Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'd like to ask for a written statement on the steps that the Welsh Government is considering to take to help care workers in the wake of a big increase in fuel costs. I discussed the issue with officials in Unison yesterday. Care workers in rural areas, in particular, have to drive distances between the houses of the people they care for, and the money they receive is not enough to pay for...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Now, on top of houses being sold as holiday homes or lets, I've become aware recently of the practice of long-term tenants being evicted so that their homes can be turned into short-term holiday accommodation. Constituents tell me that it's happening across our coastal communities. The actions of one landlord are particularly worrying. Through historic privilege, the Bodorgan estate is a very...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I wasn't looking for division here today; I was looking for consensus, frankly. Having a daughter in Paris currently, a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, having lived in Italy myself, having spent time living in London myself—. We're not about closing the doors for our young people and telling them not to leave, but the truth of the matter is that too many do...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Without doubt, we want to attract the best brains to Wales, as well as keeping our own talent here. The current financial pressures, the highest inflation for 40 years, is having a great impact on young people. You only need to look at recent NUS research to see that more students than ever are reliant on foodbanks or are borrowing beyond their means. The wage level for apprentices is a...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. The first census results have been published; they’re headline figures so far. The population is reducing in many areas—Ceredigion seeing the greatest decrease at almost 6 per cent. There is a suggestion that the population is also growing older, which emphasises the need to keep hold of our young people, and that means making them want to stay here in Wales....
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 5. What is the Government doing to protect the long-term rental sector in the face of growth in the short-term rental sector? OQ58338
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for that answer, and it is astonishing, isn't it, and we see how costs in terms of energy and fuel, as part of the cost-of-living crisis more broadly, are deepening from day to day, nearly, and the financial hardship that some of my most vulnerable constituents are seeing. We see it in the increasing demand for foodbank services. We've see this week Ynys Môn council, in partnership...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 5. Will the Minister provide an update on fuel poverty levels in Ynys Môn? OQ58308
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you to the Minister for the statement on the quality statement. It's a significant step, I think. Two months have passed since we in Plaid Cymru tabled a motion to the Senedd emphasising the importance of addressing issues around women and girls' health, and I'm pleased that we have heard this statement this afternoon. It is astonishing and disgraceful, if truth be told, that it's...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I think what we're starting to realise is the importance of gender-specific healthcare in its widest meaning, and the need to tailor healthcare for the needs of more than half the population. It's not just specifically about gender-specific conditions or illnesses, it's the fact that women have not featured enough in our thinking about conditions that affect both men and women, but where...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'll conclude my contribution now. We have to make that shift from needing to spend a great deal because we fail to treat people in time to spending less through preventing these issues in the first instance, and this is an excellent example of that.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move those amendments. This is a very important debate. It's a timely debate, and I'm very pleased that the motion was put forward by the Conservatives. I attended an event in Cardiff Bay earlier this month—the Deputy Minister spoke during that event—organised by Diabetes UK Cymru and sponsored by James Evans, where attention was given to a campaign...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: First of all, may I thank my fellow committee members for having collaborated with you on this report? I'd like to thank the clerking team and the wider support team and the research team, and everyone who shared with us as a committee their experiences and their expertise as we tried to better understand the impact of long waiting times for treatment. We're at risk at the moment of almost...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Since 2018, the policy in Wales is that eye care and the kind of care that is provided is based on the level of risk. It was innovative in that regard, with patients being seen according to how much risk they face. And the highest risk factor is for those who face the risk of irreversible harm. And for people with eye problems, that means the risk of losing their sight. Now, in order for a...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I thank the Minister for the statement. I know he shares my frustration about the way this has been handled, the seeming indecision of UK Government about these elements of border control and the implications of that, of course, for Welsh Government, for local government and also for the community of Holyhead. It's with regret again that we hear of what appears to be more lack of fundamental...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 'We need a sense of urgency'.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: That's what the chief executive of Cancer Research UK said today, because I'm afraid we haven't seen that sense of urgency from the Welsh Government recently.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much for that response. I have just sponsored an event celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Cancer Research UK, and, while celebrating the work that has been done through research to improve survival rates, there was a warning that we're in danger of seeing the progress coming to an end now. The impact of the pandemic has meant that people are waiting 16 times longer than...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 4. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's cancer services action plan? OQ58285
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much for that response. I declare an interest as the father of one pupil who's studying A-levels, but I know that I speak on behalf of many other pupils and parents who are very concerned about the A-level exams this year in the context of COVID. These are students who've never sat an external exam before because their GCSEs and AS-levels were cancelled. Yet, a greater...
