David Lloyd: Thank you, Llywydd. May I thank the Minister for his statement, and congratulate him on his vision? I just wanted to focus on one point in terms of the promotion of the Welsh language as part of this strategy—promoting the language and promoting information about Wales to those who may be new to the concept. You say that, as well as emphasising that the Welsh language is an important...
David Lloyd: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. It’s a pleasure to respond to this debate, which has been an excellent debate, and I congratulate David Melding first of all for bringing it all together and for arranging that event a fortnight ago in the Pierhead building, where we met those families who were suffering. Of course, as a GP with over 35 years’ experience in Swansea, over the...
David Lloyd: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on school absence policy in Wales?
David Lloyd: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement. Following the announcement yesterday about the use of money from the public purse to ensure additional carriages for Wales, how can we have any confidence that the Welsh Government can procure a worthwhile franchise for Wales when these new trains announced yesterday actually equate to the addition of a few second-hand trains from the 1980s,...
David Lloyd: Cabinet Secretary, what are you doing to promote clinical research in rural health here in Wales?
David Lloyd: What impact has the introduction of the new junior doctor contract in England had on histopathology trainees in Wales?
David Lloyd: Will the Cabinet Secretary provide details of the Welsh Government's plans to improve the public transport network within the City and County of Swansea and the surrounding commuter areas?
David Lloyd: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the recent landslip in the Pantteg area of Ystalyfera? (OAQ51011)
David Lloyd: Thank you for that response. Some of us participated in those meetings too. But it’s true to say that this incident, this landslip, has been quite a blow to local families, and created a great deal of uncertainty in the Ystalyfera area. As this is a very unusual event—unprecedented, in fact—will you as the Welsh Government make a public commitment today to provide additional financial...
David Lloyd: Further to the principle of establishing a metro, would you agree that this is an opportunity for us to create, as a starting point, a bus system that is managed and delivered by local councils, rather than private bus companies?
David Lloyd: 8. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on plans to deliver a sustainable fostering service in Wales? (OAQ51010)
David Lloyd: Thank you for that answer. Further to that, you will be aware that Action for Children has recently claimed that foster care in Wales is in crisis. Figures show that 88 per cent of adults say that they are unlikely to ever consider fostering a child or young adult. So, I would ask: what further action is the Welsh Government planning in order to increase the numbers of foster carers, and do...
David Lloyd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I’m very pleased to open this debate today on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s report on medical recruitment. As background, earlier this year we debated the committee’s first major report of the fifth Assembly, which focused on winter preparedness for 2016-17. As part of that inquiry, we heard a strong and consistent message that sufficient...
David Lloyd: This work started back in the summer of 2016 when we carried out an initial broad piece of evidence-gathering to help understand the key workforce issues across the health and social care sector. This was designed to help inform our approach to looking at workforce issues throughout the fifth Assembly. We heard from a wide range of organisations and individuals across the spectrum of...
David Lloyd: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. May I thank the Cabinet Secretary and other Members for their excellent contributions this afternoon to this very mature debate on a report that is a very thorough one? Now, I’d like to reiterate the importance of recruitment and retention as key issues in the future of the health service, because we need to teach and train sufficient numbers in the...
David Lloyd: It’s a pleasure to take part in this debate. I’m grateful to follow David Rees’s strong contribution there, because obviously it was a shock to us all when Carl Sargeant, the Cabinet Secretary, announced the intention to build a superprison potentially housing 1,600 prisoners in Baglan earlier this year. We did not see it coming. Welsh Government obviously were not involved in any...
David Lloyd: I’m grateful for that clarification, David, but I was expressing my sense of shock when we had the statement from the Cabinet Secretary that day back in March. Granted, the decision—more of that later on—was not the Cabinet Secretary’s; he was merely the conduit of it here, but it didn’t lessen the shock that some of us felt. But I’m grateful for your intervention anyway. Up to...
David Lloyd: Thank you. Just briefly, I work in a branch surgery in Penclawdd, which is several miles from the home—mission control—in Gowerton surgery, but it’s expensive, premises wise. Premises budget needs to be looked at. It’s also quite extravagant in terms of staffing and IT technology. None of that is insurmountable, particularly in view of new housing; it just needs organisation and a...
David Lloyd: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the future of trauma services in south Wales? (OAQ51085)
David Lloyd: Thank you very much for that response, First Minister. Naturally, the recommendation to establish the main trauma centre in the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff, is another example of a service that is being centralised in Cardiff at the expense of Morriston Hospital in Swansea, and this follows the loss of other services such as neurosurgery some years ago—neurosurgery for children...
