2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:40 pm on 13 July 2021.

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Photo of Mark Isherwood Mark Isherwood Conservative 2:40, 13 July 2021

I call for two Welsh Government statements. Firstly, on Welsh Government support for people with learning disabilities. Three weeks ago, the Royal College of Nursing launched its report on learning disability nursing, 'Connecting for Change'. The report highlights a significant decline in learning disability nurses across the UK. The RCN states that some of this reduction is due to the positive shift in the support for people with learning disabilities from a medical model to a social care model. Although they believe many learning disability nurses have moved on with people with learning disabilities, and are now providing skilled support in social care settings, there is not the data about this workforce, and there is no Government strategy for planning or developing the work of nurses in social care. The report also found significant differences across the four UK countries. For example, many counties in England have children's community learning disability teams with learning disability nurses. However, there is a lack of children's learning disability services in Wales. Specific to Wales, the report has highlighted that student learning disability nursing numbers have remained static for the last three years, and there is only one learning disability nurse at nurse consultant level across the whole of Wales. I therefore call for a statement detailing the Welsh Government's response to the RCN's call for a workforce plan to accompany the strategic development of learning disability services across Wales over the next decade.

I also call for a Welsh Government statement on COVID-19 PCR testing for green-list countries. I heard the First Minister's response earlier, but it will not satisfy the constituent who e-mailed on Saturday as follows:

'I bought a package holiday via Tui, but unlike residents of England, I can't take advantage of their testing package at a cost of £20 for all tests. Instead, I'm forced to pay £88 per person just for the return PCR test, plus an additional charge for the return to UK antigen test. For the four adults and two children travelling, this adds an additional overhead of more than £400.'

I was also in dialogue today with a lady who is due to take her last holiday with her terminally ill husband and may now have to reconsider due to this unnecessary cost. This kind of treatment of people who have followed all the rules—