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

Diolch, Llywydd. I've added two statements to this week's business. Today, the First Minister will make a statement on the programme for government, and tomorrow, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change will make a statement on climate change. Finally, tomorrow's short debate has been postponed until next week. 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 call for two separate statements, please? The first is from the Minister responsible for culture. The Welsh Government will be aware that, for UK City of Culture applications this year, the deadline for expressions of interest is coming up next month. For the first time ever, groups of small towns will be able to apply for city of culture status, rather than just larger cities. That obviously opens this opportunity up to many towns and villages across the whole of Wales. I've already been contacted by an enthusiastic group of volunteers in the Vale of Clwyd area—not the Vale of Clwyd constituency—and they are very much hoping that they can put a bid together to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity that it presents. I think it would be good if the Welsh Government could encourage these sorts of applications to come forward, and give some guidance to those smaller towns and communities, because, otherwise, I think we may miss this opportunity, and it would be great if Wales was able to seize it with both hands.

Secondly, can I call for a statement from the Minister for health in relation to referrals and treatment for prostate cancer in Wales? I was astonished to be told recently that the number of referrals for prostate cancer had fallen by over 2,000 in Wales due to fewer people being tested following the restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Clearly, that's very alarming—it could mean that there's undetected prostate cancer out there, and people's health could be damaged as a result. So, I think it would be good to know what the Government's strategy is to get on top of that in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Darren Millar. As you say, it's a very exciting opportunity for small towns, and it's good to hear that there are groups of volunteers in your own constituency who are looking to put forward a bid in relation to the city of culture. I will certainly ensure that any guidance or information that we are able to give to interested groups is given out.

In relation to your second point, I think with any health issue—and you refer specifically to prostate disease—awareness should be raised about screening. You might be aware that this week is Cervical Screening Awareness Week, and it is really important that we do all we can to make sure people are aware of what is on offer, particularly around screening, which obviously can provide a level of protection. I think you make an important point around the COVID-19 pandemic as well—there are so many other harms. So, it is really important that we do raise awareness.

Could I ask for a statement on the accessibility of the public transport network in Wales, please, not just relating to the actual trains and buses themselves, but bus stops and train stations, particularly the stations that aren't staffed? A number of constituents have raised with me the lack of sheltered seating and room for wheelchair users and people with prams, and, in one case that I'm aware of, a ticket machine being in a confined space with very little room to access it at all. I'm sure the Trefnydd agrees with me that the public transport network in Wales should be easily accessible for all.

Thank you, Luke Fletcher, for that. Absolutely, I agree with you that all aspects of public transport—as you say, it's not just the buses or the trains, it is the infrastructure around there—should be accessible. I am unclear whether there is a piece of work being done to look into that, but I will certainly mention it to the Minister with responsibility. 

I'm asking for a Government statement on proposed tree planting, to include how the public can become involved. If everyone in Wales who has a garden planted a new tree then we'd have an additional 1 million trees. I am sure that some Members will remember as children 'Plant a tree in '73, plant one more in '74'. Will the Government consider implementing such a scheme for 2023 and 2024?

I would also like a Government statement on supply teachers. I believe it is fundamentally wrong that they are not directly employed by councils or groups of councils. i think it is abysmal the way they are treated, and I would like a statement from the Government on supply teacher employment. 

Thank you. I'm certainly old enough to remember the planting of trees in 1973 and 1974. You may be aware, Mike Hedges, that the Deputy Minister for Climate Change is going to be leading a deep-dive exercise into how we can increase tree planting. Clearly, I'm sure he'll be very interested in your suggestion. We've also begun to create the national forest, which was one of the First Minister's manifesto commitments. Again, I'm sure there is something we can do around the national forest also. 

In relation to supply teachers, as you say, they can be employed either directly via local authorities or schools or via commercial supply agencies. Obviously, headteachers and governing bodies are responsible for all staffing decisions and to make sure that they've got an effective workforce. We introduced the National Procurement Service supply agency framework back in September 2019, and that has resulted in a number of improvements to pay and conditions for agency supply teachers. We've also got the inclusion of a minimum pay rate, which resulted in a pay increase for framework agency teachers. 

I call for a debate or oral statement in Welsh Government time on care for people with learning disabilities and/or autism. The thirty-first of May was the 10-year anniversary of the Winterbourne View scandal, when abuse of people with learning disabilities and/or autism was exposed. In January 2013, the then Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services published a ministerial statement laying out the Welsh Government's plans to ensure that a similar situation did not happen in Wales. However, many people with learning disabilities and/or autism are still being placed long distances from where their families live. And, last week, we also heard shocking claims that autistic children were abused at a residential home in Wales—punished for engaging in autistic behaviour. 

The learning disability consortium, including Learning Disability Wales and Mencap Cymru, is calling on the Welsh Government to do six things, including committing to working with key partners on the strategy to ensure we can bring people with learning disabilities placed in all out-of-area residential services back near their families and friends, if it is their wish to do so; to outline what guarantees the Welsh Government have that people with learning disabilities are having regular care reviews; and measure what access people with learning disabilities have with advocacy services and how that information is being fed into Welsh Government. I call for a Welsh Government debate or oral statement on this urgent matter accordingly, because this urgent matter merits Government time for the Senedd to properly scrutinise them on this important matter. 

I think we would all agree that children and young people with learning disabilities should be educated and cared for as close to home as possible. I'm sure the Minister for education is aware of the report, will be looking at what the recommendations are and will bring forward further information at the most appropriate time.FootnoteLink 

Information further to Plenary

We all welcome the long-awaited clean air Act in the programme for government. It has a lot of support here in the Senedd and beyond. In April last year, I called on our cities and towns to be more considerate of people, suggesting closing Castle Street in front of the castle to create a nice public place. I was pleased that Cardiff Council did close the street for public vehicles, but we're very disappointed that there are discussions about making a u-turn.

Does the Trefnydd agree with me that it's very odd, to say the least, that Cardiff's Labour council are using clean air funding from Welsh Government on something that will, in fact, increase pollution and affect the air quality of residents and the 45 million visitors to Cardiff every year? Could we please have a written statement from the Welsh Government on their position on reopening Castle Street, and on local authorities removing measures that in fact reduce air pollution levels? Diolch.

Thank you. As the Minister then responsible, I was certainly very pleased to launch the clean air plan last August in Castle Street in Cardiff. Obviously, any funding that is given from Welsh Government to local authorities in relation to clean air or any other matter is closely monitored, and I will make sure the Minister has heard your question and writes to you specifically about the point you raise.

Minister, as has already been mentioned, this is Learning Disability Week. Many of us are pleased to mark this and celebrate, I have to say, the contribution of children and adults with learning disabilities to our lives and at work, but we also note the continuing challenges faced and the social and economic barriers that make life far more difficult.

Minister, this is also the dark anniversary of 10 years since the Winterbourne View scandal, so could I echo the call of others here today to have a statement or a debate on the way in which Welsh Government will work with the asks of the learning disability advisory group in Wales: to reduce the numbers of people with learning disabilities being placed out of county and out of Wales and a long way from home and family and friends, if it is contrary to their wishes; assess the quality and the universality of discharge plans; assess the adequacy of advocacy services and the consistency of those services; and commit to employing people with a learning disability and their carers in regular care setting reviews, which are Welsh led whether the residential setting is in Wales or not? That would be a tremendous step forward, if we could have a statement or a debate on how we can match those six asks.

Thank you. You will have heard me say in my earlier answer to Mark Isherwood that I believe we all agree that individuals with a learning disability have the right to lead fulfilling, independent lives as close to home as possible. Sometimes, obviously, specialised care is required, and we know that should be safe, effective and high quality, and absolutely focused on supporting the individual. 

The Minister, you may be aware, has the learning disability ministerial advisory group—I think that's the name of the group who advise her—and she is meeting with them this month to discuss their views around priorities going forward, so that we can build on the achievements of the previous Government and, obviously, with the new Government, decide on the most appropriate way forward. I think the Minister would say they've provided an invaluable source of advice and she's agreed that their work must continue, going forward. I think what the membership of that group does is really provide the expertise that the Minister requires on deciding future action.

Last week, BBC Wales exposed a culture of bullying among NHS staff. The Welsh Government's statement said that,

'Any form of discrimination, bullying and harassment within the NHS is entirely unacceptable and we take these matters very seriously.'

Will the business Minister schedule a debate for the Senedd to explore how these matters are taken seriously and what measures now need to be put in place to give staff, and potential new staff, confidence that our health service respects and values people?

And also, the public consultation on the Welsh Government's race equality action plan closes on 15 July, as the Senedd is about to go into recess. This is clearly an important piece of work, so would the Minister schedule an oral statement from the Minister for Social Justice for the first week back in the autumn term? Thank you very much.

I'm sure we all agree that bullying or any form of discrimination is completely unacceptable, and I know the Minister for Health and Social Services is taking this very seriously and will be discussing these issues with the health boards in her regular meeting with the chairs and the chief executive.

I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch the second part of the question.

The public consultation on the Welsh Government's race equality action plan closes on 15 July, as the Senedd is about to go into recess. This is clearly an important piece of work, so would the Minister arrange an oral statement from the Minister for Social Justice for the first week back in the autumn term?

[Inaudible.]—look at that as part of our planning for the autumn term.

It's four years now since the Children, Young People and Education Committee of the last Senedd held an inquiry into perinatal mental health in Wales. Now, among the recommendations accepted by the Government was that the Government, in light of the fact that the mother and baby unit situated in south Wales isn't appropriate for mothers and parents in north and mid Wales, should engage as a matter of urgency with the health service in England to discuss options for the creation of a centre in the north-east that could serve populations on both sides of the border. We in the north are still waiting for such provision.

You may have seen the coverage given this week to the case of Nia Foulkes from Pentrecelyn near Ruthin and her experience of having to travel to Manchester for mental health services after the birth of her son. Not only was the experience of being so far from home and so far from her child nightmarish for her and her family, but all of the care and therapy provided was through the medium of English and she felt that she couldn't express herself properly, particularly given her state. Now, Nia has explained how she thinks her recovery would've been very different and far swifter had there been a unit available closer to home that provided services to her in her mother tongue. I'm sure you will join with me in thanking Nia for her courage in speaking out about that difficult experience. Can I ask, therefore, for a statement from the health Minister to update the Senedd on what intentions the Government here has to revisit the recommendation made in that Children, Young People and Education Committee report to consider options for that service and look anew at establishing a specialist mental health unit for mothers and babies in north Wales?

Diolch. I would certainly join you in thanking your constituent for speaking out. I think it's really important that, as Ministers and Members of the Senedd, we hear about people's experiences.

The issue around providing the right care in the right place is really important and, obviously, you mentioned the issue around the Welsh language issues that your constituent faced with going over the border in England. I would think that the best way forward would be for you to write to the Minister for Health and Social Services for her to be able to update you.

Can I take this opportunity to put on record the Senedd's best wishes to our national team ahead of tomorrow's game, and also to offer our thoughts and prayers on behalf of Senedd Members to Denmark's Christian Eriksen, to his family and team mates, after the tragic scenes over the weekend?

Trefnydd, I'd like to request a written statement on access to funding via student finance for people seeking to study a PGCE. Residents have contacted me who wish to study in Cheshire East school-centred initial teacher training, but currently cannot do so and get funding from Student Finance Wales. Now, students living in England and Northern Ireland can get funding to take this course from their respective student finance organisations. I would be really grateful if the Minister responsible could report back to the Senedd on this matter. Diolch. 

Thank you. I, too, would like to join Jack Sargeant in wishing our national men's team well in their match against Turkey tomorrow and to send our thoughts and best wishes to Christian Eriksen. It was certainly very, very disturbing, what we saw on Saturday evening.

In relation to your specific request around funding access to student finance for people who are studying a PGCE, under the current regulatory arrangements, the Cheshire East teacher training programme has to apply for specific designation of its courses in order for Welsh students to be able to then access that student support if they wish to study there, and I'm sure—. You know, we have to safeguard taxpayers' money, so it's really important that we are able to confirm that all such providers and courses can demonstrate that they meet the specific criteria that we set out in order to provide that. There are other incentives available to eligible students who wish to study a postgraduate initial teacher education priority subject in Wales that can then lead to a qualified teacher status, and there is a lot of information available on the Government website.

May I ask for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change on the impact of the proposed closure of the A465 on residents and businesses in Gilwern? Last Friday, I met with Monmouthshire councillor Jane Pratt and local businesswoman Fay Bromfield, who expressed their concerns on behalf of residents and businesses about plans by the Welsh Government and Costain for six weekend closures of the A465 between Gilwern and Brynmawr during the summer. This will create utter chaos, I'm told, for visitors, local residents and anyone passing through the area on what is now a very important route to west Wales. If these six full weekend closures go ahead, they will have a profound effect on tourist traffic as many UK residents are taking their holidays in Wales and this route is very popular to get to west Wales's beaches and the Brecon Beacons, and it will, naturally, be very busy. There has been no consultation with local people on this issue and no guarantee has been provided to local businesses that they will be compensated for the damage done to their businesses by this programme of closures.

Welsh Government officials could not confirm on which weekends the A465 would be closed, and it would be desirable if the closures were made after the summer holidays and the scheme extended, as it already is three years over time and another few weeks avoiding the summer holidays would be far better. Please could we have a statement from the Minister addressing the serious concerns of the people of Gilwern?

The Member raises a very specific concern. The Minister for Climate Change does have oral questions tomorrow, so, if there is a suitable opportunity, I think it would be best to raise it in her question session tomorrow.

Trefnydd, as the agriculture Minister, I'm sure you'll be delighted to celebrate the fact that Food Cardiff has won the silver award from Sustainable Food Places. It's a real tribute to the work they've done over the last five years, when they got the bronze award—one of the first cities in the whole of the UK to get that—to improve food in hospitals and in care homes, and, generally, to help all of the organisations involved—all 74 of them—to tackle food poverty and ensure that everybody has access to healthy food. 

As it's also diabetes awareness week, which really reminds us why this is so important, because of diet-related ill health, I wondered whether we could ask for a statement from the Welsh Government on how we are going to get all public services, as well as Welsh Government procurement processes, ensuring that we make healthy eating and local, sustainable food networks a much greater priority in order to counter the billions spent by food manufacturers to promote the sale of processed food that condemns far too many of our citizens to poor health and an early death. 

Thank you. I certainly would like to, first, congratulate Cardiff in attaining a silver Sustainable Food Places award. What I really like about this scheme is that it shares the same values as the well-being of future generations Act in embedding those sustainability values and ways of working. They're very much central to our development of a food strategy for Wales, going forward.

Local authorities and schools, or their contracted caterers, have the responsibility for purchasing food for use in school meals. They're obviously able to establish cost-effective procurement arrangements with local food producers, and I think there are clear benefits from that and it absolutely should be encouraged. Work is under way to boost food resilience in communities and increase local sourcing through supporting our food wholesalers to increase the supply of Welsh food supplies right across Wales.

Through 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales', we've invested £6.5 million to support our revised delivery plan through 2021-22, and that includes a specific £1 million towards the delivery of a diabetes prevention programme in Wales. A key part of the strategy is to take forward legislation on price promotions, planning and calorie labelling so that we can help improve the food environment. 

Of course, we use our food clusters—in the just over five years I've been in post, I've been a massive advocate of that cluster programme we've had within the food division. There are some really strong networks being created, and I think that's added significant local value to our food producers.

Minister, could we have an urgent statement from the Government on their analysis of the trade deal that seems to have been agreed last night between the United Kingdom and Australia? It appears from reports, and it certainly is the view of the two farming unions in Wales, that this is an opportunity for the UK Government to sacrifice agriculture in Wales, with the associated impact on rural communities, our language and culture, on the basis of short-term profits for Conservative donors in the City of London, and to sacrifice our rural communities on the basis of that prospectus, I think, is quite appalling. So, it would be useful if we could have a statement from the Government on the Government’s analysis of the potential impact of that trade deal.

Could I also seek to invite the Government and the Presiding Office to work together to ensure that we do have legislation to ensure that there are defibrillators available across the whole of Wales? Members will not be surprised that some of us found the scenes on Saturday night in Copenhagen particularly distressing. Certainly my memory of what happened to me was very similar to what happened to Christian Eriksen, and I think our hearts go out to him in what he has experienced, and his family, and we would all wish him a very good recovery.

But his life was saved, and other lives were saved, and my life was saved by passers by and people who had both the equipment and the skills required to save those lives. It doesn’t happen by accident, and Government can make that happen. Government has a power to do that. My life was saved because there was somebody close to me who could do cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We moved in a direction of ensuring that there is training available for CPR in the last Senedd, and the work that Kirsty Williams led on that is something for which we are all very grateful to her, but there are still not sufficient defibrillators. I know there are many charities and many people working extraordinarily hard on this, but unless there is a statutory framework ensuring there are defibrillators in every one of our communities—defibrillators that work and are maintained and where there is public access to them—there will still be too many lives lost that could have been saved.

I know there’s an opportunity for a Member’s legislative statement later this month, but what we need is the space and the time and the resources from both Government and the Presiding Office to ensure that this Parliament can act on the basis of what we know, what we understand, the appalling scenes we saw on Saturday night, and the experience of many of us, particularly those of us in this Chamber who have lost loved ones because we don’t have the facilities and the infrastructure in place.

Thank you. I will start with your second question first, and I know that it, obviously, is deeply personal to you, but they were, I thought, incredibly harrowing scenes on Saturday. I thought we saw far too much than we should have done on Saturday evening, but you make a really important point about a 29-year-old man’s life being saved because of the quick thinking of many people—the referee, his team mates, and the fact they got medical equipment—and you make the point about defibrillators.

Certainly, from a Welsh Government point of view, we’ve provided funding to the Save a Life campaign. That’s working with organisations right across Wales, so we can raise awareness of the importance of CPR and the use of defibrillators through the Touch Someone’s Life campaign. I think it’s fair to say the number of defibrillators right across our communities is building. We really need to encourage people to register them with the ambulance service so that the ambulance service are aware of them, and you referred to the new curriculum statutory guidance that does include an expectation that schools should include life-saving skills and first aid as part of a range of strategies.

In relation to the Australia trade deal, we, obviously, as a Government, will be bringing forward a statement—either myself as the Minister responsible for agriculture, or my colleague, Vaughan Gething, the Minister for Economy with responsibility for trade policy. We have made it clear to the UK Government for years that what they were proposing is unacceptable to us. I’ve met with the farming unions. They’re very clear on their views—they too have made representations—and we certainly will bring forward a statement when we have all the information.

In the programme for government, the document says that the Welsh Government will ensure that estate management charges for public open spaces and facilities are paid for in a way that is fair. So says the programme for government. These are ordinary householders, in most cases, paying for green spaces that most of us pay for through our council tax. So, the fairest way to do it would be for local authorities to pay for them, and I know that the way that this has grown over the past 20 or 30 years makes that very difficult to do in one swoop. Perhaps in future local authorities can make sure they adopt green land, but at the moment we’re in a position that is very difficult. Cwm Calon in Ystrad Mynach, in my constituency, for example, now faces a wooded area being added to their estate, to which they would have to pay for, and the issue of estate management charges is something of a wild west. There are no caps on fees and there is no prevention from estate companies from charging astronomical fees. At the very least we need a cap.

Now, the Welsh Government has done the hard yards on this already by engaging in a consultation last term, which took place through the course of last year. A great deal of information has been gathered by both residents and organisations that know a great deal about this. So, I think now is the time to progress this and resolve this issue once and for all. So, please could we have an early statement from the Minister to explain how that will happen and end this injustice faced by home owners in Wales?

Thank you. Obviously, the First Minister, straight after this item, will be leading a statement on our programme for government, and it does reflect our manifesto promise to ensure that estate charges for public open spaces and facilities are paid for in a way that is fair. You, I think, point out quite rightly there's a great deal of information out there now, and I know the UK Government announced a package of reforms, and the Welsh Government have worked closely with the UK Government in relation to this. We held a call for evidence on estate charges, as you referred to, and the Minister for Climate Change is considering all options available before coming to any further decisions.

I thank the Trefnydd.