Russell George: Minister, I recently visited the Hafren, an entertainment venue and theatre based in Newtown, and they outlined a specific issue that is facing their industry at the moment. I'd be grateful if you could outline what the Welsh Government is doing to encourage younger people to take up opportunities in the creative industry—theatre staging and technicians in particular. And what they outlined...
Russell George: 5. How is the Welsh Government supporting the economy of mid Wales to recover from the pandemic? OQ57089
Russell George: Minister, can I thank you for your statement this afternoon? Of course, as the world focuses on our climate emergency—and that's what it is—I think it's right that we discuss this in the context of health and social care. So, in that regard, I welcome the statement today. At the beginning of your statement, Minister, you referred to NHS Wales as the largest public sector emitter,...
Russell George: Minister, can I thank you for the update today you've given us on COVID-19? Now, you say in your statement, Minister, that there is a rising number of COVID cases leading to greater occupancy of hospital beds and ICUs, and I would agree with you that is a cause for concern. The Government cut 224 beds in the NHS during the first year of the pandemic, so I'd suggest that bed capacity needs to...
Russell George: A flagship hospital, Minister, is of course supposed to be leading by example, and we know that the question today is about the Grange hospital, which has the worst A&E waiting times of any hospital in Wales. Now, the report in question today talks about the unhealthy workplace and talks about staff frightened to go to work. Understaffed departments, staff burnout and low capacity all of...
Russell George: Many thanks, Minister, for your response there. Members across this Chamber, of course, will have supported their communities in attempting to keep banks in their own constituencies, and as we all know in this Chamber, the banks will perhaps receive those petitions and then go ahead and ignore, and banks will close. But, of course, I've been a long-time advocate myself, Minister, of a...
Russell George: 5. How is the Welsh Government supporting community banking services? OQ57038
Russell George: I'll ask my last question in that case, Deputy Presiding Officer. You also mentioned planned care, and I note that you're leaving a formal plan until the planned care summit in November. Meanwhile, both England and Scotland have been doing their utmost to ease those waiting times with community diagnosis centres, and we've heard about surgical hubs and the use of independent healthcare to...
Russell George: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, can I thank you for your update you've given us today on the health and care plan for the winter? But that's what it is, of course, today—it's an update and not the plan itself. I think Members across this Chamber, and the Welsh public, will be disappointed that they've had to see a further delay just before we go into the Senedd recess. And I do...
Russell George: Minister, can I ask you about support for community councils, in particular, from Welsh Government? I'm aware that, under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, there's a requirement for community councils to put in place systems to allow for in-person, remote or hybrid meetings. Many community councils, of course, meet in community centres or village halls, and don't have...
Russell George: What consideration does the Minister give to the provision of transport for children and young people in rural areas when allocating the budget to the climate change portfolio?
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank the Minister for her statement today, and can I also align myself to the Minister's comments in regard to mental health and the important agenda in that regard as well? Minister, you mentioned your winter plan. I've mentioned a number of times previously that we need to include diagnosis centres, and I wonder if you could confirm whether that...
Russell George: Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you, First Minister, for your reply. I can understand that there is a need for a planned approach to developing grid networks, and taking a strategic approach. I saw the press release from the Welsh Government last month in regard to taking a joint approach, and the Welsh Government taking a lead in terms of bringing relevant parties together to access and gather...
Russell George: 6. What progress has the Welsh Government made in developing a strategic plan for the future energy grid to 2050? OQ56989
Russell George: Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this second important debate this afternoon? As Welsh Conservatives, we wholeheartedly support Plaid's motion, so we'll be supporting that today. Of course, we as Welsh Conservatives have been calling for a winter pressure plan for some considerable time, so there's no doubt that it's absolutely vital to get that plan to show this Parliament, to...
Russell George: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I firstly thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this debate today and also add my own thanks to healthcare workers who have kept Wales safe and fought, I think, so hard during the course of the pandemic in the fight against coronavirus? I move amendment 1, Deputy Presiding Officer, in the name of my colleague Darren Millar, and I firmly believe, as all...
Russell George: Thank you ever so much, Jane. I wholeheartedly agree with you in terms of the anti-vaxxers that are outside the Senedd today, but I did notice there are some more sensible people outside the Senedd today that are supportive of the position against these regulations, and to some extent I think perhaps they've been overtaken, perhaps, by the other events. But that's just to put that on record....
Russell George: Will you take an intervention, Jenny?
Russell George: Thank you, Jenny. I think what the nightclub industry would say is that it's the length of time it takes to process people through. And there have been examples where, by the time that people are processed to get through, then it's the end of the evening. I'm not somebody who attends nightclubs very often these days, but that's what the industry are saying in that regard, Jenny, and that's...
Russell George: I am pleased that the Labour Member supports the fact that a checkpoint society is the wrong approach, so I look forward to him voting against the regulations this afternoon. There is a real risk here that the implementation of COVID passes could be a complete disaster. In Scotland, we have seen the roll-out has been a disaster there—I don't use that word lightly; it has been a disaster...
