Rhun ap Iorwerth: And I applaud the work being done in Gwent too. I've been keeping an eye on the provision available there, but that provision needs to be available in all parts of Wales. And I agree entirely with you on the need to ensure availability within communities across Wales, and there's an urgency here. You will have heard me mention one-stop shops, which I and Plaid Cymru have been recommending,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I do look forward to hearing something on a far greater scale with far more urgency. Over a period of years in reports from Senedd committees and from other stakeholders we've seen a great deal of evidence of where we're not getting things right in Wales in terms of assisting our young people with mental health problems. One of the problems is that people who don't fit the narrow medical...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Minister, a report was published yesterday that stated that one in four young persons had failed to cope with the challenges of the past 12 months. The reasons for that are quite clear, but if we are to avoid a mental health pandemic, then we must put services in place now to assist these young people. So, what investments in services are you planning?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch. I must say, I'm disappointed that you seem to be brushing off my questions as being hypothetical ones. I want to see Welsh Government preparing for different eventualities, because if we've learnt something of the last year, it's that this pandemic can throw all sorts of curve balls at us and we need to be preparing for different outcomes. Now, with case numbers thankfully falling, as...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: That doesn't answer my question. I wasn't asking whether you would change policy, I was asking if you had the capacity within your systems to take a new path if necessary and what preparations are being made for that. If I may move on, clearly, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that has been favoured, because it is more flexible; it's easier to store and to transport and so on and so forth. But,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. This morning there's been a suggestion that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation could recommend changes to the priority groups for vaccination if evidence, which is starting to emerge, demonstrates that vaccination has an impact on the transfer of the virus too—not only does it prevent people from becoming ill, but it protects those around them too. I...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch, Weinidog. Getting vaccination right is very, very important. It is the light at the end of the tunnel, the hope so many people have been clinging to. There has to be real confidence among the population that things are on track. People waiting for the vaccine for themselves or their loved ones are being told, 'Don't call us, we'll call you.' If people are being asked to be patient,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will the Minister make a statement on the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Wales following reports that the Welsh Government’s policy is to gradually distribute vaccinations rather than to vaccinate as many people as possible in the shortest time possible? (EQ0008)
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer; thank you for the opportunity to participate in this debate. I've raised a number of times in the virtual Chamber, and in correspondence with Government over the past few months, the need to do everything possible through the difficult days of the pandemic to ensure that people do receive support and encouragement to exercise, to access fresh...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Okay. I'll just reiterate once more that this has to be a priority, surely. We're talking about children living in poverty needing every help that they can get, and out of a total budget of £22 billion surely £33 million has to be found. We've seen the shame of the inadequate food boxes. We've seen the frustration and anger triggered by the Marcus Rashford campaign. Let's get this sorted....
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, and I fully understand that it's a matter of prioritisation, but I hope that you as finance Minister would agree that there isn't a much greater priority than providing the necessary support for children living in poverty and, indeed, bringing them out of poverty. Having undertaken those costings, you decided for some reason that this wasn't a sufficient priority to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. There's been quite some coverage across the UK this week on free school meals following the scandal of the inadequate meals provided by private contractors to children in England during the pandemic. But support, generally speaking, is still inadequate for children living in poverty in Wales; we've already referred during this session to extending free school...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I have no further comments to make. Apologies. I've nothing to add to the comments made by the Chair of the health committee, of which I am a member. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I want to keep my comments relatively brief. I will refer briefly to agenda items 7, 8 and 9. First of all, item 7 is the regulations on the change of the date of introduction of restrictions in December. The second relates to the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m., and a change to regulations in terms of travel from South Africa is covered in item 9. I have no comments to make on those, if truth...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the statement, which comes in very difficult circumstances, of course. If we look at the incredible year we've lived through, it's become more apparent than ever that the restrictions that the UK Treasury places on the Welsh Government and its ability to forward plan is a very serious problem for us here in Wales, and the frustrations around that are the greatest fiscal...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the statement. It's good to have the chance to make a few comments and ask four or five questions as well. I'm glad we now have a rough guide to the timetable that the Welsh Government is hoping to follow. I wrote to the Minister on Saturday evening and I asked for targets so we could measure performance against them. But can I just have a little bit more detail, please? You...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We're told by Welsh Government that we are getting our share in Wales. If so, we can concentrate on what's happening in the distribution of the vaccines within Wales. Seeing statistics suggesting we're way behind the curve on roll-out is very worrying, and seeing statistics painting a picture of Wales lagging behind, with around half the doses administered in Wales per head of the population...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'm pleased that we have this additional opportunity to have an update from Government, and an opportunity to ask some questions. May I start by sincerely thanking all of those health and care workers who have been working so very hard under such immense pressure over the Christmas period? The number of cases has been frighteningly high in large parts of Wales, and whilst there are some...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Of course, there is some provision—school counselling, for example. The development of mental health in the new curriculum is ongoing too. But that transition between youth and adult services, the major gaps in services, the constant gate-keeping of people being told that they are not ill enough, remain major problems that have to be addressed. That's why Plaid Cymru has proposed creating...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Chair. I'm very pleased to take part in this debate on the importance of support for mental health to our young people. There are several years that have passed now since the Centre for Mental Health published a report on mental health services across the United Kingdom—a report that found that children and young people who face mental health issues go, on average, 10...
