Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:26 pm on 11 June 2019.
Organiser, could I see a statement and maybe an update on how the Government are going to fill out their proposals on, first of all, the statement that was issued by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs this morning in relation to a response to the climate change 'Net Zero' report, the contents of which I welcome? In particular, the last paragraph but one says that this will be the biggest economic transition in modern times. That is a big, big move for the entire economy and the direction of Government, and in fairness, this statement does not do it justice, exactly how the Government proposes to make that move and that leap. I appreciate there have been announcements previously, but to actually upgrade its commitment to move to 95 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050, and that particular statement from the climate change committee, really does require a detailed explanation of how the Government are going to pull all this together. I'd be grateful in your role as business manager for the Government if you could indicate whether there will be a further oral statement coming from the Government, so that we as AMs on the floor of the Chamber will be able to press the Minister and understand exactly how this transition is going to be accommodated within the Government parameters of policy and financial incentives that it can make available to the economy as a whole.
Secondly, I attended an event last week on pernicious anaemia, organised by Huw Irranca-Davies, the Member for Ogmore, and the figures are quite startling when you look at the people who suffer with this condition in Wales: 350,000 people have this condition. There has been much progress in treatment and solutions available for people who are diagnosed with it, many of which are still going through the NICE process getting ready for accreditation. I'd be grateful to understand what representations the Welsh Government in the form of the Minister has made to NICE about bringing these treatments to the market, so that they are available for patients once they receive a diagnosis, and in particular, when these treatments are made available, patients do have the information that they are able to access those treatments, because as I said, 350,000 people—one in 10, or 10 per cent of the population—suffer with pernicious anaemia, and it has a massive debilitating effect. I do congratulate the Member for Ogmore for bringing this event to the Senedd, because I certainly, until I attended, didn't realise it had such a massive impact in our society.