Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The Welsh Government has an ambition to see 1 million Welsh speakers by the year 2050. Now, in order to reach that target, we need to get as many children as possible starting their education through the medium of Welsh. As you have said, it’s difficult for you to discuss this individual issue, but just as a matter of general principle, do you acknowledge that in those rural areas it costs...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: 9. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how rural Wales can boost its economy? OAQ(5)0172(EI)
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the Welsh Government aims to provide the health services that the people of Wales need in light of current economic challenges? OAQ(5)0172(HWS)
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. We heard during the referendum that Brexiteers like R.T. Davies and Neil Hamilton made promise after promise—[Interruption.]—yes, and you, Janet Finch-Saunders, fair enough; you made those promises as well. I think it’s worth saying that those promises were made to the farmers of Wales and the people of Wales, who were promised that they would not see a cut...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: That’s very good to hear, but it’s also worth, I think, underlining the point that it’s not just economic challenges that the NHS is facing; there are particular problems in terms of recruitment. And, as well as in parts of England, there are particular problems in rural Wales in terms of recruitment, where, for example, the Hywel Dda health board have committed to revert to 12-hour...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: What assurances can the Cabinet Secretary give that the IT infrastructure in Wales is protected, to ensure the continuity of care for Welsh patients following the cyber-attacks in the NHS in England? TAQ(5)0173(HWS)
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I think the incident last week has raised many questions, most importantly how we are going to protect our patients in the NHS. As you say, the reports have suggested that 47 trusts in England have been affected, and 13 in Scotland, because they’d failed to apply recent security updates that might have protected them. Now, I think it’s worth noting that the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Would you take an intervention?
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Does the Member think that, actually, those promises do ring rather hollow, in particular when it comes to the Circuit of Wales? Because they feign support, but their chief executive is on record as saying that the Circuit of Wales project is the most ridiculous and destructive project ever. That is the chief executive of Plaid Cymru. Where do we get that from? A blog post. A blog post that...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think it’s worth pointing out that these hollow promises are, indeed, hollow.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. I’m pleased to pay my own tribute to Rhodri—a giant of our nation. He was a patriot, a democratic, pragmatic socialist who made a huge difference to our nation. He brought stability to this place in a very troubled time. My own story with Rhodri goes back to the 1980s, when I was extremely proud that our branch of the Labour Party was the first to nominate Rhodri to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think we could all do with a bit of social prescribing today. I think it’s been a very difficult day for us all and a very sad day and anything to lift our spirits would help. But I would like to thank the health Secretary for bringing forward this proposal because I think it shows that there is an understanding that there’s more to health than just looking after the physical well-being...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Sure.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think that’s a really good point, and I’d like to invite you, perhaps, to come and address one of our meetings. I think that would be very, very useful because you’re quite right—if we catch them young, if we catch them early, the arts can be a great mechanism for turning people around. I think it’s also important to focus on older people. I think if we’ve got a lot of people...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: 9. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the building of new homes in Mid and West Wales? OAQ(5)0152(CC)
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: What plans does the Cabinet Secretary have to prepare for the withdrawal of funding from the 2020 Rural Development Plan?
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The Cabinet Secretary has committed to building 20,000 new homes in Wales by 2021 and, of course, the Cabinet Secretary is aware that the affordability of homes in parts of rural Wales is a real issue. I just wondered if the Cabinet Secretary could give an assurance that mid and west Wales, which has approximately one fifth of the population of Wales, will get their share of those 20,000 new...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I have the huge privilege of having a home in a national park, in St Davids, and there’s nothing like waking up in the morning and seeing that coastline in front of you. But there are limitations in living in a national park, particularly in terms of construction. It’s a function and a responsibility of national parks to ensure that there is a balance between retaining the beauty of the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Of course, yes.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: My understanding, certainly from Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, is that they can only promote economic and social development of the area if it’s in relation to points 1 and 2. That’s what I’ve been told very clearly, so if you’re able to do that differently, I’d be very interested to understand how. Unless we create sustainable communities where people can live and work,...
