Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:53 pm on 17 January 2017.
Can I call for two statements, please? The first is a statement request from the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs into the state of the sea defences in Old Colwyn in my constituency. The Minister will be aware that I’ve raised this issue on many an occasion in the Chamber, and I’m very concerned at the state of those defences. Just last week, there was a further storm that caused damage to the to the sea defences on that part of the coast, and the leader of the house will be aware that those defences actually do protect the A55 and the north Wales railway line. In fact, part of the wall that protects the embankment on which the north Wales railway line sits was damaged in last week’s storm, as were many of the railings along the promenade. These are now in urgent need of repair and attention. It needs not just a patchy, ad hoc repair job as we’ve seen over many years; it needs a fundamental restoration of those sea defences up to modern levels, because I am concerned that if we don’t do that, we’re going to end up with a catastrophic failure of the defences at some point and that could lead to not just disruption with transport, but potential loss of life.
Can I also call for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health and social services, to provide an update to Members on the situation with follow-up work, following the Tawel Fan scandal in north Wales? Some 18 months have now passed since the publication of the Tawel Fan report into the institutional abuse at that ward in the Ablett unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, yet not one person has been held to account. Not one person has lost their job as a result of the horrific care and experiences of those patients on that ward.
We were told, as Assembly Members, that the work, which was being undertaken by Donna Ockenden and HASCAS, the two organisations that are following up on this issue, would be completed by March. Yet, in the board papers for the Betsi Cadwaladr university health board, which are published and available online, which are going to be discussed tomorrow, we’re told that that will now be extended to the summer. I think that’s unacceptable, frankly, and I would appreciate very much—. We were told that we would get regular updates from the Cabinet Secretary for health—we’ve not had any, unless I’ve been requesting them, which I think is unacceptable. I would request an update urgently on that particular issue. I don’t want people dragging their feet in terms of bringing people to justice.