Altaf Hussain: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I have agreed to give a minute of my time to Joel James. My short debate this afternoon will focus on living with cancer. We all know the stats: one in two of us will develop cancer at some point in our lifetime. Cancer used to be a certain death sentence, but thankfully more and more people are surviving cancer. Across the UK, over 3 million people...
Altaf Hussain: According to your consultation document, between 2014 and 2020 there were over 450 corporate investments into Wales across a broad range of sectors and businesses, many of which involved R&D activity. They delivered over 21,200 new jobs, with a further 18,300 being safeguarded, representing a capital investment into Wales of £3.8 million. What does this tell us about the scope for further...
Altaf Hussain: Thank you, Minister. Minister, I have been campaigning for the restoration of bus services in parts of Bridgend and Pen-y-fai following the decision of the Easyway bus company to cease trading. People living in Pen-y-fai and the other affected areas who are without cars have no means of going shopping, visiting the hospital or accessing many other services unless they pay for a taxi, and...
Altaf Hussain: 3. How successful has the Welsh Government been at getting people out of their cars and onto public transport? OQ58553
Altaf Hussain: Minister, last week, Bridgend council concluded its public consultation into the planned expansion of Bridgend College in the town centre. This exciting plan includes a main building with a 200 seat auditorium, providing a base for departments covering performing arts, catering, visual arts, business, cosmetology, hair and beauty, additional learning needs and independent living skills. A...
Altaf Hussain: Thank you, First Minister, for these figures. First Minister, shamefully, we lag behind other nations in offering them a bowel cancer screening service to people aged 50 and over. This is a national disgrace. People living in Scotland and in England are offered bowel cancer screening, and have done for years. It is quite unbelievable that you've not extended the screening programme to that...
Altaf Hussain: Thanks, health Minister. Does it include an observation ward of 30 or 50 beds attached to each A&E department and district general hospital? It will be that ward that you could be using for these extra patients who are fit for discharge, but not going home.
Altaf Hussain: Thanks, Jenny. I have worked in the hospital, and apart from nursing care and apart from social services, it is the discharge summary that is never prepared on time. And that discharge summary comes from the most junior doctor in the department when it should be coming from the consultant when he is taking the ward round and discharging the patient. That should be done as early as possible.
Altaf Hussain: Minister, we all know that early diagnosis of bowel cancer is vital. It is a fact that nearly everyone who is diagnosed at the earliest stage will survive. Yet, for years, we have failed to detect this illness quickly enough in Wales. We were ranked twenty-fifth out of 29 European countries for our five-year survival rate. With half of bowel cancer patients being diagnosed at a late stage,...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, we know that many educationalists have, for years, called for a focus on the science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. In Swansea this year, maths was the most popular A-level subject and acknowledged as one of the toughest subjects. No fewer than 59.6 per cent achieved A* or A with 85.7 per cent attaining a C grade or above. This is an exceptional result. What can...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, in 2011, the Welsh Government published a circular called 'Measuring the capacity of schools in Wales', to support local authorities to plan school places, to report on surplus capacity and to set school admission numbers. Now, using data, as my colleague Sarah Murphy has rightly said—we use data to plan our school places—is vital, like birth rates, the number of new-build...
Altaf Hussain: The NHS is a great concern for all of us here, and you can see that. Minister, we all appreciate the challenges faced by our health service in responding to a range of pressures. People are unable to have treatment or surgery quickly enough; patients well enough to leave hospital are not able to go home quickly enough; and some people are ending up in hospital with conditions that could be...
Altaf Hussain: How many visits to hospitals in South Wales West has the First Minister undertaken since becoming First Minister?
Altaf Hussain: I want to thank my colleagues for tabling this debate this afternoon. Migraine is a curse for those who suffer from it. In adults, it can be debilitating, but for young people, adolescents in particular, it can have a major impact on their schooling, their families and their social lives. Deputy Presiding Officer, I am not entirely sure what the current Welsh Government guidance is for...
Altaf Hussain: As social justice Minister, you're responsible for community safety. I'm sure you will agree with me that organisations working in our communities with the police as part of our community safety partnerships are absolutely vital if we are to tackle those concerns that matter the most to people. What discussions have you had with the police and crime commissioners about the effectiveness of...
Altaf Hussain: Minister, there's a growing campaign in Bridgend to reinstate bus services that have stopped, following the decision of Easyway bus company to cease trading. In my view, the council has a duty to its residents to ensure that public transport is accessible for people living in Oaklands, Broadlands and Pen-y-fai, as well as supporting those who need public transport to access Glanrhyd Hospital....
Altaf Hussain: The cancer quality statement is totally inadequate, as you said, and needs to be replaced as soon as possible. The Welsh Government needs to develop a laser-like focus on cancers in general in Wales and produce a strategy to tackle them. All this will inform and guide not just doctors and other clinical staff, but also the managers who need to understand what the priorities will be going forward.
Altaf Hussain: Minister, many people are worried about the cost of living. Many now fear that your consultation on the future of council tax will mean that more households will pay a lot more in tax as the last revaluation did. Council tax, along with mortgage or rents and energy costs are now the biggest outgoings a family will face and next year are also predicted to bring financial hardship to many. Has...
Altaf Hussain: 1. What discussions has the Minister had with colleagues in local government on the future of council tax? OQ58421
Altaf Hussain: Minister, Swansea Council together with the Welsh Government are planning to strengthen the sea defences at Mumbles. This is a welcome investment, and I understand that most of the cost will be provided through the coastal risk management programme. These schemes, whilst they react to the threat of global warming and rising sea levels, should give confidence to communities and businesses...
