Vaughan Gething: Thank you for your comments and the questions. I want to start off by, again, recognising and welcoming the cross-party work that went into the parliamentary review, the membership and the terms, and where we are now. And I expect, of course, that there will be slightly a different character where we are as you quite rightly scrutinise me and the Government on taking this plan forward....
Vaughan Gething: Well, that's an interesting set of questions and comments from Rhun ap Iorwerth. I'll deal with your four points and then I'll deal with your more general observations, which you'll not be surprised I don't share. On the proposals to deliver a new culture, I actually think there's a limited extent to which proposals in a plan can deliver a new culture. Actually, what has started to change...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and the questions. I certainly hope that I'm around to see the one hundredth birthday of the national health service—maybe not in this place but around nevertheless. [Interruption.] Well, easy now. In terms of the three points that you mentioned about digital technology and whether the ability to consult people remotely leads to greater loneliness and isolation,...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the questions. I accept your first point about the urgent need for change. We've talked about that on a number of occasions in the past, and, I think, when you raise the lifestyle management programme, looking at diet, exercise and smoking, that Cardiff and Vale run, a number of health boards have similar programmes. The challenge is not just how people get ready for surgery,...
Vaughan Gething: Well, it's about not just empowering the people and providing the space, but how we judge new partnerships to be taken forward. If you look at the quadruple aim, the first leg of that is to improve population health and well-being. That will require people to be more active, as part of it. We've understood, for a very long time, that a more active population where we reduce smoking, where we...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for those two questions. It was a very good time we spent in Cynon Valley and, in fact, one of the people we saw was herself an unpaid carer, effectively. So, we recognise that's a huge value to what we can do and, actually, our health and care system and the way it operates is really important in allowing those unpaid carers to do what they want to, and what they need, but at the...
Vaughan Gething: I'll just take your final point first. Of course we'll continue to look at international evidence. We'll continue to be challenged by it, inspired by it, and there will be times when we'll have to discount it because it doesn't apply to the context we have here. The Canterbury example is a good one to look at, actually. There are enough similarities for us to focus on, to learn and be...
Vaughan Gething: Diolch, Llywydd. I want to rise to make some brief comments about the point and purpose of the legislation, before turning to the three amendments in this group.
Vaughan Gething: I start by reminding Members that this is a piece of public health legislation based on a range of evidence that all of us are aware of about our, at times, difficult relationship with alcohol across the country. We recognise the avoidable harm that alcohol can cause, and, when we discuss our public health challenges as a nation, we regularly talk about diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol....
Vaughan Gething: Sorry, I've finished.
Vaughan Gething: I'll briefly respond, Presiding Officer, because, as I've said on a number of occasions, we are committed to undertaking a significant amount of consultation before setting the initial minimum unit price that Ministers will recommend and this place will have to decide whether to support or not. I believe that that is an entirely appropriate method and an entirely appropriate way to proceed,...
Vaughan Gething: Diolch, Llywydd. I'll first deal with amendment 2, as moved by Angela Burns. Again, we have discussed it during Stage 2. I recognise it is a different amendment from the one that was proposed, but it continues to be my view that it is neither necessary nor desirable. Of course, I have recognised the importance of evaluation and review. Indeed, the Bill requires Welsh Ministers to publish a...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd. I want to start by recognising that I understand the drivers behind the amendment, and I understand the goodwill that exists across a range of committees to try and make sure that retailers do not seek to make excess profits from introducing minimum unit pricing. However, the Government won't be able to support the amendment before us today. It's worth while starting with...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Indeed, at Stage 2, we discussed an amendment tabled by Rhun ap Iorwerth in relation to the duty to promote awareness. And at the time, I indicated I would be pleased to have further constructive discussions with him and I'd hoped to come to this point where we could support the amendments that he wished to provide. And I am happy to say, the Government will be...
Vaughan Gething: Diolch, Llywydd. The Welsh Government re-affirmed our commitment to improve the lives of autistic people in November 2016 when we published the new autistic spectrum disorder action plan, backed by £13 million of investment in new services. Today, we published the first annual report on the delivery of the action plan. I am pleased to reflect the achievements of all those involved in...
Vaughan Gething: The progress we are making would not be possible without the support of the ASD national development team that is hosted by the Welsh Local Government Association. It published its annual report today also, and I understand that a statement highlighting that has gone around to Members from the WLGA. The team is working with regions to develop the integrated service and to promote engagement...
Vaughan Gething: Regrettably, I recognise your point, Deputy Presiding Officer. I won't be able to answer the more than a dozen different points put, with respect to the Member and others who wish to respond. But, to be fair, a number of those, the points raised, are individual ones, and there are some more general ones. If the Member wants to write to me with the detail that he has set out, then I'll happily...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the questions. On your final point, there's a recognition that we seek to achieve a cultural change. This isn't simply about families with people with autism, but actually about the support they receive in the workplace and the attitudes of different employers. Within the report published today, you see direct examples of people who have been helped by the service to remain in...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments. I think I've dealt with the challenges and the points about waiting times already. I recognise what you say about your current view on legislation, but being open to the possibility that if we may be able to make sufficient improvement, the prospect of more legislation may not be something you would support. I think there is a challenge here about the practical...
Vaughan Gething: You raise an interesting point. I think the real examples in the national ASD development team report will see a range of different age ranges in there, from children to teenagers to adults and older adults as well. It's about how they've been helped at various different points through their life stage, and actually lots of people go through life without having a diagnosis and the...
