Rhun ap Iorwerth: You talk about patients cancelling their own operations, and it is something that we hear from you and your Government quite often, that it's often the patient's fault for turning up in hospital when they shouldn't and for being ill perhaps when they shouldn't. I can tell you about stories of people having their operation cancelled when they're on the trolley at the door of the theatre, and...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, England and Scotland publish data regularly on cancelled surgery. Is there any reason why you don’t do that for Wales?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It is something that concerns my constituents. In January, you apologised for cancelled surgery, saying, at that point, that is was the onset of winter, which came from somewhere, that was to blame. But surgery is still being cancelled week on week. I’ve had a number of constituents coming to see me recently to tell me about treatments being cancelled not once, not twice, not three times,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you. I’m in close contact with campaigners who are very concerned about consultations on the closure of a number of rural schools on Anglesey. I do understand the pressure on the council and I would like you to consider one element of those pressures, namely that one set of your officials, to all intents and purposes, is promoting the closure of rural schools by suggesting that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you. I'm grateful to you, Dirprwy Lywydd, for allowing me a moment or two, or just a moment perhaps to be more accurate—[Laughter.]—just with a quick word and a question in relation to electric vehicles. We discussed the regulation of vehicles and limiting traffic and bringing in speed limits as if we have no intention of tackling the prevalence of the internal combustion engine....
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I was very pleased that the Welsh Government had agreed to support a Plaid Cymru amendment to the public health Bill recently, which means that a strategy to tackle obesity is being developed at the moment. Now, given that we know that obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes, and that diabetes takes up so much of the funding of the health service—as much as 10 per cent of all the money spent on...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: As much as in any discussion that we’ve had, I think that Angela Burns and I have thought along exactly the same lines, in terms of the questions arising from this statement, but I’m sure that there are a couple of things left that we would wish to ask. I’d like to thank the team chaired by the CMO that did this very important work, because it is an important area. We have seen, through...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I would like to ask for two statements, if I may—the first from the Minister for Environment on the response to the flooding in Anglesey in November. One of the most important action points to be taken in the case of the Llangefni floods, certainly, was that monitoring should now happen in order to understand how the river Cefni behaves so that we can plan flood prevention measures for the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It's not nice watching Wales playing catch-up again; it's the second time in health in two days with that announcement from Jeremy Hunt about the opening of five medical schools in England yesterday. I look forward to us catching up with that eventually. Plaid Cymru, of course, on the pay cap issue, have long made it clear that we believe that the pay cap should have been raised previously,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I think it's quite clear that there was, and remains, a grave environmental issue. So, perhaps you could update us on whether, on reflection, there was a missed opportunity to get in early to deal with the environmental impacts of what's happened. And what lessons have been learned, in terms of making sure that, if there's disagreement about who exactly should take over, Welsh Government can...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much for that response. There are two parts to my question, I suppose—the first looking back and the other looking forward. And, in looking back, I think there are some serious questions about the speed of the response to what happened in Holyhead. I asked a topical question five or six days after the event, and what you said was:
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 'You say that it's been a grave environmental impact...questions haven't been raised with me about our response...There is a north Wales standing environment group, of which my officials are members...if you are saying that there is a grave environmental situation...I will want to know why that hasn't been brought together'.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on work to clear Holyhead port following storm Emma? OAQ51938
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will the First Minister make a statement on the availability of mp-MRI tests to patients in north Wales?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I count myself as being very lucky to be living on the island where I was brought up. I have lived in Cardiff, I have lived in London, I have spent time working overseas, but I chose to return to Anglesey around 13 years ago, and it does mean a lot to me. Everyone is different, of course. Wherever you are in the world, there are young people who can't wait to leave their square mile, who want...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: You've already said something I disagree with. [Laughter.]
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will you take an intervention?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally moved.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: —and listen to their demands? Both paramedics on the road and control room staff, they need to be engaged with, they've got ideas, they're the ones on the front line, they deserve to be listened to.
