David Lloyd: The Cabinet Secretary will naturally be aware that planning in the health sector is a long-term matter, and that will include the number of beds in Bridgend hospital, for example, and the plans under way by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board more generally. So, can I ask what discussions you have had to ensure the continuation of services for patients there?
David Lloyd: Thank you very much, DPO. Yes, 'female genital mutilation' are not words we often talk about here in this Chamber, but it's well overdue that we should be shining a light on this hugely distressing issue. Can I thank first of all, Julie Morgan, and pay tribute to her, in fact, for her hard work over many years, and also to Carl Sargeant, but more of Carl in a minute? The World Health...
David Lloyd: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I shall be, as the DPO has outlined, addressing the Plaid Cymru amendment that specifies that drug and alcohol misuse and substance misuse generally is a public health issue, and not a criminal justice issue. Now then, I've been a GP for a very long time, and addiction is a constant issue. Some people have had horrendous lives. They have suffered neglect as...
David Lloyd: Counsel General, plainly the restrictive covenant on the site in terms of industrial use, as highlighted, is reinforced within the local planning context, via the Neath Port Talbot local development plan. So, what is your view, in terms of the legalities around the conflict between a proposed prison development and the land-use allocation within the LDP for economic use? And do you agree...
David Lloyd: Can I thank the Minister for Children and Social Care for his statement on improving outcomes for looked-after children? Obviously, as we debated last week, in the debate here on substance misuse, some children have a horrendous start in life—neglected, abused, tormented, starved of love and affection. Much of this ends up later on in drug and alcohol issues, and homelessness also, as...
David Lloyd: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on air pollution levels in South Wales West? OAQ51348
David Lloyd: Can I thank the Minister for that reply? Further to that, recent data released by the Royal College of Physicians show that two areas in my region, Port Talbot and Swansea, are recognised amongst the worst areas in the UK in terms of air quality and are breaching World Health Organization guidelines at present. With Healthy Air Cymru stating that the Welsh Government needs to lead the way on...
David Lloyd: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the delivery of Our Valleys, Our Future within South Wales West? OAQ51349
David Lloyd: Thank you for that answer. Clearly, we all want to see regeneration of the Valleys succeed, but residential development proposals for northern Bridgend, for example, are hardly groundbreaking visions of the future, and then there are areas, such as the Swansea valley, that are not likely to benefit very much at all, as the plan stands at the moment. In essence, many, as we've heard, believe...
David Lloyd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. With just over 49 per cent of the whole Assembly budget falling in the health sector—some £7.3 billion of a budget of £15 billion—then, naturally, members of the health committee scrutinised the budget very enthusiastically in terms of all the funds spent in this sector under the new system that we’ve already discussed. May I thank my fellow Members for...
David Lloyd: Will the First Minister make a statement on plans for economic development in the Afan valley?
David Lloyd: Can I welcome this petition, 'Port Talbot Community Against the Super Prison', and it's 8,791 signatories? It is a happy coincidence of the timetabling in this place that the debate before this was about citizen participation, elegantly espoused by my old friend David Melding there, and we all nodded sagely and everybody was in total agreement, what a happy and healthy place it would be if...
David Lloyd: Exactly right, and surprising coming from the benches that you sit on, but I applaud that viewpoint, David, and also applaud your elegant disposition, as I said before, as regards the vital importance of citizen participation. This is what this is about. There is a petition there, there are petitioners here, and this is about the importance of citizen participation in democracy. If that means...
David Lloyd: 7. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the number of school leavers not entering education, employment or training in South Wales West? OAQ51456
David Lloyd: Thank you for that. You'll be aware that a recent report from the Social Mobility Commission ranked Neath Port Talbot as the worst county in Wales in terms of social mobility. Neath Port Talbot was also bottom of the pile specifically in terms of the numbers of young people within the county who are not in education, employment or training, with rates of more than three and a half times those...
David Lloyd: I've been made aware of recent examples in Swansea where patients—well, one patient had to wait three and a half hours with an urgent situation for an ambulance, and another patient waited four hours having suffered a myocardial infarction. Still at home, they waited four hours for an ambulance to attend the scene. Another patient waited five hours for an ambulance to attend the scene in...
David Lloyd: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the provision of Welsh-medium mental health services? OAQ51458
David Lloyd: Thank you for that response. It is true to say that there is concern that there is a lack of support and provision available through the medium of Welsh in dealing with mental health issues at a national level here in Wales. It's extremely important, of course, that individuals with mental health problems have the assistance in the language they are most comfortable using—you come to a...
David Lloyd: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on economic development in South Wales West? OAQ51508
David Lloyd: Thank you for that response, First Minister. Now, naturally, the latest GVA figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the Welsh economy continues to perform worse than the rest of the UK, with GVA per capita at only 72 per cent of the UK average. We also have significant economic inequality here in Wales, with Neath Port Talbot in my region, for example, almost 10 per cent...
