Darren Millar: Can I thank the Chair for her opening speech and commend her for the way in which she led this inquiry, and also thank on the record the clerks and the witnesses who provided evidence to the committee? I think it was important that we undertook this piece of work, and that's why the committee agreed that this should be an early priority in terms of the committee's work programme. I know all...
Darren Millar: First Minister, we do need to be part of the coding revolution, and it’s important that our young people learn these skills. But, of course, one of the problems that they’ve got is being able to do homework in relation to coding, because there is inadequate access to the Superfast Cymru high-speed broadband scheme. You’ll be aware that you made a clear commitment in your 2011 Labour...
Darren Millar: I share the concerns that have already been expressed in the Chamber, and, of course, the sympathy to the family of Glyn Summers, but would you agree with me, First Minister, that we need to get the balance right here in respect of any changes that might need to be made, going forward, to improve the risk-assessment processes regarding school trips? Because we do want people to be able to...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, attention has already been drawn to the fact that we’re heading towards a recruitment crisis in our teaching profession and, of course, this was highlighted by the Education Workforce Council’s survey, which found that more than one in three teachers intends to leave the profession within the next three years. What specifically are you doing to plug the...
Darren Millar: There’s just been a huge recruitment drive for new nurses in the Welsh NHS with a lot of money and a lot of promotional work that has been done in many different ways across social media, the printed media and other media at large. Why are we not seeing a similar effort to recruit the teachers that the Welsh schooling system needs, so that we’ve got sufficient Welsh-medium teachers and...
Darren Millar: I’ll give you one idea, Minister, and in fact we suggested one in the past that, fortunately, you’ve actually listened to and taken up. One was in respect of improving the bursaries available to attract new people into the profession, and the second is to remove some of the ridiculous barriers that overseas-trained teachers currently face here if they want to come and work in Wales. It is...
Darren Millar: Can I call for two statements, please, one in relation to the regulation of drones and light aircraft? I’ve received a number of complaints recently from residents in my own constituency about the use of drones in residential areas, hovering over people’s back gardens, filming local residents, and invading their privacy. And, indeed, in addition to that, there have been some complaints...
Darren Millar: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for giving us sight of this statement before she made it in the Chamber this afternoon? The Cabinet Secretary will be aware that the national academy for leadership was something that we very much supported when she announced it in November last year. If there is any criticism, it’s about the pace, really, of delivering against that announcement, because,...
Darren Millar: I rise on behalf of the Welsh Conservatives group, in the absence of my colleague Angela Burns, simply to say that we’re very pleased to be able to support the Public Health (Wales) Bill this afternoon, as it makes its final passage through the National Assembly. It’s in much better shape than the previous incarnation of the Bill, which, of course, sought to introduce unnecessary...
Darren Millar: 5. What action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that patients receive diagnostic tests and treatment within target times? OAQ(5)0161(HWS)
Darren Millar: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on access to mental health services in Wales? OAQ(5)0160(HWS)
Darren Millar: Cabinet Secretary, access to diagnostic tests and treatment is particularly important in emergency situations, so I was wondering whether you could comment on the fact that, in a recent coroner’s report following a tragic case of a lady who waited seven hours in an ambulance outside Glan Clwyd Hospital, who passed away shortly afterwards in hospital, he actually said, and I quote his report...
Darren Millar: There’s been a lot of concern already expressed about mental health services in north Wales and I can tell you that my postbag is just as bad now as it was before the Tawel Fan scandal emerged into the public domain. One of the concerns that has been raised with me is about capacity, and Llyr’s already picked up on this, but that capacity problem that we have in terms of inpatient beds is...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to open this important debate this afternoon, and I move the motion in the name of Paul Davies on the order paper today, recognising the multitude of risks that children face using the internet, noting the importance of taking action to ensure children’s safety online, and calling upon the Welsh Government to respond...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and can I thank everybody who’s contributed to this debate? I think it’s been an extremely good debate, and a very well-informed debate. Many Members have spoken about their own personal experiences of technology, and indeed have given us some of the very stark facts about online abuse, online exploitation, and indeed some of the problems that that has...
Darren Millar: I’m very grateful to the Member for taking the intervention. Will you acknowledge that that commitment was a commitment that was first made by a Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron? Because, like you, I’m very proud of what has been achieved, and I know that the Labour Party has supported that ambition.
Darren Millar: Will you take an intervention?
Darren Millar: I just wonder whether you’ll recognise that, actually, some of the most generous people in Wales are those from the most impoverished backgrounds.
Darren Millar: Those people tend to be the ones who give the most, because they’ve often had a helping hand themselves in the past. Will you accept that?
Darren Millar: Firstly, can I thank you, First Minister, for the remarks that you’ve made this afternoon in relation to the attack in Manchester? I’m sure they’ll be words of comfort at this very difficult time for many families. As a Mancunian myself, I’m very familiar with that part of the world, and I know that some of my constituents were actually present at the event, because they have been in...
