Janet Finch-Saunders: Cabinet Secretary, you'll be aware that congestion costs Welsh drivers £1.5 billion a year. INRIX, the leading international provider of real-time traffic information, has calculated the economic cost of congestion at an average of £939 per driver per year. Added to that, a number of crashes, caused by the winter weather, have seen closures and delays on the A5, A483 and A55 last week. As...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the impact of winter storms on the road networks? OAQ51504
Janet Finch-Saunders: I'd like to just endorse the fact of the anticipation and welcome for this draft plan, which my colleagues have mentioned here today. I do also regret the delay in its publication, given that the Welsh Government has had the ability to develop a plan-led approach to the management of our seas since the introduction of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, and despite calls from previous...
Janet Finch-Saunders: One hundred years after women obtained the vote and almost 50 years after Equal Pay Act 1970, it is outrageous that here in Wales we still have a gender pay differential gap of around 13 per cent. Interestingly enough, the highest pay gap in Wales is in your own constituency of Bridgend, where it stands at a staggering 27 per cent. First Minister, what actions are you taking or have you...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Will the First Minister make a statement on winter pressures in the Welsh NHS?
Janet Finch-Saunders: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the European Union working time directive applies to NHS staff?
Janet Finch-Saunders: The Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 was a very widely welcomed piece of legislation, and the Member there is quite right to raise concerns about how it is being fully implemented and taken forward. And I've heard those very same concerns that local authorities have been quite slow to prioritise that, clearly with the budget pressures and everything. I know that the previous Cabinet Secretaries...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Further, a range of common childhood illnesses such as flu, water infections or chest infections can be misleading and can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis, which is why it is so very important that we raise critical awareness of the potential meaning of these symptoms. I want to make it clear that this campaign, this debate, is not calling for population-wide screening. The Cabinet Secretary...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. This, basically, is a call for GPs to undertake routine screening for type 1 diabetes in children and young people. Lynne Neagle AM has kindly offered to give a minute, and my colleague, Mark Reckless. I would like to speak today on the importance of screening particularly in children and young people, especially when they do present with the very four...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Given that up to one in five women are affected by perinatal mental illness, the view of—the Royal College of Psychiatrists have stated that there has always been a shortfall of perinatal mental health services in Wales and that is a worry. The recent report of the Children, Young People and Education Committee, published in October, noted that the Betsi board had still not filled the...
Janet Finch-Saunders: The performance, be it good or otherwise, of Betsi Cadwaladr university health board affects very directly my own constituents in Aberconwy and is currently making up a great deal of casework. It is worthy of note that, within this board, the MRSA and MSSA case rates are the lowest in Wales, and red ambulance call-out times and cancer treatment within 31 days are the second best in Wales....
Janet Finch-Saunders: Will you take an intervention?
Janet Finch-Saunders: Could I just ask, through you, that the Cabinet Secretary stops what he's doing and actually listens to the debate?
Janet Finch-Saunders: First Minister, I'm really glad to see that you are increasing the resources for those suffering with mental health problems. But what I'm finding in Aberconwy is the interpretation of the Mental Health Act 1983—. And I know that many our patients are finding this very hard to navigate when it comes to support required. Even I, when I'm dealing on behalf of my constituents—it's really...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on adult mental health services in Wales? OAQ51382
Janet Finch-Saunders: Llyr is quite right to raise this, because we've got issues in Aberconwy now as a result of your Government's policy as regards technical advice note 1, where planning officers are actually interpreting that TAN 1 has much stronger weightings than any other of the TANs. We've got applications coming forward now on land that's not even in our LDP, making an absolute mockery of Conwy council...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Will the First Minister make a statement on workforce skills development in north Wales?
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. First Minister, as you are aware, the number of people waiting more than a year for surgery in Wales has increased this year by 400 per cent. Now, in order to get those lists down, health boards are forced to procure some services and health treatments outside Wales. In my own health board, I am aware of several referrals to the Priory clinic for those wishing to access vital...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's public procurement priorities? OAQ51299
Janet Finch-Saunders: I thank the Chairman for those comments then, and for the work that the committee and everybody has done on this. We heard from a large number of witnesses throughout this inquiry, and I think what has stood out the most from it is the total lack of consistency experienced across Communities First in terms of outcomes, working partnerships and management. For some, we did hear positive...
