, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I welcome the report that the auditor general published yesterday. It is an important report. I accept the thrust of the challenges and the concerns that the auditor general outlines in the report. So, the overall picture is that too many people are waiting…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, my understanding is that no decision has yet been taken by Hywel Dda in relation to reconfiguration of stroke services, and there will be a consultation on that in May. He makes an important point about the implications for residents living outside the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Welsh Government has recently allocated just over £7 million in additional funding in recognition of financial pressures in the current year, which will support Powys Teaching Health Board to deliver safe and timely access to its residents.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, look, clearly there are requirements in the contracts that GPs take on from the health board that stipulate outcomes of the sort the Member is referring to. And I made it clear in my response to Alun Davies that clinical cover at all the locations to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I refer the Member to the answer I gave a moment ago to Alun Davies. And in terms of what I'm doing, I outlined the actions that I'm taking in that response, and I'll be very happy to update Members when I have the further information I'm seeking from the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Given the damage her party in Government has done to GP services across the border over the last 14 years, I think it's rather rich for the Member to put it in quite those terms. As she knows, the decision—[Interruption.] As she knows—[Interruption.] As she…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Can I associate myself with the comments that the First Minister made in First Minister's questions last week in relation to the important question that Alun Davies raises? I have made my views clear to the health board, most recently in a meeting last week…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Ensuring good access to GP services across Wales, including all areas of Blaenau Gwent, is a priority for this Government.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Diolch yn fawr.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Certainly, Chair. [Laughter.]
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Can I just make one point, finally? I think the other point, Vaughan, to say, is that I think that, by looking at it from a children's perspective, that helps rebalance the contribution that behaviour change and structural systemic change can make to the…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
There is a real danger of that, and that's really why I started in the way that I did, talking about the opportunity that I think—. And I hope I'm not being naive or overly optimistic about it, but I do think there is something in the quality of the messaging…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Absolutely.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Absolutely. Well, there are two points to that. Firstly, the overall budget is set at the same level, but what you will expect to see is a larger proportion of that being spent on tackling childhood obesity, but I don't think it is just about budget, and it…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Sure. The budget for the healthy weight programme is generally sustained at the same level as it was last year. However, in the many discussions I've had with the team since I've come into this role, the one statistic, the one piece of information and data…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Sure.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
So, specifically then, part of that will be to fund the new scheduling, because that has a budgetary cost. And what I’m hoping we’ll be able to achieve is, through that new scheduling, to find ways of using that to increase uptake, really. And I’ve tasked PHW…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
No, indeed. So, the funding is there to do a number of things. It’s obviously to meet the requirements of the national immunisation framework in general terms, and to meet the costs of inflationary pressures in terms of vaccination as well. There are some new…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Yes.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Certainly.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Sure.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
So, the budget contains a number of allocations in relation to digital initiatives. Some of those are broad-based initiatives. The national data resource is a good example of that, and that will support all services, including paediatric services. But there…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
I'd be very happy to share that with the committee if you'd find that helpful.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
Sure. Well, I think, in paediatrics generally, over the last decade, probably, there's been a huge increase, certainly at the consultant level, in terms of paediatrics, and the number of training places has increased consistently over the last four or five…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 1
So, there are two stages to that. We can provide the information about the outcomes we're expecting, and then the separate piece of work, which is a slightly longer piece of work, is the quality statement, and we can keep the committee up to date on…
