, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, I thank Vikki Howells for that. The White Paper that we published in advance of the bus Bill set out plans to include passenger voices at the very top level of a new bus system, to make sure that direct feedback from people who use that service, and…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank Joel James for that. It's never good to hear of the sort of experience that he has set out, but I am able to say to him and to the Chamber that this topic was absolutely at the forefront of a recent meeting of the ministerial disability equality…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. We recognise the importance of making public transport in Wales safe, welcoming and accessible to everyone. We will continue to work with Transport for Wales, local authorities and the public transport providers…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, the urgent call ambulance that was dispatched when Jane Dodds asked me her question has now been at the scene for the last three minutes. I say that just to give colleagues here some sense of the service that continues to be provided in every…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for that question. I've had a brief opportunity to have a look at the plan that Plaid Cymru published today. What the pressure on the ambulance service means is that demand for health services over the winter has been very…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, as I know Russell George will be aware, the chief ambulance service commissioner is leading a review on behalf of the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee. That review is now in the period of formal engagement; no decision on the outcome has been…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, let me, first of all, answer the specific question that Jane Dodds asked in introducing her supplementary question. The management information provided in the Welsh NHS suggests that, last week, the week beginning 16 January, had it been a red…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank Jane Dodds, Llywydd, for that question. Record levels of demand have placed real pressures on ambulance response times, with lengthy delays for some patients. Nevertheless, in December—the most difficult month—the service responded to the highest ever…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, of course, I'm absolutely happy to investigate the points the Member has made. I don't make up answers in front of the Senedd; I rely on the information that I'm provided with. The information I had in front of me quite definitely said that the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, the Cabinet committee on the cost of living heard direct evidence from organisations in the field about the way in which families faced with so many pressures on their budgets often feel that it is the digital spend they make that has to go…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, tackling digital exclusion is a social justice and inequality priority for Government. Our digital inclusion and health programme, Digital Communities Wales, supports organisations across all communities and sectors to help people maximise the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, change is inevitable in the health service. Some surgeries close, new surgeries open. It's been like that since 1948. There are more directly managed services in Wales now than there were before, and that's a reflection of the changing nature…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, despite the enormous pressures facing the sector, access to GP surgeries has improved in every year since standards were first agreed in 2019. Eighty-nine per cent of practices across Wales now achieve all the standards, and those standards will…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, I can't offer the Member an answer to that question, because I think it's actually quite a difficult question to answer, because you are trying to find children who don't do something rather than children who do. In terms of children who do…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. In the first part of this Senedd term, we are in the process of agreeing new, reformed contracts with all four branches of primary care across Wales. Our priority is to secure maximum value from those contracts…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Of course, Llywydd, I recognise that there are certain factors that are unique to people living in rural areas, and I can agree with what the Member said: it is sometimes difficult to identify poverty in some of our rural communities. Of course, every part of…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, this year we are providing support worth £1.6 billion in programmes that protect disadvantaged households. In particular, we are providing support to rural households that use off-grid energy, investing in community food initiatives and providing…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, I still manage to be amazed that a Conservative Member is willing to stand up here and criticise the growth in child poverty when his own Government—his own Government—publishes documents alongside their budget saying that the actions they have…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I completely agree with Mike Hedges, Llywydd, about the fantastic work that has been done by the Flying Start programme, and it's one of the benefits of devolution that we've been able to sustain that programme now for what will soon be 20 years. And of…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Flying Start is the Welsh Government’s flagship early years programme. It continues to make a real difference to the lives of children in some of our most disadvantaged communities, and we have reaffirmed our commitment to support the programme throughout the…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, the Member makes some important points, and it is exactly because of those points, that this is a community hospital where social care will be a very important part of the context within which it works, that the regional partnership board has…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Well, Llywydd, I thank Darren Millar for the way in which he put that question and for his recognition of the context within which decisions about the scheme have to be taken. I'm keen to assure him that the Welsh Government continues to be directly engaged…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. Successive Welsh Governments have supported the local health board's ambition to take forward plans for a north Denbighshire community hospital. Escalating costs and falling capital budgets mean that the plan has…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
There are a series of questions there, Llywydd, and I'll try and attend to as many as I can. On the biggest question of all, I do agree with the leader of Plaid Cymru; I think the UK Government's decision to use powers that have never been used in the whole…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Llywydd, the first thing I want to do is to pay tribute to the work of agency staff. I’m worried about the tone of some of this debate that suggests that, somehow, agency staff are the problem in the NHS. The NHS absolutely depends upon agency staff. So, I’m…
