Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. This hasn't been an easy offer to negotiate, and what we have managed to do is to get a situation where, on top of the £1,400, which was the recommendation by the independent pay review body, what we've done now is we've found an additional 3 per cent—1.5 per cent of which will be consolidated and 1.5 per cent that will be non-consolidated. And what that actually means in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. I did carry out some very informal discussions with the general secretary of Unite who happened to be in Wales on the weekend. I think it's really important that I emphasise that these were informal discussions because Unite, by not calling off their industrial action, have excluded themselves now from the negotiating table. So, everything that's been negotiated this...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. First of all, I want to thank Russell George for bringing this important issue to the Chamber.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The medical research landscape is broad, from funding pre-clinical laboratory research to the more applied clinical research that takes place in the NHS. My responsibilities are focused on more applied medical research, which I think makes a vital contribution to treatment, development and evaluation, service organisation and delivery, and, crucially, outcomes for patients. I'm aware of the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: One of the main diseases affecting people in Wales, namely cancer, has also had key research success. Our researchers recruited over 1,000 volunteers to the SYMPLIFY process, which was a crucial, new early identification test for multiple cancers, which can identify over 50 cancers. In addition, the FAKTION clinical trial on breast cancer, which is also Welsh-based, has also had success in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Finally, I want to mention that strong public involvement in research, design and delivery improves the quality and relevance of research, helping to ensure that research delivers public benefit and addresses public need, and this is something that I know is at the heart of Health and Care Research Wales activities. Diolch yn fawr.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to make a statement on the Health Service Procurement (Wales) Bill, which I introduced to the Senedd yesterday, together with the accompanying explanatory memorandum and regulatory impact assessment. The Bill seeks to reform the way in which certain NHS healthcare services are procured in Wales, bringing forward primary...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The draft Bill seeks to bring forward two regulation-making powers. Firstly, it will include a disapplication power, which will enable Welsh Ministers to dissaply provisions of the UK Government procurement Act that would otherwise apply to NHS health service procurement in Wales. Secondly, it will include a creation power to enable the Welsh Ministers to develop and implement a new,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. There are lots of questions there. If I'm honest, this is not the most exciting Bill that this Senedd has ever seen. What we're doing here is responding to the fact that what has happened in England is they've presented this new Bill that will allow some organisations, perhaps, not to have to retender. Sometimes that takes a lot of energy, effort and finance, when actually...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. I do think that we do need to keep a weather eye on what is happening, and we do need to bear in mind that this is a very brief Bill. So, what we're talking about here is a framework, and what will be important is what will go into that framework, and that's why it's important that we'll have an opportunity to come back to discuss the details of what goes into the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Just to go back to Russell's point earlier in terms of why we couldn't get into the first Health and Care Act, the point there is that the scope of the Health and Care Act was for England, so that's why it was difficult for us to say—. It was about the scope of the Act itself, which meant that it was difficult for us to join in. It was just applied to England, so they were reluctant....
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Joyce. I just want to reassure you, really, that we'll be the ones who decide what it looks like in Wales. If we like what they're doing in England, we can copy it. If we don't like it, we don't have to copy it. But we've got the framework now to make those decisions. What we are talking about here is quite often highly specialised services that we can't offer in Wales, so...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Formally.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. I would like to thank the Conservative Party for bringing forward this important debate about habilitation support for visually impaired children in Wales. I must say, I agree with the sentiment in the motion that there is more that should be done for this group of children. I note the Guide Dogs Cymru research that states that 2,000 sight-impaired children could benefit from...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Through the implementation of the Act, we have set out clear and unambiguous rights and responsibilities in relation to social care and related matters. That includes local authorities having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities when they discharge their functions. The expectations set out in the statutory framework under the Act also include duties on local...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Further to my written statement yesterday concerning the extraordinary measures I’ve taken to stabilise and support the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, I want to explain the decisions that I’ve made, what support I’m putting in place and what I expect to happen in the next few weeks and months. These were not decisions I took lightly. Firstly, I want to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The advisers will initially be contracted for six months, starting today, and will support the health board on board governance and other issues related to special measures. This will include a level of personal support to the new chair and independent members, and to provide feedback where appropriate to the board from discussions and observations. In addition, they will report formally to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr iawn. I'm just going to give you a quick lesson in how the system works, because I think it's really important that people understand—[Interruption.]—understand how the system works. So, I am responsible for the NHS, but I delegate that responsibility to independent boards. I set them parameters, I set them goals, I set them targets. But then I appoint people to those...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The executives are still there. The executives are still there, and the whole point is—[Interruption.]—the whole point is and I think what's important is that we do listen and read carefully the Audit Wales report, which does talk about deep-seated fractures in the executive team, but it also says that there was a deeply worrying degree of dysfunctionality within the board and senior...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I do not employ these people. These have legal rights that need to be respected, and there has to be a process that it is gone through. So, I think it's really important that people understand the system and understand that this is the first step of many. Now, I think that those powers that I have actually need to be strengthened. That's one of the conclusions that is clear to me—that I do...
