Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, prostate cancer is a cruel condition, which, if diagnosed early enough, has remarkable success rates—90 per cent plus. Regrettably, obviously, screening in some parts of the UK leaves a lot to be desired. In particular here in Wales, regrettably, the ability to get access to the multiparametric MRI scanner for four health boards is non-existent,...
Andrew RT Davies: I thank you for that detailed answer, First Minister. Regrettably, 10,000 men a year die from prostate cancer—it's the biggest killer of men. And some universality around the screening programme must be a compunction on the Government because, actually, cancer doesn't rely on postcodes—it's universal, it is. On the bowel cancer screening programme that the Welsh Government have, it has...
Andrew RT Davies: Those improvements are desperately needed. As I said, Bowel Cancer UK says it is a national crisis that one in four people are waiting eight weeks or more for that screening process to be undertaken. But what we do know from the weekend's announcement that the UK Government made is that there will be a considerable uplift in the spend available to the Welsh Government to spend on health and...
Andrew RT Davies: Leader of the house, could we have a statement either from the First Minister, or a letter from the Permanent Secretary, outlining the way the operational protocol was put in place for the QC-led inquiry? There have been various reports in the media that I would suggest cause grave areas of concern and do need explaining. I do draw the leader of the house's attention to some of the comments...
Andrew RT Davies: Finance Minister, the Vale of Glamorgan Council are out to consultation at the moment on improving transport links to the M4 from the A48 through the village of Pendoylan. Are you in a position to inform us how this project would be paid for? Is it from the city deal, or would a bid have to come directly to you, or to the Welsh Government, I should say, to release capital moneys for the...
Andrew RT Davies: 3. Will the Leader of the House provide an update on the Welsh Government's progress on improving digital inclusion in South Wales Central please? OAQ52366
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, leader of the house, for that answer. I've always highlighted some of the concerns in rural Wales and, in particular, the inability for many communities to get connected up, because of the logistical challenges that are faced there. But in my own electoral region of South Wales Central, in Pentwyn, in Cardiff here, there's a community of 200 residents who, because Openreach will...
Andrew RT Davies: Cabinet Secretary, obviously, we all share those concerns and hope that families who face the prospect of losing the breadwinner's job get security as soon as possible, because if you've got a mortgage or you've got dependents, you want that security as soon as possible. But what is really concerning here is that this is another financial service provider moving jobs out of Cardiff, when...
Andrew RT Davies: I'm grateful to the Member for taking the intervention, and I agree with the points he's making on bilingualism. But, equally important are other languages to be considered, especially in the city that I represent here in Cardiff, which has a diversity of languages, and the translation system that is available for patients and medics within our health service does need a complete overhaul so...
Andrew RT Davies: Will you take an intervention?
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, last week, the report into the tragedy at Gosport War Memorial Hospital came forward and, in particular, the excessive use of opiate painkillers that potentially led to the untimely death of at least 650 patients. Has the Welsh Government had a chance to consider the report, the findings of that report and any implications for the Welsh NHS and...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you for that answer. I hope that there will be a timely report back on that, because there are some very concerning aspects in relation to the circumstances around the premature deaths of the patients concerned. But one of the things that has come to light, certainly in press comment, is the use of Graseby syringe drivers, which basically administer opiate painkillers, either over a...
Andrew RT Davies: I'm grateful for that very detailed response, because the reports over the weekend will have caused a huge amount of distress to families of bereaved relatives that might suspect some wrongdoing or some faulty equipment that might have caused an untimely death. What is important is if families do have those concerns—and the numbers we are talking about run into the thousands if you put it...
Andrew RT Davies: First Minister, in relation to LDPs, it is really important that, obviously, local people's voices are heard in the process. There does appear in the current system to be a disconnect with the ability for local people to feel they're having an influence in the development of LDPs. I appreciate that that's a responsibility for local authorities, but ultimately the Welsh Government signs those...
Andrew RT Davies: Leader of the house, can I raise two issues with you, if possible, please? I was grateful for the clarity that the First Minister showed in the questions that I put to him in First Minister's questions, but I'd be most grateful if the health Secretary could bring forward a statement about opiate use within the Welsh NHS and the guidance that is out there. Some of the stories that have come...
Andrew RT Davies: I welcome the opportunity to respond to this statement. I wish it was a different type of statement, a statement welcoming the good news that we should have got from Westminster yesterday. I make no bones about it: I believe a positive decision was what was required yesterday, and I lobbied right up until the last minute to try and achieve that positive decision. Regrettably, it did not come...
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, Presiding Officer. [Interruption.] It's always good to get a cheer. [Laughter.] First Minister, could I thank you for the very kind comments—with your indulgence, Presiding Officer—you expressed last week, and also to Members across the Chamber who have been very kind over the last couple of days in the comments that they have made on my departure from office? But I certainly...
Andrew RT Davies: I do feel privileged today to be sitting next to the rescuer of the hedgehog fancier club here, Darren Millar. Anyone who's followed his Twitter feed would see the rescue mission he launched last week. But I would ask you, First Minister—. The Welsh Government commission many services in the public sector, obviously—bus services and the regulation of taxis. It is important that when...
Andrew RT Davies: 10. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government funding of transport infrastructure projects across Wales? OAQ52512
Andrew RT Davies: Thank you, First Minister. One of the schemes that the Welsh Government, via the Vale of Glamorgan Council, is promoting is the new road from the Miskin junction, as it's known, in the Vale of Glamorgan to Sycamore Cross. Can the First Minister confirm that if this project is to go ahead it will require Welsh Government funded money to be made available for its construction and that that...
