Caroline Jones: No, I’m sorry, because I’ll be taking the four minutes in talking. In contrast, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the amount of money the UK spends on international development will increase by a further £1 billion a year over the next four years, and that will bring the budget to nearly £15 billion a year, almost as much as the entire Welsh budget. The UK’s foreign aid...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I would like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for bringing forward this debate today, and I’m delighted to take part. I’m firmly of the opinion that social prescribing, particularly when it comes to mental health, can deliver real health benefits for Welsh patients, and UKIP will, therefore, be supporting the motion. As results from studies in Bristol and Rotherham...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, the best way to improve access to work experience placements for Welsh pupils is to improve links between our schools and industry. While there are many good examples across the country, is it not enough. What plans does your Government have to ensure that every school in Wales maintains close links with local businesses?
Caroline Jones: First Minister, it’s estimated that around £200 million has been spent in the UK alone trying to tackle Japanese knotweed, which causes around £170 million-worth of damage to property each year. The psyllid trials are very promising, but, if the insect can successfully establish itself in the UK, it will only tame knotweed, not eradicate it. What more can the Welsh Government do to...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. The fields of genomics and precision medicine are the key to winning the war on cancer and key to the future of our healthcare. I’m therefore very pleased to support and greatly welcome the Government’s genomics and precision medicine strategy. When we look at lung cancer, for example, which accounts for a quarter of all cancer deaths in...
Caroline Jones: UKIP fully support this motion and efforts to eradicate hepatitis C by 2030. As others have highlighted, hepatitis C is a disease that affects about 2 per cent of the world’s population and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. It is therefore unsurprising that the World Health Organization wants to eliminate the disease. The UK Government has pledged its support for...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, if we are to have any chance at all of reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill each year, recycling schemes should be made as easy as possible for homeowners to recycle. Unfortunately, local authorities appear to do the opposite. Bridgend, for example, have completely messed up the introduction of their new recycling scheme, which, in the words of the council’s...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, many of our older people are being targeted and fall victim to scammers, who prey on their vulnerability to defraud them of their life savings. I recently helped a constituent who was being targeted, and I have to say the support from South Wales Police was outstanding. Unfortunately, not everyone gets this support. What more can the Welsh Government do to protect and educate...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, we all know that early detection of cancer is vital to patient survival, which is why screening programmes are so important. If bowel cancer is diagnosed at the earlier stage, more than nine in 10 people will be successfully treated. Screening should reduce the number of people who die from the disease, which kills around 1,000 people in Wales each year....
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. Wales has opted to set a much higher sensitivity threshold for the FIT screening. While it is lower than the level set in England, it is double the level set in Scotland, and eight times higher than the threshold set elsewhere in Europe. Cancer Research UK state that the reason for the much higher threshold is due to the lack of endoscopy capacity...
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Bowel cancer screening is offered to those aged between 60 and 74. Scotland has opted to screen those aged between 50 and 74. Bowel cancer can, however, strike at any age. A few weeks ago, we sadly lost a colleague to bowel cancer, and he was aged only 33. Cabinet Secretary, does your Government have any plans to offer routine FIT screening to those deemed to be...
Caroline Jones: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the Welsh Government’s plans to improve the Welsh NHS IT infrastructure? OAQ(5)0184(HWS)
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. Information technology has the potential to transform how we deliver healthcare in the future. From telemedicine to interactive health apps, the benefits to patients are enormous. Unfortunately, our current infrastructure is not able to meet today’s demands. With doctors and nurses forced to use ageing IT, unable to instantly share diagnostics...
Caroline Jones: Thank you to my colleague Angela Burns for bringing forward this important topic. Cabinet Secretary, the deal between NHS Wales and Roche is terrific news for breast cancer sufferers in Wales and a perfect example of what we can achieve when we work in conjunction with the pharmaceutical industry. This deal and the new treatments fund means that women with HER2 positive tumours can gain a few...
Caroline Jones: Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the actions the Welsh Government is taking to improve the tourism services offered in South Wales West?
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, cockles have been harvested off the Gower coast since Roman occupation. Yet, over the last decade, there’s been significant die-off of the cockle beds every year. I welcome the new study, which will, hopefully, address the shortcomings of the 2012 study. Cabinet Secretary, what more can your Government do to ensure that the Penclawdd cockle remains the...
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, we celebrate Armed Forces Day each year in order to reaffirm our sincere appreciation for those who serve in the armed forces and to show our support for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our country and our way of life. I was delighted when the UK Government and the DUP reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the armed forces covenant. In...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, the Ministry of Justice have indicated that they’ll be holding a two-day event in Port Talbot in order to garner people’s views on the new prison prior to submitting a formal planning application. While this is welcome, we need a more complete public consultation on the proposals. What discussions has your Government had with the MOJ about a more detailed public...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. The new treatment fund has brought hope to many cancer sufferers, making drugs such as Kadcyla routinely available to Welsh NHS patients. Of course, it is not just cancer patients who will benefit from the new treatment fund, and it will fund more than drugs. Cabinet Secretary, while I welcome the introduction of the fund, I do have some...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. The 111 service has been well received by a lot of my constituents who had the benefit of the pathfinder service. However, quite a lot of constituents are still unaware of the service, and whilst I appreciate the infancy of the scheme, we must ensure that those hard-to-reach constituents are made aware of the service. I am pleased to see that...
