, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
If we look at the estate as it currently stands, and look at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, and if you look at Glangwili, and these hospitals that have water leaking from their roofs, and reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is present in some…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Thank you. I just want to look at capital, if I may. To start, you've said during this discussion today that there'd been an increase in the capital budget of £135 million, something like that, and that the capital budget is about £600 million. But the…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Diolch yn fawr iawn.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
I appreciate that, but hospices tell us individually and as a committee that that is insufficient. A number of them will be finding it impossible to sustain the level of provision that they currently provide. So, is there an assessment of the viability of the…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Okay. So, if you believe, in the current financial context, that you won't be able to fill that gap in terms of the Welsh Government, accepting then that some hospices, for example, some charities, will have to withdraw the services that they provide, that…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Of course. I respect that.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
If I could interrupt you there, how is that consistent with your first contribution that the intention of increasing this national insurance contribution was to sustain and maintain public services? But, according to what you've said just now, it will have an…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
That's how important this provision is and the services that they provide. But this increase in national insurance contributions is going to cost this one charity around £250,000, if not more, every year. So, it threatens the services not just that they…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
'Sadly, a third of those we support are end-of-life, facing their most difficult days.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
—as they say in their letter.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
'At Tenovus Cancer Care, we deliver essential services for people affected by cancer including counselling, nurse-led support, and benefits advice. This is provided free of charge, exclusively to the NHS'—
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Thank you very much. Just to emphasise that the evidence that we have received, and that we receive as individuals from the care sector, shows that this respite element is the element that contributes greatest to their quality of life. So, it's important to…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Thank you very much. So, just to understand fully, because we see the MEG headlines, we see the expenditure, but we don't see the granular detail, what you're saying now is that we can expect to see a budget for those programmes extend above inflation.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
I appreciate that context. I know that time is tight this morning. So, what is the future of those schemes in the context of the next financial year?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Forgive me, Minister—
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Thank you very much, Chair. I want to focus a little, if I may, in this section on pressures on the independent and third sector providers—the financial pressures on them. Looking initially at unpaid carers, your evidence has shown that there are two…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
No, no, but do you think it should be?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Do you think local government should be restructured?
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Just very briefly, on that point, do you therefore feel that it's about focusing on local government, that that's the way forward, and do you have plans to do that? [Translation should read: Just very briefly, to come in on that, do you therefore think that…
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
Diolch.
, Health and Social Care Committee
Welsh Government draft budget 2025-26
I'm going to ask my question through the medium of Welsh. On that point, Cabinet Secretary, you mentioned preventative programmes. Of course, there was criticism in the last financial year that the Government had cut the funding for the Government's…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
Yes, in Betsi Cadwaladr, we've got a lot of people attending north Wales, visiting north Wales, and if you talk to Llais, you'll see the statistics of the number coming and going into our hospitals because of those, amongst other factors as well. And the…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
Yes, go for it.
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
I agree with you but you can't put your head in the sand and deny that there's a problem. There are 700,000 people waiting for treatment; one in five of the population of Wales need to be seen to get their treatment. And you also referred to the Llandudno…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
It's been a really good debate with some really interesting examples of best practice. Now, we started off with James trying to take credit on behalf of the Conservatives for the policies that we put forward. But, you know, be honest. At least we're being…
