Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on hospital food standards in Wales? OAQ(5)0189(HWS)
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch. In October 2016, Hywel Dda university health board threw away more than 7 per cent of the food it was providing. That’s the worst performing board in Wales. The real shame of this, of course, is that Hywel Dda health board is set in an area that is rich in fresh food produce. I wonder, Cabinet Secretary, how much further you think you can go in terms of co-operating with public...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I thank Plaid Cymru today for bringing this important debate to the table. It follows the discussion yesterday on Brexit and devolution and, of course, it also gives us an opportunity today to consider some of the points that are in the Queen’s Speech. It’s nearly a year now since the people of Wales voted to leave the European Union. It was a decision that I think will create detrimental...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I don’t think that what’s contained within the Queen’s Speech makes it sufficiently clear exactly where those powers will lie, and that they should come directly back to us here. The fact that she mentions and assumes that there will be a pan-Britain agriculture policy takes this Chamber for granted, and it’s not acceptable. I would like to ask the more enlightened Members of the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Will you take an intervention?
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I would like to thank the First Minister, actually, for his response yesterday to the confidence and supply agreement. I thought his anger—his anger—at the agreement was palpable yesterday, and it was very clear, the dissatisfaction, not just from Wales but also from Scotland, at the fact that today you can have cash for votes. That’s what’s happened here. Some people in this Chamber...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on water quality in Mid and West Wales?
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I’d like to thank the committee for their work on this report. I think there’s some excellent analysis and statistics, and it’s wonderful to see the Damascene conversion of the former Chair of the committee, Mark Reckless, previously a UKIP Member, on the need to continue to have full access to the European single market. He, I’m sure, is aware of the implications of what that...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I thought you might, Mark. [Laughter.]
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Great. Well, good luck with that one. I hope that the European Union is listening. We would all love that kind of situation to be one that is delivered. We will see what is possible. I think there’s a whole load of issues that need to be considered in the light of Brexit, but I think one thing is clear and that is that we will cease to be a part of the common agricultural policy under any...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Of course.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Lovely. Well, I look forward to that. So, I’m glad that that is something that will be addressed. One of the things that you could focus on, perhaps, in that report, is the fact that there are over 79 million ready meals eaten in the United Kingdom every week. So, where’s our ambition to grow in this area? What’s the infrastructure, training and support that we need to put in place to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Mumbling, fine. Sighing, yes, we’re used to that. The costs of leaving the EU are clearly emphasised in the report, and the regulations that we adhere to currently support the production of high-quality food, and ensure the widest possible access to market. But it’s not just increased tariffs that we need to fear. If we leave the EU, and let’s not forget that those tariffs could be...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: All of which, the report suggests, could lead to a 5 to 8 per cent increase in costs. So, in terms of what we can do in Wales in future to support agriculture, I was extremely interested to read in the report about the restrictions that may be imposed by the WTO in relation to how, and to what extent, future payments can be made to farmers, and the restrictions, in particular, of...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: What plans does the Welsh Government have to reconfigure the economic strategy in Wales to ensure that rural areas do not lose out as a result of the focus on City Deals?
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The First Minister will be aware that, yesterday, I published an economic development plan for rural Wales. [Assembly Members: ‘Hear, hear.’] Thank you very much. What assurances can the First Minister give me that the recommendations endorsed by a group of experts from rural Wales will be considered in the context of the new economic strategy for Wales?
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Following on from Steffan’s point on EU nationals working in the United Kingdom, today marks the sixty-ninth anniversary of the establishment of the NHS. I think there’s evidence to suggest that there are fewer people now registering to work in the NHS from the EU as a direct consequence of that Brexit vote. Today, I’ve relaunched the ‘Diolch Doc’ campaign, encouraging people in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Does the First Minister agree that we should look into the possibility of employing an experienced industrialist to ensure that if there are any barriers to farmers, in terms of high tariffs, in accessing the European market, we can say what we can of Welsh agriculture through ensuring that far more Welsh produce is procured for our schools and hospitals, even if that costs a little more?...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I think the way we deal with our elderly population in future will be the way that we are judged as a nation, so it’s critical that we get this right. I think there are some very eminent professionals on this review board, and I’m looking forward to hearing their final recommendations. But I think one thing’s come across very clearly in this report,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Just finally, on my question, there was a report this week that 32 per cent of long-term carers had not had a day off in five years. Is this something that also should be addressed?
