Gareth Davies: I really appreciate that, Llywydd. Thank you for squeezing me in at the end, and thank you very much to the First Minister for your statement this afternoon. I want to focus my question on social care and care homes, if possible, because I was reading through Public Health Wales data this morning saying that 70 per cent of the workforce are vaccinated, and 86 per cent of care home residents....
Gareth Davies: I wish everybody a happy new year and a healthy 2022. While there is much to be welcomed in this budget, it unfortunately does little to address the massive crisis facing social care in Wales. This budget will put into effect the Welsh Government's answer to the recruitment crisis facing the care sector, namely a wage of £9.90 per hour. But unfortunately, this is too little, too late, as a...
Gareth Davies: Thank you for your statement this afternoon, Minister, and for addressing members of the health committee earlier today, at lunchtime—and a happy new year, of course. Thankfully, of course, according to many experts, we're in a transition from a pandemic to an endemic. While we learn to live with this disease, we must redouble efforts to protect the most vulnerable, those living in our care...
Gareth Davies: It's a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon, and I've got no problem supporting the motion as it stands this afternoon. According to the World Health Organization, there is ample evidence that social factors such as education, employment status, income level and gender and ethnicity have a marked influence on how healthy a person is. In all countries, whether low, middle or...
Gareth Davies: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd, and thank you for your statement this afternoon, Minister. It's great to see the Welsh Government supporting the fantastic food and drink producers from across Wales. Naturally, I'd like to focus upon the amazing producers and retailers that we have here in the Vale of Clwyd. BlasCymru already champions one of my constituency's crown jewels, which is the Denbigh plum,...
Gareth Davies: 7. What plans does the Welsh Government have to help businesses in the Vale of Clwyd to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ57464
Gareth Davies: Yes, I appreciate that response, Minister. A large number of businesses in my constituency rely on the tourism and leisure markets, as do many across the north Wales coastal strip, and the past two years have been pretty disastrous, as you'll be aware. Not only do these businesses need continued help with such things as business rates in order to help with large losses incurred over recent...
Gareth Davies: Minister, despite having the most stringent measures in place to curb the transmission of COVID-19, Wales has the highest infection rates of any home nation and one of the highest per capita death rates in the world. Does your Government now accept that the non-pharmaceutical interventions are now doing more harm than good? And with, according to your chief medical officer, over 90 per cent...
Gareth Davies: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Deputy Llywydd, and thank you to everyone who took part in this debate this afternoon. Possibly what the Deputy Minister might have forgotten is that there's one more Welsh Conservative to speak to close the debate, so I will come on to responding to some of the points the Deputy Minister made later on in my winding-up speech. So, next week will mark the two-year...
Gareth Davies: Yes, certainly.
Gareth Davies: Quite frankly, I'm quite disgusted in the Member for Ynys Môn and Plaid Cymru's stance on this whole issue, as they've decided to abstain from voting on this. They say it's all hindsight and that it doesn't matter, but then in the next breath they say, 'Oh, we're still living with COVID and we're dealing with such pertinent issues.' So, I think you've got a bit of an internal battle there as...
Gareth Davies: Sorry, Deputy Llywydd. And then, Deputy Minister, I was very disappointed to see a Welsh Government politicise the whole issue and create divisions along the border, saying it's all the UK Government's fault. You are the Welsh Government, you have the devolved powers. You've wanted from day one for this to be a devolved matter to Wales, and yet you decide to respond to a COVID-19 debate and...
Gareth Davies: It's quite right that we mark the tenth anniversary of the coastal path. It's not often I say that I completely agree and welcome the words of John Griffiths and the First Minister in regards to the coastal path, because it helps link our coastal communities together and helps to promote active travel, and we should be proud of the fact that the path was a world first too. The path passes...
Gareth Davies: Thank you for your statement this afternoon, Minister. The hospice movement is a truly amazing addition to healthcare in the UK, as they fill the gap left by statutory services. One of the sad realities of life, unfortunately, and one of the sole guarantees in life, is that we all do eventually pass away, and hospices are there to help ensure that those with a terminal illness can have...
Gareth Davies: 1. What discussions has the Minister had with Denbighshire County Council about repairing infrastructure damaged by storm Christoph? OQ57516
Gareth Davies: Thank you for that answer, Minister. While I understand that there are processes to be followed, the fact is that, a year after the devastation, my constituents are still without a vital road link between Trefnant and Tremeirchion, and two local communities, essentially, remain isolated from one another and there's no end in sight, which is hugely frustrating. Minister, will you ensure that...
Gareth Davies: It's a pleasure to take part in this important debate this afternoon. As a parent, I'm fully aware of the impact the pandemic has had on younger generations, but thankfully my son is young enough not to have suffered any major detriment to his education. But, older children and young people aren't that lucky. As parents, we always worry about our children's future, but the pandemic has...
Gareth Davies: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. Could Jenny Rathbone perhaps substantiate that claim that omicron has somehow ravaged wildly in England compared to Wales? Do you have any science or statistics to back up your claim?
Gareth Davies: I think I'm a bit like my colleague Darren Millar in experiencing symptoms of déjà vu, because we had this exact debate just a few weeks before the Christmas recess. I know Plaid have a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Government, but I didn't know it meant regurgitating the Government's infrequent debates. Clearly, Plaid and their puppet masters are fresh out of ideas. Our public...
Gareth Davies: I won't at the moment. I've only just started, so I will make progress.
