Following Flintshire Packaging firm Mondi’s announcement that it plans to close operations at Deeside Industrial Park, putting 167 jobs at risk there and 41 in Nelson, Lancashire, due to a change in demand for their niche products, I called on the Economy Minister, Ken Skates AM, to help the company stimulate demand for their niche products or vary the niche products, possibly, into new product lines, to ensure that they meet the demand that is out there.
Speaking in the Debate on Rape and Sexual Abuse, I noted that North Wales saw a 126% increase in the number of recorded rapes between 2014-2019, and that like all other Police Forces in Wales, North Wales saw big decrease in the number of cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service. I welcomed the Prime Minister’s pledge to do more to bring perpetrators of violent and sexual crimes to justice.
After receiving many emails from constituents expressing concern about services within Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, with one stating “I am sure many are dying unnecessarily because of the mismanagement”, I called for a Welsh Government Statement on resources in the troubled Health Board.
With differences between GCSEs in Wales and GCSEs in England, namely the grading scales and the fact that there are two maths GCSEs in Wales, Maths and Numeracy, I called for assurances from the Education Minister that Universities fully understand the qualifications achieved by students in Wales.
Challenging the First Minister over claims that the Erasmus+ scheme, which funds opportunities for young people to train and study across Europe, is in jeopardy because MPs voted against a clause in the UK Government’s European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill that would have required the Government to seek to negotiate continued full membership of the programme, I stated that the UK Government made clear that the vote ‘does not end or prevent the UK participating in Erasmus’.
Assembly engagements included meetings with the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, Cytun, Churches Together in Wales and the Presbyterian Church of Wales to discuss the work of the Cross Party Group on Funerals and Bereavement, which I Chair, Holocaust Memorial Event and signing of the Book of Commitment provided by The Holocaust Educational Trust, Qualifications Wales drop-in event, and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ event.
In North Wales, I visited Mega Electrical NW Ltd. in Nannerch, Mold, to discuss the need for an electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in Wales.
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