David Melding: Order. We now recommence with item 5, which is the debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee's report, 'Mind over matter: Two years on', and I call the Chair of the committee to move the motion, Lynne Neagle.
David Melding: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. In south Wales, we are likely in the next few days to see infection levels of 1,000 per 100,000 population, and by Christmas, they could go up even higher and reach the so-far record levels seen in the Walloon area of Belgium in the early autumn. That's the scale of the crisis that we face. And there is a real chance, as the FM has said, that the NHS will...
David Melding: First Minister, the Business Wales barriers grant scheme is to prioritise those most affected by COVID-19, such as women, disabled people, people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and young people not in education or training, and it's to give some financial support to those people who will want to set up a business in the next few months. I wonder when this scheme will be...
David Melding: Regarding its impact on devolved administrations, I think it's important to note here that the Bill risks making the exercise of devolved powers much more difficult, and it's in their exercise that powers are significant. They can exist notionally, and many people have referred to the supposedly 70 more powers that come to us as a result of them being moved from Brussels, but if these things...
David Melding: I am a member of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, and the reason I speak is because I want to commend the committee's report. I do want to emphasise that I'm not against the principle of the internal market Bill, but I have to say I find that the one before us has been rushed and badly thought through, typically in regard to its constitutional implications. Unlike the...
David Melding: I'll try not to repeat the excellent points made by Helen Mary, but I do wish to be associated with them fully. I would say this though about the improvement in the coverage of devolved matters, that Mark Drakeford has become something of a cult figure throughout the United Kingdom. This is a policy-free statement on my part, but he has had a profile, he's been profiled also on Radio 4 by...
David Melding: I thank the Minister for that answer. Will she join me in commending the research carried out between Cardiff and Swansea universities, published last month in the much-respected journal Frontiers in Psychiatry? It's a single-nation study, reflecting on an earlier survey conducted in 2018-19, then comparing how people were feeling during the pandemic. It showed a three or fourfold increase in...
David Melding: 5. What measures are in place to promote the resilience of mental health services in Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ55968
David Melding: Can I apologise if anything I raise in my contribution was already addressed in the part of the Counsel General's speech delivered in Welsh? The translation feed did not work on my device, I'm afraid. I think this is a very useful report in analysing the operation of tribunals in Wales, and therefore will be of general interest to people, because the statistics on tribunal use can be a very...
David Melding: I thank the Llywydd for that answer, and I commend the innovation, which I think it's fair to say we've had throughout the period of Welsh devolution, and certainly in this fifth Senedd. And I do urge that we build on this success, because we all want, as we've heard in previous answers, active citizenship. And it seems to me that, as well as watching our proceedings, there are more...
David Melding: Thank you, Minister, for that answer. I wonder if you've had the chance to reflect on Professor Sally Holland, the children's commissioner's remarks to the Children, Young People and Education Committee earlier this month, that certainly, during lockdown, there was a huge variety of service, running from those schools offering full-time attendance or active outreach, to hubs that barely...
David Melding: 3. Will the Minister make a statement on attendance levels in special schools during the COVID-19 public health emergency? OQ55920
David Melding: 4. What measures are in place to promote virtual access to Senedd proceedings by the general public? OQ55921
David Melding: Can I thank the First Minister for his answer? And he would have also heard the exchange in the Chamber last week with the housing Minister, and the number of 100 or 101 rough-sleepers who are now on the streets of the towns and cities of Wales is very distressing. I know that over 3,000 or 3,500, I think, people have been helped during COVID into emergency accommodation of one kind or...
David Melding: First Minister, I'm particularly concerned about young people in South Wales Central, including Pontypridd, who are entering or attempting to enter the labour market during this period, and I think we have very harsh past experience of young people entering the labour market during a period of economic distress. And I would urge you to look at the training packages and also the funds...
David Melding: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the estimated number of rough sleepers in Wales? OQ55919
David Melding: It's always a pleasure and a frustration, sometimes, to follow Helen Mary, because she's so inspiring and occasionally infuriating in her remarks, and it's a lovely combination, I would say, to have from one of your opponents. In terms of the furlough, which I think is very significant, we've actually called for something that the UK Government has listened to—our voice, amongst many...
David Melding: I'm very pleased that we have seen great improvements in the quality of social housing, but there's been poor regulation, both in terms of the regulations themselves—the building regs—and their inspection in much of the private housing stock, particularly denser housing. And I just wonder how confident you are that we do not see in the 2020s, when we will face major demand to build more...
David Melding: Minister, I wonder if you could tell us how you're going to identify those older properties, which are a substantial part of the Welsh housing stock, and, certainly before 1930 and especially before the first world war, very few of those properties are in the hands of social landlords, and yet probably the biggest concentration of low-income families is in that type of housing. They're also...
David Melding: 8. What progress has been made since 2016 to improve the quality of the Welsh housing stock? OQ55867
