Lyn Ackerman

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1. 8. Welsh Labour Debate: The M4 around Newport en

   Diolch, Lywydd. This is the first time I rise in this Chamber having to admit that I'm in awe of the Labour Party—for the barefaced cheek it takes to bring this motion to the floor of the Senedd, having cancelled the previous scheme in 2019. Let us not forget that, in Government, they spent £135 million not to build the very thing they are now demanding of Plaid Cymru today. Public money spent on a road that they cancelled, and I note that the leader of the Labour group was the transport Minister at the time. Labour cannot expect people to forget simply because they are now sitting on the opposition benches. Indeed, the public have not forgotten. For all of their online sham protests, I would suggest they read the comments from the public on their social media accounts. Burnham's branch office is entitled to argue for a different road, but it owes the people who paid for the last scheme an explanation of what it would do differently this time. Its motion gives us no way of knowing which road it means or how it would be funded. Labour needs to explain what its motion would add to the work Ministers have already announced. The Government has already accepted that road and engineering improvements are needed around Newport. It has announced an 18-month study to select a third—

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2. 8. Welsh Labour Debate: The M4 around Newport en

   —road option alongside improvements to the existing motorway and public transport. The study needs to lead to a decision that Ministers can fund and carry through. I also expect progress on the existing network while this work takes place. People should be able to see what is being delivered within those 18 months and when they can expect to improve their journeys. For people in Casnewydd Islwyn, the roads that lead to the M4 matter as much as the motorway itself. Changes at the Newport junction could affect journeys from the Valleys and put more traffic through residential areas. The Arup review warns that traffic could be displaced around Malpas, High Cross and Ridgeway, which affects noise and air quality. A proposal could therefore improve the flow of traffic on the motorway while making some local journeys worse. We need to know where that traffic would go and what the consequences would be for the people living around those routes. The Government has said that no decision to implement junction closures has been taken. It is committed to further traffic modelling before any decisions are made. I support the decision and look forward to seeing the updated data before the Government makes any final decision. Based on the evidence, I am supporting the amendment and urge Members to do the same. The electorate expect us to act in this Chamber on their behalf, and not descend into pantomime politics by pretending that the easy solution exists to solve complex problems. This is how we end up here in the first place.

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1. 1. Questions to the First Minister cy

   1. Pa asesiad y mae'r Prif Weinidog wedi'i wneud o'r niferoedd sy'n manteisio ar wiriadau iechyd blynyddol ymhlith oedolion ag anableddau dysgu? OQ64798

   Official English translation

   1. What assessment has the First Minister made of the uptake of annual health checks among adults with learning disabilities? OQ64798

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2. 1. Questions to the First Minister en

   First Minister, I welcome the inclusion of annual health checks in GP contracts and the new national pathway. Could you give me more detail on how the Welsh Government is working with the health boards and with GP practices to keep learning disability registers accurate, make invitations and appointments accessible, and how these figures can guide further support to increase uptake?

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1. 1. Questions to the Trefnydd, Chief Whip and Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport cy

   7. A wnaiff y Gweinidog Cabinet roi diweddariad ar archwiliad Chwaraeon Cymru o gyfleusterau chwaraeon rhanbarthol a chymunedol? OQ64715

   Official English translation

   7. Will the Cabinet Minister provide an update on the Sport Wales audit of regional and community sports facilities? OQ64715

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2. 1. Questions to the Trefnydd, Chief Whip and Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport en

   Cefn Fforest Leisure Centre remains open, but Caerphilly council significantly reduced its opening hours in 2025 and closed the fitness suite. Will the Sport Wales data capture include changes to opening hours, the facility availability at each site and the distance to alternative provision, so that the future capital investment reflects the level of provision communities have access to?

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1. 1. Questions to the First Minister cy

   8. Pa asesiad y mae'r Prif Weinidog wedi'i wneud ynghylch a yw'r fframwaith teithio presennol i ddysgwyr yn darparu mynediad teg at addysg ledled Cymru? OQ64650

   Official English translation

   8. What assessment has the First Minister made of whether the current learner travel framework is delivering fair access to education across Wales? OQ64650

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2. 1. Questions to the First Minister en

   The statutory threshold remains 2 miles for primary schools and 3 miles for secondary pupils. In communities such as Islwyn, the reality of their journey can be very different, depending on the terrain, the roads and whether there is a genuinely safe walking route. Will the First Minister look at whether the current framework is producing fair and consistent outcomes for children across Wales?

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1. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability en

   Minister, Wales needs both renewable energy and secure domestic food production. Welsh planning policy already gives considerable weight to protecting our best and most versatile agricultural land. Can you explain how the protection works alongside the Government's drive for renewable energy, so that we increase green generation without unnecessarily losing our most productive farmland?

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1. 1. Questions to the Trefnydd, Chief Whip and Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport cy

   6. Sut mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cefnogi cyfleusterau llyfrgell yng Nghasnewydd Islwyn? OQ64455

   Official English translation

   6. How is the Welsh Government supporting library facilities in Casnewydd Islwyn? OQ64455

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2. 1. Questions to the Trefnydd, Chief Whip and Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport en

   People are rightly concerned as to why valued libraries and leisure facilities have been allowed to disappear. Will the Cabinet Minister work with councils and Sport Wales to ensure that, before any facilities are closed and lost forever, the community is given the evidence, available alternatives and genuine opportunity to retain them through community ownership or genuine like-for-like replacement provision?

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1. 10. Short Debate: Improving access to local economic opportunities in Casnewydd Islwyn en

   Diolch. I'm giving a minute to Jayne Bryant and Peredur Griffiths. I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring forward this short debate on improving access to local economic opportunities in Casnewydd Islwyn. Economic opportunity is not only about whether jobs, courses, schemes or support exist somewhere in the system; it is about whether people can see those opportunities, reach them and use them. People in Casnewydd Islwyn want decent work. They want young people to have a future close to home. They want local businesses to succeed. This depends on the Welsh Government, local government, colleges, employers and community groups working together. But Government has a role in making the system easier to understand and easier to access. This is the argument of this debate. If a young person cannot see the links between what they study and the work available to them, ambition starts to look like something you have to leave the area to find. We should want people here to see a future in Wales and understand the route to it. If an adult wants to retrain or move into better work, this starting point should not depend on already knowing how the system works. If a local employer wants to expand, take on apprentices or invest in a site, they should know where to go, what support exists and who is responsible. They should not have to chase different parts of the public sector to find out. Economic development sounds abstract. Its impact is not. A secure job changes a household. A training route gives someone confidence. An apprenticeship changes what a family believes is possible. That is why access to opportunities should be treated as a delivery test. Can people see what is available? Can they reach it? Can they use it? I want to ask the Welsh Government three things. First, how will you make the local economy offer—skills, training, apprenticeships, employment support and growth sector routes—more visible in constituencies such as Casnewydd Islwyn? Second, how will you strengthen the links between education, skills and local employers so people understand what skills are needed and how to move from one stage to the next? Third, how will you make it easier for local employers to engage with the public sector when they want to grow, invest and create jobs? This debate is about access. Casnewydd Islwyn has ambition, capable businesses and communities that want to see delivery. The task is to make the route into opportunities clear. This is the spirit in which I bring this debate forward. Thank you.

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1. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution cy

   6. Pa drafodaethau y mae'r Gweinidog Cabinet yn eu cael gyda Llywodraeth y DU ynglŷn â datganoli pwerau dros ddŵr i Gymru? OQ64382

   Official English translation

   6. What discussions is the Cabinet Minister having with the UK Government regarding the devolution of powers over water to Wales? OQ64382

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2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution en

   Before I ask my supplementary, I declare my registered interest as a former employee of Abercarn rugby club. Abercarn welfare ground shows the real impact that flooding and sewerage contamination has on a community. The ground supports rugby, football and cricket. Sewage has surfaced on the field and pitches have sat unusable for weeks at a time, disrupting local sports and raising clear public health and environmental concerns. The wider issue is ageing sewerage infrastructure, polluted waterways, flood risk and contaminated land, with community facilities left to carry the consequences when systems fail. What discussions is the Cabinet Secretary having with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, National Resources Wales, Caerphilly County Borough Council and the UK Government to bring forward plans with clear deadlines for Abercarn welfare ground, covering testing, clean-up, public health advice and long-term sewerage and drainage works, and what is the Welsh Government doing to secure the powers, regulation and resources needed to stop sewage contamination and flooding from damaging community facilities in the future?

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1. 3. Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning cy

   7. A wnaiff y Gweinidog Cabinet roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am sefydlu Unnos i uwch-raddio'r broses o ddarparu cartrefi cymdeithasol ledled Cymru? OQ64175

   Official English translation

   7. Will the Cabinet Minister provide an update on the establishment of Unnos to upscale the delivery of social homes across Wales? OQ64175

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2. 3. Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning en

   Over the past year, private rents in Newport have risen by almost 20 per cent, and, at the same time, in almost 70 per cent of areas across Wales, Shelter Cymru have found that there are no properties advertised for rent within the local housing allowance rate. This gap between housing costs and support levels is leaving many households with no viable option, contributing directly to rising homelessness and increasing reliance on temporary accommodation. Given the clear pressures this is placing on local authorities and the long-term financial constraints that temporary accommodation creates for budgets, beyond increasing social housing supply, what work is being undertaken to support councils in moving towards a more phased planned reduction in reliance on temporary accommodation, and to provide the funding stability needed to manage the transition effectively?

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