David Melding: Item 6 is the Marketing of Seeds and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Wales) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. I call on the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to move the motion—Lesley Griffiths.
David Melding: Diolch yn fawr. I now hand the chair back to the Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm not sure we have a smooth transition here. Has the Deputy Presiding Officer returned yet?
David Melding: Can we unmute the DPO? Well, whilst we are dealing with this technical difficulty, I will call the next item.
David Melding: And finally, Mike Hedges.
David Melding: Thank you very much, Minister.
David Melding: We now move to item 5, which is a statement by the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language, and this is on promoting the use of Welsh in families. I call the Minister, Eluned Morgan.
David Melding: And finally, Rhianon Passmore.
David Melding: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer.
David Melding: We move to item 4, which is the statement by the Minister for Education—an update on qualifications for 2021. I call the Minister, Kirsty Williams.
David Melding: Thank you, Minister. Can I urge that the mental health ministerial delivery oversight board that you have established looks at this? You also reflect on the recent report of the Senedd's Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, which looked at the pandemic and its implications. We will have people with long COVID, we've become increasingly aware of post syndromes—post polio, for instance,...
David Melding: Thank you for that answer, Minister. I'm sure we would all in the Senedd want to pass our congratulations on to healthcare staff who've been able to provide a remarkable amount of non-related-to-COVID care in this terrible public health emergency. However, we now know that, as the second wave has been so much more serious than the first, even, nearly half of in-patients, for example, in Cwm...
David Melding: Minister, that's an encouraging answer, but I think we all acknowledge these are front-line workers and the importance of domiciliary care in allowing frail and older people to live to the maximum degree possible in terms of well-being is really crucial. And I'd like to know, given the fragmented service, much of it in the independent or private sector, what support is given to domiciliary...
David Melding: 6. What measures are in place to ensure that hospitals can continue to provide acute care not related to COVID-19? OQ56140
David Melding: 5. What measures are in place to support patients with mental health conditions following COVID-19 treatment? OQ56141
David Melding: Minister, I also want to speak for the leaseholders. They applied due diligence, and, because of catastrophic building regulation failure, inspection and, it has to be said, quality of build, they are now in blighted properties. Many of them are young, they want to start families, they cannot move, and they are in properties that are unsuitable to raise children. Now, there's only one way out...
David Melding: Minister, may I take this opportunity to invite you to congratulate Headlands special school in Penarth, which has recently received a recognition of excellence award from the High Sheriff of South Glamorgan because of the innovative way it has responded to the pandemic, particularly in distance and blended learning? One of the key things has been active outreach, whether this be telephone...
David Melding: I thank the Minister for that answer, but the public interest is definitely served by more transparency, and this has been a long journey, and there's still a long way to go. We are, quite properly, demanding of local government in their financial statements and the information, indeed, they send to their council tax payers, and I think a similar process of public engagement is required so...
David Melding: I'm particularly concerned about the SME sector, which has been very badly hit by the COVID crisis, which has closed up high streets and imposed—necessarily, of course—very different working methods. For the health of our high streets, for the health of the foundational economy—and much of our economic strategy is on building up the SME sector—can you assure us that it will receive a...
David Melding: 7. What measures are in place to improve the transparency of the Welsh Government's budget process? OQ56082
David Melding: What plans are in place to provide additional career advice to Welsh graduates in response to the labour market contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?
