2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:18 pm on 16 October 2018.

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Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 2:18, 16 October 2018

Leader of the house, can I call for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Education on the process by which she determines school closure proposals that have been referred to her by various organisations that are able to do that? She will be aware that there is an outstanding school closure proposal that has been on the Cabinet Secretary's desk—or, certainly, a desk in the Welsh Government—for the past 31 months. It's now five years that there has been uncertainty around this particular school closure proposal for Ysgol Llanbedr in my own constituency in Denbighshire. The first application was forwarded to Ministers and the application was rejected. A second application was then made by Denbighshire to close the school, and it was referred by the Church in Wales back in 2015, and the uncertainty is hanging around this school. Yet in spite of that, the numbers at the school are buoyant, it's entered into a federation arrangement with another local school, and appears to be going from strength to strength and having a great deal of success. But I'm sure that you would agree with me that such uncertainty for such a long time is completely unacceptable, and that this now needs to be determined as a matter of urgency. So, I would appreciate a statement just clarifying the process, and the appropriate timescales, from the Cabinet Secretary for Education.

Can I also call for a statement on access to modern medicines? I met this morning with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust regarding access to some of the more modern medicines, including Orkambi, which has been proven to be significantly effective in alleviating the symptoms and slowing down the progress of cystic fibrosis in as many as 47 per cent of cases. This could benefit around 200 people who are suffering from cystic fibrosis here in Wales, and yet at the moment this drug isn't available, in spite of it being available in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Greece, the United States and Sweden. Clearly this is a modern drug, it's expensive, and I know that we have to safeguard the public purse, but it is making a difference for those people who have access to it, and I think it would be helpful if we could have an update from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services on this particular situation, and in particular to give us some light on whether there have been any discussions with Vertex, the manufacturer of this particular drug, the Welsh Government and NHS Wales in terms of making some sort of access available for patients. So, I'd be grateful if I could have those two statements, please.