, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Disability and employment: evidence session 3
Yes, thank you. You’ve mentioned apprentices a few times already here this afternoon. What impact have the Welsh Government’s financial incentives had to encourage employers to take on disabled people as apprentices? Are they effective, or are there any…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Disability and employment: evidence session 3
Yes. Thank you. In your 2022 report, you said that digital skills present a huge barrier for disabled people, so could you explain why that is an issue and what actions are needed?
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Disability and employment: evidence session 3
Right, thank you.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Disability and employment: evidence session 3
Is there evidence that disabled young people don't get access to work experience?
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Disability and employment: evidence session 3
Diolch. Prynhawn da. I wanted to ask you about education inequalities, and academics have told us that addressing educational inequalities would have an effect on the disability employment gap. What actions do you think are needed to address those…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of Natural Resources on topical issues
Thank you.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of Natural Resources on topical issues
So, any automatic penalties under the Water (Special Measures) Bill, you would expect those to be dealt with—? Where would you see them going?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of Natural Resources on topical issues
Thank you. And the funds that you collect now from current fixed monetary penalties, where do they actually go? Do they go to NRW, or do they go to the Welsh consolidated fund?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of Natural Resources on topical issues
Diolch. What consideration have you given to the Water (Special Measures) Bill, and in particular the water industry offences and penalty level that are carrying an automatic fixed penalty? Have you discussed this with the Welsh Government?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
No, that's fine.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Thank you.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Right. And you’ve mentioned different ways of getting in money. What about the private sector?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Thank you. So, you’re not concerned that there will be any move away from biodiversity, basically.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Okay. Diolch yn fawr.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Yes. Thank you very much. Diolch. The fact that NRW is going to be reshaped, I think, is causing some concern that there may be a move away from biodiversity and monitoring functions. What are your comments on that?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Thank you. Then, finally from me, the Farmers Union of Wales has told us that only 5.4 per cent of SSSIs are covered by a management agreement. So, to what extent are SSSIs contributing towards the 30x30 target?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Right.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Following on from that, can you update the committee on the notification programme to identify more SSSIs? When will that be complete?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with Natural Resources Wales
Thank you. I'm going to ask about SSSIs. The 2020 assessment showed that the condition of half of the SSSI features is unknown, and that where conditions have been assessed, 60 per cent were in an unfavourable condition. So, I wondered what you thought should…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with public authorities
And your experience is that you're usually able to influence developers.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 - evidence session with public authorities
Bore da. I think you say in your evidence that the planning policy can be easily circumvented in the interest of profit over nature. Could you expand on that a bit more, and can you expand on how any further controls could operate?
, Plenary
Short Debate: A fair chance—Ensuring blind and partially sighted people can live the life they choose
Now, pavement parking is one issue. Eighty-one per cent of people with sight loss said that reducing obstacles on pavements was important to improving their quality of life, and this is something that blind and partially sighted people battle with every day…
, Plenary
Short Debate: A fair chance—Ensuring blind and partially sighted people can live the life they choose
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd first like to thank Guide Dogs Cymru and the Royal National Institute of Blind People for their expertise in this subject, and to welcome members of Guide Dogs Cymru and some of my constituents to the public gallery, who have come…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Children and Social Care: The importance of the first 1,000 days of life—Conception to 2 years
—and all these sorts of things that are a great boost to families at that time. So, could she update us, please?
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Children and Social Care: The importance of the first 1,000 days of life—Conception to 2 years
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you very much to the Minister for bringing such an important statement to us here today. I just wanted to say at the beginning that I do absolutely support the concentration on the first 1,000 days of a child's life. It's very…
