Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'm of course pleased to hear the Minister say that services and access to services are crucial. We're all agreed on that, but it's true that many people are having difficulty accessing the support that they need. If you look at Stats Wales data, we see that the numbers referred to mental health services at a local level reduced by over a quarter in the nine months to December, as compared to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. Will the Minister outline what steps the Welsh Government has taken to secure access to mental health services during the pandemic?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: There is still a lack of understanding on how hard long COVID can hit people. Even if they don't have to go to hospital, it can take many weeks for some people to recover from COVID and the symptoms of COVID. I've heard of one individual who was threatened with disciplinary action from her employer unless she returned to work within a fortnight. She, as it happens, has recovered now but it...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you. I want to turn now to the long-term impact of COVID-19. It's wonderful that the vaccination process is developing well, but many people will wait a long time before getting a vaccination, including young people, and they are also open to acute and serious risk, as we have seen in the most painful manner on Anglesey over the past few days in light of the deaths of two young men,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, you will be aware that a group of organisations wrote to the UK Prime Minister on measures to protect health and care workers from the virus. They say that steps to reduce airborne transmission have been insufficient and they are calling for an improvement in ventilation and for changes in PPE guidance in order to protect the workforce. Will you work proactively...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 8. Will the Minister make a statement on support for tourism businesses in Ynys Môn? OQ56318
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. We will be supporting these regulations; indeed, we have supported the extension of the Act for some time. One question, if I may: given the events of the past 12 months and the uncertainty that there is in terms of how many committed but very tired staff could choose to leave the profession because of the stresses that they have been through,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch. Thank you for the statement and, again, I would want to thank everybody involved in the quite remarkable vaccination efforts in all parts of Wales. The first issue I want to raise is on communication. The First Minister said, a week ago, on the Radio 4 Today programme, that people aged over 50 were imminently about to receive their invitations for their vaccine. He said, and I quote,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: This is a Bill that nobody wants to see. We're all eager to see the people of Wales deciding as soon as possible, on the day appointed—6 May—as to who should formulate the Welsh Government for the next years. But, the crisis that we have lived through has been unprecedented in modern times, and the truth is that this virus is not one that respects the democratic process. However, I don't...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally move.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I speak to amendment 16 in this group. Again, in the case of this amendment, as with the other two, there have been constructive discussions between Plaid Cymru and the Government, and the amendment before us is a very positive compromise, I believe. The intention of the amendment is to place a duty on the First Minister to make a proactive statement to the Senedd saying one way or the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: No, but I would like to say thank you again for the collaboration on these amendments; they strengthen the Bill without doubt.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I'll speak to the two amendments that we have here: amendments 15 and 17. As was mentioned yesterday during Stage 2 proceedings, there have been constructive discussions with Government in order to find a wording that was acceptable to both Ministers and ourselves, so there's been a compromise and the agreement that we reached is before us today. The intention of...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The Minister can make as many excuses as she likes about what happened in 2019-20 and 2020-21, but the reality is that the Government has failed to use an opportunity there to invest in the future of Wales. I'll quote Gerry Holtham again: 'Failing to borrow in two successive financial years seems unambitious. Not knowing the capital allocation is not a decisive reason because they know what...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The Minister says she doesn't agree with my assessment. It's not my assessment; it's just a statement of where we're at. We're not the only ones advocating using the facilities that we have. In that article I mentioned, economist Gerry Holtham is quoted as saying that the Welsh Government should be able to manage its budget to ensure it makes far more use of its capital borrowing powers. He...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'm sure the Minister will have read the damning article in BusinessLive on 2 February, which highlighted the fact that the Welsh Government failed to use its full borrowing powers in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Can the Minister explain why the Welsh Government underused the current borrowing powers, particularly given the problems that we are facing as a result of the pandemic? Why did the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. These are very exceptional circumstances. The COVID pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on public expenditure in Wales and, to add to the complexity in terms of dealing with that, the timing of UK Government announcements on allocations and on fiscal decisions makes it very difficult for the Welsh Government and ourselves as a Senedd to plan for the future, even...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Taking both items 7 and 8 separately, the first on extending restrictions on international travel. I have no further comment to make on those, other than that the rationale underpinning these regulations is very sensible. In terms of item 8, there are a number of changes here. I have no particular comment to make on the decision to allow automatic car washes to remain open. I am pleased that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I thank the Deputy Minister for the statement. Plaid Cymru has, of course, undertaken a significant amount of work through our care commission, which made the case for a national health and care service, and for a major shift towards preventing ill health and keeping people living independently. But, ours did so because that's what's best for people receiving the service. So, I'm surprised...
