Llyr Gruffydd: When Gareth Bale made his first appearance for his country, as a substitute against Trinidad and Tobago back in 2006, we all knew, didn't we, as a nation, that we had a special talent on our hands, but nobody, I think, could have foreseen how exceptional his contribution and his footballing career would be: breaking the world record transfer fee, of course, when he moved to Real Madrid, and...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you to the Minister for her statement. I think what we need to do at the outset is to thank those individuals who have put themselves forward to be advocates for their communities, although perhaps they don't feel that that's what it is, particularly in the current climate of having to make cuts to services and so on. Certainly, nobody goes into local government to do that. But, it does...
Llyr Gruffydd: You say in your statement, Minister, that 12 per cent of bed capacity in the NHS is now full as a result of delayed discharges, and in response to that, of course, you say that you've secured an additional 500 community beds for step-down care. Clearly, that is to be welcomed. It would be good to hear where they are. As a Member in north Wales, I would be interested in hearing how many of...
Llyr Gruffydd: —from the private sector that, of course, is supposed to be available to them on the NHS?
Llyr Gruffydd: A constituent has contacted me who is a dental nurse. She suffers with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. Clearly, that impacts her ability to work, but it also has an impact on her well-being and quality of life. She was told before the summer that she would have to wait 12 months for treatment, but only if it was an emergency. It was confirmed in September that it was an emergency but...
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, thank you for that confirmation because we all recognise that it's very difficult to make progress with this agenda without a workforce that's empowered with the skills to deliver many of the interventions needed to achieve net zero. The Minister for Climate Change did emphasise to the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee recently that she couldn't emphasise...
Llyr Gruffydd: 7. Will the Minister provide an update on the Government's proposed net-zero skills action plan? OQ58886
Llyr Gruffydd: 5. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to tackle waiting times for treatment in north Wales? OQ58885
Llyr Gruffydd: How does the Welsh Government support access to Welsh-medium education?
Llyr Gruffydd: Yes, there we are. Well done. And that'll be on the record forever.
Llyr Gruffydd: Yes. Thank you very much for that. [Laughter.] I think the point made by Huw, actually—interim, yes; invaluable, no. We do want to say a hearty 'thank you' to the interim assessor for the work that she is doing. It is very much appreciated.
Llyr Gruffydd: It's an important point: we're not criticising the assessor here—to the contrary, in light of the capacity and the resources available to her, she is doing as much as we could expect and more, so we thank her for that. But I just want to conclude by saying that of course we as a committee will continue to scrutinise and be dissatisfied until we see legislation coming forward, and, of...
Llyr Gruffydd: Yes, I will, of course.
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and thank you to everyone who's contributed to the debate. A particular thanks to the Minister for her positive response in responding to the debate, which was also reflected in the fact that the recommendations have been accepted in full, and we appreciate that.
Llyr Gruffydd: I'm going to say this in a positive way—please don't think I'm trying to make a broader point—but having a Brexiteer bemoan the loss of EU environmental governance and EU environmental protections should be seen as a positive thing, Minister, because we are where we are—you know, we're not revisiting that—but it shows that there's political unanimity behind you in moving on this....
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. At the start of the sixth Senedd, the committee agreed to scrutinise the ongoing operation of the interim environmental protection measures that we have here in Wales. Members will recall, I'm sure, that these measures were put in place to address widespread concern about the impending environmental governance gap in Wales following the UK's departure from the...
Llyr Gruffydd: This Bill, as we've just heard, has received cross-party support during its journey through the Senedd, but it's also been slightly contentious because of the Welsh Government insisted on using an expedited scrutiny process for it. Now, I'm not suggesting that Senedd procedures have been misused, but what we have seen is far from being good practice. The Climate Change, Environment and...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. I want to share with you the experience of a constituent of mine who's a nurse and suffers with carpal tunnel syndrome on both hands. That causes the hands to swell, it brings a burning pain and shooting pain up the arms up to the elbows and, as she is a dental nurse, that has an impact on her ability to work. It also has an impact on her quality of life and...
Llyr Gruffydd: 4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the increased use of private health care by patients awaiting treatment on the NHS? OQ58843
Llyr Gruffydd: And let's contrast what we have and what we have, is what I'm trying to say, because the shared prosperity fund is an unashamed political construct, hastily cobbled together to fill a vacuum left behind after Brexit, forcing, effectively, the recreation of a wheel that was already in place. The Welsh Government had a framework, co-developed over a number of years with the Organisation for...
