Carwyn Jones: Betsi Cadwaladr, over the last 12 months, has been one of the best performing health boards against both cancer pathways, with performance against the 62-day pathway normally around 90 per cent and 98 per cent for the 31-day pathway. So, the experience of his constituents—I’ve no reason to doubt them—are not usual, but if he wishes to write to me with the details, I will, of course,...
Carwyn Jones: Of course, we wait to see what the figure—. Well, we have an idea what the figure will be and we wait to see how that figure will be distributed, bearing in mind, of course, that of the figure of about £130 million, £30 million has already been paid by the Welsh public sector. So, it’s money being returned, in effect, to the Welsh public sector, and we will look to use that money, as we...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. We expect the health board to continually improve access to services for the people of the north.
Carwyn Jones: Well, at present, we must first of all consider the cost for us, and, secondly, the location. Where would you locate the Expo? These are issues that we are currently considering. We know that the cost of the Expo is in excess of £1 billion, so it is a significantly expensive event, but we will consider what might be possible.
Carwyn Jones: We are currently reviewing the scope for attracting major international business events to Wales and, of course, any decision to bid for such an event would need to take detailed account of the costs and the return on that investment.
Carwyn Jones: I take it the Member refers to the Member who asked the question originally.
Carwyn Jones: Well, it’s hugely important, of course, that Members understand that the public health Bill is part of an overall strategy to improve health and well-being; they’re not standalone measures. The intention is, of course, for us to present a Bill that is as comprehensive as it can be whilst remembering, of course, the difficulties that were experienced and the strongly held views of some...
Carwyn Jones: Yes, I would. As regards alcohol, we welcome the fact that the Scottish courts have granted the will of the Scottish Executive, and that’s something that we are now studying in Wales. But, of course, the problem at the present time is the UK Government’s plan to shift this matter from Cardiff to London, and therefore the National Assembly’s powers as regards drafting legislation on this...
Carwyn Jones: I know that GP surgeries in particular have been particularly proactive in ensuring that people are aware of flu vaccinations, and are aware particularly of flu vaccinations that are available without charge to vulnerable groups. And that has proven to be successful over the last few years, and I thank GP surgeries—and pharmacists, for that matter—for the work that they’ve done.
Carwyn Jones: We know that when it comes to drug rehabilitation, it is a long road for many, many people. For some, they don’t manage at the first opportunity to kick the habit. We know that for many it is a process that takes some time. If we look at our substance misuse strategy, the review of that concluded that the main elements of the strategy had been implemented. It did identify a number of areas...
Carwyn Jones: We’re committed to using a range of evaluation mechanisms to ensure that our approach has a positive impact on people’s lives in Wales.
Carwyn Jones: The only thing that Nigel Farage has run is away. He’s never run anything. He is an individual who has no experience in terms of running anything or in terms of diplomacy. The idea of Nigel Farage being a diplomat is the equivalent of giving a child a chainsaw it would seem to me. Yes, I did see the photographs of Nigel Farage, but without his poppy, on Remembrance Day—a point I made...
Carwyn Jones: Well, he has said that he’ll put America first and any agreement with the UK will put America first and that’s what we must guard against in that respect. We will continue, as we have before, with our offices in the US, working with US companies and seeking to attract investment from the US. That will not change. Why would it change? I’m surprised when he said that nobody is advocating...
Carwyn Jones: Well, it’s right to say that the US is a major market for us. The EU is twice as big as a market and in the same way as he’s right that we have to make sure that we continue to attract investment from the US and export to the US, we also have to make absolutely sure that we’re able to access the European single market on the same terms as now. Why would we want to jeopardise our...
Carwyn Jones: Well, the royal college of GPs look at it purely in terms of the number of GPs. That’s not sufficient. We have to look at other professionals, such as occupational therapists, such as community nurses. What we don’t want is for people simply to feel that they go and see their GP as the first port of call. That would go against what Choose Well has been saying. We ask people to go to see a...
Carwyn Jones: It’s not just about GPs; it’s about all the services that the health service offers. For example, people can be diverted away from needing to go into hospital if they get support at home through social services, which is why, of course, we’ve made sure that the social services budget has not been cut to the extent that it has been elsewhere. We’ve ensured, of course, that where GP...
Carwyn Jones: Well, GP surgeries organise themselves in different ways. Some do offer appointments on that day, and I’ve seen them. Others, for reasons that they have to explain, will wait for a week or two, or sometimes even longer. That’s not acceptable for the people who they serve, but the money for winter pressures is designed, of course, to ensure that the health service is able to deal with any...
Carwyn Jones: Well, this is the difficulty with the independent contractor model: GPs do charge for services that go beyond the contract, which is why, of course, as Members have heard me say in this Chamber before, there are other models that we need to consider in the future. She has raised an important point on behalf of her constituent. If she writes to me with more details about the case she has...
Carwyn Jones: I could not disagree with either of those comments that she’s made. GPs are perfectly well qualified to make an assessment as to whether somebody should qualify for a particular benefit or not. Similarly, of course, I do worry about the fact that those people who are having to go through a number of obstacles in order to claim a benefit are being dissuaded from doing so, and that means...
Carwyn Jones: There’s no question at all in my mind that what’s been done by the UK Government with regard to benefits has targeted the most vulnerable. The bedroom tax is one example of that, and she has mentioned another example there. From my perspective, society is judged according to how well it looks after its most vulnerable, not by targeting its most vulnerable.
