The next item is the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Trefnydd to make the statement—Rebecca Evans.

Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to this week's business. Motions have not been tabled for the planned debate on the standards committee reports, so the debate will not go ahead tomorrow. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

I have close to 25 per cent of all Assembly Members requesting to speak and ask a question of the Trefnydd. I'll endeavour to ask as many as possible of you to contribute, but if you have three or four requests in front of you, you're only going to get your top one, so choose well. Suzy Davies.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. Okay, I'll choose this one. [Laughter.] As you know, Trefnydd, there has been some revived interest in the Swansea bay tidal lagoon, in particular in different ways ahead, for this fantastic idea actually proceeding in some way or another, one of which, of course, is based on pre-sales, so the strike price becomes less relevant, as a matter of public interest. Will it be possible for the Welsh Government to make a statement on its current position on the different options out there at the moment, in particular confirming whether or not the £200 million pledged for the original lagoon is still on the table, and what its views are on the pace at which Natural Resources Wales is trying to resolve the issue of marine licences? Thank you.

Thank you for raising this issue, and I'm particularly pleased that there are still options on the table in terms of how a Swansea bay tidal lagoon could be taken forward. I'm really grateful to everybody who is working very hard to firm up those ideas. Certainly, when proposals are brought forward to Welsh Government, I can confirm that there is the possibility of that £200 million investment still being on the table. It will, obviously, depend on the project that is brought forward, but it certainly remains in our reserves at the moment, and, as and when there is further information, I'm sure that the Minister would be very keen to share it with you.

I wanted to ask whether you have had any conversations with Neath Port Talbot council with regard to the decision to close Godre'rgraig Primary School after the Earth Science Partnership report reported that there would be a medium-level risk of a landslip. I know that local people there have been potentially alarmed, and even though the report says that the mountain hasn't moved, the school has been closed, and they feel that a lot of media attention has made them very anxious indeed. So, I want to understand what conversations you're having with Neath Port Talbot council about this, because the school is now closed and we don't know whether it will be reopened in September, and whether we can understand from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs or the relevant Minister what dealings you're having in relation to that particular issue.

I leave out my second issue, and the third one is, of course, that you've heard me every week raise here that I want to understand when you are going to make an announcement about the review of eating disorders here in Wales. I'm sad to say that we still have not had that announcement from the health Minister, and people are starting to lose patience with the Welsh Government in this regard. People have taken part in the consultation in good faith. They really wanted to see good services and to work with the Welsh Government on those services here in Wales. I really, really didn't want to see a written statement on Friday sent out after everybody had gone for recess, but, potentially, that may happen. Please can we have an announcement on the review of the eating disorders framework?

I thank Bethan Jenkins, and I know of her strong interest in the issue of eating disorders, particularly her keenness to see the report coming forward. As I mentioned last week, I think, the Minister for Health and Social Services has received that report, and it is a long, complex report. He has, I understand, met with officials to discuss it, and I hope that an update for Members will be forthcoming shortly.

I'll keep mine short as well, Minister. You didn't actually answer the question about Godre'r Graig, which I think is important, because I also hope that you'll congratulate Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council for taking decisive action, because no-one wants to put their child at risk, and this report identified a risk that had to be addressed very quickly.

But my other question is actually on carers, and young carers in particular. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has done work into the aspect of young carers, but, unfortunately, because we want to get it right, we won't get the report out until the autumn. The Carers Trust has been in touch, explaining their deep concern over the delay from the Welsh Government in discussing its role in the young carers ID card that could be used. Can you ask the Deputy Minister to perhaps produce a written statement during the recess on young carers, who are leaving school this week for six weeks—not for a break, but six weeks of caring for whoever they care for; it's continuing—and going back into, possibly, an education environment in September, and they still won't know whether the Welsh Government's ID card system will be in place to help them? So, can you ask for a statement to tell us exactly what the Welsh Government's plans are and a timetable as to when they will enact those plans?

Thank you, David Rees, and apologies, Bethan, for not addressing the Godre'rgraig Primary School issue. I can confirm that we are in regular contact with the council to monitor the situation and will offer our full support if it is required. But, absolutely, as David Rees says, it has to be safety first for the pupils. But I will ask the education Minister to provide an update to both Members in terms of any discussions that we've had.

The issue of the ID card for young carers is potentially a really exciting development and I know that there is significant support for it amongst local authorities. I can confirm that Welsh Government officials met with officers from Welsh local authorities last week to work on an implementation plan for it. Clearly, there are several local schemes already in place, so it's important to implement a national scheme in a way that complements what's already in place, rather than complicating things further for young carers. The Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services is keen to keep Members informed and updated on the work as implementation progresses.

[Inaudible.]—to make a couple of statements. One is actually on the waiting time for ambulances in Royal Gwent Hospital, which is going beyond seven to 12 hours, which is totally unacceptable. Could the Minister for health make a statement? 

And the second one, Minister, could you ask for a statement from the education Minister? The people who are having apprenticeships after their three years of college training or their learning—. After two years, if they go for an apprenticeship, they get the funding. After the three years' completion, there's no funding available.

And finally, could you make a great appreciation for the cricket England and Wales team? They won the world cup last weekend, and we'll be grateful— [Interruption.] I would be grateful if we set up our own Twenty20 cricket team in Wales. Thank you.

So, I'll start with the most controversial of those issues and pass on my congratulations to the England and Wales cricket team for the excellent achievement.

In terms of ambulance response times, I will ask the Minister to provide an update, if there are specific instances that you have concerns about in specific hospitals. But it's worth remembering that WAST have met the ambulance response time target for the forty-second consecutive month, despite the rising number of calls, with performance on red calls above 70 per cent for the fourteenth consecutive month. So, there's certainly a lot of progress taking place in that area, but I understand that if you're one of the patients who is waiting longer than any of us would think was acceptable, then clearly that's very distressing. So, if you have specific incidents, I would encourage you to take them up with the health board, but also make the health Minister aware of them.

And on the issue of apprenticeships, can I encourage you to write to Kirsty Williams, who I know will provide you with a response before we come back?

Can I first of all support Bethan Sayed's call and David Rees's regarding the closure of Godre'rgraig school and specifically what financial support is available from Welsh Government to Neath Port Talbot council? Obviously, it causes some excitement in some quarters. What financial assistance is available directly in this extraordinary situation of a closure of a school urgently?

And my most substantial part is that I would be grateful if you could bring forward on pest control enforcement in Wales, because, locally in the Mayals area of Swansea, residents are hugely frustrated that some of their neighbours are feeding the seagulls at their homes, and there has been a huge increase in the seagull population as a result, resulting in huge problems locally, including residents, children and pets being attacked all hours of the day and night. Now, residents are disappointed that Swansea Council has not taken any action against these residents who are feeding the gulls and attracting the gulls to the area. Now, we know that this is a problem in other parts of Wales too. Recently, Denbighshire County Council has taken a hardline stance in trying to mitigate the problem. If people feed the gulls there, even at their own homes, they can expect a letter warning them there will be legal consequences. Is it possible, therefore, to serve a legal notice requiring people to stop—it is possible, but it's not happening everywhere—feeding the seagulls? It's an inconsistent approach. Will the Welsh Government therefore commit to looking into this issue and issuing consistent guidance to local authorities? 

I thank you, and given the level of interest that there is in the Godre'r Graig issues, I think that perhaps a letter to all Members would be more appropriate than just to the Members who have raised it in the Chamber this afternoon.

On the issue of pest control, I'm familiar with the situation in Mayals. I have also had the same representations as you've had. The environment Minister has been here to hear the discussion, and I know that she'll look carefully at the different ways in which local authorities are dealing with the issue. You've given the example of Denbighshire. I know that Conwy is also taking a more strict approach. The Minister will look at the different approaches that local authorities are taking to address this issue.

I would like to ask for a Government statement on incineration. Many of us across the Chamber would like to see an end to non-medical incineration. Last year, the chief scientific adviser to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Professor Sir Ian Boyd, warned that further investment in energy-from-waste plants would stunt the UK's recycling rates. One way to extinguish the value in materials fast is to stick it in an incinerator and burn it. Does the Government agree with that viewpoint, and will they take action?

Also, very briefly, can I ask for a statement by the Minister for finance on transaction capital? I would hope that we could have that once a year, because there is over £1 billion in that transaction capital, and I believe that we, as an Assembly, have a right to know how it's being spent and how it's being paid back.

Thank you, Mike, for raising the issue of financial transactions capital, which I know he also touched on in our supplementary budget debate last week. The Welsh Government doesn't welcome the restrictions that the UK Government has placed on our capital budget through the use of FTs. We are committee, however, to using the funding to invest in infrastructure and to boost economic growth in the long term.

As part of the budget documentation, we are committed to providing full details in relation to how FTs are used. Building on the information provided to you previously by my predecessor, I will certainly provide an update. But I can confirm that we are using it in innovative ways—so, funding, for example, for our land for housing scheme; funding for town-centre loan schemes and property funds; Green Growth Wales and green infrastructure. Projects that have benefited from it over time include the Barry Island strategic regeneration area link road, Cardiff Airport and aviation. We have also recently launched our stalled sites fund as well. So, we're looking for innovative ways to use the funding, and I look forward to further discussion in Finance Committee tomorrow, where we will be exploring capital funding.

I will ask the Minister to provide an update on incineration. I know that incineration plants are subject to stringent protective requirements of the industrial emissions directive, but I'm sure that she will provide further information in respect of the specific questions raised.

I call for a statement on the Changing Places campaign for Changing Places toilets. This was launched in 2006, but last Friday, for the second time, I attended a Changing Places steering group meeting held in Shotton, focused on bringing Changing Places into the north-east Wales counties, hopefully starting with the town of Mold. It is chaired by Kim Edwards, who herself has Friedreich's ataxia. She said that, as it stands with the lack of current facilities, it means that people with a disability don't go out. Providing a proper changing place provides all the space and equipment, such as a hoist and a changing bed, amongst other items, needed to avoid people being changed on an unhygienic floor, not changed at all, or even not going out into the community in the first place. In my certain knowledge, it's 16 years since I first heard this raised in this Chamber, and yet people like Kim, today—16 years later—are still having to fight these campaigns. I'd call for a statement or even a debate next term on this matter.

Can I have a second item or not?

Very quickly, because some others are already—.

Very briefly, on the new people's voice body for health and social care in Wales, you might be aware that the current community health councils have called for that body to be independent and genuinely stronger. However, on 3 July, the health Minister told the Finance Committee that the new body will

'have control of its own destiny and much more genuine independence in a way that CHCs at the moment don't have. And I appoint lots and lots of people to the boards of local and regional CHCs, which again I don't think makes sense.'

However, he seems to have forgotten that they will be appointing all the members of the new citizen's voice board whereas he only appoints half of the current community health council members, with the others appointed by the third sector and local authorities. Surely, independence must mean that very thing.

In relation to the new body that will replace community health councils, of course the whole Assembly will have ample opportunity to explore this further and to debate the issue, and certainly there will be opportunities at Stage 2 and Stage 3 to amend the legislation, so I'd encourage Members to engage fully with that piece of legislation.

In relation to the request for a debate on Changing Places, or certainly an update on it, I recognise completely how important accessible toilet facilities are in terms of helping people access their communities and giving people dignity when they are out and about. I will find out the latest position in terms of the number of toilets that we know about, and how local authorities, businesses and others are seeking to ensure that toilet facilities are more accessible, but particularly with regard to Changing Places, which I know provides some additional appliances and so on.

I'd like to ask the Trefnydd first of all for a longer term plan to ask if the health Minister will bring forward in the autumn an oral statement to this Chamber about the progress of the independent oversight process in Cwm Taf maternity services. I'm very grateful, I'm sure, to him, and I'm sure all Members would agree with me, for a comprehensive written update that we've received today, but I'm sure that I won't be the only Member who would welcome the opportunity, when the autumn comes and the work is further progressed, to be able to question the Minister as a result of the statement on the progress that has been achieved.

I would also like to request that the Trefnydd asks the Minister for Health and Social Services to bring forward a statement about the transparency and accountability in the public appointments process. This is in the light of a statement made by the Deputy Minister on 6 June where she set out clearly the appointment process for the chair of the Social Care Wales board, and that was done in a written statement to this Assembly, and with detailed background of the members who had been appointed. Now, this is in contrast to the appointment of the new chair to Hywel Dda University Health Board, where a statement was made to the press with no detailed statement to this Chamber setting out the qualifications of the person who had been appointed. Now, it is interesting that the same individual was involved in both those appointments, and I think it would be helpful for this Chamber, Llywydd, for us to understand when we can expect to have detailed reporting to this Chamber of those public appointment processes, or whether we can be expected to learn about what, certainly for my constituency in west Wales, is an extremely major appointment simply from a press release, with no details available about that person's qualifications and experience. I will not name, Llywydd, the individual involved, but the Minister for health and, I'm sure, the Trefnydd will know of whom we speak. Concerns have been raised with me about that person's track record in previous places, and it would be useful for us to be able to see on what basis she has been appointed to the Hywel Dda board, just as we were able to see on what basis the members for the Social Care Wales board were appointed.

On that second point, I'll give some serious consideration as to how we can ensure that we do make these announcements in a consistent way across Government, and in a transparent way, and give Members and other interested parties the opportunity to find out a bit more about people being appointed to boards and organisations, in order to get an idea of who they are and what their qualifications are. So, I'll give some consideration to how we can achieve more consistency there.

The Minister in his statement today, updating on the issues at Cwm Taf, has said that he'd be keen to provide a further update in due course. As we start to move towards the next term, obviously we'll be considering the balance of business to bring forward, and the request made today, and in recent weeks, will all be part of that.

I declare an interest as a Cardiff councillor. I'd like a Government statement on private companies running children's care homes in Wales. They will not allow councillors, or indeed parents, access to those homes to visit. This has happened in one case in particular that I'm dealing with where a child has alleged abuse in care continuously—continuously—and neither councillors or parents are allowed to visit the home. There was an issue where the child was taken to hospital, and the only information given to the parents, who have parental responsibility, was that blood was involved. Nothing else—no further information was given. These private companies are making a fortune off these children, and this child is in the care of Cardiff Council, and I simply want to know how these private companies can get away with behaving like that and not allowing visits and not giving basic information about the condition of children in their care.

Can I encourage you to write to the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services asking for some more information, in terms of the role and responsibilities of private companies providing care, in terms of the access that they should give to interested parties in order to meet with and talk to children? It’s not a case I’m familiar with, but if you write the Minister, she’ll be able, perhaps, to provide some more advice.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Organiser, could I seek three statements, if possible, please, and I will be very brief? The first one is on the equine flu that is, obviously, around Wales and around other parts of the United Kingdom, as I understand it. Many summer shows have already announced either vaccinated animals or no horses whatsoever will be in attendance at their summer show. It would be good to understand how the chief veterinary officer is recommending certain actions to Welsh Government, and what progress is being made, obviously, to contain this outbreak—a very serious outbreak I might add. And if there isn’t pertinent information at this time, given we are going into the summer recess, could I ask the Government to commit to publishing regular updates so that Members are aware of how this outbreak is being contained here within Wales?

Secondly, at the start of this term or at the end of the last term, there was an update on the Barry biomass boiler or incinerator—call it what you will. To date, I believe there’s been little or no progress since that update. It was some time ago—February 2018, and the organiser will be familiar with the times I’ve raised this—that the Government did commit to an environmental impact assessment being made available. I think it’s the Deputy Minister who’s responsible—Hannah Blythyn—because I can appreciate—I can see you looking round the front bench there. It would be good to understand, especially as we’re going into recess: is there any update on the action points that the Government brought forward in its letter? One thing highlighted in that letter was a breach of planning policy. It would be good to understand what interaction has happened between the Welsh Government and the local planning department—I declare an interest as a councillor in the Vale of Glamorgan, and, obviously, the Vale of Glamorgan is the planning authority in this particular instance. So, any update would be greatly received.

And, thirdly, it is important to understand what dialogue the Welsh Government have had in relation to the protests in the centre of Cardiff. I appreciate you’re not directly responsible at this moment in time, as it is a local authority matter and a police matter, but businesses and individuals have been inconvenienced greatly by the continuation of the protest. It is everyone’s right to protest, and it is everyone’s right to bring issues to the table and to the public’s attention, but many businesses in particular feel aggrieved that their normal trading has been greatly disrupted with no end in sight, and I’d be grateful to receive any update that Welsh Government might have, working with other partners, to address the concerns of the protesters and ultimately work with other authorities to bring a normalisation to the centre of Cardiff so that people can have their concerns addressed by the Government, but also that those with businesses and those who need to get about their daily activity can be confident that this disruption will come to an end.

Thank you for raising those issues. In relation to the first: of course, equine influenza is a non-notifiable and endemic condition in the United Kingdom. The disease is usually mild and self-limiting, but it can also represent a major cause of respiratory disease in the horse population. I can confirm that the chief veterinary officer has been providing advice, and we’re in ongoing discussions with the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, for example, and welcome their responsible decision for all equines attending this year’s Royal Welsh Show to be properly vaccinated against equine influenza. If constituents or interested parties would like information, I’m sure that the Minister will provide it, or they could seek information from their local vet as well.

In terms of the Barry biomass boiler issue, I’m afraid I don’t have any information for you today, but as soon as there is more information, we’ll provide that to you, even if that is during recess.

And on the matter of the protest in Cardiff, Welsh Government hasn’t had any discussions. It is really a matter for Cardiff Council, although we are, obviously, very much engaging on the substance of the matter, having recently declared a climate emergency and published our low-carbon delivery plan, setting out the actions and priorities that we will take to address this issue.

And finally, Siân Gwenllian.

Thank you very much. Recently, Rhun ap Iorwerth requested a debate on dentistry, and, in response, you said that the Minister for health may consider that. May I also echo that demand for a debate on dentistry, please, and that we have that early in the new term, and may I just explain why I’m making that call? The situation of dentistry in my constituency is very grave indeed. There isn’t a single practice in Arfon taking new patients on the NHS, not one taking adult patients, not one taking children, and not a single dentist taking children and young people with learning disabilities. My constituency is no exception. There are at least eight others in a similar situation. Clearly, that’s not acceptable and we need urgent action in terms of the contract and the cap, and the recommendations of the health committee need to be taken into account. As a long-term solution, the Government needs to look at training dentists in north Wales in Bangor, building on the medical training that's to commence there in September. So, I would welcome a debate so that we can air all of the problems that exist around dentistry in Wales at the moment.

Well, I can confirm there'll be a debate on 'Designed to Smile: 10 years of improving children's oral health in Wales' on the first day back in September, so that might be an opportunity, at least, for colleagues to raise issues relating specifically to children's oral health, but, obviously, an opportunity to raise their wider interests and concerns. 

Thank you, Trefnydd.