generations for us. But it is for us to pass on and to respect those things, and preserve them when they are worth handing on. And that we keep working together in our different areas of policy, drawing from our strengths and upholding our principles.”
“If we can't get rid of that deep hatred that seems to drive this epidemic of violence against women, where are we going to be in terms of our families, our children, and their circumstances? So, I just wanted to say that we know this is a societal problem that needs a societal response. This 16 days of activism is being led by a commitment that says, 'It starts with men', and I do hope that we can, over the next 16 days, work together across the Chamber. Please ask me questions, wherever you can. It came up, and I saw the Llywydd was surely tested by the length of some of the responses that I was giving and the questions that were coming. But it is so important that we focus on this. It's a societal challenge that we need to address together.”
“I just wanted to take the opportunity—and I hope you will bear with me on this just for a few minutes—to say that when I was thinking about responding to this report—. You could cover so much ground, couldn't you, Gareth? But I did feel that I wanted to turn to something that is very current and topical at the moment, which is how we need to respond to the societal and cultural change that is needed to tackle violence against women. Natasha touched on this. Because I think we are at the start of the 16 days of activism. I really do think that there is commitment across this Chamber, and Gareth, you were on the steps for the vigil, and so many spoke of being fathers, brothers, uncles—the men around this Chamber. I did, with your permission, Gareth, and Llywydd, just want to highlight that about societal and cultural change.”
“Thank you for that. I think it is very important that much of our policy in terms of health and social care, but also education, is about supporting families and households. I would say in that respect we have a very strong parenting strategy and support that we give to families. From my perspective, some of the families who are the most disadvantaged need the most recognition, and they do tend to be—and we know they are—families that are single-parent families. We must respect and support their needs. This is about reducing the poverty gap between people in Wales with certain key and protected characteristics and those without those characteristics by 2035. We have stretching targets as well.”
“Thank you for this question, and, of course, I thank you for the work that we started together, when you were Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, on this matter. Can I thank all those who've engaged with us in this journey already, and the progress we've made to make the case—actually, not just make the case, but prepare—for the devolution of youth justice and probation? I think that's where we thought we would be now, and we're very glad that it was in the UK Government manifesto. So, I'll be working closely with the Deputy First Minister and Counsel General as we take forward discussions with the UK Government on their manifesto commitment to devolve youth justice and probation.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Mick Antoniw. Along with my colleagues, I've had a range of conversations with the UK Government, including on their manifesto commitments to explore the devolution of youth justice and probation.”
“Well, I have answered many questions this afternoon, and I've put the record straight in terms of the ways in which we are addressing this with the levers that we have got, supporting older people in many different ways through our initiatives. But I have to say: why are we in this position? Why are we in this position? We are in this position because of the £22 billion black hole that your Government left. Therefore, we have to find ways in which—. The UK Government, of course—it's their policy. We have to find ways in which we can not only rebuild our economy but, most importantly, rebuild our public services, which are so important to older people.”
“There are a broad range of funding streams and initiatives in place across the Welsh Government to support pensioners in South Wales East. Examples include investment in the regional integration fund, funding for warm hubs, and action to increase pension credit take-up, end abuse and create age-friendly communities.”
“We've got a very effective ‘Sound’ campaign, which is about how we can focus on behaviours and harms around public sexual harassment. It is about men engaging with each other, and it is making a difference to how they see women and their relationships with women. But also, of course, it has to go back to education and our new, pioneering curriculum, which we know is, starting at the age of three, to enable children to learn about healthy and respectful relationships.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Julie Morgan. Thank you, again, for reminding us of the 71 women who've lost their lives—those victims who've lost their lives to male violence. It does have to start with men. Can I say how impressive it was to have the men from across the Chamber speaking at the vigil—cross-party contributions—and the White Ribbon ambassadors? Yesterday, I met with, virtually, 140 civil servants who were White Ribbon ambassadors. The Welsh Government is the only Government in the UK that's actually accredited for White Ribbon ambassadors. But, just very quickly, I think we have to look at the ways in which we are trying to tackle that culture of violence against women. We've got to address misogyny and sexual harassment.”
“Diolch, Julie Morgan. I have met the UK Minister for victims in the Ministry of Justice, Alex Davies-Jones, who is keen to engage and learn from our work in Wales, and the UK Minister for victims in the Home Office, Jess Phillips, who has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to tackle violence against women.”
“Schools have a role to play with this, and there have been quite a few grants that have been made available to local partner agencies, which have benefited young people. So, I think this is something where youth justice and youth work work closely together and community engagement as well. I’ll just finally, quickly mention the fact that there is this Wales Safer Communities network; they are showcasing good examples of partnership working, which will include working with young people through youth justice, and it’s very much a partnership approach, and they will be announcing their awards next week. I will particularly look for ways in which we can learn about ensuring that we can divert young people away from anti-social behaviour and the criminal justice system.”
“Diolch. I am aware that you recently met with North Wales Police, raising these issues of concern. I have to say that some of us really enjoyed our weekend in Llandudno—thank you very much—last weekend, and it seemed to be a very cohesive and friendly community. My understanding is that, of course, we have to address anti-social behaviour, but it is about actually reaching out, and we talked earlier on about the importance of the youth service diverting young people away from this kind of behaviour, enabling them to have access to services that meet their needs. And I understand that there’s been—. And from my youth justice blueprint, we know that we can keep young people out of the criminal justice system if we intervene appropriately.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Janet Finch-Saunders. We're committed to working in partnership to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in north Wales. While policing is currently a reserved matter, we work closely with policing colleagues and other criminal justice stakeholders to engage with communities and support the safety of people across Wales.”
“The Bevan Foundation did a very good report recently that actually encouraged people to approach their energy suppliers, because they can help with energy bills, but also, consistently, and I've raised this with the Minister, I've been asking for a social tariff, which I think would help customers. Can I finally say that I hope that colleagues here will have visited the Fuel Bank Foundation who were here yesterday in the Senedd, who are reaching out to thousands of people in Wales? You, in fact, can all be referral agents for the Fuel Bank Foundation. I announced a further £70,000 to support the work of the Fuel Bank Foundation. FootnoteLink That's particularly going to help people with prepayment meters, but also people off grid.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. I very much recognise the work that you do in the cross-party group on fuel poverty, and I'm sure these issues will be raised in due course. As I said, I met with the Minister for energy consumers last month—Miatta Fahnbulleh MP—and we talked about the ways in which the UK Government can, indeed, work with us as a Welsh Government to tackle fuel poverty. But I've been very concerned about the impact—and it's very clear—the adverse impact Ofgem's October price cap increase has had. Indeed, I will now go back to the Minister to raise this issue about the ECO4 scheme, not devolved to Wales, but you know, of course, and I've mentioned the Warm Homes scheme, the £30 million that is, of course, now being implemented this year. I think it is important that I have also met with energy suppliers.”
“Diolch yn fawr. Ces i gyfarfod cynhyrchiol iawn gyda’r Gweinidog defnyddwyr ynni fis diwethaf. Mae gan Lywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig ysgogiadau pwysig i helpu i liniaru tlodi tanwydd, ac rwy’n croesawu’r cyfle i weithio'n agored ac ar y cyd a rhannu polisïau i ddiogelu aelwydydd Cymru yn well.”
“But it's clear that people must respond, and I hope they will respond to this consultation, but it's clear the role of the community library is much more than just its traditional role and it can be vital in terms of cutting isolation and enabling people to access other services.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Lesley Griffiths. Well, the community hubs that I visited that are based in libraries—when you talk to the library staff, they say that, actually, the use of the library and the library resources, the children's libraries, has always increased as a result of being part of something wider. I would just say that Wrexham has got, in this round of funding, £64,470 towards warm hubs, which should enable it to look creatively at the ways in which it can build its community libraries. But also, I have to say, across Wales, there are a range of ways in which local authorities have managed to keep their community libraries going, both by running the services directly and through some asset transfers to community groups or community and town councils.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Joel James. Many warm hubs have already been established, so I'll just mention one I've visited, in Ely, and Cardiff actually has hubs in every part of the community. They're very good for signposting to other services, and, of course, that includes health and well-being, but I think most importantly for all age groups who use warm hubs, particularly older people, it will be an opportunity to break down isolation, meet other people, have refreshments and be signposted to important advice services to, for example, get advice about taking up not just pension credit, but access to other benefits, such as the discretionary assistance fund and the council tax reduction scheme.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Buffy Williams, and can I pay tribute to your work? You are a trustee, and I’ve been to Canolfan Pentre and it does provide such a brilliant service to your local community. I have recently written to all Senedd Members and Members of Parliament to highlight the new funding for warm hubs. I mean, it’s interesting, just in terms of Rhondda Cynon Taf, that it’s going to receive this year £124,170 from the warm hubs programme that I have announced. But already, Rhondda Cynon Taf has also been providing funding itself over the past two years to local groups and organisations to run winter welcome centres, so that is now going to be supported by our new Welsh Government funding.”
“Diolch, Buffy Williams. Last month I was pleased to confirm funding of £1.5 million this year for safe and warm spaces in the community under the title Warm Hubs—Open to All. We will continue to work with local authorities to promote our collective efforts to help in our communities over the coming winter months.”
“We, of course, have our women's justice blueprint, and also my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language recently went to a meeting, which was a meeting about justice and women's justice, where the women's residential centre was raised, I know, by my colleague. It was chaired by the Lord Chancellor, who is very keen on women's residential centres. We've got the only pilot in England and Wales, and I'm pressing forward for it. We've got the site; it now needs to be opened.”
“Thank you, Sioned Williams. I'm meeting Dr Rob Jones shortly, and not just Dr Rob Jones but also with HM Prison and Probation Service, to look at how we can ensure that we have proper access to disaggregated data. There is now clear willingness and agreement with the new UK Government to ensure that we overcome that, in terms of the situation where the work of the Wales Governance Centre really has highlighted the importance of that disaggregated data, and we need to bring that to the fore in terms of making that accessible, to make sure that the justice system is working in Wales.”
“Diolch yn fawr. Well, we are delivering our violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence Act, and, of course, that includes all aspects of sexual violence and harassment. We have, therefore, got a work stream in our strategy on tackling violence in public places. And I'll certainly be taking forward options for a stalking strategy of that kind.”