Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much for taking the intervention, and can I thank you also for making that series of very constructive suggestions? I'm particularly interested in the second of those, which seems to me to mirror exactly the kind of conversation that we are asking to take place on potentially how reorganisation could work and the benefits that could come from that. Can you confirm that you are...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Yesterday, a suite of interventions, too weak, too late, were announced by Welsh Government—a Welsh Government that has failed to address the problems of Betsi Cadwaladr time and time again. The suite of interventions was in response to more damning reports—hugely damning reports. But where's the next report? Experience tells us that it may not be very far away. Betsi Cadwaladr University...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to move the amendment formally. We've been here before, haven't we? We've been here so many times previously, and it saddens me. There's no criticism of staff here; indeed, in the face of all the questions about the health board, we need to do more to support them. We thank you for your tireless service, and that goes for front-line staff,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The Minister says that there are pockets of excellence within Betsi Cadwaladr. Well, yes, there are. I wrote to the chief executive and chair recently following the publication of cancer figures showing that there was good work happening in north Wales. We do understand that. The Minister, I know, is eager for us to bear in mind the need to support staff through all of this. I couldn't agree...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the statement. I fear that, however you look at this, the timing of this today doesn't reflect well on the Welsh Government. Indeed, it demonstrates once again how little understanding and how little appreciation there is within the Welsh Government of the gravity of the situation at Betsi Cadwaladr health board.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: This is a very weak response to an extremely serious situation, I fear—an extension of targeted intervention, rather than a real rolling up of sleeves to deal with a problem that is causing so much anguish to staff and patients across the north. An extension of targeted intervention—why end here when there are so many problems right across Betsi Cadwaladr? The problems I've brought to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It's a very brief one. And, of course, local authorities do say how difficult it is for them to deal with the administrative burden of this. In response to what Darren Millar said, yes, of course we have, as Members of the Senedd, an opportunity to scrutinise decisions taken by Welsh Government. That is our role as parliamentarians, and does the Member for Ogmore agree that the danger in...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: As the Member for the Vale of Clwyd wouldn't take an intervention, I'll make the point that I was going to make then. One of the positives that could come out of disinvesting in this way would be to persuade those companies that have traditionally made their profits from fossil fuels to change direction. It is about persuading them to work in an ethical way by saying, 'We'll invest in that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. With costs increasing so much, it's more important than ever that agriculture can be as productive as possible, and making the best use of the best land is part of that. I'm pleased, in the context of bids for solar schemes, that there is a strengthening view now that we need to retain our best and most versatile land for agriculture. And perhaps the Minister could...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 5. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to respond to the cost crisis in agriculture? OQ58105
Rhun ap Iorwerth: This is a plan that highlights the key issues, the important issues, the challenges, of course, facing people with learning disabilities, their families and paid carers. I think it's fair to say it's hard to disagree with the aspirations, but where detail is lacking in elements of implementation, I think it's really important that we push Government for those details. One of the elements...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: May I draw the First Minister's attention to the Parc Del Fryn housing estate in Brynteg in my constituency? It's a development I've highlighted many times over the years, and it's attracted attention again now as more homes are built. It's a wonderful village—I'm not sure if the First Minister is familiar with it—and these look like ideal homes for young couples to buy or rent for the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 8. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to protect community interests in the planning process? OQ58114
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We've spoken a great deal about health inequalities recently. We spoke about them in the context of women's health a few minutes ago. The inequalities that people with serious mental illness face are very significant. They're more likely to face physical health issues and they die, on average, 15 to 20 years younger. It's estimated that two out of three people with serious mental illnesses...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Serious mental illnesses, SMIs, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, often first develop between the ages of 14 and 25. It's a critical stage for young people, because of the neurological, biological and cognitive changes of adolescence to young adulthood. It's a time of big change in their lives, reaching major educational milestones. We often talk, don't we, about the need for early...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm very pleased to be able to contribute to this debate, and I'm very grateful that it has been proposed. Mental health is an issue that we discuss often in the Senedd now, and that's good to see, as opposed to the situation in the past where mental health had next to no attention and was swept under the carpet. But, as I said, it's good to have an...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The gender gap in heart disease we've heard about today. It's costing women's lives. And that groundbreaking report in 2019, 'Bias and biology: The heart attack gender gap', by the British Heart Foundation, really opened my eyes to what was happening, or what was not happening, in the treatment of heart disease in women: heart attacks in women being misdiagnosed as anxiety or panic attacks....
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Thank you for every contribution to this important debate today and for the Minister's response. This is an area that has been neglected for far too long, and it's remarkable that it has been neglected for so long. There has been, I think, some sort of awakening—and I'm not talking about Wales specifically there, but more generally. I note the work in England,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I didn't intend to speak, because I'm certainly happy to support this regulation, but I want to respond to the comment made by the health spokesperson of the Conservatives. I think it is completely sensible to use legislation in this restricted way. We see around us, even in this Chamber, how the use of face masks is changing and developing and is organic, and people make decisions about...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thanks for the statement. I welcome the focus on the potential for ports to benefit from the next generation of offshore energy generation. I've spoken with developers like BP, for example, encouraging investment in Holyhead as an offshore wind hub. The Minister will have heard me many times encouraging an honest debate about free ports and the need, for example, for the UK Government to...
