Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank as well everyone who's taken part in this debate. I think it reflects the consensus that exists around the way that the implementation has been delivered. Nick and others have mentioned the FSB report, and their conclusions chimed very much with those of the committee. But, it isn't just the FSB, the Wales Audit Office of course, when...
Llyr Gruffydd: The WRA, as Rhun ap Iorwerth said, has set a very high bar, but, of course, we wouldn't expect any different. And it will be a challenge to maintain that, but’s that, of course, is what I think we need to ensure will now happen. And the response from the Secretary of State, as nearly everyone has said, to the request to give evidence—the numerous requests over recent years to appear...
Llyr Gruffydd: I'm sure that people will be shocked by what the First Minister said earlier in response to Adam Price—that is, just 24 hours after declaring a climate emergency, that you say that that didn't necessarily mean that you needed a change of policy. Now, one policy that I would clearly want to see implemented is more encouragement for disinvestment, because there is much money in public sector...
Llyr Gruffydd: For the past month, people from north Wales have been blocked from accessing the Countess of Chester hospital as out-patient referrals, and that includes, by the way, urgent suspected cancer referrals. You did say earlier that the Minister would probably be making a written statement, I think, quite soon. I was going to ask whether we could have an oral statement so that we as Members could...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Minister, for your statement, although, again, I think there is a groundhog day feel to all of this, really. We've had similar statements at regular intervals over the years and, regrettably, with the same trend in terms of managing to get on top of this disease. It feels a little bit as if you're deflecting some of the Government's failings onto farmers as well, because you say...
Llyr Gruffydd: Of course, because of the shortage of GPs in north Wales, more and more surgeries have been coming under direct management by the Betsi Cadwaladr health board. Can I ask whether Welsh Government has carried out any analysis or any sort of study comparing services provided by those surgeries as compared to the more traditional practice model?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I’m sure that many of us will have welcomed the statement that the Government made earlier this week declaring a climate emergency, and that, of course, in response to the tireless campaigning of climate campaigners—young people, the school strikers and thousands of others, and ourselves as a party, who have consistently raised this issue over the past few...
Llyr Gruffydd: So, despite the declaration having been made, there is, of course, still purpose to today's debate. I understand, by the way, Llywydd, that members of the public are being denied access to the gallery to view this debate, so I am concerned at that, but maybe we can be told why that's the case at some point. Of course, we now have to make sure that we cannot end up seeing this as being some...
Llyr Gruffydd: Okay. And I've already wasted 30 seconds in making that point, and point taken. The other point I'd like to make is that, if this motion was passed today, then it would mark us becoming the first Parliament in the world to declare a climate emergency, and that would give, I hope, the Government a mandate and the confidence to go further and faster than is currently the case. We owe it to our...
Llyr Gruffydd: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on community hospitals in North Wales? OAQ53824
Llyr Gruffydd: Would you agree with me that a private hospital that’s about to be built in the St Asaph area shows that the closure of community hospitals back in 2013 was a mistake? Because some 50 beds were lost when the community hospitals were lost in Flint, Llangollen, Prestatyn and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Now, many of us warned, as did many GPs and others, at the time that that step-up, step-down...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I ask for a statement from the Welsh Government on the Government’s consultation processes, because many of us will have been quite shocked to understand recently that a petition presented to the Petitions Committee in this Assembly, despite having thousands of signatories, only 12 per cent of those names had addresses in Wales? That raises a question, which is a matter for the...
Llyr Gruffydd: Will you take an intervention?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you. I just wanted to draw attention to the fact that I had the pleasure of visiting Coleg Llandrillo Menai recently, and the department there that supports students to develop games. And it was an eye opener for me, because not only are they developing the concept of the game, but developing the software, the graphics—you need to compose music, you need to storyboard. There’s a...
Llyr Gruffydd: I was looking at one of the reports referred to in the motion in preparing for this debate today, and that mentioned how there were problems in terms of how senior management had acted in dealing with the risks that exist within the service. The report mentions huge problems in terms of reporting serious incidents, that there were delays in responding to complaints and, in some cases, those...
Llyr Gruffydd: We've seen failures on workforce planning as well, and one recent example that I highlighted here previously, of course, was the farcical situation of nurses training in Wrexham Glyndŵr University, but unable to take up work placements just down the road at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and, as a result, of course, having to go out to the NHS in England and into private practice and those nurses...
Llyr Gruffydd: The Government, as we've already heard today, of course, a fortnight ago declared a climate emergency, and this Assembly made a similar statement too. Now, I would expect that there would be a great deal of activity happening behind the scenes within the Welsh Government to respond to that statement and to clearly demonstrate that that statement is meaningful. I would assume, for example,...
Llyr Gruffydd: Could I ask for a statement from the health Minister as well? I read with interest and welcomed the written statement last week in relation to cross-border healthcare arrangements and the agreement that has been reached in relation to the dispute with the Countess of Chester Hospital. There's nothing in the statement that tells us what the nature of that agreement or that compromise is. My...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, I want to refer, if I may, to the consultation document of your own Government on disposing of radioactive waste—geological disposal. Now, I will quote from that document, and it says: 'Radioactive waste disposal is a devolved matter—the Welsh Government is responsible for determining the policy for this within Wales'. But, looking at paragraph 99 of Schedule...
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, perhaps you can explain to us, therefore, what the role of the Welsh Government is in looking at where that nuclear waste, which has been in the news recently, is going. Because it’s clear to me that that is not devolved. Indeed, paragraph 3(2)(4) of Schedule 23 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, and I will quote in English, states:
