Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motion. These regulations that we're discussing today make necessary changes to domestic legislation that applies to Wales on food hygiene and food compositional standards, on feed, and also labelling and the composition and standard of food. There are three main purposes to these changes: first of all, to ensure that a range of provision in Welsh...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, I think that is a fair question, because if you look at examples like the twilight fund programme, that has been paid for by the transformation fund, so what we need to do is look at what works and then try and mainstream it. So, that's certainly a message that I've been giving very clearly to my officials, that we really need to embed this tier 0, tier 1 support, which is often much...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Hywel Dda health board is responsible for ensuring that service provision meets the needs of the local community, including for mental health. We continue to provide more funding for the provision of mental health services than for any other part of the NHS.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Joyce. Of course, this is a programme that has been rolled out as a result of the pilot that happened in Llanelli, so it is good to see that that has worked well, and I think we've got to recognise that people don't just have mental health crises between nine and five, which is why we have to make sure that that 24-hour service is available. What's been great is that the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We have commissioned two separate reviews to support improvements to our out-of-hours crisis care services. We continue to work with partners to improve the multi-agency response that is required to support people who present in crisis.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. I'm not sure if there's anyone who hasn't suffered some degree of anxiety during this pandemic, but it is, as you say, a particular problem when it comes to young people. And that's why we have had a very radical new approach to supporting young people and children in schools with mental health issues. There's been a £5 million programme that's been supported between my budget and...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think you're absolutely right, David. All the evidence that we've seen suggests that there's going to be a real problem down the road, unless we address it very early. And that's exactly what we're trying to do. We've put in £2.7 million of additional funding to provide immediate access to a really broad range of low-level mental health support. And it's clear that anxiety comes in lots of...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We have invested almost £10 million of additional funding this year to support mental health, and this includes investment in tier 0 support to help reduce the need to access NHS services. We are also taking a cross-Government and multi-agency approach to reduce the wider impact of the pandemic on mental health.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. I think there are many things we need to consider here when it comes to housing and keeping people in our communities. It is a serious problem and it's complex. We're looking at every situation and we're hoping to see what more we can do, because we have done more here in Wales than in any other area of the UK. One of the things that we've done is to ensure that we have built...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. Of course, we, as a department, have ensured that we have undertaken a review of the impact of COVID on the Welsh language in our communities, and that will be published in the next fortnight. On top of that, Simon Brooks will be publishing his paper on second homes in the next fortnight. So, the data is there and it’s coming together and it will help us to analyse where we need...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Adam. I established an economy and Welsh language round-table last year, and I've ensured that we do discuss there the challenges facing Welsh-speaking and rural communities. One of the themes that we're looking at there is the outward migration of young people, and the Arfor programme has also piloted projects targeted specifically in supporting young people to remain in their...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Mark. I have read the 'Left stranded' report, and I think it does make some very interesting reading, and I'll be looking forward to discussing that with the chief executive of the National Autistic Society when I meet her next week. Just in terms of access to services during COVID-19, services are coming together to exchange good practice and support is being offered...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, I can give you that assurance, Dawn. Just to make it clear, right from the beginning of the pandemic, when we were requesting people not to leave their homes, we did, right at the beginning, give exemptions to those people with autism because we understood that they needed to follow certain patterns, that they needed to get out on a regular basis. So, right from the beginning, we have...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: COVID-19 has been a really difficult time for autistic people in Wales, and we're working with partners, including the National Autistic Society, to support autistic people throughout this pandemic. We'll continue this joint work to minimise the longer term impact of the virus on autistic people's lives.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I don't think peer mentorship programmes are new; I think there are examples of that going on, in various different guises, in lots of different sectors. I'm very much of the view that this is something where people can support each other and that experience can be transformational—just knowing you're not alone when you're in a dark place is in itself something that is very helpful. I think...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. I think it's been a really anxious time for any young person, in particular when it comes to schoolwork and, in particular, those who were planning to sit exams. Of course, we have given substantial support as a Government to local authorities and, through them, to schools, to those people who haven't been able to access education online. Part of the additional problem, of course,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Of course, we are intensely aware of the mental health situation and we've put some significant support in, in particular to support employees. But you're absolutely right that we need to think about the business owners who've put money on the line, who've put their livelihoods on the line and are seeing those being threatened with the coronavirus. We have discussed this in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. Could I just state clearly that I’m very aware of the difficulties that the Urdd is facing? Of course, it’s a great shame as the Urdd have done everything that we’ve asked of them over the years to not be so reliant on Government funding. They know how to spend and raise money, but just not in this coronavirus period, and that’s why we have already, as you’ve mentioned,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. Just to make it clear that it is a requirement on all parts of local government to ensure that they do take into consideration the need to strengthen what's offered in terms of Welsh-medium education in their areas, so I do hope that all of the local authorities across Wales will understand that responsibility. And just to make it clear, in terms of teaching in schools that don't...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Siân. I can confirm that the Welsh Government won't be taking a position on the Driver case that is happening in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area. FootnoteLink
