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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“And, next week, they're going to be showcasing excellent partnership working, successes in community safety, which will include the ways in which they are working with young people, partnerships that show mentoring and peer support, taking forward public information campaigns, and working closely with communities as well. And can I thank our schools for taking a lead on this, and our community and family support services, which are making such a difference in terms of reaching out to young people in these communities?”
“Thank you for that question, Joel. I think that there are many of us in this Chamber who have supported over the years and in Government—and now, fortunately, are being able to recover it—our great youth service, the youth services that many of us probably also enjoyed ourselves as young people and, indeed, in our constituencies. But it's crucially important that we can rebuild those youth services in partnership with local authorities and the third sector in the most deprived areas, and that's something where I can see that the investment that we're making in our youth services with local authorities is crucially important. Now, on 28 November, just next week, we do have a Wales Safer Communities network with local Safer Communities partnerships.”
“There are a lot of volunteers involved in tackling violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, and I do praise the work that they do. And I'd also like to praise all the work that's going on at the moment in terms of our communities supporting our warm hubs. And, just only recently, I visited a hub in Ely in Cardiff, where not only were the statutory services run, but there were volunteers who were working and getting experience. And, of course, that is a key benefit of volunteering, at all ages—getting experience—which can often help in terms of moving forward not just in their health and well-being, but into jobs and employment.”
“So, it is now a question of us supporting volunteers to come back into the important roles that they play in our organisations. So, actually, it very much links to your first question, because this is the lifeblood of Wales, isn't it, the civic engagement, community cohesion, and, I think, we all meet volunteers in our constituencies and in everything that we do. I think the volunteering that we see, which we can then support by making sure that the funding is available for the volunteering infrastructure, in the voluntary sector at local authority level, and are supported. Now, there is something that, I think, during this week as White Ribbon Week and following on in the next 16 days of activism—.”
“Diolch yn fawr. A very important question, and also a key responsibility of mine to support the third sector, and the third sector infrastructure, which actually underpins all the initiatives to encourage volunteering in Wales. I am very pleased to have worked with the voluntary sector, and the third sector partnership council, in supporting our volunteers. It was interesting during the pandemic how many people came forward to volunteer in many ways. People who were furloughed came forward to volunteer. But, following the pandemic and people were trying to return after very troubled times back into work and their communities and their families, and then the cost-of-living crisis, it became very difficult for volunteering.”
“I think one point I would make is that we have an opportunity, and I hope you will respond to the draft guidance that I have led as a result of that legislation—section 32—for political parties to develop diversity and inclusion strategies, and also take responsibility for delivering on the data and the numbers of diverse people we seek to bring into elected office, and also to consider a voluntary route to gender quotas. That’s just one part of my responsibility in terms of trying to ensure that this place can reflect Wales in running Wales.”
“I’m very keen that we have got a real opportunity with the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 that went through—I can see the former Counsel General is joining us virtually; he took this through in July—where we’re going to have, as was said yesterday, the opportunity for more people to be registered, in terms of compulsory registration, to encourage more people to engage and to vote. I also think that we all have a responsibility as political parties, haven’t we, to encourage our young people, and particularly our 16 and 17-year-olds, to take advantage of the voting system.”
“Thank you very much for that interesting and profound question, Joel James. I’m not sure if you contributed yesterday to the statement made by Jayne Bryant, which was directly on this issue, in terms of ways in which we are seeking to improve local democracy and enhance public engagement in local democracy, and democracy as a whole. I recognise your key points about community cohesion, and that we want to seek to have a nation that looks to hope not hate; that’s our campaign in Wales. We had a targeted burst of Hate Hurts Wales earliers on this year, and you know that we had the hate crime statistics most recently, which were worrying in terms of the increase, for example, in religious hate crime in Wales. I would say that there are many ways in which we’re seeking to address this from my portfolio.”
“But that experience, particularly for people on probation, leaving prison, and making sure that they have got the support—so, working directly with prisons and prisoners to provide meaningful skills and employment upon release—will clearly help with preventing reoffending.”
“It is important that prisoners have access to the Working Wales advice and guidance service, that they have impartial employability and careers advice. We do have Working Wales advisers who act as a referral point to the Welsh Government, to employability and skills support programmes. Learning and skills development is devolved, so we are responsible. It is important, the message you give to businesses, because this is something, also, with probation, where we can work to ensure that, as happened many years ago—unfortunately, it was stopped by the privatisation of the probation service by the former Government—.”
“Thank you very much, John Griffiths, very much following on from the points I have made as to how we can keep people out of prison with a preventative approach, but also those who are in prison, to intervene and to support to prevent reoffending. I was very pleased to meet Lord Timpson, the UK Government Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending. That’s his title—there’s never been a title like that, certainly not with the previous Government. We discussed our shared priorities, and you will be aware that he’s been very clear—publicly clear—about the fact that he doesn’t believe that all people should be in prison, particularly women, but also that we need to look at the prevention opportunities.”
“So, what’s important is the way in which we are responding in terms of our responsibilities, working in partnership, of course, with the UK Government, and that the funding is being made available. But I would say—and I responded to Luke Fletcher on this point earlier on—that the Lord Chancellor had to take decisive action because of the long-standing capacity issues in prisons as a result of the failures, I have to say, I'm afraid, Altaf, of the former Government. This is the sustainable early release scheme that we were talking about earlier. But we actually need radical, longer term reform of the justice system. Our vision for justice is for a preventative, trauma-informed approach that also addresses the underlying causes of offending, stops crime happening in the first place and keeps people out of prison.”
“It's been rolled out across 12 local authorities in Wales. It offers people who'd otherwise be at risk of homelessness on release from prison up to 84 nights temporary accommodation. To date, 165 bed spaces have been created. And, as I've said, we have accommodation pathway co-ordinators across Wales. We also, I think, importantly, have learnt lessons from the post-custody accommodation working group. And Shelter Cymru has been funded this year to deliver housing and homelessness advice and assistance to women and transgender individuals in custody at HMP Eastwood Park. This is through a combination of regular physical presence and remote working at HMP Eastwood Park.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Altaf Hussain, and, again, an extremely important question following on from Luke Fletcher’s question. We have a homelessness support and prevention budget. We provide over £267,000 to support accommodation provision for people leaving prison, and this includes £90,000 to co-fund six accommodation pathway co-ordinators, and that's in collaboration with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service across Wales. We also have a Prison Link Cymru service in north Wales—vital support provided for people leaving prison and reducing the risk of homelessness and reoffending. In terms of offender housing and resettlement—and this is working very closely on the, as we call it, jagged edge between devolved and non-devolved responsibilities—we have a community accommodation service tier 3.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Luke Fletcher. We work closely with the UK Government to support people in custody, assist with their rehabilitation, and ensure that they're supported on release. And by working together with our local authorities and partners in the third sector, we ensure that the relevant public services are available to those leaving prison.”
“So, those households are being invited directly to claim pension credit. And of course we have seen the intervention of authorities like Neath Port Talbot, with Policy in Practice demonstrating that we can, through working with local authorities, directly approach pensioners, and through the 'Claim what's yours' campaign, that people can take this up. I think it's also really important to recognise the £30 million this year that we're investing in our Warm Homes Nest scheme, because that's what we need to do: ensure that people are living in homes that are warm. That helps us to tackle fuel poverty for home owners and households renting from private landlords, and it's free expert energy advice that's so important through that programme, via the Nest helpline.”
“Between May 2023 and 30 April 2024, more than 70,000 awards were made to older people in crisis from the discretionary assistance fund. Also, another lever we have is our council tax reduction scheme, which provides essential financial support to almost 260,000 households, and almost 102,000 pensioners are in receipt of the council tax reduction scheme, with over 76,000 paying no council tax at all. So, I think it is also important, working with the UK Government, to acknowledge that, in terms of their pension credit uptake campaign, they are writing to 6,600 Welsh households directly—that's the Department for Work and Pensions—in Wales, who they've identified are eligible for pension credit, because as you know, there has been a disappointingly low take-up of pension credit, Peter Fox.”
“Well, we continue to support all those at risk of falling into fuel poverty. It is important that we use all the levers that we have to do that, maximising the levers, continuing to invest in our fuel voucher and discretionary assistance schemes to help people with fuel costs, getting more money into people's pockets, maximising incomes, making sure that people can and still do apply. They still have time for pension credit in order to access the winter fuel payment. In fact, at a meeting with the Older People's Commissioner for Wales recently, we agreed that we needed to continue to join forces to encourage older people to claim pension credit by the December deadline. But I think it is important just to tell colleagues that this is very much a Welsh lever that we have, that is, the discretionary assistance fund.”
“Well, thank you very much, and I'm grateful for that question, Peredur. It is very close to many of us in this Chamber, the campaign for those women, the 1950s women. Many different campaigns: WASPI—. We have actually all got women in our constituencies and women in this Chamber who are affected by this, and we've taken a consistent line in support of those women to seek justice for them. So, this is something where I will follow this up, not just with the UK Government, with the pensions Minister, but also take stock again with those who are leading the campaign in terms of what they would like us to do. I mean, you know that there had been some progress, and I would say that Stephen Timms, who was formerly Chair of the select committee, had been very robust and constructive with this. He's now in the new UK Government.”
“Well, I'm very proud that we are a nation of sanctuary, and I reemphasised our commitment to our nation of sanctuary in our recently refreshed 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan'. And I believe the spirit of the Welsh people is very much in support of our nation of sanctuary, responding to global conflict and circumstances, as we have done for so many sanctuary seekers. We met many of them, actually, only last week. The United Nations Refugee Agency came down to Wales, and the Welsh Refugee Council spoke, and we met many of our sanctuary seekers here in the Pierhead.”
“He was a son of Barry, and, as well as the plaques that we've heard about across the world and in Kyiv, we've commemorated him in Barry, at his graveside, and with a plaque in the Barry cemetery chapel.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd, and thank you for all your contributions and heartfelt tributes to the victims of the Holodomor, and I am pleased that our cross-party support for Ukraine and commemorating Holodomor has been maintained. It is vital that we send a clear message of solidarity from across this Chamber. And as Members have reminded us, Holodomor came about as a result of the deliberate actions of Stalin and the Soviet regime. And it is good that we have paid tribute to Gareth Jones today once again. We've been enlightened, as we've learned more about Gareth Jones over the years, but particularly over the period of the Putin invasion—we've been enlightened about his role as a courageous Welsh journalist who lost his life as a result of his bravery.”
“I'm sure that we as a cross-party Senedd—and I'm grateful for the co-tabling by all parties this afternoon of this debate—will commit to ongoing efforts to demonstrate our solidarity with Ukrainians in Wales and with Ukraine itself. It's vital that we continue to remind Ukrainian people that we have not forgotten about their struggle. Ukraine is bravely defending not just its own land and sovereignty; it is defending the whole of Europe and the international rules-based order. We will continue to stand in solidarity. Ukrainian and Welsh lives have become intertwined over the last two and a half years, and these threads have woven together within the unbreakable fabric of our communities. I look forward to your contributions. Diolch.”
“I understand that this was the tenth trip made by the group since the full-scale invasion, taking with them vital aid and 30 vehicles during those 10 trips. This is an incredible contribution by the group, which is valued greatly in Ukraine. This work receives significant support from trade unions, businesses, and members of the public. We recognise the importance of these contributions and express our thanks to the many people involved in this endeavour. It is heartbreaking that this support continues to be needed as the conflict continues. The invasion shows no signs of ending as we approach the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion and mark more than 10 years since the invasion of the Donbas and Crimea.”
“This was achieved with the help of many key partners through our team Wales approach and we remain grateful to all involved for their work towards this remarkable achievement. The response in Wales has been truly inspirational, with an overwhelming number of people stepping forward to be hosts. These offers of kindness reflect our shared values of compassion and demonstrate the welcoming nation that we are. Today is also an opportunity to recognise the dedication and importance of the Senedd 4 Ukraine group. Mick Antoniw and Alun Davies once again made the long journey with supplies to Ukraine at the end of October, and I hope they can share some of their experiences this afternoon as part of this debate.”
“Last month, a writing competition was launched to mark the ninetieth anniversary of Gareth’s death. Cardiff University’s school of journalism, media and culture announced the opening of the Gareth Jones Memorial Travelling Scholarship, in association with the Western Mail . The competition is open to all graduates of universities in Wales, particularly those who wish to pursue a career in journalism or international affairs. Our historic connections with Ukraine continue to be strengthened by the warm and enduring welcome that the people of Wales have extended to Ukrainians seeking safety. Wales has welcomed around 8,000 Ukrainians to the UK since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. This includes almost 3,350 under our supersponsor route and over 4,600 to Welsh household sponsors.”
“Through this debate and the event on 23 November, we remember those who lost their lives during Holodomor, as well as those who survived with their memories of the suffering and loss. In Wales, our understanding of that loss was greatly informed by the brave reporting of Gareth Jones. His relentless pursuit of truth brought the horrors of the Holodomor to the attention of the world, and Gareth Jones risked his life to document the suffering of Ukrainian people, and to ensure that their plight did not remain in the shadows. He gave a voice to the voiceless and ensured that the truth would not be erased. The Senedd noted the role of Gareth Jones during the Member’s debate last year, and it’s heartening to see that his legacy continues to be remembered.”
“This year’s event is being organised by a collection of Welsh Ukrainian support organisations and Mick Antoniw MS’s office, with the support of the Welsh Government. The commemoration ceremony will take place in the Senedd on 23 November, featuring Ukrainian and Welsh dignitaries. I encourage all Members to join the event if possible. On the day, a recorded message of solidarity by the First Minister will be shown, and the Deputy First Minister will deliver a speech as part of the proceedings. We understand that representatives from the Ukrainian embassy, Welsh local government, Wales-based Ukrainians, various churches, and the Senedd have also been invited to play a prominent part.”
“The debate that followed highlighted the atrocities and the unimaginable hardship the Ukrainian people faced during this period. The cruel policies of Stalin and the Soviet Government resulted in an unfathomable loss of life that still weighs heavy in the national consciousness. Although disagreement remains about the extent to which the famine was an intentional act of genocide, Holodomor has been recognised as an act of genocide by this Senedd. The recognition vote was reported appreciatively by several Ukrainian media channels. Holodomor is commemorated each year on the fourth Saturday of November. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Welsh Government and partners have worked to ensure that the commemoration is marked in Wales, an important act for many Ukrainians now living in our communities.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. It is my privilege to move this debate to commemorate Holodomor, a dark chapter in history that saw millions of innocent Ukrainians’ lives lost to a man-made famine. It is important that we as a Senedd use this platform to raise awareness of the horror of what happened during the Holodomor. Commemorating the victims also shines a light on historical links with Wales and modern-day parallels in the way Ukraine has been oppressed. Wales is now home to over 8,000 Ukrainians, who travelled to seek sanctuary here, and marking this occasion is an important gesture of solidarity between our peoples. Last year, Alun Davies, Darren Millar and Heledd Fychan brought forward a motion for debate on Holodomor that proposed that the Senedd regards the Holodomor as an act of genocide.”
“So, I think no more needs to be said. Obviously, we're going to hear a lot of this from the opposition benches, but they have also got to recognise the responsibility that they need to take for their former Government, who left us in this position. But, as the First Minister said, it is the funding that will be released that will help to benefit the public services and, indeed, the businesses through the support that we give them as a result of these decisions.”
“There will be a statement next week by the Deputy First Minister and the Minister for Climate Change and Rural Affairs on the sustainable farming scheme. And, of course, we are addressing the impact of the—. We are assessing the impact of the rise in national insurance for employers, which is a UK Government decision in the budget, as a result of the £21 billion hole that was left by your Government. And, indeed, a hole that has resulted in—[ Interruption .] We've rehearsed this afternoon the impact of that hole—[ Interruption .]”
“Thank you for that question, Andrew R.T. Davies. You heard from the First Minister earlier on this afternoon that we are, indeed, looking at the impacts of the rise in national insurance, which, of course, is the UK Government Treasury's decision, and, of course, understanding the rulings in relation to how the funding will come forward for those who are eligible, as described through ONS—the public sector workforce. But your comments, of course, are acknowledged here this afternoon.”
“And on your second point, of course, it isn't devolved, but I believe now we are resetting relations with the new UK Government in a very positive and proactive way. I have not only met with Ministers from the Ministry of Justice, but I have corresponded with the Lord Chancellor, and a Home Office Minister has actually visited Wales and come to our Senedd. So, there is a new relationship developing, and I will certainly clarify—and I'm sure the Counsel General will assist me in this—the situation for those affected in Wales, and across England and Wales, in terms of compensation on the board and lodging costs for those who were wrongly convicted.”
“Diolch yn fawr. Rhys ab Owen. You're first point, of course, is very much a matter for me as well, as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice. You will have seen in our refreshed 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan' a whole chapter on nation of sanctuary and how we have sought to welcome, within our powers and responsibilities, and much wider than our powers and responsibilities, the plight of the Hong Kongers. Alongside this—and we will debate this afternoon—are Ukrainian refugees, Afghan refugees from Afghanistan, and many sanctuary seekers who do want to continue in higher education. I know this is something that I can discuss with the Minister for higher education to clarify the circumstances you raise.”
“Thank you, Janet Finch-Saunders, and, as you say, this is a delicate and sensitive issue, and we respect that and respect the fact that you have raised this in the Chamber this afternoon—delicate and sensitive for the families of those who are affected. Obviously, it is a matter for management at hospital level, at health board level. But, certainly, we will reflect on that in terms of evidence of how this is being addressed effectively to make sure there's consistency across Wales.”
“I think that we have all driven through Libanus, and then to hear of that collision, again, it brings the reality of this in terms of speed limits, and enforcement, of course, which is crucial. But I urge your constituents to report any concerns directly to GoSafe, the Wales casualty reduction partnership, who are responsible for speed limit enforcement.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds. The Welsh Government takes road safety very seriously, but also routinely monitors speed data, along with personal injury collision records from the police, to inform us of the need for road safety improvements. It's already been raised in terms of road safety and setting local speed limits this afternoon. So, we are currently updating the guidance on setting local speed limits to reflect current Welsh Government policy, including the national roll-out of 20 mph speed limits, and to meet the ambitions highlighted in 'Llwybr Newydd: The Wales Transport Strategy 2021'. And when that new guidance is published, we'll review the speed limits across the trunk road network, including the A470 at Libanus.”
“Thank you very much for that question. We are looking at how we can support particularly the third sector and charitable organisations in relation to national insurance increases for employers, but also this is very much across Government, because I'm looking at that, in terms of being Cabinet Secretary for the third sector and charitable organisations, alongside the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, in terms of the important and brilliant work that hospices do in Wales. But also, of course, it is important to remember that the Cabinet Secretary did a recent statement on end-of-life care, acknowledging the role of our hospices in Wales.”
“And we do expect to draw on lessons from our work with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, EU funding and the shared prosperity fund, in developing that new approach for post 2026 with partners. So, I hope it provides you with some assurance for those who are our current beneficiaries, but also I'm sharing that important information about how we are seeking to engage all partners, the UK Government particularly, in terms of the way forward from the transition to post 2026.”
“It does mark a significant change: the UK Government is seeking our agreement to arrangements in Wales, respecting devolution, rather than acting unilaterally. But our officials are in ongoing discussions also with the Welsh Local Government Association, who are key to this in terms of partners, to keep them informed of developments, as we discuss the shared prosperity fund with the UK Government. And then, funding for post-2026 arrangements will form part of the second stage of the spending review, due to report in the spring. The Welsh Government is committed to partnership working, will involve all Welsh partners, to co-produce post-2026 arrangements for Wales, as we did when developing our EU programmes and our regional investment framework for Wales.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Siân Gwenllian. Thank you for not only supporting, but attending the White Ribbon vigil last night, and recognising the importance of Joyce Watson's statement this afternoon. Just in terms of your important questions about the shared prosperity fund, we recognise, as you say, the importance of local authorities and beneficiaries having clarity on the transition year arrangements, and having that clarity as soon as possible, because of wanting to understand planning certainty for the next financial year. So, we do expect the UK Government to confirm the 2025-26 shared prosperity fund allocation for all UK nations soon. Our priority in discussions with the UK Government will be to reach an agreement on allocations within Wales as soon as possible, to provide certainty for our local authorities.”
“I don't feel, Llywydd, that this is the appropriate place—the business statement—to raise that kind of grievance, so-called, from the Welsh Conservatives, when it is absolutely clear that the only money that is now being found to address the coal tip removal is the £25 million that came in the budget from the UK Government, and, indeed, that we're going to be moving forward with legislation. I think it's very concerning that the Member has raised this in this way, when we think of the people in the Valleys who are waiting and will see that £25 million, actual money, coming through to support them and address the issues, with the legislation forthcoming.”
“Don’t be a bystander; let’s work together and recognise that this is something where—. And, for anyone experiencing this, please call the helpline, Live Fear Free, to support you.”
“I am particularly in terms of my responsibility, but it is a cross-Government responsibility, and I’m grateful to the Cabinet Secretaries and the Ministers who all see and work with me on that cross-Government issue. We’ve got to engage across the public sector and the third sector in Wales, and have a collective sense of effort towards achieving our objectives to make real change. Because violence against women is a violation of human rights. In fact, the 16 days of activism leads us to Human Rights Day in December. It’s a profound social injustice, affecting women, families and communities across Wales. So, can we, again, recommit ourselves to recognising that women should feel safe in public, safe to go out, safe to walk in the street, and, most importantly, safe in their homes?”
“It makes us stand together, but also think so seriously about the scourge of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. And, of course, hearing the stories from the survivors makes it absolutely clear to us what the situation is, what society is still condoning, and what we have got to do in terms of addressing that. And it's particularly hard for me, as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, to think, all of these years later, from helping to start up the Women’s Aid movement in Wales, that we are in this position and that the scourge of domestic violence and violence against women, as Mabon ap Gwynfor called his short debate last week, is still with us. So, I just think we need to recognise that we’re heading towards 16 days of activism. So, can we all renew our focus on this issue?”
“Well, I think we would all want to spend time and think and remember those women today, and I do thank Joyce Watson for reading out the names of women killed by their partners in the last year—women and girls killed by their partners last year. It’s very powerful to hear their names, but, at the same time, absolutely devastating that we are, once more, in this position. And I’m very grateful that Joyce Watson has come to the Chamber today to read out those names after the very important events that many of us attended yesterday. I think the cross-party stakeholder event, the vigil marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, international White Ribbon Day, are really important events for this Senedd. I think it brings us together.”
“Well, diolch yn fawr, Darren Millar. I'm really pleased you've brought this to the attention of the Senedd. I recall sponsoring some research some time back with Mick Antoniw and colleagues, because of what was brought to our attention—and this was many years ago—about the scourge of gambling and the impact it's having on people's lives, of all ages. Also, I'm really pleased—and it must have been two or three years ago—that our chief medical officer, pre pandemic, actually, Sir Frank Atherton, actually devoted the whole of one of his annual reports to this issue. So, I think we'll take it back, and it is a public health issue. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is obviously hearing this as well, but it's more than public health; it's education, it's social justice and mental health impacts.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Nid oes unrhyw newidiadau i fusnes yr wythnos hon. Mae busnes ddrafft y tair wythnos nesaf wedi'i nodi yn y datganiad a'r cyhoeddiad busnes, sydd ar gael i Aelodau yn electronig.”
“Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I was very pleased to see this debate tabled today, and I do thank Mabon ap Gwynfor for tabling it and for, yes, calling it 'The scourge of Wales today—violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence'.”