Angela Burns: Formally, Llywydd.
Angela Burns: I did not say, at any point during my contributions, that they should not be independent of Powys. I do not think it is a primary reason for making these changes to the citizen voice body. My personal view is that a lot of the changes to the citizen voice body could be construed—in fact, I do construe it—as a bit of a muzzling exercise: let's get them on board. I want to make sure that...
Angela Burns: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Let me just deal with this by picking out little bits of it. I want to put to bed the 'hosted by Powys' argument, because I think, actually, that's disingenuous; smoke and mirrors, if you like. Powys doesn't have any hospitals—[Interruption.] I haven't finished my sentence, Kirsty Williams, I know that you like to defend Powys at all accounts, I was...
Angela Burns: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to formally move amendments 40, 19 and 20. This comes to the nub, to the heart, of the citizen voice body. If you talk to the citizen, they want a voice body, they want a representative body that's local to them, understands their local issues, understands their local health board, somebody they can access easily—and, of course, it's not just health boards now,...
Angela Burns: Merely to say that the Welsh Conservatives support this amendment.
Angela Burns: Formally, Llywydd.
Angela Burns: Excellent point, Helen Mary, and well made. We need to ensure that this body can do what it's supposed to do. We do not want it to be hamstrung by a lack of funding. We do not want it, in the years to come, to suffer a slow death by a thousand cuts. It's here to represent the citizen. It is their one and only true voice that belongs to them. You need to fund it, Minister, and you need to make...
Angela Burns: Oh dear, oh dear, Llywydd, I think I rest my case. Rhun ap Iorwerth made a very good point about the fact that these kinds of bodies are the ones that often are the first to lose their funding when times are tight, and, basically, the Minister's reason for not wanting to ensure that—. No, Rhun ap Iorwerth said that. The Minister's main case for not wanting to make sure that there's enough...
Angela Burns: Diolch, Llywydd. I formally move amendments 57 and 58, tabled in my name. This is about the duty to ensure sufficient resources, and the amendments seek to request that Welsh Ministers should ensure that those sufficient resources for the citizen voice body are put in place. These amendments have been brought forward from Stage 2, as while the Minister outlined that they're putting in...
Angela Burns: I just have a real problem with your rejection of this amendment, Minister. What we're asking is we are asking volunteers, people who may have some experience of dealing with large organisations, to come and volunteer for the citizen voice body, and to speak on behalf of the citizens they represent. If you were to boil it down into a different way of saying it, they are speaking truth to...
Angela Burns: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I'd like to formally move amendment 55 concerning indemnity cover. It is an absolute ambition, which I rightly support, that Welsh Government should increase the number of volunteers who sign up to support and to run and be part of the citizen voice body. However, we must also be prepared to protect them. Unnecessary involvement in court cases would...
Angela Burns: Formally, Llywydd.
Angela Burns: Formally, Llywydd.
Angela Burns: I'd just like to make the point that the Welsh Conservatives have argued for a very long time that all of our commissioners should be appointed by the National Assembly for Wales.
Angela Burns: Thank you, Presiding Officer. What a surprise. I mean, let's be honest, we've now come to the heart of this bit of legislation in terms of the citizen voice body. Our current community health councils are extraordinary organisations. Some of them are absolutely outstanding in the work that they do. Some of them have gone out there and uncovered real problems, brought them to light, had them...
Angela Burns: I honestly don't think I could disagree with you more, actually, Minister. Many years ago, I worked for a very wise business leader who said that he would never sack me for making a mistake, but he would sack me for failing to own it; and this is what we have here. Just let me remind you where we're at, because these are the last amendments to this Bill that are about the duty of quality and...
Angela Burns: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to formally move amendment 39, tabled in my name. This amendment, 39, is in line with recommendation 9 of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee at Stage 1, which recommended that the Minister makes specific provision for the consequences of non-compliance with the duty of candour—with the duty of honesty, integrity, truth. This was tabled by the previous...
Angela Burns: Formally, Llywydd.
Angela Burns: Thank you, Presiding Officer. All I will say is I totally disagree with the Minister. As I outlined, there's so much that's going on in the NHS, there are so many advances, there are so many changes in the patient profile, we need our standards to be operated on a very, very regular basis. And, once again, I will remind everyone that we're always talking about listening to the clinicians,...
Angela Burns: Diolch, Llywydd. I formally move the amendments tabled in my name. These amendments consider the Minister's concerns at Stage 2 about the implications of extending safe staffing levels to all clinical staff. This is despite the Chair of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee stating that, in the committee's view, 'it is impossible to separate out the issue of quality from the provision...
