I sponsored and spoke at the launch of the National Autistic Society Cymru Report ‘Act Now: An Autism Act for Wales’, stating that an Autism Act for Wales would “give people with autism the confidence that they will receive the support they need.”
It cannot be right that only one in ten people with autism are in full time employment, that people are still waiting years for a diagnosis, or that a young child in Wales said: ‘My Mum always cries because she always has meetings with people who don’t listen to me; School is horrible, I get picked on, no one cares. My head hurts when it’s loud but I can’t get away.’
Responding to the Statement on Job Losses at Tata Steel, I asked the Economy Minister what action the Welsh Government is taking to adopt the Charter for British Sustainable Steel and, noting that the European Commission failed to grasp the urgent need for measures to better protect steel producers from the dumping of cheap steel, asked what direct communication the Welsh Government has had with the European Commission regarding this.
I called on the Welsh Government to make a verbal statement in the Chamber on the future of the Blue Badge scheme in Wales for drivers with severe mobility problems, to allow proper and public questioning of the Minister.
Closing the Welsh Conservative Debate on Higher Education Funding, I noted that successive reports found that cutting Welsh University funding to fund Labour’s Tuition Fee Grant Policy is unsustainable, and that Welsh Government proposals would mean an 81 per cent reduction in the higher education budget since 2010. The budget cuts to Glynd?r and Bangor universities could have a huge negative impact on North Wales. We need instead a progressive system of living costs support that enables students from all walks of life in Wales to study at University.
I also asked the Economy, Science and Transport Minister how the Welsh Government is engaging with Techniquest Glynd?r, as one of the 20 UK Science Discovery Centres participating in ‘Destination Space’, to help develop science policy in North Wales.
Engagements included launches of both ‘The Welsh Disability Charter’ and the National Federation of Retail Newsagents’ Welsh Agenda, Arriva Buses and Vodafone.
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