Caroline Jones: Diolch, Simon. Thank you very much for that question. The Commission is committed to minimising waste, including reducing plastic on the estate, and we are proud to have achieved our commitment to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill to zero by 2018. We are working to reduce single-use plastic on the estate, switching to compostable alternatives where possible within the next six...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. As I said when you unveiled it, the new treatment fund is a most welcome addition to the NHS as it can speed up access to vital treatments for all patients, and not simply people suffering with a cancer diagnosis. I welcome the news that some medicines have taken just 17 days to become available under the new treatment fund, and this is...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, Shropdoc has provided out-of-hours GP services to Powys for 22 years, but, like every part of the NHS, they've also felt financial pressures. The decision not to renew the contract is extremely disappointing, as Shropdoc have provided one of the best out-of-hours services in the country and provided a first-class service to the people of Powys. First Minister, can you assure...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank the committee clerks and all those who gave evidence to our committee during our inquiry into primary care clusters. Primary care clusters have the potential to transform the care delivered in our communities, but whilst we saw some excellent examples of successful clusters, there is a large variation in performance. Many GPs expressed their disappointment at the clusters....
Caroline Jones: You're taking an amount of time.
Caroline Jones: I do understand.
Caroline Jones: It's all right; you're welcome. Studies have found that THC, the principal psychoactive substance within the cannabis plant, can cause cognitive defects, particularly if taken long term. Recent medical evidence strongly suggests that the long-term use of cannabis by people who begin use at an early age—they display a higher tendency towards mental health problems and other physical and...
Caroline Jones: Yes, certainly.
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank Mark, Leanne, Mike and Rhun for bringing forward this debate today. Cannabis has many medicinal benefits. It can be used to control pain, treat spasticity, help with the side effects of chemotherapy, and new studies show it can help control epileptic seizures in children. We are only just beginning, though, to understand the possible benefits that cannabis can deliver, and I...
Caroline Jones: Minister, every year, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans, costing at least £6.2 billion in damage to marine ecosystems and killing an estimated 1 million seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals and untold numbers of fish. Supermarkets use ridiculous amounts of unnecessary plastic packaging, simply adding to the problem. Wales led the way on single-use carrier bags. Let's lead...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. I would also like to place on record my thanks to Dr Ruth Hussey and the panel for the excellent work they've undertaken for their report and their recommendations. The report starkly lays out in black and white the actions we need to take if we are to deliver sustainable health and care now and in the future. Dr Hussey and her team have done...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, sadly we see the results when our health boards and local authorities fail to work together effectively: patients forced to stay in hospital far longer than necessary, or patients discharged without a care package in place. First Minister, I have been contacted by numerous elderly patients that have been left to fend for themselves after being discharged from hospital. What is...
Caroline Jones: Yes.
Caroline Jones: I think that when there was a right to buy scheme, I think the money that was taken from the right to buy scheme should have been reinvested in social housing. These families need homes urgently, yet there is not enough social housing to meet that need. The Welsh Government has a target to build around 4,000 affordable homes a year, yet only three quarters of that amount were built last...
Caroline Jones: I'm delighted to take part in this very important debate today and I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing it to our attention. Homelessness in the twenty-first century is morally reprehensible. We have a duty to ensure, with regard to homes being built, that demand meets supply. It's called forward planning. Putting an end to homelessness is one of the key reasons I entered politics. In the...
Caroline Jones: Sorry. What strategy do you have planned for next year so that all GPs and hospital staff can meet to combat this? Thank you.
Caroline Jones: Cabinet Secretary, despite your own evidence in our committee about winter pressures and how they impact upon the NHS in Wales, we never seem to learn from these experiences; we always seem to be caught on the hop, as though winter pressure was something new. The word 'unprecedented' appears to come out every time, as if this word excuses the very fact that we are not learning from past...
Caroline Jones: —there are unintended consequences.
Caroline Jones: Yes. Similarly, tourism and culture developments in my area, at sites in Bridgend, are welcome. I am certainly happy to hear about the town centre development in Neath, but at the same time I am concerned, because, sometimes, when town centres are regenerated, redeveloped—
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. 'Our Valleys, Our Future' is an exciting opportunity to embrace, but the documents are a stark admission that previous programmes, some of which have been initiated by the Welsh Government, have either failed or fallen short. Even the chair of the ministerial taskforce for the south Wales Valleys says in the initial document this summer, and I quote: 'If we are to...
