Mark Isherwood: 7. How is the Welsh Government supporting Welsh businesses? OAQ54736
Mark Isherwood: Wales's hospices had a combined revenue of £36 million in 2018 and fundraised around £28 million of this. Statutory funding has flatlined for many years. Children's hospices tell me that, although they operate on a 'buy one, get seven or eight free' basis, they've had flatline statutory funding for 10 years. Government funding of children's hospices in Wales, as a percentage of its...
Mark Isherwood: Hospices work in partnership with, and supplement, existing NHS services within local areas. Last year in Wales, 16 charitable hospices provided direct care to over 11,000 people and their families, whilst reaching thousands more through their community engagement and development; 290,000 hours were donated by hospice volunteers; 2,150 adults were seen in day hospice and out-patient care;...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Our motion today notes the cross-party group on hospices and palliative care’s report on inequalities in access to hospice and palliative care and is based entirely on this evidence-based report and further detailed evidence received since from organisations and professionals working in the sector. It is therefore deeply regrettable that the Welsh Government is proposing an...
Mark Isherwood: —before you very politely point that out to me. The Bill allows some council officers to stand in an election within their local authorities, how will you manage issues around conflict of interest that could arise in such circumstances? What consideration have you given to the potential cost of an educational programme to inform local people of any potential changes to electoral systems...
Mark Isherwood: Your statement refers to community councils and the need to prepare an annual report, and it states that this was a recommendation of the independent review on the future of community and town councils in Wales and key to ensuring transparency and accountability. In January, I questioned you regarding the Wales Audit Office report, stating: 'The current standard of financial management and...
Mark Isherwood: Clearly, there is too much in this Bill and your statement for me to cover in its entirety, so I'll try and be selective. You state that principal councils will be required to prepare, consult on, publish and keep under review a public participation strategy, but previously Welsh Government has proved often averse to implementing the Localism Act 2011's community rights agenda, which would...
Mark Isherwood: Can I call for a single oral Welsh Government statement on the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board improvement framework? We received a written statement last Thursday on this, referring to a number of matters that merit full and comprehensive scrutiny within this Chamber, if not in full debate. It states, for example, that GP out-of-hours have been stepped down as special measures, and...
Mark Isherwood: In the March 2016 budget, the UK Government announced it was opening the door to a growth deal for north Wales, and that would embrace the Growth Track 360 document from the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, with ambitious proposals for rail infrastructure across the region. The Welsh Government says it's developing a high-quality and integrated transport system across north Wales. At the...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Although Public Health Wales provides specialist public health support to the 22 local authorities in Wales, responsibility for public health in Wales is shared amongst all the NHS bodies, with leadership provided by Public Health Wales. In contrast, in England, the main statutory duties for public health were proffered on local authorities in 2013, with responsibility in local...
Mark Isherwood: Two weeks ago, the Confederation of Forest Industries—Confor—stated that, at present, only a third of the budget is available to meet the Welsh Government's minimum target of creating 2,000 hectares of new woodland each year and to meet its climate energy aspirations. I understand that the Welsh forestry sector generates £528 million gross value added for Wales, supporting 10,000 jobs,...
Mark Isherwood: 3. How does the Welsh Government promote effective partnership between local government and public health bodies in Wales? OAQ54647
Mark Isherwood: Do you recognise this whole process was kicked off when the UK Government gave the Welsh Government £57 million in 2011 to match fund, for the Welsh Government to deliver the Superfast Cymru programme—11 per cent of all the funding—followed by £56 million more in 2017 to fill in the hardest to reach areas, for the Welsh Government to deliver? It was the UK Government who kick-started...
Mark Isherwood: Finally, the Royal British Legion make reference to rough-sleeping and homelessness. They note the majority of veterans manage the transition into new homes successfully and that a relatively low number of veterans experience difficulties and therefore become homeless and end up rough-sleeping. But how do you respond to their recommendation that the Welsh Government extend priority need so it...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you for your statement. It's actually a decade now since I led a short debate here calling on Wales to adopt the armed forces covenant, and what a long way we've all come in the decade since. But, of course, as the Royal British Legion states, remembrance itself does not glorify war, and its symbol, the red poppy, is a sign of both remembrance and hope for a peaceful future. Last Friday...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. The Equality Act 2010 requires—and I'm quoting here—that service providers must think ahead and take steps to address barriers that impede disabled people. In doing this, it says it's a good idea to consider the range of disabilities that your actual or potential service users might have and that you should not wait until a disabled person experiences difficulties using a...
Mark Isherwood: 1. How is the Welsh Government monitoring the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 in Wales? OAQ54657
Mark Isherwood: Yes. Well, we regret that the Minister for Health and Social Services has failed until now to prevent this decision from being made. We further regret that the number of working days lost due to stress and mental health-related issues in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has increased by 20 per cent since 2014. And we note that the health board has been in special measures for more than...
Mark Isherwood: The estimated learning disabled population in Wales of 70,000 people are at a greater risk of physical and mental ill health, have a lower standard of health and a greater risk of developing poorer health, are twice as likely to access secondary care in an emergency, and die, on average, decades before the general population. Thirty-eight per cent of these deaths are avoidable—more than...
Mark Isherwood: In September, the CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn said: 'So many businesses here in Wales are full of optimism and enthusiasm. They want to be talking about—and acting on—Welsh strengths. To signal that Wales is open for business. But desperately want to put an end to uncertainty.' Quoting businesses in north Wales at the start of October, the Daily Post said: 'Uncertainty fuels...
