, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: GP practices and funding
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd. As we on these benches have highlighted time and again in this Siambr, there is, let's be in no doubt, a crisis in primary care in Wales. At the end of 2023, there were only 374 GP practices left in Wales, a decrease of…
, Plenary
Debate on the Health and Social Care Committee Report, 'Unheard: Women's journey through gynaecological cancer'
I want to conclude by asking the Cabinet Secretary to look again at the recommendations that have been made and that she has rejected, and to reconsider this decision, and I ask the Cabinet Secretary when the women's health plan for Wales will be published…
, Plenary
Debate on the Health and Social Care Committee Report, 'Unheard: Women's journey through gynaecological cancer'
I welcome that the Welsh Government has accepted many of the committee's recommendations, but might I suggest that it is a little short of scandalous that the recommendations of this report, which, as I have suggested, are underpinned by the real, lived…
, Plenary
Debate on the Health and Social Care Committee Report, 'Unheard: Women's journey through gynaecological cancer'
Well, I want to begin my contribution to this debate by echoing what the Chair, Russell George, said, saying that this inquiry is amongst the most heart-rending and powerful and emotional inquires that I have been part of during my three years at the Senedd…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Control of tobacco and nicotine products
Thanks, Gareth. I'm afraid it seems to be a confused argument, but nevertheless, I am concerned that you've misunderstood the proposal in any case, the motion. The motion isn't to do with impacting on people's right to smoke. It's to do with bringing in a…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Control of tobacco and nicotine products
So maybe we should aim to get better quality cigarettes, or better quality vapes. The argument doesn't hold, I'm afraid. You've also said that the battle is already won, but say that to the 5,600 people who die in Wales every year as a consequence of smoking…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Control of tobacco and nicotine products
I'll start with Gareth's point. He put forward the libertarian arguments about smoking. First of all, during your contribution you said that you wanted to see, for instance, ultra-processed foods being controlled. That doesn't tally with your libertarian…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Control of tobacco and nicotine products
Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you very much to everyone who has participated in this discussion. It has been very interesting, and on the whole the Senedd seems to be supportive. I look forward to seeing the Senedd and the Siambr supporting…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Control of tobacco and nicotine products
The legislative mechanism for a tobacco and nicotine retail register is already contained in the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017. If implemented, it would benefit everyone, from retailers to consumers and enforcement teams. Most importantly, it would reduce…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Control of tobacco and nicotine products
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Since 2017, more than 20,000 children in Wales have smoked their first cigarette. By now, 15,000 of those children will be well on their way to becoming long-term smokers. And in a future none of them can yet see, 10,000 of these…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Along the same lines as Paul Davies, one of the things that is most frustrating for me, certainly, in terms of public bodies in Wales is the fact that many of them are outsourcing their work to other companies—companies that are very often not located here in…
, Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust
Thank you very much. Thank you, Chair.
, Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust
Okay. Following on from that, then, from the savings that you have made, how has that affected your delivery of vital services? How has that affected your capital programme? Where, for example, have you had to cut back in terms of upgrading elements of…
, Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust
Thank you. In terms of the funding that you do receive, you have had to look at savings worth £6.4 million, I think, and you've already achieved about £3.4 million in savings. Could you provide more detail on how you've saved that £3.4 million and where you…
, Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust
Thank you for that, but you also say that you want to do more work in the community, and to follow on from the question asked by Mark Drakeford—the probing question that he asked earlier—would you not want to have more financial resources in order to provide…
, Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust
Thank you, Chair. If I could ask some questions—please forgive my lack of understanding in some regards—just in order to square some circles, and if you could give a brief answer. You've said from the outset that you don't want more money, that that's not the…
, Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust
Thank you. Just quickly, a lot of what you've said is, again, making a lot of sense. Earlier, you said that a problem lies at one end of the spectrum of health, which is getting people out of hospitals and into care in the community, and that that is a…
, Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust
Thank you. I'll be asking my question in Welsh. I've had a conversation with you, Jason Killens, before, and I'm very grateful for the conversations that we've had. And I accept what you say, there, as to your opinion that there is no crisis in the ambulance…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Mental Health and Early Years: Improving mental health in Wales
Before going after specific policy areas or issues, it's worth highlighting one issue that should underpin all others when dealing with broader mental health issues: all new strategies and policy initiatives need to be underpinned by a robust mental health…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Mental Health and Early Years: Improving mental health in Wales
Thank you to the Minister for her statement this afternoon. I'd like to start by congratulating her on her appointment to this role, and I look forward to working with her on an issue of such great importance.
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
I want to pursue two issues specifically, and one of them follows the question last week that the Cabinet Secretary asked me to ask again this week, so hopefully I'll have a bit more information on that, and that's with regard to BVD. There was good work…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
One of the most prominent issues we have in the healthcare provision in north Wales is the long waiting lists. Take Ehlers-Danlos syndromes patients, for example. Over the border in England, patients there are referred straight away to specialists, but…
, Plenary
Debate on petition P-06-1392, 'Reform of the additional learning needs Code of Wales 2021'
Thank you very much to those who brought this petition before us—a petition that is clearly hugely important, but one that has emerged from the lived experience of far too many people. And it is an issue that comes up far too often now in my own inbox, in my…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you for that response, Cabinet Secretary. You’ll know that around 230,000 properties across Wales are registered as social housing and the latest evidence from the Tenant Participation Advisory Service Cymru suggests that 22 per cent of tenants felt…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. The Welsh Government’s rent and service charge standard for social housing is in its final year and the Welsh Government has not made an announcement as yet about the next standard. The Cabinet Secretary will be aware that social…
