Vaughan Gething: I completely reject the comparison; they're entirely different issues. The public health measures we were looking to take with the minimum unit pricing Act have been supported by a range of evidence we put before committees, and indeed the purpose and point of that Bill was supported by committees in this Assembly during their scrutiny. But if this Bill is passed, we do risk concentrating our...
Vaughan Gething: I think you'll also find that the children's commissioner also referred to the risk that having a diagnosis-led approach would be seen as a golden ticket to services. The six royal colleges were clear that services should be provided on the basis of need, not diagnosis. They also said that specialist practitioners needed to deliver the Bill's scheme would be difficult to recruit, irrespective...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I want to start by thanking Jack Sargeant for bringing this important short debate topic to the Assembly and also to Members for their contributions in the debate. This is a welcome opportunity to discuss mental health in the workplace, a subject that affects all of us, not just our constituents but all of us, and is recognised as a priority by the...
Vaughan Gething: We know that the work that we do, the fulfilment and the enjoyment that we get from it, and the achievements that we realise through our working lives, are often a key factor in our overall sense of well-being. We also know that, even with those positive effects, sometimes we find ourselves under pressure or working with others who are under pressure for reasons in their work or their...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. When I first set out the potential impact of a 'no deal' Brexit for NHS and social care services in Wales in June last year, some Members in this Chamber accused me of scaremongering and political mischief making. Yet, two and a half years after the European Union referendum, and less than 70 days before the UK is due to leave the European Union,...
Vaughan Gething: Let nobody underestimate the impact of a 'no deal' Brexit—the impact that a 'no deal' Brexit will have on individual citizens and families. That includes, of course, European Union nationals living and working in the UK, or UK nationals, including many Welsh citizens, who have taken advantage of freedom of movement to live and work in the European Union. All will be affected. Apart from the...
Vaughan Gething: I'd like to thank Janet Finch-Saunders for her interesting contribution. There were a range of assertions made that were non factual. I won't go through all of them. But let's deal with the three supposed questions. Money for companies to help them with stockpiling: we expect to have the same financial arrangements in paying for equipment and medicines for use in the health service. There may...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and the series of questions. I certainly can't provide all the detail that I would be able to. I would take up the time of several other Ministers. We could have the whole afternoon simply talking about all of the various different areas that will affect the health and social care system if there is a 'no deal' Brexit. On radioisotopes, I've repeatedly made this...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for those questions. I’ll deal with your last point first, on reciprocal healthcare arrangements. Between the different Governments in the United Kingdom, I think there’s an agreement that we want reciprocal healthcare arrangements to continue. The challenge still is having a piece of legislation that we all can support. At present—you’ll have seen the report on this, it's a...
Vaughan Gething: Very clearly. It's a very interesting but utterly predictable contribution from Michelle Brown. To claim that the measures that we are taking to prepare for a 'no deal' Brexit and the information we're providing to the country is nothing short of abuse is extraordinary even for her. The challenges are real and serious and I'm setting out the measures that we're taking with partners in health...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm happy to update Members today on the launch of 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales'. I had the pleasure of launching a consultation with stakeholders on 17 January. This set out our national ambitions to prevent and reduce obesity across Wales. The consultation begins a period of engagement, challenge and reflection as we develop our priorities for action....
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the series of questions. You are right that advertising regulation is not devolved, although there is regular contact between officials and the UK Department of Health and Social Care. They're due to be consulting on extra measures around advertising and the potential to have, in particular, high-fat and high-salt-content foods—essentially, to have a watershed in advertising....
Vaughan Gething: I'm happy to confirm the commitment I've already given to an October date for the strategy to be published, and I expect it to have milestones and measures, but for there to be smart milestones, measures and targets, not aspirational ones. I'm really keen to actually have something that is achievable, as well as measures where we can track our progress, so people can see the progress that we...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and points. I do want to make clear that the Government does not accept that we should allow poor diet to continue to be a defining feature of the way people live their lives and that must be the ambition of the Government to set out. And I recognise what you've had to say about healthy eating within schools and the challenges of procurement, about having healthy...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the range of areas you've covered. On body image, active travel and procurement, for example, I think I've covered those in the statement and been clear that they're areas that we need to cover. They're part of the consultation and I'm looking forward to hearing what people have to say about the proposals that we are consulting upon. I'm genuinely interested in what people have...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments. You're right to point out the differential scale of the challenge that we face. And it's part of the re-normalisation of activity and thinking about the choices that we make as parents, because we make choices for our children, and, in doing so, we're actually helping to set their patterns for life, and that is part of our challenge. Again, it goes back to not...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for your comments and questions and the broad welcome for the consultation. To try and take them in reverse order, we're clear that we'll be looking at the clinical pathway for dealing with obesity; we recognise that there's more that we need to do, and, again, greater consistency and learning from where that's most successful in the country. I think your point about GPs having...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. I commissioned an independent review of the health board's handling of concerns raised about Kris Wade. Healthcare Inspectorate Wales published that report yesterday. I now expect the health board to take urgent action to address the findings and recommendations. We will implement measures in response as quickly as possible across Wales.
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the series of questions. I'll start with your final series of questions about HIW and their independence. Yes, they are operating independently. They made choices about who to see and how to conduct the investigation. I think they saw about 40 different people, current and past staff members, as well as the families of the three women, together with the family of Christine...
Vaughan Gething: I agree with a fair amount of what Dai Lloyd has said about this being a matter of real seriousness and gravity. It is a serious issue. That is why I ordered the inquiry, with the report that we've published. And, if you look at the report, there's no hiding place in the report. It sets out a range of areas where there is a need for real improvement. It sets out a range of failings and...
