2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:02 pm on 21 January 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Isherwood Mark Isherwood Conservative 3:02, 21 January 2020

I endorse the comments about the fire at Kronospan and note that Wrexham council convened a multi-agency meeting to discuss this last Tuesday, and that the Clwyd South MP was meeting the chief executive of the council last Friday and is keeping the Secretary of State up to date on this.

But I call for two statements. Firstly, on cervical cancer prevention, you may be aware that this is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week. Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, which is campaigning to end the stigma around the human papilloma virus infection, or HPV, and to raise awareness of this really common virus and the role of cervical cancer screening in preventing cervical cancer, states the cervical screening programme in Wales is now testing all samples for HPV first, but notes amongst other things that many women still—. They hear regularly from women every day who feel ashamed, embarrassed, confused after being told they have HPV. Myths around HPV may further discourage women from attending their screening tests. So, could I call for a statement responding to their call for detail from the Welsh Government on the steps that the health Secretary is taking to increase understanding of HPV following the cervical screening move to HPV primary screening?

Secondly and finally, could I call for a statement on help for young people facing financial hardship? This is in the context of the charity established by Ally Elouise in Llandudno in 2015, which offers free loans of over 3,000 suits and prom dresses to hundreds of students who otherwise couldn't afford to celebrate finishing school. Ally has been awarded the Prime Minister's Points of Light award, and she e-mailed last week stating, 'I'd be grateful if you could share or promote this in order to help as many young people facing financial hardship as possible to attend their school proms this year.' I call for a statement accordingly.