The next item, therefore, is the business statement and announcement. I call on the leader of the house, Julie James.

Diolch, Llywydd. There are two changes to today's agenda. The First Minister will make a statement shortly on the draft agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, and as a result the oral statement on reforming dental services has been postponed until 11 December. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out in the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Leader of the house, just a couple of weeks ago, I met with Adrian Farey, one of my constituents who runs a long-term sustainable woodland project in the Elwy valley region of my constituency. It was visited by the Minister for Environment just last week, and I was very pleased that she enjoyed her visit there to learn more about the organisation that he runs. But this is precisely the sort of model, I think, that will help to make our rural communities sustainable, and help to encourage and promote the use of local and sustainable wood products in the future. I would be grateful if the Minister for Environment could bring forward a statement on the support that she might be able to offer to projects like Adrian Farey's and others across Wales in terms of promoting the use of local timber in local construction projects.

Can I also call, leader of the house, for a statement on the future of business rates for independent schools in Wales? There's been quite a bit of concern amongst independent schools across the country. There are 20 in Wales at the moment, with thousands of students in them. They add around £87 million to the Welsh economy and generate £22 million-worth of taxes here in Wales. You'll be aware that there have been some concerns about the prospects of business rates being charged on independent schools. Now, clearly, I understand that we will want to have a debate, perhaps, on these things, but I do think that it's incumbent upon the Welsh Government to give some clarity to the sector, given the significant numbers of people who are employed in it and the significant numbers of pupils who rely on the excellent education that is provided in independent schools across the country.

On the woodland project, the Minister has mentioned that she very much enjoyed her visit there, and I think is very happy to bring forward a general statement on woodland management in Wales and the contribution of our woodlands in particular to climate change and adaptation thereof.

In terms of business rates, we've had several roundabouts on the subject of business rates for independent schools and I think that's much more likely to come up in terms of a debate from the opposition parties than it is likely to be the subject of a business statement from the Government.

Leader of the house, can I ask for a Government statement on screening services, particularly as I've had representations recently concerning Bowel Screening Wales? It operates as a bespoke screening service, as you know, yet is sort of vaguely part of the NHS, but basically stand-alone as well. Bowel Screening Wales does excellent work, however if someone who has had a previous bowel problem, and a negative bowel screen as part of the bowel screening programme, then develops a new bowel symptom, this cannot be dealt with by Bowel Screening Wales, as they only do stand-alone screening at pre-determined intervals, despite the fact that it's a surveillance service. So, the situation at the moment is that if people then develop a new bowel symptom, despite being under surveillance by Bowel Screening Wales, they're directed back to their general practitioner, who then has the binary choice of urgent referral or routine referral that can take months. Surely, could there be a third way in such a situation of a fast-track referral if a new problem arises when a patient is already under Bowel Screening Wales surveillance? Thank you.

The Member raises a very important point, and, Llywydd, I'm very pleased to say that, on my sixtieth birthday, I received a bowel screening kit from NHS Wales. It was amongst the less expected presents that I received on my sixtieth birthday, but was possibly the most important one. I think it's very important that people take part in that screening; it's a very important thing that we should all do. 

I'm not familiar with the issue that he raises. I suggest he writes to the Cabinet Secretary, and, if that raises an issue of more significance than that, I will arrange for a statement. Otherwise, I'll make sure that the reply is available to all AMs. 

I wanted to raise two issues with the leader of the house. The first is the Which report, which came out last week, revealing the fact that two thirds of banks have now closed—over the last 30 years, two thirds of banks have closed—and this has left communities without access to a local bank, and leaving high streets empty. In Cardiff North, we've lost banks from Rhiwbina, Whitchurch, Birchgrove—nearly every community. And, in fact, one bank is still empty—in the centre of a shopping centre—that had closed years ago. I know we have debated in the past in this Chamber the issue of banks and bank closures, but perhaps—. Would it be possible for the Government to have another look at this issue and just see if any more can be done to help some of these communities?

And, secondly, I wondered if it might be possible to have a debate on Lyme disease. One of my constituents from Cardiff North is campaigning on this issue, and, in fact, we held a meeting in the Pierhead today about Lyme disease, wanting to raise the profile of the disease, the fact that it is little known and that there are many different complications from it. And there have been debates in the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and will be in the European Parliament, but it does seem it is a little-known disease that causes a huge amount of misery for those people who are afflicted with it. 

Two very important points indeed. In terms of the banks, it is something, as she's already acknowledged, that we've discussed frequently in the Assembly, and it is very disappointing that, despite affected communities and political representatives challenging the decisions—across the Chamber, actually; I think it's something we've all expressed concern about—the banks do continue to press ahead with their closure programme. And there's no doubt at all that many citizens, older citizens in particular, are not comfortable with online banking, and also small businesses in rural areas have a need for cash and there's a big problem about how long they travel and where they might get the cash from, and there's also a problem with the ATMs starting to close down as well, as people move to cashless systems. 

Ideally, we would like to see businesses and individuals across Wales having access to the banking facilities they want, and, where possible, mitigate the loss of any branch and cashpoint facility in Wales closing. But, unfortunately, we have some limited powers in this regard. However, we have been in discussion on the role of the post office in addressing banking needs. We recognise there are issues around that, and we've been working with them to discuss them, around the capacity, privacy, disability access and so on at the post office, but that's very much an ongoing part of the discussion about whether they can substitute for some bank branch services. And the other thing is that we're investigating the possibility of establishing a community banking model for Wales. We're in early dialogue with a range of stakeholders, promoting the idea of a community mutual bank for Wales, and that would be able to offer support appropriate to the level of development around Wales. I'll keep the Member informed as the proposals for that develop. 

In terms of Lyme disease, in Wales, as well as everywhere else in the UK, cases of laboratory-confirmed Lyme disease have been increasing in recent years. This is partly as a result of better reporting, increased testing and increased awareness by the public and healthcare professionals. The Member will be pleased to know that we've recently communicated a comprehensive guidance on Lyme disease to healthcare professionals across Wales, and the NHS has developed appropriate public awareness materials. And I'm very pleased to say that that's an ongoing programme of public awareness and medical awareness across the piece. 

Leader of the house, may I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs on WWF Cymru's claim that one in 15 wildlife species in Wales is at risk of disappearing altogether? They say that global threats to wildlife and habitats identified in the 'Living Planet Report 2018' are echoed in Wales. Species under threat include hen harriers and water voles. We have seen a comeback in red kite numbers in Wales, thanks to better protection and dedicated conservation programmes. So, may we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary on what action she will take to halt wildlife decline and to protect the habitats of threatened species in our beautiful country? 

This is very much a central plank of most of our land management systems and indeed most of the support in the rural development fund, around what we can do to increase biodiversity and wildlife habitats. It's a very important function to understand how bioservices, biosystems, can be monetised in that way so that people can be encouraged to do it. We have fallen behind in the UK in terms, for example, of tree planting, and we have very low amounts of tree planting in Wales. We are looking to see if there are systems in place that can increase the range of habitats and biodiversity available across Wales. It is something we're very concerned about. The Minister for Environment is shortly going to be consulting on a climate change adaptation plan, which will include looking at the loss of biodiversity and habitat change, and I encourage all Members to respond to the consultation on that plan as early as possible, making the points that Mohammad Asghar has pointed out to us. 

Leader of the house, I've got three matters that I'd like to raise with you this afternoon. You'll be aware of the interim report of the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty. It was a very hard-hitting report pointing out that cuts and austerity are a political choice, that Wales faces the highest relative poverty in the UK, and that 25 per cent of jobs pay below the minimum wage. The report says, and I quote:

'In the absence of devolved power over social security benefits, the Welsh Government’s capacity to directly mitigate the reduction in benefits is limited...benefit changes are one of the structural causes behind the increase in poverty, rough sleeping, and homelessness in Wales.... Universal Credit may exacerbate the problem, particularly in light of the Welsh Government’s inability to introduce flexibilities in its administration, unlike its Scottish counterpart.'

This strongly says that you could help people if you were prepared to take over control and responsibility of the administration of benefits. So far, the Government has resisted that, despite the difficulties that we've heard about just this afternoon in this Chamber. So, can we have a debate in Government time on this UN report, with specific focus on the devolution of the administration of welfare? 

I also wanted to flag up the homophobic attack on Gareth Thomas. Now, I am sure I speak for most of us, if not all of us, in this Chamber when I say, 'Diolch yn fawr iawn, Alfie' for taking a stand and for seeking an educative restorative response from those responsible. Restorative justice can be very effective, especially when we're talking about young people. So, I'd like to see a statement from Government outlining its approach to hate crimes in general, like the homophobic attack on Gareth Thomas, and also to tell us what it's doing to fund and support restorative justice opportunities.

The final matter I'd like to see in Government time is an apology. We've already heard this afternoon that rail services since this new franchise have got worse, and the company issued a full apology to its customers today. While your Government has responsibility for this, we had no such apology from the First Minister today. He still seems to be in denial. The most concerning line in the company's apology was in relation to extra buses that they are putting on, saying, 'This will continue for as long as is needed.' There are real health and safety issues now, and this simply cannot carry on. So, we need a statement from the Cabinet Secretary as a matter of urgency to say what extra action he can take to alleviate these problems. Customers are not prepared to take any more.  

Thank you for raising those three issues. Just in terms of the homophobic hate crime, I also want to add my voice in acknowledging the courage and the dignity with which Gareth Thomas met the situation he found himself in and the courage in coming forward in highlighting and tackling the issue of homophobia and his experience. I thought his piece that I heard on the radio about the restorative justice process was deeply moving and very interesting indeed. We have actually just recently talked in this Chamber about the hate crime awareness that we do.  We do continue to encourage victims of hate crime to report their experiences and build on the strong partnerships we've developed across the piece with the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, Victim Support Cymru and other agencies to reduce that kind of hate crime, and to hold perpetrators to account, and to enable victims to receive support and redress.

This is a key conversation on White Ribbon Day, the event that my colleague Joyce Watson AM was sponsoring earlier, and the issues that Jane Hutt raised in her question to the First Minister are still germane in this piece. Hate crimes are hate crimes no matter how they arise or which section of the population is experiencing them, and we are looking to work with our partners and Victim Support and hate crime awareness to see what we can do with restorative justice, and my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for public services has been looking into this as well with a view to looking at what we can do in this regard. So, I'd be very happy to see if I can bring forward a statement to that effect. Actually, I think, given where we are in the cycle of Government, there's going to be a statement, I hope, on human rights towards the end of this Government's term, and I will make sure that I put that issue into that statement, because otherwise we'll be out of Government time. So, I'll make sure that that's included in that as part of that, because I do think the Member raises a very, very interesting point. 

On the other two points, the UN rapporteur's report is harrowing reading, I think, and says a lot of things that a lot of us agree with around the benefits system and the difficulties of living in poverty. I think this Government has done a great deal in its programme for government and its 'Prosperity for All' policy platforms in order to do what we can, but the Member will know that I and the Government completely disagree with her take on the welfare benefits regime, and my own particular view is that the UK is better to be redistributive, and the idea that Wales can stand alone in terms of welfare benefits is not one that I would cherish or relish in any way.

In terms of rail services, the First Minister, in answer to Darren Millar, gave quite a good run-through of where we are on rail services, Llywydd, and I don't think it requires any more addition from me.

On that very last point, I was going to ask for a statement; I'm quite surprised at how dismissive the leader of the house has been on that. Many constituents, over the last week, certainly, have contacted me, and it has been evidenced here today with the leader of the opposition's comments and the Member from Plaid Cymru's comments and hard evidence of trains just not turning up. I think in 16 cases there were no trains on one particular line—north, south, mid or west Wales, you can find examples of that. When the franchise was launched, Ministers were all over the press, and rightly so, because it promises much, and, if delivered correctly, will see an improvement. But Members in this house are getting berated, time and time again, by their constituents about the level of service that has happened over the last month. It surely is incumbent on the Cabinet Secretary to come to this house before the Christmas recess and highlight what action is being taken to address, hopefully, shortcomings that are in the short term, not the medium to long term. And I would hope that the Cabinet Secretary would welcome that opportunity to put on record what pressure he is putting on Transport for Wales and their contractors to up their game. Otherwise, it will be a dereliction of duty on behalf of the Government. I do hope that the leader of the house will reflect on the answer she just gave and make time for a statement for the Cabinet Secretary to come here before the Christmas recess to address these failings within the transport system here in Wales.

I wasn't being dismissive. I said that I didn't have anything to add to the comprehensive answer that the First Minister gave; I don't see how that's dismissive. The Cabinet Secretary will be answering oral Assembly questions as part of the cycle over the next few weeks, and there will be ample opportunity for Members to question him on specifics, but I'm afraid I think the idea that after one month of running a franchise we should have solved all the problems and all the rest of it is just not credible. We've been in charge of the franchise for one month. The Cabinet Secretary, in announcing that, set out a programme of action to do with the rail franchise, which the First Minister reiterated during First Minister's questions. I'm merely saying that I don't have anything to add to that at the moment, and, if you want to ask specific questions of the Cabinet Secretary, you will of course be very free to do so.

I’d like to ask for an update on ongoing parking problems along the A5 in the Lake Ogwen area in my constituency. Over a year has passed since local representatives asked for action and a particular plan to find a swift resolution to the problem in this area. Six months have passed since the Minister received a feasibility study of the problems, but, again, there has been no progress made. In a written question from me, asking when that feasibility study on the parking problem would be published, the response I received was that the report was being translated. So, there are two issues arising that I’d like you to look into. Is it common practice to take six months to translate reports, and, secondly, what is happening in order to resolve the parking problems near lake Ogwen?

And, secondly, I’m afraid that, once again, I do have to ask about the timetable for the building of the Bontnewydd bypass. A session for prospective apprentices was cancelled recently, and there is no sign of any work on the site, and, naturally, therefore, people in my area are starting to become concerned about what is happening and they’re asking whether there is to be even more delay with the bypass.

On that second one, I'll ask the Cabinet Secretary to write directly to her and explain where we are in the timetable. I'm afraid I don't have that information with me, but I'll ask him to clarify.

On the first point, again, I didn't realise the timescale had slipped that much, and I'm more than happy to discuss with the Cabinet Secretary where we are on the timescale and let the Member know.

Could we have a statement on the M4 relief road? When you stood in for the First Minister on 23 October, leader of the house, you promised a binding vote in Government time and then said this was timetabled for the week commencing 4 December. We now have the business timetable through to Christmas and there's no sign of any motion on the M4. Did you misspeak?

Could you also perhaps give us the Government's perspective on the First Minister's interview on 15 November? Asked by BBC Wales whether he still intended to decide whether the road is built, the First Minister said,

'Yes, the plan is that I will take the decision'.

Is that the case, and, if so, isn't it just the planning permission that the First Minister would be determining, as opposed to whether the road would actually be funded and built? He then went on to say,

'The inspector's report has been received. It's more than 500 pages long, so it takes some time to digest and analyse', as some of us know with the withdrawal agreement. But he then said,

'I've not seen the report yet, but I expect that the report will be ready for me to take a decision by the end of the month'.

Surely, if it's so long and complex, the First Minister should be given it as quickly as possible if he's genuinely going to take the decision himself rather than just rubber-stamp someone else's decision, and, while he's about it, could it be published so that we can all read it too?

Yes, in answer to this question, when I did stand in for the First Minister in First Minister's questions, I read out a very long and complex legal timescale and process that was attached to the point in time at which people can take various decisions, and so on. I'm more than happy to circulate that back to the Member. I made it very clear that there was a legal process in which we were, and that we were awaiting the various legal advices and summaries of evidence and so on, that the First Minister still hopes to be able to make that decision, and that the debate will then follow. I've also made it very clear in answer to Rhun ap Iorwerth, in answer to a business statement very recently, that we've space on the timetable for that to happen if it can, but that I could not be guaranteeing that it would. We will do it if we can. If it's not possible within the timescale, then, Llywydd, I will be very sure to make both Business Committee and this Chamber aware of where we are with it.

There was an event in the UK Parliament yesterday by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to mark three years since they had been campaigning for the drug Orkambi to be put on the NHS. We had a cross-party meeting here last week with regard to this important issue as well. Now, 'A Healthier Wales', your strategy, says that we need to be having more personalised care, more precision medicines on the NHS, but Orkambi, which could affect 200 people in Wales, is still not on the NHS. Now, I understand that Vertex, the company that has the drug, are now in discussions with the NHS in relation to putting in a new application to NICE, but we don't have that on the record anywhere from Welsh Government. So, I was wondering whether we could have an updated statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health as to his negotiations with the company and with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to try and make this drug realised on the Welsh NHS. If we did that, we could be leading on a UK level, because nowhere else does this drug exist in the UK, but, of course, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway—many other countries—already have the drug, which can look to the root cause of cystic fibrosis as opposed to only managing the symptoms. So, I would urge you for a statement on that.

The second statement I wanted to ask for was—. Alongside other Assembly Members in this room, we were at St Joseph's comprehensive school yesterday as part of the Youth Parliament debate, and one of the young students came up to me afterwards and said that she had been waiting on a waiting list for school counselling for over a year. By which point, she'd already sought private treatment because she couldn't wait on that list to get any treatment. Now, I know Lynne Neagle and others have been looking hard at mental health for young people, but it was very concerning to me to hear that from a young person when we have the school counselling processes in place in Wales. So, could we have an update on the situation here in Wales? Are there long waiting lists in schools across Wales? Is there something we need to get to grips with, because young people, of course, will be falling through the cracks if that is the case?

On Orkambi, the Cabinet Secretary for health went through the situation in response to his last lot of questions, where he outlined the process by which the company has to go through the process of getting accreditation via NICE. I'm not aware that anything has changed since he explained where we were with that. What I will do is discuss with him whether something has changed, and if something has changed, then I will make sure that Assembly Members are kept in the loop of that. But I'm not aware of that. If something has changed, I will make sure that there's an update. But he did go quite extensively through what the process needed to be for that to happen.

And, likewise, on the mental health issues, he went through the whole process of that. But again, I will discuss with him whether there's some substantial change or some evidence that's come to light. Perhaps the Member would like to share with me the story that she's just outlined, and I will undertake to discuss with him whether there's some issue there of general importance that we can come back on.

Leader of the house, I asked you last week, I think it was—it was certainly recently—about the availability of flu vaccine across Wales and whether we could have an update from the Cabinet Secretary for health on that availability. Since then, I've been inundated by more e-mails by people who've been unable to access the vaccine, one only yesterday from a patient of the Castle Gate practice in Monmouth, whose husband is 75 and was told that, because they are now prioritising for the over-75s, the vaccine wouldn't yet be available for him and to come back later when some arrives. I understand from Age Cymru that they've identified an issue that, early on in this process, some practices and community pharmacies underestimated the amount of vaccine they might need and so not enough was therefore in the system to be provided, and they're working on that. So, could you ask the Cabinet Secretary for health to look at all of this issue? Because, although I understand that there are going to be vaccines arriving, hopefully before the end of November, that hasn't been necessarily best communicated to patients, and many of them have been very concerned. So, hopefully this can be dealt with better in future.

Secondly, and finally, can I concur with the words of the leader of the opposition earlier and also the Member for South Wales Central, who sits behind me normally, with regard to the issue with Transport for Wales and some of those—whatever you might want to call them—teething problems, getting things back on track? There clearly has been an issue and it's important that, beyond the apology that they have given—and I respect the fact that they have been very quick off the mark to apologies to travellers—something there does need to be looked at.

My very own pregnant wife was affected by the problem recently, which you'll know from Facebook—I know many of you will be aware of that—where, I think, three successive trains didn't have sufficient carriages, so she wasn't able to get on. I was the one who got the flack for that, or got the earache later in the day, so it's in my interest for it to be looked at. So, if you could have discussions with the Cabinet Secretary about what could be done to try and alleviate some of these teething problems of the franchise, that would be very beneficial.

My sympathy with your wife. I also follow her on Facebook, so I did know about that. And, as I said, I haven't got much to add to anything else I said on rail. 

On the flu vaccine, the Member raises a very pertinent point. I think it's worth, Llywydd, me just repeating what the Cabinet Secretary has told people. For winter 2018-19, a flu vaccine specifically designed for older people has been licensed in the UK. The advice from the UK's expert panel on immunisation—the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation—is that this adjuvanted vaccine is expected to be more clinically effective in people aged 65 years or over compared with the other flu vaccines that are available, and that it is the only flu vaccine that is likely to be effective in people aged 75 and older. There is not a shortage of flu vaccines for over-65s. All orders submitted by GPs and pharmacists in Wales will be met. The delivery is phased due to demand. The manufacturer has confirmed that all orders will be delivered before the end of November.  I

It's important that the flu vaccine offered to at-risk individuals provides the best available protection. With the high levels of flu we experienced last season resulting in increased GP consultation rates and outbreaks at care homes and in hospitals, it's sensible to act on the expert advice to do everything we can. So, we're looking to people to choose the most effective flu vaccine for them demographically. I appreciate what the Member is highlighting, which is that delay in receiving the flu vaccine may be worrying for older people, but flu does not tend to start to circulate until mid December, so there's plenty of time yet for the flu vaccine to arrive and for people to be protected. The chief medical officer has already written to health boards, GPs and pharmacies with advice about planning arrangements for offering the flu vaccination to older people this season, in light of the availability.

We are aware that a very small number of practices, as I think Nick Ramsay was highlighting, didn't order the adjuvanted vaccine, as recommended by the chief medical officer, or did not order enough for their eligible patients. In those cases, or where deliveries of vaccines have not yet been received, we've asked health boards, practices and community pharmacies to work together to ensure that individuals can access the adjuvanted vaccine as soon as possible, prioritising those over 75 and those over 65 with medical conditions. We are working with Public Health Wales and the NHS to ensure that that vaccine supply situation does not impact on any uptake. So, I think we are working very hard to do that. We are not yet at the point where all of the vaccines have been delivered, and I think that should be very reassuring to Nick Ramsay's constituents. 

Thank you, leader of the house.