David Lloyd: I nominate Elin Jones as Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales.
David Lloyd: Leanne Wood.
David Lloyd: First Minister, you may agree with me, perhaps, as I say that the use, or indeed the overuse, of antibiotics is a responsibility for us all. As we know, the use of antibiotics happens in agriculture as well as being prescribed by GPs and used in our hospitals. Of course, in some European nations, you can now just buy antibiotics—you don’t even need a prescription in the first place. Of...
David Lloyd: You will be aware, naturally, First Minister, of the exciting development of the new campus in Swansea bay, at Swansea University, and you will be aware of the huge investment made in that new campus and that the vast majority of that has come from European funding. So, would you agree with me that such an investment would be impossible if Wales were outwith the European Union?
David Lloyd: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for health for his statement and also for his kind words. Naturally, this is an example of the commendable use of legislation in this place, and it is worth noting that, without the Assembly, this Act would not exist. I know that that’s stating the obvious to some extent, but many people ask, ‘What has the Assembly ever done for us?’ Well, here we have...
David Lloyd: Will the First Minister make a statement on the future of primary care in Wales?
David Lloyd: Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, rydych yn ymwybodol nad wyf wedi bod yn Aelod o’r Cynulliad yma am bum mlynedd—roedd pum mlynedd o fwlch—ond, rwy’n cofio gofyn yn y Trydydd Cynulliad ynglŷn â’r angen dybryd i drydaneiddio’r rheilffordd rhwng Llundain ac Abertawe. Yn y cyfamser, rwy’n gweld fawr ddim datblygiad yn y maes yna. A allaf i gael diweddariad ynglŷn â’r cynllun i...
David Lloyd: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to Russell for opening this debate and for accepting our amendment, which is factual. We do regret that cuts have been made to grass-roots sports as a result of funding cuts, and it’s important as well for us to join in congratulating the Welsh football team, who had exceptional success over the weekend. And, of course, that is a great...
David Lloyd: Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate, and thank you for the great contributions from Steffan, Siân and Mick recently. I was going to concentrate as well, fundamentally, on this element of policing and the justice system, because when we started here in 1999, one of the three main 999 services were devolved, and that was the ambulance service. And, the Deputy Presiding...
David Lloyd: May I thank the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure for his statement, and, indeed, welcome the statement in its entirety? Now is not the time to be speaking at length and arguing about which route is best, because the Minister has outlined a way forward in terms of this complex issue, which has been ongoing now for many years. The truth is that we do need a solution. I don’t...
David Lloyd: I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. Perhaps I’ve mentioned before that I’m a GP, but if I haven’t mentioned that enough, I repeat it this afternoon. But the fact that people are living longer is a matter of praise for the health service, if anything. We are used to hearing people criticising the staff and the health service, but, at least,...
David Lloyd: Presiding Officer, I nominate Bethan Jenkins.
David Lloyd: Will the First Minister make a statement on the future of Swansea Museum?
David Lloyd: Will you take an intervention?
David Lloyd: Will you agree with me that the current situation, where we do have large multi-member wards in our large inner cities, combined with first-past-the-post, really is anti-democratic, just as the example outlined?
David Lloyd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. It’s a pleasure for me to open this debate, and I will also conclude the debate in a little while. Of course, our motion calls on us all—calls on the National Assembly to believe that the principles of open government should be maintained in all areas of responsibility, that the ministerial code should be laid before and approved by the...
David Lloyd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. May I thank everybody else for their contributions? Just to return to the nub of the debate, a number of different principles have succeeded in creeping into the debate, but the fundamental point was regarding the ministerial code. We call for the principles of open government to be maintained. People have said some very nice things about that...
David Lloyd: I consider it a privilege to participate in this important debate, and I thank the Cabinet Secretary for bringing the issue before us, dealing with ‘Together for Mental Health’. Of course, some of us are old enough to remember the mental health Measure brought forward by Jonathan Morgan, the former Member of this place, some years ago, which has brought much of this work forward, with a...
David Lloyd: There is a point there, yes, but, at the end of the day, we need more therapists, because we need more people to deal with the situation that currently exists, because waiting lists in this area are entirely unacceptable. And also, in dealing with drugs and alcohol and the abuse of those substances, we do need more professionals in this area, because there are also lengthy waiting lists in...
David Lloyd: Yes, I would agree, because the whole system is under pressure. We could all do with far more time to deal with patients, and, once I’ve decided that I am going to refer a patient elsewhere, I want that patient to be seen, because what happens if you have to wait six months is that you go back to that GP, who’s already under enough pressure, and we can’t make any alternative provision....
