Heledd Fychan: What discussions has the Minister had with Royal Mail regarding the impact of COVID-19 on its services?
Heledd Fychan: Diolch, Gwnsler Cyffredinol. I would like to declare that I am a councillor on RCT council. As you will be aware, RCT council has published to date four section 19 reports into the flooding that occurred across the country borough as a result of storm Dennis in February 2020. One of the reports focused on the flooding in Pentre, which of course also suffered subsequent flooding. Can the...
Heledd Fychan: 4. What steps will the Welsh Government take to ensure that all eating disorder services are equipped to provide early intervention? OQ57288
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Deputy Minister. As you rightly point out, you did set out an ambitious vision for a world-class service in every part of Wales in the 2018 review and strategy. This called for a shift towards prevention and assertive early intervention and for access to evidence-based treatment and support being available equitably. Staff in eating disorder services are now under even greater...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you to Jane Dodds for those words.
Heledd Fychan: In her opening remarks, my colleague Sioned Williams illustrated how more and more people in Wales are being pushed into poverty and debt. That word 'pushed' is important, as far too often we hear some politicians discuss poverty as though it is a choice, or something that happens to people because of their own actions. And whilst debt is a personal problem that causes huge distress to the...
Heledd Fychan: Trefnydd, I've raised this issue a number of times now, but, as the issue has not been resolved, I still have constituents contacting me about the difficulty of getting a COVID pass if they can't be vaccinated for medical reasons. The medical reason often means that they also are unable to take a lateral flow test. The Welsh Government website continues to say, 'We are working on a system...
Heledd Fychan: 4. How is the Welsh Government supporting town centre transformation in South Wales Central? OQ57335
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Deputy Minister. Last Saturday, I met with two of Wales's youth climate ambassadors, Leo and Alfred, who live in the Pontypridd area. Amongst the issues we discussed were town centres and how some current and planned developments seem to be missing opportunities to make our town centres greener and play a greater role in being part of our response to the climate and nature...
Heledd Fychan: Hear hear, Jane Dodds. I completely agree with your final sentiment there. As we are all too aware from our own constituencies and regions, foodbank usage had been increasing for years prior to the pandemic, with the Trussell Trust reporting that the demand for foodbanks in their network increased 128 per cent between 2015 and 2020. During the pandemic, this has rapidly and significantly...
Heledd Fychan: Trefnydd, I'm sure many of my fellow Members will be aware, but the child and adolescent mental health services waiting lists for people to have neurodevelopmental assessments such as ADHD and autism can be appallingly long, with very many people within the Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board boundaries contacting me for support, having been waiting for over two years for such an assessment. This...
Heledd Fychan: We've received a very clear message from you today, Minister, for people to wait for an appointment. But I have received a number of calls and messages from people today asking when walk-ins will be available in my region, and have seen that there are health boards that are promoting this. So, I am concerned that there is a panic taking place out there, and I think that these messages, which...
Heledd Fychan: I'd like to thank Rhys ab Owen for bringing this debate forward this afternoon, giving us an opportunity, at last, to have a proper discussion on the LCM process, not that the words 'legislative consent motion' have been foreign to this Chamber. As other speakers have mentioned, the Welsh Government has tabled LCMs for 17 UK Bills within the first seven months of the sixth Senedd, which is...
Heledd Fychan: According to Office for National Statistics figures published yesterday, two of the local authority areas in my region are first and second, respectively, in terms of the highest number of COVID deaths in Wales to date: 1,003 people from Rhondda Cynon Taf, 993 in Cardiff. With the additional 356 people from the Vale of Glamorgan, this is 2,352 people living in South Wales Central, 26 per cent...
Heledd Fychan: I'd like to echo the comments of John Griffiths on parkruns. There's been mention on Twitter already of going over the border to England to attend these runs if there are restrictions here. So, could we look at a particular exemption, because we know of the advantages of keeping fit, in terms of fighting the virus and mental health too? Also, in terms of ice rinks, particularly permanent ice...
Heledd Fychan: 2. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to alleviate pressure on NHS Wales this winter? OQ57435
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, First Minister. Over the past week, three people in my region have contacted me regarding problems they faced in getting an ambulance for a neighbour or a member of the family. In one case, the individual was suffering a heart attack and her neighbour was told that an ambulance wasn't available for up to six hours and that they needed to find an alternative way of getting her to...
Heledd Fychan: Trefnydd, I've previously raised this issue with you and the Minister for Health and Social Services on a number of occasions, but it remains unresolved, and that is the issue of people who cannot be vaccinated or take a lateral flow test, and how they still can't access a COVID pass, which allows them entry to events and venues automatically. On 7 December, you agreed with me that it needs...
Heledd Fychan: Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you, Minister, for the statement today. I'd like to add to your thanks to the healthcare workers for their heroic work, and I'd like to extend my thanks to unpaid carers for everything that they're doing at the moment. In terms of free LFTs, is it possible to have confirmation that they will continue to be available free of charge in Wales, regardless of what...
Heledd Fychan: I'd like to thank the committee for tabling this debate today, and for their work on this important report. Thanks too to everyone who contributed to the inquiry, which has painted a heartbreaking picture of the hardship that so many people in our communities have faced during the pandemic, hardship that they continue to face. It's difficult to comprehend the scale of the problem, and I’m...
