Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, diolch, Vikki. I think we've got to be really clear that not all mental health issues are medical issues. There are many issues that are due to social problems, people suffering problems in relationships, and I think what we need to do is to make sure that we intervene very early, as you're suggesting, to make sure that young people have the capacity to deal with those difficult...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Delyth. Just to make it clear that we already spend more on mental health than any other aspect of the health service—£700 million a year. And of course, in response to COVID we've topped that up by almost £10 million, to make sure that we are responding to the pressures that we know in particular are there amongst young people. We've heard the information that's come from...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch, Nick. Just to make it clear that we do have regular meetings with the Wales Alliance for Mental Health, who are the representatives of the third sector in relation to mental health, and of course, they do keep us updated as to what they see is the situation on the ground. And I'm very keen to make sure that I have a second view of what's going on; obviously, I get the information...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch, Llywydd. Improving the mental health and well-being of children and young people requires a multi-agency and cross-Government approach. Our 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan 2019-22, recently refreshed in the light of COVID-19, sets out how we will work on this with our partners.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Improving the mental health and well-being of children and young people requires a multiagency and cross-Government approach. We are taking forward a range of approaches under the strategic direction of our joint Ministerial Whole System Programme to improve the emotional well-being of our children and young people.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We are aware that problem gamblers are more likely to suffer from mental health issues. The Welsh Government continues to take an integrated and collaborative approach to problem gambling in order to reducing its prevalence and impact on health, mental health and wider society.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Ensuring children and young people with emotional health and wellbeing problems receive access to support and treatment in a timely and appropriate manner is a key priority. We are taking a whole system approach with partners to do this.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think the fact that I have a new role, in a way, helps me to shine some light in terms of that area of mental health and the Welsh language, and I've already asked for some work to be done on that very issue. So, I don't see them as being in competition with each other; I think there is room for us to work together on those issues. In terms of mainstreaming the Welsh language, let me be...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, and thank you for those responses. To start with Suzy, of course, since we decided not to proceed with new Welsh language legislation, we had started to make progress with some new Welsh language standards, but then COVID interrupted that work. However, we do hope to have at least one further group of standards in place before the end of this parliamentary session.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: You will recall that 'Cymraeg 2050' includes two main objectives: increasing the number of Welsh speakers and increasing the use made of the Welsh language too. This report, therefore, demonstrates the work that has been done in response to these goals at the heart of our communities, by our grant partners, and steps taken by us as a Government. You will see that the report shows our work...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, and apologies for my late arrival. I am here today to present two annual reports before the Senedd, which taken together show the steps that were taken in 2019-20 to reach our national well-being goal of seeing the Welsh language prosper. The reports covered are the Welsh Government's annual report for 'Cymraeg 2050' and the Welsh Language Commissioner's annual report,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think that's right, David, and I think there are some organisations that already offer that service, that people can stay in the system until they're 25, and I think what we've got to do is to work towards a system where perhaps that is the offer generally, but that we should give people the choice as to when they want to transition from one to another. That's where I'd like to get to, but...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch, Alun. I think there is an acknowledgment in the 'Together for Mental Health' report that, actually, there is a need to do some work on this, and we're certainly aware that we need to do better in this area. Just to be clear that during the first phase of the pandemic, all CAMHS services paused that transition of young people into adult services, and I think that was the right thing to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I fully recognise the importance of a smooth transition and continuity of care for young people moving from child and adolescent mental health services and into adult services. The actions we are taking to improve transitions are set out in the recently published 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan for 2019-22.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. I think loneliness is something that is in the portfolio of Julie Morgan, but, certainly, I think there is a recognition that what we need to do is to make sure that there are opportunities for people to be able to overcome these situations. One of the things that's been quite interesting about the pandemic is that there have been some innovations. So, look at us all—we're...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, Llyr, I hope you will give me some time to look at that report and to look into more of the background to this issue. But I'm sure you will be pleased to hear that an additional £12 million was announced yesterday by the Minister for health, which will go towards helping mental health in north Wales. They have their own mental health strategy within Betsi Cadwaladr and, of course,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We expect all health boards to maintain essential mental health services and to monitor and respond to changing mental health needs due to the impact of the pandemic. And, of course, it's important that they respond to those changes. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has set out plans to do this in its quarter 3 and 4 operational framework reports.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Mandy. Just to say that the Government had to make some very difficult decisions. The decision we came to was that it would be better to lock down quite brutally and have a shorter period of a lockdown, rather than to leave some open. And there were plenty of cases where we could have said, 'Well, just this one', or, 'Just that one', and all of that would have contributed to an...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much for that, Nick. Certainly, I think we have put considerable support into schools and into HE. I will look into whether we need to give additional support to further education. Presumably they will be able to access other pots of funding, but I'm not aware so far that there is a specific pot for further education, so I will look into that, Nick. I'm only a couple of weeks into...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks, Hefin. I think we've got to recognise that some people still feel a bit embarrassed about the fact that they may need mental health support, and so we have to make sure that there are mechanisms for them to get some help. Sometimes they may not want to go via their GP, and that's why we've already expanded the CALL helpline, so thank you for inquiring about that. That facility has...
