Angela Burns: Thank you. It's a difficult question, and I use the term 'force majeure' very deliberately, because of course you'll know that that affects the levels of compensation, and it is also a reason why organisations can withdraw services. I've had a number of concerns raised with me by both small businesses and the general public where they feel they've been on the rough end of a deal where they've...
Angela Burns: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the crisis in the Welsh NHS this winter, in light of reports that services are at breaking point? 96
Angela Burns: They do indeed and, in fact, it is these dedicated and hard-working staff who have, over the last 10 days, raised a significant number of concerns with me. We've had royal colleges coming out with commentary and statements about the enormous pressure their staff have been under. I've met with royal colleges in the last few days, I've met with doctors, nurses, front-line staff and an ambulance...
Angela Burns: I'd like to thank Janet Finch-Saunders for bringing forward this concept, and, Minister, I would urge you to consider it, because only yesterday we were having a debate about the removal of the defence of chastisement. We were talking about respect and respect for children, and sometimes I think we forget that older people also deserve that respect and that tolerance, because we think they've...
Angela Burns: —and I would urge you, Minister, to at least consider this. Thank you.
Angela Burns: First Minister, a key finding of the parliamentary review into health and social care found that there was a plethora of national boards overseeing work programmes outside of organisational structures, and a clear recommendation was that these boards should be streamlined in order to ensure more effective delivery of public services. Notwithstanding the changes that might be coming along to...
Angela Burns: I, too, would like to welcome this report today. I found it to be an energising and enlightening read, and I'd like to thank Dr Ruth Hussey and the members of her team for all the hard work they've done, but also for the engagement that they have offered to me and to my Welsh Conservative colleagues in bringing forward ideas and thoughts, and recommending people to go and talk to to get to...
Angela Burns: Will the First Minister outline what plans the Welsh Government has to review the NHS Wales escalation and intervention arrangements?
Angela Burns: I was very pleased to have been part of the Health and Social Care Committee when we decided to undertake this inquiry into primary care clusters. Our decision to look at this stemmed in great part from the concerns that other committee members and I had been made aware of through our discussions with doctors in general practice, and we wanted to evaluate this new method of working. I would...
Angela Burns: What discussions has the Cabinet Secretary had with local government leaders following the publication of the Welsh Government's local government settlement?
Angela Burns: Good afternoon, First Minister. You'll know that the Office of Communications report found that 12 per cent of the Welsh land mass is unable to get any mobile phone coverage, and given, for example, in the last six months, the appalling storm damage we've had and emergency situations, I wondered if your Government has spoken to, or would consider talking to some of the innovators—companies...
Angela Burns: Cabinet Secretary, thank you very much indeed for your statement. I'm delighted that the new treatment fund appears to be doing so well. It must be horrendous to be somebody who has some dreadful condition that is in dire need of innovative and radical treatments, and to have the worry of whether or not you can access it through your health board. This seems to be filling a gap in the...
Angela Burns: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the budget allocation to the health and social services portfolio for the coming year? OAQ51620
Angela Burns: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. I'm actually seeking clarity on the process that you use to determine budget allocations. I listened to your previous answer to the spokesman for Plaid Cymru. I'm not so interested in how you measure the outcomes that the Cabinet Secretary for health is so obviously responsible for, but rather how you yourself will actually determine the...
Angela Burns: Please don't pay BT for Princes Gate. During the time I've been told on numerous occasions that Princes Gate will get fast broadband. In fact, last year, the head of Superfast Cymru—I won't name him—wrote and told me that a second pass would see Princes Gate be upgraded to superfast broadband by the autumn of 2017. The response from the leader of Openreach: 'The infrastructure serving...
Angela Burns: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on Hywel Dda University Health Board's most recent service-change proposals, which could potentially result in the closure of Withybush Hospital in the future? 108
Angela Burns: Thank you for that, Cabinet Secretary. I listened very carefully to the answers the First Minister gave to the leader of Plaid Cymru yesterday, and also the comments made by my colleague Paul Davies in the business statement. And I tabled the question today because I was absolutely appalled by the supercilious arrogance with which our concerns were dealt with. Do you accept that the public...
Angela Burns: First Minister, the parliamentary review recommends the Good Governance Institute's maturity matrix as a way of measuring good governance in health boards. How do we measure good governance now?
Angela Burns: Leader of the house, I'd like to call for two statements: the first from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services. This is in regard to a campaign that most of us are aware of for both vaginal mesh transplants and for hernia transplants. They're very complicated operations. There's a high un-success rate—10 per cent of those who have it—and at the moment the UK Government have...
Angela Burns: You're absolutely right, Cabinet Secretary, we can't force people to take part in consultations. But picking up from the point that David Rees made, there are an enormous number of really good ways of engaging people at a grass-roots level and really taking the temperature of proposed changes. Organisations such as INVOLVE, who run consultations in England—they work very hard with local...
