Julie Morgan: There are two issues that I wanted to raise. Lunch time today, families in Wales affected by the contaminated blood scandal met on the steps of the Senedd to make clear the impact that this has had on people in Wales. Obviously, over the summer there’ll be negotiations and discussions about what form the public inquiry will take. Obviously this has been very hard-fought-for by families in...
Julie Morgan: I welcome this debate and I welcome the new procedure of debating the petitions if they go above a certain number, and I think that’s a very welcome development. Yesterday, I went along with my colleague Jenny Rathbone and the Cabinet Secretary, Lesley Griffiths, to visit Womanby Street and to meet three of the organisers behind the campaign. The street, of course, is in Jenny’s...
Julie Morgan: I congratulate David Melding on getting this debate today, and I’m pleased to support him. As we know from the debate, arthritis isn’t just something that older people get, because I think that is often what people think. I became aware of childhood arthritis, which affects 400 children in south Wales, after being contacted by a constituent, Dawn Nyhan, and I met her and her daughter...
Julie Morgan: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that response. Campaigners and members of the Assembly cross-party group on haemophilia and contaminated blood, many of whom have campaigned for 30 years for this public inquiry, have told me that the inquiry must have the power to compel witnesses, as previous inquiries did not. There must be full disclosure of documents, because it’s alleged that some of...
Julie Morgan: What are the implications for Wales following the decision to hold a public inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal? TAQ(5)0200(HWS)
Julie Morgan: There are two issues I wanted to raise. First of all, I had been intending to ask the Welsh Government what more could be done to ensure that there was a public inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal, following the letter from all the party opposition leaders in Westminster, and, of course, support from all parties here in this Assembly. But it is great news that the Prime Minister has...
Julie Morgan: Thank you. First of all, I’d like to welcome wholeheartedly this statement today, and the fund, which obviously was a manifesto pledge, which we have delivered on. Thank goodness we were not diverted to the cancer drugs fund, as was set up in England. So, I think it’s really important, as the Cabinet Secretary has said, that the fund applies to medicines of all conditions, so that...
Julie Morgan: I welcome the response of the First Minister in First Minister’s questions to the leader of Plaid Cymru about the issue of access to free abortions for women from Northern Ireland in Wales. I wanted to applaud the efforts of Labour backbencher Stella Creasy, whose campaigning and actions resulted in the Westminster Government making this decision in England. I call for a detailed statement...
Julie Morgan: I’d like to congratulate the Government on its plans set out here in the legislative programme for the next year. I particularly welcome the progress that we’re going to make on the 30 hours a week of free childcare offer, because I think that’ll be of huge importance to parents, and I do think that this is a very ambitious pledge, and it’s absolutely essential that we work it out in...
Julie Morgan: Last week we had the awful news that Tesco will be making 1,100 employees redundant from its customer service centre on Maes-y-Coed Road in my constituency of Cardiff North. I had a meeting with senior managers last Thursday and on Friday I visited the site with my colleague Jenny Rathbone and with Anna McMorrin, the newly elected Labour MP for Cardiff North. We met the employees who were...
Julie Morgan: I know the First Minister is aware that deaf children and children with poor communication skills are more likely to be the target of abuse than other children. In January, in a short debate, I highlighted the abuse suffered by children at a special school for deaf children in Llandrindod Wells in the 1950s, where, sadly, it was the children with poor speech skills who were being targeted,...
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, for calling me to speak in this very important debate. I’m not a member of the committee, but I’d like to congratulate the committee and the Chair on the extensive work that has gone into this report and I think it’s very good that we’re able to debate it during Refugee Week, and I welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has accepted...
Julie Morgan: I know the Cabinet Secretary’s department is aiming to increase economic development in Wales and move towards prosperity for all. But is he aware of the announcement made by Tesco today that it plans to close Tesco House in Cardiff North in my constituency, with the loss of 1,200 jobs, and that the call-centre work will be moving to Dundee, where they’ll be creating 200 jobs? This...
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, for calling me to move this very important motion, supported by Hefin David, Dai Lloyd, Angela Burns and Mark Isherwood. We have started out on a journey in Wales in the last two years to identify and treat everyone who has the blood-borne virus hepatitis C. In this motion today, we are calling on the Welsh Government to reconfirm its commitment...
Julie Morgan: Diolch. I wanted to speak very briefly just to thank you, from all parties, for your tributes, because they are deeply comforting. I know that to be First Minister here for Rhodri was the pinnacle of his political career, and he loved this place. He loved this Parliament, this Assembly. He also loved the House of Commons. He loved the thrust of politics and he had enormous enthusiasm for it....
Julie Morgan: This is something that the Conservative Government has supported, and I’m glad we agree on that issue. I wish all the parties in this Senedd agreed. Our manifesto yesterday said that we pledge to develop a targeted development agenda, based on the principles of redistribution, social justice, women’s rights and poverty reduction. And, in fact, the last Labour Government in the UK did...
Julie Morgan: I’m very proud that Labour is committed to spending 0.7 per cent of our gross national income on international development. In 2013, the UK was the first G7 country to meet its UN spending target, and Labour committed to the 0.7 per cent spending on overseas aid both in its 2015 general election manifesto, and in our manifesto published yesterday. That commitment to 0.7 per cent—I think...
Julie Morgan: I thank the Member for giving way. When one of my constituents heard about this debate, they approached me to say that they wanted attention drawn to the fact that properties are rarely let for free in return for sex, but are often at a discount, which I think the Member has just referred to. And in her experience, this is what happened in London very often, that it was at a discount that...
Julie Morgan: Just a few quick points because most of them have been covered. Going on the risk reduction, I think the six points and ‘Together for a Dementia Friendly Wales’ are absolutely crucial, and I wondered what more the Cabinet Secretary could do to publicise those steps. I think, obviously, the very important one of trying new things—Rhun ap Iorwerth brought forward the idea of learning a...
Julie Morgan: I declare an interest in this subject as I am the vice-president of George Thomas Hospice Care, based in the grounds of Whitchurch hospital in Cardiff North. This delivers specialist palliative care for Cardiff to allow people to live in their homes and maintain their independence for as long as possible. I think it is an example of good partnership working between the voluntary sector and...
