Delyth Jewell: 1. What assessment has the First Minister made of hospital capacity in South Wales East? OQ57425
Delyth Jewell: At the outset, I would say that I don't doubt the commitment of Ministers and the First Minister, who faced atrocious circumstances last year. This shouldn't be about personal attacks. I'm going to concentrate on a specific issue that I think exemplifies the need for a Welsh-specific COVID inquiry. On 27 April 2020, I was contacted by a care home manager who thought that COVID was brought...
Delyth Jewell: I know the RSPCA is also concerned that trail hunting is acting like a smokescreen, allowing fox hunting to continue. For Members who aren't aware of how this works, trail hunting involves using the urine, body parts or carcasses of foxes, deer or hares being laid on a trail for dogs to follow, and, although traditional hunts, as we've heard, have been banned, training hounds to follow these...
Delyth Jewell: On Sunday evening, Trefnydd, Boris Johnson's broadcast was on Welsh tv screens saying that everyone would receive a third vaccination by the end of the year. Now, at the time, this was an England-only announcement, and this isn't the first time for the Prime Minister to have made a statement broadcast on Welsh tv screens that was not relevant to us. The one in May was much worse, when Mr...
Delyth Jewell: First Minister, Boris Johnson has told people living in the UK that two vaccines are no longer enough to protect against the omicron variant. In Africa, 70 per cent of front-line health workers haven't had one dose. That, as we've been discussing, is in large part because of the intransigence of Governments like the UK and Switzerland, blocking attempts to waive patents on vaccines, when, as...
Delyth Jewell: This is a terribly timely debate as we are in the grips of what is already a difficult winter. Citizens Advice figures show that one in five people have already cut back on their food shop in the last three months to save money. One in 10 anticipate having to access crisis support this winter, like foodbanks or fuel vouchers. Crisis support, that is, to help them have things that they need to...
Delyth Jewell: Could you confirm, Minister, that the Welsh Government has received confirmation from Keir Starmer that a future Labour UK Government would provide Wales with the full Barnett share of HS2 expenditure, backdated to the first pound spent?
Delyth Jewell: Minister, taking up that exact point, Wales could lose out on £5 billion due to being excluded from Barnett consequentials for HS2 spending. This, as you'll obviously know, represents around 5 per cent of the total expended expenditure of the project. It could, of course, be much higher if the cost spirals, which is likely. In the words of the Western Mail's Will Hayward, 'The decision to...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, I fully agree that we need to be cognisant of the various challenges that the transport sector is facing. Regardless of whose fault these risks are, I struggle to see how it can be said that trains are fundamentally safe, but, maybe, at some times of the day, they're not. I saw last night that someone was quoting George Orwell on Twitter, but it was in relation to No. 10's...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Last week, the head of Transport for Wales said that travelling on their trains was fundamentally safe. Welsh Government guidance states that the following measures need to be followed to ensure COVID safety: keeping distance from other people, avoiding crowded spaces, good ventilation when in close proximity to others, and wearing face coverings. So, are these...
Delyth Jewell: Trefnydd, I'd like a statement, please, about how decisions on NHS treatments are made in Wales. Over the weekend, a constituent of mine, Maria Wallpott, won her case in the High Court after the NHS in Wales had refused to fund a specialised treatment for her cancer that is available in Scotland and England. Now, I realise fully that the Government won't be able to comment on individual...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Rhianon, I'm so delighted that you mentioned the talented Watkins brothers; their parents are very dear family friends. Music can change people's lives. We're even getting this from this short debate. Sadly, A-level music is too infrequently now being offered in schools, but young people need to be made aware of the exciting career prospects that exist for talented instrumentalists,...
Delyth Jewell: Heledd Fychan mentioned the fact that poverty was a problem for all of society and the problem of council tax arrears and the pressures that people face when bailiffs go to people's homes.
Delyth Jewell: Mike Hedges took up many of these themes, and how even basic funerals can tip people into debt—these unexpected crises that mark us. Debt doesn't come from fripperies, he said. I couldn't agree more.
Delyth Jewell: Peredur Owen Griffiths mentioned the impact the pandemic and poverty have on older people, the impact of the increase in energy bills.
Delyth Jewell: He also spoke about how credit is denied, often, to older people and how, actually, people, because of their circumstances, can be affected even more. I thank the Minister for her contribution and her update on some of the ways in which the Government is acting on this. I welcome the news about the 'Claim what's yours' campaign. I would prefer automatic benefit payment, but I do welcome the...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Llywydd, and thank you to those who've contributed to this timely debate. It's surely morally wrong for anyone to be in debt simply as a result of trying to survive, because that's what we're talking about here: families who struggle to afford basic costs, rent, or council tax to keep a roof over their heads, and bills for gas and electricity to keep them warm and fed. Sioned Williams...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, I've heard various reports about the new Grange hospital in Cwmbran, and I would stress that this is in no way a criticism of heroic front-line staff. The Royal College of Physicians' recent report calls for an urgent review of the provision of care for the elderly; they raise concerns about chronic workloads and staffing problems and they spoke about parents—patients, forgive...
Delyth Jewell: What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the standard of hospital services in South Wales East?
Delyth Jewell: I'd like to ask for a debate in Government time to discuss the funding of rail infrastructure in Wales. The disastrous underfunding of our rail network has been highlighted by the UK Government's union connectivity review, which recommends, astonishingly, improving links with England, even though it was the UK Government itself that reneged on its promise to electrify the south Wales main...
