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

Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to this week's business. 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. 

Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from the Government on the future of the Veterans' NHS Wales service? It's appreciated by many people, that particular service, and, of course, there are hundreds of veterans who have benefited from it since it was established. One of the issues with that service, though, has always been the capacity of the service to be able to deal with the demands that are placed upon it. They were very fortunate in securing some grant support in order to reduce some of the waiting times for people accessing the service from the charity Help for Heroes, but unfortunately that grant support will come to an end in 12 months' time and, obviously, the organisation, Veterans' NHS Wales, is very keen to ensure that there can be some continuity after that. So, I wonder whether we could have a statement on what the Welsh Government will do to support the capacity of this service beyond the grant period, because I think it would be very much valued if the Welsh Government was able to put some more resource in. 

Can I also ask for a statement on the future of school liaison officers in Wales? I know that, in the past, the Welsh Government has provided funding to support school liaison officers through the police funding that it makes available to forces, and, of course, there has been an element that has come from the health side of the funding in order to support the substance misuse work that those officers do. Now, clearly, we all know in our own constituencies about the valuable work of school liaison officers, and I understand that the cost of these around Wales is about £350,000. I would be very grateful if the Welsh Government could confirm that, in the budget in the autumn, that money will be available to enable these important posts to continue beyond 1 April next year. 

Thank you very much. I will have a conversation with my colleague the Minister for Health and Social Services with regard to your interest particularly in the Veterans' NHS Wales service and the support that it receives but also the available capacity within that organisation to meet the needs of veterans.

In terms of the school liaison officer role, you asked how they might or might not be reflected in any budget decisions that are made. Obviously, we're at the very early start of our budget considerations, but I'm sure they will be discussed with the relevant Ministers during that budget-setting process. 

I want to raise the problems that constituents in Porth are having regarding mobile phone coverage. This follows a fire around a mobile phone mast nearly a fortnight ago, and there's been an absence of mobile signal in many areas around the town since then. As you can imagine, this is causing a great deal of inconvenience not just to individuals, but also to local businesses. Is there any guidance that the Government can issue to mobile phone providers in terms of best practice for them to adhere to for restoring mobile phone coverage as quickly as possible? Also, does the Government have a view as to how long it should take before financial compensation is triggered for customers without mobile phone coverage?

I was alarmed to see that the monarch's second son has been invited to attend a campus of the University of South Wales. While I'm a firm believer in the principle of innocent until proven guilty, this member of the royal family has been accused of some very serious crimes and abuses of power. We don't know yet if he will answer the allegations in court or not, and many believe that his connections with the upper echelons of the British establishment will shade him from the justice system, even if there is a strong case to answer.

What we do know is that this royal maintained his friendship with a notorious paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, after he pleaded guilty to procuring an underage girl for prostitution. This was the same Epstein that his wife, Sarah Ferguson, accepted £15,000 from to pay an employee to whom she owed money. Furthermore, there has been no explanation as to how this royal came to be pictured with his arm around the waist of a 17-year-old girl—a woman who says she was procured by Epstein as a teenager to have sex with him.

In the light of #MeToo and Time's Up, this should be enough to ensure that this man is not welcomed to the University of South Wales while such serious allegations, without any adequate explanation, are hanging over his head. The allegations should not mean business as usual, and I wonder if you share my concerns about the damage that this could cause to the university's reputation internationally. What pressure can the Welsh Government bring to bear so that institutions under its charge do not have guests in this unsavoury situation welcomed onto the campus with open arms?

Presiding Officer, mobile phone coverage, and any compensation, is an issue that is not devolved to the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government, so that might be something that Leanne Wood would wish to take up with the appropriate Minister in the UK Government.

On the second matter, universities in Wales are independent and autonomous institutions, and it is a matter for universities as to whom they invite onto their campuses. The Welsh Government has no say in such matters.

Trefnydd, I'd like to request two statements today, if I may. Firstly, last Friday, I had the pleasure of visiting Sheppards Pharmacy in Abercynon to find out about their new sore throat test-and-treat scheme that's being run as an extension of the Choose Pharmacy common ailments scheme. This innovative practice is another example of the way in which community pharmacies can be used to relieve pressure on our general practitioner services, and will be offered in every Cynon Valley community pharmacy from November. So, could we have a statement from the Welsh Government on how it's supporting community pharmacies and how it's working with them to encourage them to offer new, effective services like these, which will, of course, be so especially important in the coming months as we look to relieve winter pressures?

Secondly, this lunchtime, I hosted a drop-in event with UnLtd, the UK foundation for social entrepreneurs, so that they could tell Assembly Members more about the work they do in finding, funding and supporting social entrepreneurs in Wales—social entrepreneurs like Janis Werrett, of Cynon Valley Organic Adventures, whose community garden, as well as promoting sustainability, offers educational and employability opportunities. I know there are some quite wide-ranging discussions taking place within the sector, but could we have a statement from Welsh Government on what work it is doing to provide support to social entrepreneurs, who, with the right support, can strengthen our communities and our economy simultaneously?

I thank Vikki for raising both of these important issues this afternoon. On the first, I will ask the health Minister to explore how we can best update the Assembly on how we are supporting community pharmacy, especially at this time of year, when they play an absolutely crucial role in terms of helping people access flu jabs, for example, but also in terms of the myriad things they can do to help people stay well but also be a first port of call for certain conditions as well. So, I'll ensure that there is an update provided on that.

On the second issue, thank you for hosting the event at lunchtime. I had the pleasure of being able to come along and meet some excellent social enterprises that are working in Swansea. I met People Speak Up, Vibe Youth and also miFuture. I think just speaking to those three organisations, it really gave a strong picture of just the breadth of social enterprise and the vibrant sector that we have in Wales, which I know the Minister for economy is keen to continue to develop and support.

Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for health about hospital maintenance in Wales? According to a recent report, the seven health boards in Wales face a bill of at least £260 million for urgent repairs and refurbishments, out of a total repair bill of more than £500 million. In my own health board area, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which is one of the better performing areas, over £23 million of urgent repairs are required, out of a total sum of only £100 million. So, please can we have a statement from the Minister on what action he will take to address this serious issue to put our hospitals in the right order, to make our people's health better and the hospitals also? Thank you.

I can say on behalf of the health Minister that we have committed over £370 million for investment in health capital projects this year, and £338 million next year. This includes over £8 million of discretionary spending in each of those two financial years. Health boards and trusts have a responsibility to ensure that they do maintain a robust risk profile of maintenance requirements, and that they're able then to prioritise the work within that. But alongside maintaining the existing health estate across Wales, we're also providing health organisations with funding for major infrastructure projects that will enable to us to deliver on the vision set out in the 'A Healthier Wales' strategy, and that, of course, includes delivering the new £350 million Grange university hospital currently being built in Cwmbran, and also the refurbishment of Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil. And alongside this, we've also allocated over £70 million over three years for the delivery of 19 new primary and community care projects across Wales, which are key to delivering our aim of providing care closer to home.

Last week, the Scottish National Party Government okayed the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi, which is something that I and others in this Chamber, I'm sure, will welcome. But also last week, Corbyn tweeted, and I quote:

'People with cystic fibrosis in England, Wales and Northern Ireland still don’t have access to the life changing drug #Orkambi…The government must act.'

Well, I know he doesn't really understand devolution very well, but when he says 'the government', obviously, he is wrong, because health is devolved. Now, I would like to understand what the Welsh Labour Government will do in relation to Orkambi, given the fact that some people in Wales have said that they are now considering moving to Scotland if Orkambi is not okayed here. We simply can't live in a situation where people are being denied this life-saving drug. What is the Welsh Government going to do on this particular matter?

The Minister for Health and Social Services did make a statement on the availability of medicines for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in August, and he was clear that we will make all medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group available within 60 days of their first recommendation, and we'll make all medicines available where their costs appropriately reflect their benefits. To determine if that's the case for Orkambi and Symkevi, it does require Vertex Pharmaceuticals to engage with our internationally recognised medical appraisals process. But since 2016, we've repeatedly invited Vertex Pharmaceuticals to engage with us in that appraisal process, and they have made a commitment to do so, but as yet, they haven't, and Welsh Government strongly encourages them to make a submission urgently.

Could I ask for a statement or a debate on three important issues, firstly on the matter of flood resilience and response? Once again, parts of Ogmore and many parts of Wales have been deluged overnight, and this is a pattern we'll see more and more of in years to come, thanks to climate change and the prevalence of hard, non-porous surfaces within our communities? So, a statement would be welcome to show what more the Welsh Government can do to promote sustainable drainage, partnership working on flood forums, and also, I have to say, a chance to praise the work of local council workers and contractors, and even local councillors individually, who've been rolling their sleeves up to help residents affected by the horrors of flooding today.

Could I also ask for a statement or a debate on pernicious anaemia? Further to my hosting a reception here in the Senedd earlier this year, which many fellow AMs attended, I attended this weekend a meeting of the Bridgend support group for pernicious anaemia to hear of the ongoing problems with late diagnosis, inadequate testing, inconsistent advice, and the need for training with general practitioners and healthcare specialists, and the lack of clinical guidance and more. The massive impacts on an individual and the massive costs to society of untreated and unmanaged pernicious anaemia will be astronomical, bearing in mind that up to 350,000 people in Wales have low levels of B12. So, could we have a debate or a statement to explore further the work that Welsh Government could lead on tackling pernicious anaemia in Wales?

Finally, the First Minister, the active travel Minister and many Assembly Members joined with our cross-party active travel group last week as we showcased, with the support of nextbike, Raleigh, ICE Trikes, Pedal Power and Cardiff Council, some of the very best in the new e-bikes and the potential for transforming travel, not just in cities but in rural areas too, helping people move out of their cars and into more sustainable modes of travel. It's fair to say that a bit of fun was had by Assembly Members too, whizzing around the courtyard outside the Senedd. A debate would allow us to explore the ways in which Welsh Government could help further in promoting this rapidly growing sector, not least by corporate buy-in—and I know the Presiding Officer will be listening—so that civil servants and Ministers could avail themselves of this rapid, eco-friendly urban transport around Cardiff, and also to ask Ministers whether the UK-wide eCargo bike grant fund, run by the Energy Saving Trust for the Department for Transport, is also available in Wales and how people can access that fund.

Thank you for raising those issues. The event that you sponsored for e-bikes certainly did look fun. I've seen some of the photographs and I thought it was a great way to show the benefits of e-bikes and just how accessible they can be and how adaptable they can be as well. I know that the Minister for Economy and Transport has asked officials to look at the potential of e-bikes and similar transport models and how they can benefit active travel as part of our Wales transport strategy, and I know that he'd be keen to keep you updated on that particular piece of work.FootnoteLink

The Minister for environment has indicated that she'd be happy to provide you with an update on work that's being done to tackle and prevent flooding,FootnoteLink but also, I think, we need to recognise the important work that local members of the community do, community councils, town councils and councillors, when responding to events of flooding as well, because the work that they do inevitably is always extremely important to those people who have been affected by flooding. Over the life of this Government, we'll be investing over £350 million in flood and coastal erosion risk management across the whole of Wales. We have at the moment a consultation on a new draft strategy for flood and coastal erosion risk management for Wales. Actually, this has only very recently closed and the Minister will be considering those responses, with a view to publishing a new strategy in 2020. So, I'm sure that that will elicit the appropriate responses as we move towards that.

And I know that the health Minister would welcome the opportunity to let Members have a written statement on the current ongoing work across the NHS on pernicious anaemia. It is one of the key and top priority areas of the blood health national oversight group, which oversees the NHS blood health plan.

Information further to Plenary

Information further to Plenary

I'd like to request a Government statement and time to question the Government's proposals as set out in the draft national development framework. The proposals were, of course, issued over August, when Assembly Members were in summer recess and were unable to ask questions at that time. I do fully appreciate the Minister facilitated a drop-in event for AMs last week, which I did attend, and I am meeting the Minister separately to discuss the issue, but there are a number of AMs that represent constituencies where there would be significant impact on those areas with regard to proposals as set out in the energy section of the NDF. We had a lot of talk about democracy earlier today.

Thousands of my constituents descended on this Assembly back in 2011 to propose that the Welsh Government scrapped its technical advice note 8 guidance that saw areas of Wales very much focused on large-scale wind developments in those areas. The NDF does exactly the same, except it goes even further in accepting landscape change. Thousands of tourism businesses are dependent on the landscapes of mid Wales and thousands of people are employed in that sector. This is a significant issue that really should be debated in this Chamber, and I hope that the Government will allow time to do that.

Thank you, Russell George, for raising the national development framework here this afternoon. I know that the Minister for local government is very keen to hear as many voices as she possibly can and get as much engagement as possible on this issue.

The framework is in draft at the moment—it's out to consultation until 20 November—but the Minister has indicated that she'd be happy to meet with individual AMs if they've got particular interest in this, or to facilitate a further opportunity for a briefing with officials and the opportunity to have discussions there.

Trefnydd, over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Abergavenny Food Festival, now in its twenty-first year. The festival continues to go from strength to strength, with local companies such as Sugarloaf Catering playing key roles, and also companies from further afield as well.

I also took part in the Love Zimbabwe march for Africa, along with the mayor, Tony Konieczny, and others, demonstrating the diversity and reach of the festival. Could we have an update from the Welsh Government, perhaps a statement, on support for food festivals as valuable parts of the local economy, but also as vehicles for really getting the message of Wales out there on the global stage and connecting with countries from across the world?

Turning to the FSB report, which was mentioned by the leader of the opposition in his questions to the First Minister earlier, that report highlights the need to tackle local infrastructure problems to help small businesses. It may well be that there's already a statement, a policy announcement, in the pipeline from the Welsh Government in response to that report. I wonder if we could have an update on how the Welsh Government intends to liaise with local businesses across Wales to get their view on how infrastructure issues locally could be prioritised to help improve local economies.

And thirdly and finally, the Welsh Government has, of course, declared a climate emergency, which we've heard a lot about in this Chamber; local authorities across Wales have been following suit. Of course, we need action, not just words. So, I wonder what support and encouragement the Welsh Government is giving to those local authorities and organisations out beyond this Chamber who are trying to do their bit to try and prevent future global temperature increases. What are you doing to support them? So, perhaps we could have a statement from the environment Minister on action that's being taken to make sure that there is action on the ground and not just well-meaning, but, nonetheless, words.

Thank you very much, Nick Ramsay, and thank you for highlighting the importance of food festivals to communities and to small businesses, particularly, I think, within our food sector across Wales. I will ask the Minister to write to you with an update on our support for the food industry, but with a particular view to addressing the interest of celebrating local produce through festivals or other work as well.FootnoteLink

In terms of local infrastructure, I know that the Minister for economy and the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport both have a strong interest in terms of how we can best engage with small businesses. The work we're doing on the foundational economy, for example, is really based on working with businesses right at the grass roots within local economies, but I'll ask them to explore whether or not there's more that we can be doing in that particular area.

And, on the climate emergency, when the Minister announced the climate emergency, she said that she wanted it to be a catalyst for action, so it's not just what Welsh Government can do—we can do a lot—but we can never address a climate emergency alone. And it was about giving inspiration to local councils, community councils, town councils and so on to be doing similarly within communities, but also to inspire individuals, as well, to explore what we could be doing differently in our own lives in terms of the context of the climate emergency. I know that it's something that is very much on the mind of all colleagues at the moment in terms of how we can ensure that the policies we're all pursuing very much reflect the climate emergency. But I will consider with colleagues how we can best have those discussions with local authorities to ensure that the kind of leadership that we want to provide is being felt at that local level.

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Finally, Andrew R.T. Davies.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Organiser, could I seek two statements, if possible, please—the first one in relation to the evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee yesterday by the, I think it was, director general Andrew Slade, from the economy department of the Welsh Government, in relation to Cardiff Airport? He touched on two very important issues. One is that, certainly for the future as he could see it, it would rely on continued Welsh Government funding unless some serious policy decisions were taken by Welsh Government to change the way the airport was being supported. And, secondly, he highlighted that there are active discussions about more loans being made available to the airport for its continued development. No-one disputes the ability to invest to create new gateways to the international market—we all support that—but considering that in excess of £100 million has gone into Cardiff Airport—the purchase price and loans to date—I think it does warrant a statement from the Minister as to how advanced these discussions are (1) on additional moneys being made available to the airport and what those moneys might be made available for, and, secondly, what will the forward-looking policy position of the Welsh Government be in relation to supporting the airport going forward, given that every indication in the evidence that was given to the Public Accounts Committee yesterday indicated that substantial sums of money are going to have to continue to be made available to the airport? It's not good enough that we, as Members, when we seek that information, are told, 'It's Cardiff Airport's information; they will make it available to you', and then they'd cite commercial sensitivity, commercial confidentiality. That is just not good enough, I'm afraid, so I'd welcome a statement from the Minister.

Secondly, if we could have a statement in relation to any Government work that is being undertaken by the education department—I appreciate the announcement in Brighton about independent schools, and we can argue and debate the merits or not, as the case may be, of independent schools, but there are a significant number of independent schools in my region, Howell's School, for example, St John's College, Westbourne School, Kings Monkton School—I could go on—and, around Wales, you have Llandovery College, Christ College, St Michael's School and Monmouth School, for example, and when the Government, if it was to be a Labour Government—God forbid—is looking to take control of the assets of those individual institutions, that is deeply, deeply concerning. Now, I've said it's not about the merits of independent schools, this isn't; this is about the policy position of the Welsh Government, in particular when you have significant employers in local economies such as I've just mentioned now, and also employment opportunities that, basically, through one policy made by the UK Labour Government—if there was a Labour Government—could wipe out those businesses. It's important to understand what role Welsh Government, if any, has to play in this. Because, whilst I appreciate that education policy is devolved, the law around charities and land ownership and ownership more generally is a reserved matter for Westminster and those are important implications that need to be worked through.

On the first issue regarding Cardiff Airport and any potential future support that the airport would require from Welsh Government, I think, in the first instance, we should let PAC do its work and then PAC will obviously report and Welsh Government will respond to that. But I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities to discuss future support for the airport with the economy and transport Minister.

As you say, in relation to the second point, certainly policy under education is very much devolved to Wales, so our approach specifically regarding independent schools in the short term, in terms of what we're able to be doing here in Wales, is very much looking at their charitable rate relief. So, you'll be aware that I've committed to consulting on removing the charitable rate relief for independent schools to bring them in line with other schools across Wales, and we should be able to bring forward that consultation within the next 12 months. But that's as far as the work in that particular area has gone at the moment.

And finally finally, Mark Isherwood.

Diolch, Llywydd. Can I first call for a statement on the Cystic Fibrosis Trust? In response to Bethan Sayed, you referred to a statement by the Minister in August, but the Scottish Government announced that people with cystic fibrosis there could access Orkambi and Symkevi as part of a five-year agreement with Vertex on 12 September. So, things have moved on and it's in that context that Cystic Fibrosis Trust have stated that it seems there were preliminary discussions between Vertex and the All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre looking at the possibility of submissions being made some weeks and months ago, but the data submissions to the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group haven't taken place, as far as they're aware. And, with the news from Scotland, they're saying that it's very disappointing that these discussions haven't got to this stage with Welsh authorities and they're urging Vertex to ensure that they follow the necessary procedures to make this happen. But they're also saying it would be really useful if we can ensure the Minister here can continue to update the Assembly on progress and look at what his department can do to ensure that this stays on the agenda and Welsh people with cystic fibrosis aren't spending too long without access to treatments their Scottish counterparts do have access to. So, the diary has moved on, and it's in that context I feel, across parties, we would welcome that statement.

Secondly, and finally, I call for a statement on the modern slavery helpline. On 7 May, Jane Hutt, Deputy Minister and Chief Whip, made a statement on the modern slavery helpline, hosted by Unseen. As she said, Unseen

'work with a range of partners including the UK and devolved Governments...working to build a better understanding of how modern slavery is affecting our communities and our people so that effective and timely action can be taken to address the problem.'

And she said:

'Our Wales Anti-Slavery Leadership Group works closely with Unseen to help promote the Helpline, which aims to increase levels of reporting and subsequently leads to more victims being identified, rescued, and where possible to the prosecution of offenders.'

However, serious concerns have been raised with me about the organisation Unseen and the helpline, where, despite having received £2 million in two years, it seems that, without urgent funding, the helpline is now under threat of being closed. In fact, their website—I've checked this morning—says:

'SAVE THE UK MODERN SLAVERY HELPLINE..Without urgent funding it will close on 30th November'.

And also, yesterday, in the North Wales Chronicle, we read that the Human Trafficking Foundation has welcomed an increase in the identification of potential victims, including 70 potential victims recorded by North Wales Police in the 12 months to June—that's significantly up on the previous 12 months. But she has cautioned—or they have cautioned—that the proportion of people entering the national referral mechanism who are then recognised as having been trafficked has remained stagnant. Only about 7 per cent of cases investigated go to the Crown Prosecution Service, only about 1 per cent receive compensation, and, she says, perhaps most shockingly of all, the Government, and presumably both Governments in the context of the Minister's previous statement, have no idea what happens to these thousands of victims when they exit the national referral mechanism. This is a terrifying oversight.

Again, I call for an urgent statement in that context, where the helpline the Welsh Government is contributing to and dependent upon might be about to close.

Thank you. Just to reassure you that the health Minister is keen to keep all Members up to date on matters relating to the availability of medicines for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, following the statement that he made last month, and to be clear again that we really do encourage Vertex Pharmaceuticals to engage with the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group appraisals process and make that submission urgently. But, as soon as there is further to report on that, I know that the health Minister will be very keen to do so.

The Deputy Minister and Chief Whip has heard what you said regarding your concerns relating to the modern slavery helpline, and she will certainly follow up what you've said.FootnoteLink

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Thank you, Trefnydd.