Lynne Neagle: Can I thank the Minister for his statement and also thank him for coming to Cwmbran, to the falls clinic, yesterday to make the announcement? As you rightly highlight, it was an excellent opportunity to see the kinds of services that are being delivered at a community level by health and social services working together. But I was absolutely delighted that you were able to make that...
Lynne Neagle: 9. Will the First Minister make a statement on the implications of the benefit cap in Torfaen? OAQ(5)0252(FM)
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, First Minister. Unfortunately, yesterday’s extension of the benefits cap will, I believe, ensure that more children are pushed into poverty by the Tories’ welfare reforms. The figures that you have given are absolutely correct—£58 per week is a significant sum of money and there are some 516 children who are in households that are affected. A number of those families are...
Lynne Neagle: Will the Minister make a statement on how the Welsh Government is improving child health in Wales?
Lynne Neagle: 7. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to promote awareness of pancreatic cancer in Wales? OAQ(5)0262(FM)
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, First Minister. Today, I was very proud to once again host an event to mark pancreatic cancer awareness month here in the Senedd. Last year, when I asked you about this, I pressed you on the need to raise awareness. This year, Pancreatic Cancer UK have undertaken research that shows that three quarters of the public in the UK cannot name a single symptom of pancreatic cancer. Would...
Lynne Neagle: Can I request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health on the work programme of the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group? While I very much welcome the introduction of the new treatment fund, and the review of the individual patient funding requests system in Wales, which, in my view, is long overdue, I am concerned that access to new drugs will continue to be constrained by the...
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement today? In particular, I very much welcome what you’ve said about making funding available to encourage and support the development of federations across all maintained schools, along with better information and guidance. I think that is very important. You’re aware of my concerns on this issue. I was also very interested in what you said...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to speak in this debate today. The rights and support for people with dementia is a subject very close to my heart, and I welcome the opportunity to focus on it again today. In January this year, I led a debate on the need for a national dementia strategy and made the case that dementia is the health challenge of our time. It is always worth...
Lynne Neagle: It does have to be led from the ground up, but I also think that if you’ve got systems in place like the need for support workers and targets for diagnosis rates, those have to be driven by Government, and I look forward to hearing form Welsh Government how that strategy will go from being a document on paper to something that actually transforms the lives of people with dementia and their...
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement and give a very warm welcome to the content of that statement today? In particular, I’m delighted that this Welsh Government is going to be delivering a system that is consistent, progressive and fair in its support for full and part-time undergraduates and for postgraduate students. I also welcome the speed with which the Cabinet...
Lynne Neagle: Will the Minister make a statement on the local government settlement for Torfaen?
Lynne Neagle: In March 2015, the UK Government passed under section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 a law that made it a criminal offence for an adult to send a sexual communication to a child. This Assembly passed a legislative consent motion to enable that the previous month. However, over a year and a half later, this law, which could help police and stop potential groomers in their tracks, has still...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased to contribute to this debate today on this LCM, and to outline the views of the Children, Young People and Education Committee. Members will see from our report that the committee supports the approach set out in the LCM, and agrees that it is appropriate to deal with these provisions in the Children and Social Work Bill. The amendment to the...
Lynne Neagle: Hello. [Laughter.] Right. [Laughter.] We are all very much looking forward to the publication of this Bill. I am very grateful to you for meeting with me last week with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Diabetes UK and for listening to the concerns about the need to include a duty to meet the medical needs of children in school in this Bill. Can you update us on what your...
Lynne Neagle: 9. Will the First Minister make a statement on the additional capital monies the Welsh Government will receive following the announcement in the UK Government's Autumn Statement? OAQ(5)0323(FM)
Lynne Neagle: The Welsh Government has done its utmost to protect public services in the face of Tory cuts from Westminster, but continued austerity has inevitably meant that difficult choices have had to be made, and there has been a significant reduction in the budget for the community facilities and activities programme. I know that many community groups in Wales find this an invaluable source of...
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement today? I do appreciate her honest appraisal of the situation and, like her, I also believe that we are not where we want to be yet and it’s important to recognise that. But I also recognise that all countries that have improved their PISA rankings have taken some years to do it, and I don’t think we would do our children any favours by...
Lynne Neagle: We live in the most uncertain times. My colleague, Mark Drakeford, opened his budget statement back in October with those words. And he’s right. The times could not be more uncertain for the UK and for Wales and it is the Tory party that has brought us here. Since 2010, the Conservative Government has robbed public services in Wales of around £1.5 billion. This sustained attack in...
Lynne Neagle: I am well aware of what the referendum result is, but I’m also aware of the chaos that we are heading towards, especially with a hard Brexit. With Groucho’s famous quote and our future in Europe in mind, who in all honesty would want to be part of a club that would have those three as members? In the midst of this Tory chaos we must still make a budget. Amidst the shambles, the Welsh...
