Lee Waters: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The widespread adoption of digital technologies means we don’t need to require people who are ill to travel long distances to see doctors anymore. It frustrates me that the NHS often defaults to sending letters or even faxes—surely one of the last bastions of the use of the fax machine in modern society. It’s often patient confidentiality or security...
Lee Waters: Minister, the MP for Llanelli, Nia Griffith, and I recently held a packed public meeting in Llanelli with the affected workers—an overwhelming majority of which were women—where there was strong support for the idea of co-locating with other public services in the town. To be fair to Carmarthenshire County Council, they’ve done everything they can to make options available to discuss...
Lee Waters: 6. Why can’t people routinely make appointments to see their doctor via Skype or FaceTime? OAQ(5)0129(HWS)
Lee Waters: Thank you very much. Thanks to the Welsh Government investment of some £600,000 over the last 10 years, 46 important literary works are now back in print in English. The two most recent books, ‘Ride the White Stallion’ and ‘Farewell Innocence’, by Llanelli-born author William Glynne-Jones, are an impressive addition to that canon. Just before the recess, Jon Gower and I held an event...
Lee Waters: Secretary, the Library of Wales series, thanks to Welsh Government investment—
Lee Waters: Oh, I’m very sorry.
Lee Waters: 2. What is being done to promote the Library of Wales series in schools? OAQ(5)0474(FM)
Lee Waters: Along with workers from my constituency in Trostre and in Port Talbot this afternoon, I breathed a very heavy sigh of relief at the ballot result, and it’s testimony to the commitment of the local management and the workers that, despite the grievances and misgivings they had about the way Tata has handled this over the last 12 months, they’re prepared to make a commitment to save jobs in...
Lee Waters: Thank you, Minister. Harrow Council have used big data to streamline rubbish collection and grass-cutting services, making £4 million of savings just through calculating the best routes to collect the bins and preventing overlap. Camden Council has reduced repair calls by 14 per cent by using big data to pinpoint where problems arise. When considering how the delivery of public services is...
Lee Waters: 6. What plans are there to use big data to change the way public services are delivered? OAQ(5)0088(FLG)
Lee Waters: I will.
Lee Waters: It may surprise Mark Reckless to know that I was not aware of that particular sub-clause, but I’m grateful to him for bringing it to attention. It is not acknowledged that many of the private investors here have been incredibly generous in their patience, and, without them, this project would be dead in the water. David and Heather Stevens, in particular, do not seek the limelight, but,...
Lee Waters: I’d like to touch on three topics: fish, ambition, and St David. We’ve talked about the merits of this project being a commercial project, fully reliant on private finance, as one of its many merits, but, of course, we have a regulatory environment that risks making many of these projects non-starters. We may well want patient investors, but there aren’t many irrational investors. There...
Lee Waters: Will the Member give way?
Lee Waters: Thank you very much. I think it is important, as you’ve said, that there is as much unity as possible across the Chamber on this motion and that we come together on behalf of the Welsh national interest. Having negotiated a joint motion with the Welsh Government, can you explain why you then tabled a separate motion signalling a different tactic to the old motion that you'd agreed? Is this...
Lee Waters: I take being a member of the Public Accounts Committee very seriously. I think it is one of the key committees in any parliament, and I think it’s imperative it doesn’t become a circus. I have no problem following any evidence and in holding Governments to account with rigour. But that requires all Members to take the committee seriously, to engage in its work, to read the voluminous...
Lee Waters: Minister, I must tell you that workers in Llanelli have very little faith that the DWP proposals will result in no redundancies. They have been told that, if suitable jobs can’t be found in ‘nearby’ locations, they’ll be regarded as surplus, which is code for job losses. The nearby locations, we are told, include Pembroke Dock and Cardiff, which can only be the definition of a man in...
Lee Waters: I’m out of time, I’m very sorry.
Lee Waters: There’s an echo here. I’m out of time, sorry. And accept that the new model can’t simply rely on GPs, as in days of yore. Thank you.
Lee Waters: Let me just develop my point a little. Policies they suggested just six years ago of proper dress in the theatre, repainting the trains in traditional colours, more swearing allegiance to the Queen, cheaper beer and bringing back imperial measures. This is the 1950s, where, of course, the family doctor was the lynchpin of the primary care model. Reading UKIP’s motion today, you’d be...
