Rebecca Evans: A key commitment of our programme for government, 'Taking Wales Forward', was to develop a specific dementia action plan, and that was published in February of 2018, and that covers up to the period 2022. And a key aim of that plan was to support people living with dementia wherever they live in Wales, and to do so as independently as possible, in their communities, which we aim to be...
Rebecca Evans: I thank Jayne Bryant for raising this particularly important issue in the Chamber this afternoon. The Welsh Government's been working really hard to ensure that everybody who is eligible for a council tax reduction as a result of being classified as seriously mentally impaired—. And I have to say I absolutely hate that phrase; I think it sounds like an awful way to refer to people, but it...
Rebecca Evans: Through schemes such as the council tax reduction scheme, we are committed to supporting people with severe mental impairment. I'll be publishing our budget proposals for 2020-21, including for health and social services, on 19 November.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, David Rees. I will certainly ask the health Minister to write to you with an update, but I can confirm that we are committed and remain committed to establishing a unit as a matter of priority, and that work is being led by the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee.FootnoteLink The implementation of such a specialised service is complex, and it must take into account factors...
Rebecca Evans: On the first issue, regarding the INTERREG projects and particularly the number of INTERREG projects that have been supported in north Wales, perhaps Mark Isherwood would write to me with the information that he was giving this afternoon in the Chamber and I'll be able to look at that and also perhaps then advise on work that has been done to support and promote projects in the north Wales...
Rebecca Evans: I certainly join others in putting on record Welsh Government support for the Catalan community here in Wales, because we have a long history of close relationships with Catalonia and obviously we want to see that continue. We enjoy some really positive international links through the European networks that we share, and around a third of Spanish-owned companies in Wales are headquartered in...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Mick Antoniw. Welsh Government will certainly join you in congratulating the Cory Band for being the best in the world for 13 years, which is a heck of an achievement, isn't it? I know that the Minister and I—the Minister with responsibility for music and I—will have a discussion about how we can best mark that incredible achievement here in the Assembly and also explore how we...
Rebecca Evans: Well, our position is that this is a retrograde move and it makes things even more difficult for local authorities and is particularly concerning now because business cases for all kinds of things that local authorities have been planning on—for example, regeneration activities, social housing and other investment—will now need to be reassessed again in light of this development, in terms...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Hefin David, for that question. I know that your constituents will be particularly grateful for the work that you've done in terms of getting that replacement service. Even though it doesn't return the service to an hourly service, it certainly, I think, would be very welcome that you've made that effort on their behalf. In terms of the problems you describe, they're very much the...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Bethan, for raising these issues. I will certainly discuss with the Minister responsible, actually, for both of these issues in terms of when we can best provide an update on the work that Welsh Government is doing in terms of domestic abuse, but specifically, really, how we're working with the police forces in order to do that. I know that work is ongoing, for example, in terms of...
Rebecca Evans: I know that there's a great deal of work going on in this area across Government, where we do recognise that housing does play a very important role in terms of people's physical and mental health. One example would be the additional funding that is going through the regional partnership boards, and that is about taking a housing-led approach to social services and health issues, and I think...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Mike Hedges for that contribution. I can confirm that there will be a statement very, very shortly regarding the teachers' pay award 2019. Of course, once implemented, any changes to teachers' pay for 2019-20 will be backdated to 1 September. So, I would expect that there will be a statement, either today or tomorrow, in respect of that. Again, Mike Hedges is right that most...
Rebecca Evans: Well, Llyr Gruffydd is right that the food and drink industry is very much one of the jewels in the crown of our economy here in Wales, and I know that the Minister works extremely hard to provide the best possible support for the food and drink sector and that the importance of food processing is very much understood, especially with the challenges we face with Brexit. Of course, the...
Rebecca Evans: I thank Andrew R.T. Davies for raising those issues. On the second, of course, I remind Andrew that he has an opportunity every Wednesday afternoon to bring forward debates of his liking. But I will return to the wax management issue that he mentioned at the start of his contribution. A wax management task and finish group was set up in 2018, and that agreed a draft national integrated...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much to Jenny Rathbone for raising that issue and there's been no change in terms of Welsh Government’s approach. Wax management is provided through the NHS in Wales and nobody should be expected to have to pay for those services. It's not explicitly part of the GP contract and, as such, some GPs have traditionally provided services whereas others have simply referred all of...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. On the first issue, where you expressed concern over Barclays Bank not allowing their customers to use the Post Office for their banking needs, obviously we would share those concerns, because as you say, when banks decide to pull out of communities, we're regularly told that it won't have an impact on those individuals because they can use the local post office. And if...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Darren Millar, for raising those issues this afternoon. On the first, relating to secondary breast cancer and the particular concerns that have been raised in terms of delays in diagnosis, access to treatment and of course access to a clinical nurse specialist, I will ask the health Minister to write to you outlining the Welsh Government's action on each of those areas.FootnoteLink...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to this week's business: tomorrow's short debate on the importance of animal welfare to promote Wales's image has been withdrawn. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out in the business statement and announcement that can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising the issues. In respect of the first issue, the context was a particular local planning application and, obviously, I'd be unable to comment on the specifics of that. But I will explore with the Minister for Housing and Local Government how we're ensuring that local authorities and planning departments have all of the access that they need to information, advice and...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. On that issue of the Kenfig nature reserve and the importance of the management of nationally important land, there were some quite detailed aspects to your question there, so I'll ask the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to write to you in response to those particular concerns.FootnoteLink Again, on the issue of the minor injuries unit at Singleton,...
