Jack Sargeant: 2. How is the Welsh Government providing mental health support to young people in Alyn and Deeside? OQ56952
Jack Sargeant: I'm very grateful to be called, and I'm grateful to my colleague Joyce Watson for raising this issue. But it is with sadness that we do have to talk about these issues, but it's right that we are doing so, given recent events. I won't repeat what colleagues have said today, but, Minister, I want to be quite frank and quite clear here: it is men who have to change their behaviour, and it is...
Jack Sargeant: Diolch yn fawr, Minister, and you're right, and I'm sure that everybody both inside and outside the Chamber would agree with me that the sacrifices made by our wonderful front-line NHS staff over the last 18 months do deserve to be recognised. And that's not just because that's the right thing to do, but it's also because we need them to continue to deliver because, one, COVID hasn't gone...
Jack Sargeant: For the record, Llywydd, I've sat on the fifth generation project team at Bangor University in an unpaid position. Minister, the digital signal processing centre in Bangor is currently working with the compound semiconductor cluster to lift Wales's position in a global market. Peter Fox is right, we are leading the way, but we could strengthen our position in the global market. Now, the...
Jack Sargeant: 8. How is the Welsh Government supporting NHS Wales staff? OQ56915
Jack Sargeant: Would the Member give way?
Jack Sargeant: I appreciate that, Gareth. I was just interested, when you read the Trades Union Congress briefing, whether you considered actually joining a union—[Interruption.]—as the unions are the lifelines of so many workers and working-class people in Wales.
Jack Sargeant: Well, I'm very glad that my work on fairness has been of keen interest to the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire. The problem you have, I think, on the benches over there, as I said before—. Your colleague put it quite simply in his contribution that he doesn't care about the past, the only concerns are the future. The issue you have—[Interruption.] The issue you have with that is the...
Jack Sargeant: I'm very grateful to speak in this debate this afternoon. And it is often said that ideas have their moment—a moment in time when it makes sense to pursue them. Now, as someone who specialised in change management in my previous role as an engineer, it was my job to understand when that moment was and how to bring people around to change. That is the view I hold for the idea of a four-day...
Jack Sargeant: Llywydd, I am happy to support the Welsh Government's amendments, if they do feel they need time to capture evidence and look at trials before acting, because we must get this right. But I will say to the Government: in supporting your route to this rather than straight towards a trial, I would expect real commitment to taking this forward, and for the civil service to swiftly swing into...
Jack Sargeant: Well, I'm grateful to the Counsel General for that answer, and as he is, I'm a proud member of a trade union. I think we all should be, and I'll just point that out to my colleagues on the corner benches. [Laughter.] But the Counsel General will know that I have spoken before in this Chamber about the importance and the need to use the social partnership Bill to empower workers and trade...
Jack Sargeant: 5. Will the Counsel General make a statement on how the current devolution settlement enables the Welsh Government to promote workers' rights? OQ56861
Jack Sargeant: Trefnydd, on Friday, I will be attending the 125th birthday celebration of Tata Steel in my own constituency. My community is built on steel, as you well know, and I'm incredibly proud of that. Now, the future of steel production is low carbon, locally produced steel, and Shotton Steel should be right at the forefront of that process. Can we have a statement, a Welsh Government statement,...
Jack Sargeant: The leader of the opposition spoke about consensus at the start of this debate and I agree with him: we do need to find consensus. You won't hear me say this often, but I thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing this debate forward today—[Laughter.] But, Deputy Llywydd, I recently met with Mark King from the Oliver King Foundation, who are campaigning for a life-saving defibrillator in...
Jack Sargeant: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Llywydd, last Friday was World Suicide Prevention Day. For many of us, this day is one that brings challenges but also one that brings determination and hope—hope that, together, we can raise awareness of how we can create a world where fewer people die by suicide. The latest statistics show that, in 2018 in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, more than 6,800 people...
Jack Sargeant: I think, for the record, I'll state that I'm a proud trade union member, and I would consider people in this Chamber, Members in this Chamber, reflecting on some of the comments made during today's contributions, because in fact it was trade unions like Unite Wales in my constituency who supported Airbus and saved hundreds of jobs at Airbus throughout the pandemic, whilst the UK Conservative...
Jack Sargeant: How will the Welsh Government’s proposal for a community bank generate investment in Welsh communities?
Jack Sargeant: I thank the Minister for that answer. Access to GP services is an increasing issue in Alyn and Deeside, and this has been highlighted in recent weeks—twice, actually—at St Mark's surgery in Connah's Quay, where there is clearly a shortage of doctors, and in Queensferry, where residents are seeing their practice being moved, or potentially being moved, to Connah's Quay, because the current...
Jack Sargeant: Thank you for that answer, Minister, and thank you for the support to date. Minister, previous Welsh Labour Governments have had a strong focus on apprenticeships, a fact I should know better than most as a time-served engineer. We must train the next generation in order to deliver a green recovery and to develop the green products of the future. The Minister will know I want to see a green...
Jack Sargeant: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for businesses in Alyn and Deeside? OQ56721
