Lynne Neagle: Thank you, acting Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank Jack Sargeant and the Petitions Committee for bringing this important petition to the floor of this Senedd today. I'd also like to thank all Members who've contributed to today's debate. Above all, though, I'd like to thank Rhian Mannings, chief executive and founder of 2 Wish, for tabling this petition, and for working so hard, over many...
Lynne Neagle: A task and finish group has been established to develop an all-Wales framework to support social prescribing. A draft model and national framework have been developed and will be considered further as part of a series of engagement events with stakeholders held over the coming months. This will allow officials to refine the model and framework, ahead of full consultation.
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Laura, for those points, and thank you for your kind words, and I'm very keen to work cross-party to deliver this agenda, and I certainly echo your strong points about the contribution everybody's openness has made. I belive we should have parity between mental and physical health, and that is what I've called for for a long time in this Senedd, and that is very much what I'm...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you very much, Huw, and can I thank both you and Sarah for the round-table that you organised? I think things like that are an incredibly valuable opportunity to listen to that lived experience at a local level, and I do really commend you for doing it. We do have to make sure that what we say in this Chamber becomes reality. I hope that I’ve given a flavour of some of the mechanisms...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you very much for that question, and I'm very sorry to hear that your constituent has had that experience. Clearly, that is something that shouldn't have happened, and if you would like to write to me with the details of the constituent, I will certainly follow that up with the health board. But, I am also very happy to look at the wider issue that you have raised about the need for...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you very much, Altaf Hussain, for those questions. You are absolutely right: lived experience is absolutely crucial, and if we are going to have effective policies, they have to be co-produced with people with lived experience. We already have the input of people who have mental health issues across the board, really, in the work that we're doing. We have a youth stakeholder group that...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Ken. And thank you, too, for the work that you're doing in chairing the cross-party group, which I also very much appreciate. As you've highlighted, that cross-Government working on mental health is absolutely crucial, and there is a huge amount of work going on across Government in this area. I'm working closely with the Minister for education on the delivery of the whole-system...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you for those questions, Rhun. I absolutely agree that we're in a position in this Chamber where we can take action and not just talk about things, and that is absolutely what I want to do. Can I just correct a mistake that I made about the completion date of the evaluation of the 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan? It's actually April 2022. I was struggling to reach my papers...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you very much, James Evans. There were lots and lots of questions and points there, but, before I start to respond to you, can I just place on record my good wishes to Andrew R.T. Davies for a speedy recovery and to say how helpful I think it is to everyone that he has shown this courage in speaking out, as indeed Sam Kurtz did last week? In doing so, he helps everyone. So, I send him...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. We are 12 months into delivering our refreshed 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan, and I want to provide an update on our progress. The delivery plan was revised in light of the pandemic, realising the need for it to adapt to evolving levels of need. The plan is ambitious, and establishes the absolute need for cross-Government, multi-agency working...
Lynne Neagle: In 2020-21, we also made almost a further £4.8 million available to support our pandemic response. Over £3 million of this supported the rapid implementation of long-lasting injectable buprenorphine, or Buvidal as it is known, for at-risk ex-heroin users, something I will talk about later. The remainder included funding to support PPE requirements, extra residential rehab placements and a...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. Can I thank Peredur for tabling this debate today and for his very thoughtful contribution, and also thank Luke Fletcher and Jenny Rathbone for their contributions, and also confirm to Peredur that I'm very happy to engage with his new cross-party group and am looking forward to working with him? Repairing the ravages of substance misuse for those struggling with addiction...
Lynne Neagle: Oh, have I run out of time?
Lynne Neagle: Can I just turn, then, to the Plaid Cymru amendment? I have discussed these plans that Plaid are putting forward with Rhun ap Iorwerth previously, but I believe that our current approach to ensure preventative support is provided across a number of settings—through schools, colleges, youth clubs and services, where children live their lives on an everyday basis—is the right one. Our new...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Janet, for that. I'd be very happy to meet with the individual that you mention, but I should re-emphasise that we are not, thankfully, seeing a rise in suicide rates at the moment. It is very important that all of us are really responsible in the language that we use about suicide, because when we talk about rates, people say things like, 'Rates going through the roof', and what...
Lynne Neagle: The pandemic has had a major impact on all our mental health, in very many different ways. As Jack Sargeant has highlighted, we all have mental health, and some days it's good, some days it's not so good. We've seen that the anxiety of those who've felt isolated and alone in lockdown has been matched for some by apprehension about rejoining society as restrictions are lifted. For some, we...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to everybody who's spoken today. I do welcome this debate, and with World Mental Health Day almost upon us, this is a good opportunity to discuss the importance of protecting and supporting our mental health and well-being. We're 12 months into the implementation of our 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan, revised in response to the...
Lynne Neagle: Formally.
Lynne Neagle: These last 18 months have been incredibly tough for everyone, but for no-one more so than people living with dementia. The loss of routine, changes to support, uncertainty and the restrictions on care home visiting have made a challenging situation even more difficult. That's why I was pleased, last week, on World Alzheimer's Day, to be able to launch the 'Dementia action plan: strengthening...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank Luke Fletcher for tabling this very important motion today and for engaging with me so constructively ahead of this debate? Luke has spoken with such courage about his own family experiences of dementia. I hope that he won't mind me saying that, in my personal experience, true champions are rarely drawn from the ranks of the unscarred, and I...
