Speeches by Ranger.

“Thank you for that. I must say thank you for the visit as well: it was really informative and it was great to visit. We had reports from prisoners that there were delays in getting healthcare or in getting seen to, if that is the right way to word it. If someone does need healthcare, what would be the process? Would th…”

“You mentioned the CMS, which we got some feedback about. There were sometimes issues with that for prisoners. Is that something you recognise?”

“Can I ask about the wellbeing of prisoners? I have to say I was quite impressed by some of the things you were doing on education and workplace training, with people getting qualifications to get into jobs or college on release, hopefully, as well as education in a wider context and the family unit. What I am intereste…”

“Is there anything that others on the panel want to add?”

“Has engagement with the inter-ministerial group for justice happened? Is that happening regularly? How often does it happen? Is it working effectively?”

“The UK Government have a manifesto commitment about devolving youth justice and probation to Wales. What conversations have you had around that with the Welsh Government?”

“Cross-border co-operation and investment by north Wales and the Mersey Dee region of north-west England is essential to maximising growth on both sides of the border. Key to achieving that will be improved railway connectivity. Will the Secretary of State meet me and the cross-party, cross-nation Growth Track 360 group…”

“Do you have anything to add to that, Ian?”

“7. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in north Wales.”

“To link into that point, how will the reviews such as the independent commission on the constitutional future of Wales and the Brown commission inform those considerations on the devolution of youth justice and probation?”

“Q Very briefly, how quickly do you expect to have the commissioner up and running in post? Luke Pollard: I would expect the Bill to complete early next year. I would expect the appointment process to take roughly a year, and the office to be stood up as a commissioner’s office at the start of 2026, taking cases and, im…”

“Q When people leave the armed forces, they state that morale is one of the biggest reasons for why they intend to leave. Do you think the commissioner’s appointment and the powers they will be given will have a direct impact on improving morale and therefore decrease the number of leavers in the forces? Angela Kitching…”

“Q What do you think would be a sensible timeframe in which we could say there had been a direct correlation between the commissioner being in place and seeing an improvement? What would be a timeframe to measure that over? Ted Arnold: Again, I think that will be difficult to measure. Having an annual review that report…”

“Q Armed Forces Commissioner is an important role, and they need to get to the information and the people that they need. What enforcement mechanism will be available to them if people do not co-operate? Luke Pollard: There is an obligation in the Bill for the Secretary of State to co-operate with the commissioner to pr…”

“16. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement the Government’s five missions.”

“A recent report by the Social Mobility Foundation showed that on average people from working-class backgrounds are paid an incredible £6,000 less than their privileged peers. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Labour’s opportunity mission will be critical to ending that damning statistic and finally smashing the clas…”

“Slightly changing the context—this is for Joe and Jessica—we have GB Energy and Ynni Cymru. Is there a risk that there might be some duplication there? What are the best ways that the two Governments can work together to make sure that they hit the targets and get a successful roll-out across both countries, or the who…”

“Just to flip it on its head slightly, is there an importance that they should also differ in their approaches to cover more ground?”

“Moving on to the financing side, we have touched on some of this throughout the discussion already, but do any witnesses have anything to add in terms of what the most significant financial barriers are to investing in renewable energy in Wales, and particularly the new and emerging side of the technology?”

“Emily, I come back to the original question about the significant financial barriers, particularly to new and emerging technologies. If you have anything to add on the skills side as well, I would be interested.”