Rhun ap Iorwerth: I've contacted you, as a Minister, in the past, reporting problems with broadband in Ynys Môn. I made an appeal back in April for the latest information. I have another report—I'm sure that I can send you a copy. It's evident that there are a number of areas that have missed out by a hair's breadth, perhaps, on Superfast Cymru—Landdona, Llansadwrn, Brynsiencyn, Cefniwrch and Rhydwyn are...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We’re not quite in the same place with this Bill yet. There are doubts, and we shouldn’t ignore those, in terms of why we are doing this, how effective this will be, and we don’t have the full evidence yet. But the evidence is strong that using financial incentives—that is, changing the price of drinks—does affect how much people drink, and I support that as a matter of principle,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: This is a public health Bill. Safeguarding, promoting and improving public health is surely one of the main duties that we have. The tools in the battle against smoking are ones that people expect us to use by now, and people support that. It's difficult to imagine any opposition to the smoking ban indoors now, and implementing that law was not difficult because people accepted its...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'll try and keep my comments brief. I think that I have about four questions here. In terms of the statistics that are gathered, a target has been set of 26 weeks in terms of waiting for the first assessment—and the data is being gathered. When are we going to have this data being published, because I think that any data that's available has to be published? In terms of passing...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: One of the most powerful tools, surely, for encouraging youth cricket in Wales would be to have a national cricket team that young people the length and breadth of the country could aspire to and find role models in. You say that this is not a matter for Government. Let's perhaps explore what might be a matter for Government. You have a major events unit, for example, that funds a host of...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you. At the beginning of the week, your fellow Members of Government the Cabinet Secretary for health and the Minister for social care announced a plan for the future of health and care, and one of the objectives is to ensure better collaboration and, indeed, integration between the work of local government and health boards. Now, one question that’s been playing on my mind, and that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the role of local government in the delivery of public services? OAQ52328
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Very briefly, politics and politicians can be accused sometimes of being out of touch with the public who elect us. It is an accusation that may be fair at times, and sometimes I believe it can be unfair. But, in this case, with this amendment, what we have is a bridge, directly between this piece of legislation that we are discussing as parliamentarians and our electors—the people of...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. There have been many references made this afternoon to the fact that we need to bring the public on a journey with us in relation to this legislation, and I believe that in these amendments I am betraying my background as a communicator, or my background as one who worked in the communications industry, because I do believe that it is entirely crucial that all...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much for your responses and your comments on this amendment. I think that, in my opening remarks, I did say that we had been unable to do what we truly wanted to here, but that we did feel that it was very important to bring forward an amendment that would keep this issue alive into the future. It doesn't surprise me, in a way, that you, as other parties, have been able to find...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. This amendment is one that has been designed to tackle an issue of concern in relation to implementing such an Act in Wales, and it's also an issue that was something of an obstacle in terms of similar legislation in the Scottish Parliament. Strangely enough, it is an obstacle that led to Labour ultimately voting against the legislation. I am talking of the likelihood...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We are going to be supporting the amendment that Angela Burns has been speaking to. Very simply, we believe that this amendment increases the post-legislative scrutiny that will need to take place before remaking this Act. That is a sensible step, and our amendment—amendment 5—is linked to that, but is specifically designed on our part to ensure that a National Assembly committee looks in...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: You said that you fear that this will hit a particular group disproportionately. You know what? You're right. This Bill, this piece of legislation, will hit disproportionately the people who drink too much very strong high-volume alcohol and who are harming their health in the process. And it will affect disproportionately the chances that young people will start drinking high alcohol...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. I will briefly comment on that final point first of all. Getting the right price is crucially important, of course. There was an attempt by the Conservatives through an earlier amendment at Stage 2 to set the price on the face of the Bill. I think that it would have been a mistake to set a specific price now, because we do need that very detailed research to find the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. I'm pleased to start this Stage 3 debate on this Bill. I will make some general comments first of all and then I will of course be moving amendment 4 formally. We in Plaid Cymru have believed for some time in the principle of using price as a tool to seek to persuade people to drink more moderately and to give greater consideration to the risks of drinking excessively. I...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for that statement.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The Welsh public knows that Labour has lost its way with the running of the NHS in Wales and Plaid Cymru wants to get the NHS back on its feet. That is why we pushed for the parliamentary review of health and social care, which gave us a very useful, I think, set of guiding principles. The quick turnaround demanded by that review for the Government to come up with a plan of action was proof,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Not Aberystywth. [Laughter.]
