2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:35 pm on 21 January 2020.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 2:35, 21 January 2020

Could we have a statement or a debate on the provision of appropriate treatments for borderline personality disorder in a consistent way right across Wales? I've been approached by an articulate and very well-informed constituent—informed through personal experience and through academic research—who has raised the difficulty of obtaining dialectical behaviour therapy, DBT, in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board area, and he's queried whether the same may apply across different health board areas in Wales. And we could also discuss, then, the extent to which an individual experiencing borderline personality disorder should be able to engage with clinicians on what the individual considers to be the most appropriate form of treatment for themselves, as opposed to simply accepting whatever treatment may or may not be available within one health board area.

Could we also have a statement on changes on train timetabling, to enable Valleys commuters to get to work on time in Cardiff? There are only two trains that leave Maesteg that are scheduled to arrive in Cardiff before 9 a.m. on weekdays. The first leaves at 6.44 a.m., arriving at 7.38 a.m.—plenty of time to get to work for an 8 a.m. or 8.30 a.m. start. However, the second was subject to a timetable change in November, which pushed back the departure train to 8.04 a.m., arriving in Cardiff at 8.54 a.m. if there are no delays. Minister, there are always delays—sometimes five minutes, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes more. So it means that commuters who previously had understanding bosses who said, 'As long as you're at your desk by 9 a.m., don't worry, you're fine', are now regularly arriving at their desks later than 9 a.m., to find their bosses saying, 'You keep this up and you'll be out of a job.' So, I've written to Ministers, to Transport for Wales, to KeolisAmey, to Network Rail, and others, to put this train back to an earlier time when the May timetable changes come. So I'd welcome a statement on the May timetabling.

And finally, could we have a debate on the roll-out of universal credit, which, as I'm seeing in my surgeries week after week, is pushing many of my constituents deep into debt, into penury, and into despair? And can we have an update on the Welsh Government-commissioned research by Policy in Practice, which is designed to help the Welsh Government make policy decisions to best support local authorities and residents with universal credit, and understand how this is affecting families in Wales? We saw the research last year by Cartref, showing the impact of the freeze on universal credit, leading to an average 6 per cent cut to the income of people claiming working-age benefits since 2016. It showed that 84 per cent of tenants claiming UC now owe some rent to their housing association, whether through non-payment or technical issues. And those tenants on UC who are in arrears owe more than double the amount of rent compared to peers claiming housing benefit under the old system. So it would be good to have a statement or a debate on this, so we can really get to grips with the worst effects of this badly designed and poverty-inducing UK Government policy.