Caroline Jones: It is—yes, it is facts. So, Minister, what hope does Welsh steel have if you get your wish and you scrap Brexit? How will your Government mitigate the most damaging EU rules in order to save our steel? Finally, Minister, you are campaigning to see, obviously, your leader in No. 10 and John McDonnell in No. 11, and they have outlined a slew of policies that will devastate the UK economy and...
Caroline Jones: I welcome the introduction of the National Health Service (Indemnities) (Wales) Bill. The fact that indemnity cover for GPs has been skyrocketing, and that this has had an impact on the profession, is why I supported the introduction of the future liability scheme. It's sad that the UK is becoming more litigious, and the explosion of medical negligence claims firms in recent times has...
Caroline Jones: Minister, the greatest barrier to improving the economic prosperity of the Swansea and Neath Valleys is a lack of infrastructure. Despite the two decades of EU structural funds, people in my region still have no reliable transport. What will your Government do in the next 12 months to improve road and rail links in my region so my constituents can get to work on time? Will your budget be...
Caroline Jones: I thank the Welsh Conservatives for tabling this important debate, and I'm pleased to take part. We can't put an end to death and dying, but one of the most important things the state can do is ensure our citizens can die with dignity, without pain and with respect. Unfortunately, end-of-life care in Wales is lacking. Around 33,000 people die in Wales each year, yet one in four of those who...
Caroline Jones: 2. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to protect the human rights of Welsh citizens? OAQ54770
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your answer, First Minister. My constituents are having their human rights eroded by South Wales Police, mainly their article 8 rights. Liberty and the Electronic Frontier Foundation argue that the widespread use of facial recognition technology, employed by South Wales Police, clearly contravenes the right to privacy afforded by article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998. The Court...
Caroline Jones: My party will be supporting the general principles of the Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Bill, as there are aspects of the proposed legislation that are badly needed. However, the Bill will need a lot of amending before it is wholly acceptable. The duties of candour and quality are both needed, and are long overdue. These duties will instil an honest culture of...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, I was shocked to learn that, out of nearly 0.5 million calls to 999 last year, around a quarter of the calls were not serious. Welsh ambulance service staff were tied up with dealing with calls ranging from a stubbed toe to hiccups, instead of helping people in genuine need. The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust has launched a campaign to encourage the...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Minister. And, of course, as we enter the winter period, the pressure placed upon the ambulance service is enormous. We have seen record rates of sickness absence in the Welsh ambulance trust, putting more pressure on the service. Difficulty in accessing out-of-hours care continues to drive patients towards our overstretched accident and emergency departments, which...
Caroline Jones: I thank Lynne, Dai and David for tabling this important debate. As the other contributors have pointed out, pancreatic cancer is the deadliest of all the cancers, yet the majority of people have never heard of it. I became acutely aware of pancreatic cancer over 30 years ago, when doctors discovered a tumour on my pancreas. Thankfully, in my case, the tumour was benign, but the symptoms that...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I have pleasure in moving this debate today. Our request is simple: we have to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists in Wales, the only part of the UK not to have a register of lobbying activity. Lobbying is defined as any attempt by individuals or private interest groups to influence the decisions of Government. In its original meaning, it referred to efforts...
Caroline Jones: Okay. I thought she wanted an intervention, I'm sorry.
Caroline Jones: By 2008, the professional lobbying industry was believed to be worth nearly £2 billion. In January 2009, the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee published a report, 'Lobbying: Access and influence in Whitehall'. That report highlighted the revolving door that exists between Members of Parliament and lobbying firms, and the committee recommended a statutory register of...
Caroline Jones: This Act introduced a requirement for a register of consultant lobbyists in England, and Scotland soon followed suit with the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016, which requires anyone who undertakes face-to-face lobbying of MSPs, Scottish Government Ministers, special advisers or Permanent Secretaries to sign the Scottish lobbying register. In Wales, the Standards of Conduct Committee looked at...
Caroline Jones: It is on record, because everything is recorded.
Caroline Jones: It is on record, because everything is recorded. Were you in the Cabinet?
Caroline Jones: Were you in the Cabinet?
Caroline Jones: It's all recorded.
Caroline Jones: That they would see whether the voluntary approach suggested by Public Affairs Cymru increased transparency sufficiently to negate the need for a statutory register. Yet here we are, nearly two years later, and we are no closer to fully open and transparent lobbying in Wales. Here, the sector is a prime example of the revolving door, with staff either working for or running their own lobbying...
Caroline Jones: Will you give way?
