I was delighted to officially open North Wales Deaf Association’s Resource Centre, to speak at the launch of the "Jewish Living Experience" Exhibition at Wrexham 's Yale Campus and to attend the Wrexham Area Civic Society’s Annual Awards evening.
Responding to the Education Secretary’s Statement introducing a presumption against the closure of small and rural schools, I noted that I had called on the previous Welsh Government to respond to concerns that Flintshire’s Labour Council was “using old and inaccurate data and acting in breach of the School Organisation Code”, when it closed Ysgol Llanfynydd and Ysgol Maes Edwin, and asked her to reconsider the evidence used to justify the closure of these schools. She replied that she was “not prepared to reopen cases that have already been discharged.”
Following the new EHRC Report which found that UK businesses are losing nearly £280 million each year as a result of women being forced out of their jobs by pregnancy and maternity discrimination in work, I questioned the First Minister over what action his Government is taking to address this in Wales.
I called for a Welsh Government Statement on ‘the role of local authorities in supporting women with multiple needs’, after North Wales Women’s Centre sent me a report calling on local authorities to work with women to design and deliver services that meet their needs.
I also called for a Statement on support for disabled former recipients of the Independent Living Fund after the Welsh Government announced that this will go through local authorities, despite disability groups in Wales having wanted to join Northern Ireland in appointing the non-government body set up in Scotland to provide payments.
Speaking in the Welsh Conservative Debate on Older People, I highlighted services to promote independent living and urged the Welsh Government to introduce an Older People’s Rights Bill.
Questioning the Communities Secretary, Carl Sargeant, I noted that, at 28 per cent, Wales has the highest child poverty level amongst the UK nations and that the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has called for change in cultural thinking in public bodies, where delivery needs to be co-produced, with community engagement and power sharing.
Assembly engagements included Parkinson’s UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Marie Curie and Chwarae Teg, fairness for women.
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