Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the statement this afternoon, Minister, and for the briefing provided to us beforehand. It's a little unclear at this point some of the things that we will discover as this proceeds over the next weeks and months. I have listened to the Minister's rationale for her belief that this is necessary and that there needs to be a level of protection because of legislation being...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 'The provider selection regime will therefore give NHS England more flexibility to procure and arrange health services.'
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I don't trust the motives of the Conservative Government for wanting to do that, and there will be issues of principle leading me through this process. The fundamental principle is that I don't want to see this as a means for the private sector to lay down deeper roots within the provision of health services in Wales, and to be able to set those roots far more easily than they would have been...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. And thank you for allowing me to speak for a few seconds to ask one question, truth be told. I speak as chair of the cross-party group on digital here in the Senedd. It's good to see additional investment going into providing more opportunities to learn digitally, but I wonder whether the Minister can give me an idea of how he sees this fitting into creating the kinds of...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the Isle of Anglesey County Council's budget? OQ59132
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for that response. Budgets are tight in all authorities, of course, but sometimes issues arise that put huge strains on budgets. Anglesey council is facing that, given the announcement of the 2 Sisters Food Group company that they are consulting on closing the works in Llangefni, where over 700 are employed. The priority at the moment, of course, is to see whether we can change the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you to Siân Gwenllian for bringing forward this very important subject at the Senedd today. I’d also like to thank and pay tribute to my former colleague and Member, Steffan Lewis, for the excellent work that he did in this field, shining a light on the need to ensure mental health support in the perinatal phase. Childbirth is an exciting time for many people, but it is a time that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'm going to start with where I agree with the Minister—that's on the placing of Betsi Cadwaladr in special measures. But it's pretty clear, isn't it, that it shouldn't have been taken out in the first place, conveniently and prematurely. But the Minister wanted to apportion blame too. She says the recent Audit Wales report was the straw that broke the camel's back; it spoke of the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Let's have a fresh start. And finally, on the Minister's role herself, I suggested yesterday that she should be considering her own position and her own role in all of this. She said this morning she'll remain health Minister as long as the First Minister has confidence in her. Well, I can tell you that confidence in this Government and Minister's ability to sort out Betsi has long gone.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: There's no doubt at all that Brexit has been very damaging to the port of Holyhead. One strong argument for giving a free port designation to Holyhead is that that designation has already been given to Liverpool, where it's possible to sail directly to Northern Ireland, and the fear is that that designation gives an unfair advantage to Liverpool over Holyhead. But in looking to the longer...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I would like a statement, please, on the practical work that will be done by Betsi Cadwaladr health board now that it is under special measures. Particularly, I want to see progress in providing improved primary care in Holyhead and the area. There is a crisis in primary care in Holyhead; there has been ever since two surgeries came under the direct control of Betsi Cadwaladr in 2019. We've...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. If what the Minister did with Betsi Cadwaladr health board last week was supposed to give people renewed hope, then I'm afraid that's not what happened. What we have is a population and a workforce who are holding their heads in their hands. We've been here before. In 2015, Mark Drakeford said that he was to place the board in special measures because of concerns about...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Why is the Minister so determined that this failing, dysfunctional health board is the best model that is available for the patients in the north of Wales? Why on earth wouldn't she share my wish to just start again, with two or three smaller health boards? And before she tells me that this would distract from the focus on improving the board, will she realise that I and the people of north...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Of course, the Minister is absolutely right that this is a step—putting it in special measures—that needed to be taken now. Of course it should have been in special measures. But the question is why we have a board that has, for eight years, needed to be in special measures. If the Minister won't share with me my ambition to look forward to a fresh start, with new health boards, how about...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. As you can imagine, I want to focus on one project specifically, namely the Menai crossing. I say 'the Menai crossing', because do bear in mind that we're not asking for a third bridge over the Menai necessarily; we are talking about a resilient crossing. Do it in another way, without another bridge, if you like. And there have been a number of inquiries that have looked...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Yes.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I appreciate that Cardiff Central is the other end of the country. A comparison would be that it would be like asking somebody to cycle from Grangetown to Riverside via Llanrumney: yes, you can, but it's not practical. We need to make sure that those active travel links are practical and attractive to people. You will not walk or cycle from Llanfairpwll to Parc Menai, a couple of hundred...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The roads review, as I said, does refer to the possibility of using the lower deck to expand rail provision for the future in order to enhance public transport, and that's an example there of the confusion in the report and in the Government's response. We hear that we don't need a bridge, we need to encourage the use of public transport and active travel. And I agree entirely, of course, but...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It's striking, I think, that the roads review report on the third crossing reads like a case for that crossing. I'll quote here. The main cases for change are congestion—not top of my list, actually, but— 'congestion and lack of resilience of' the Britannia bridge and Menai bridge. The 'scheme would improve reliability for freight movement.' 'Access by active travel modes would also be...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Government's response to the roads review? OQ59264
