2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:32 pm on 28 September 2021.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 2:32, 28 September 2021

I've been contacted by a constituent who lives with ME, a condition otherwise known as chronic fatigue syndrome, and she's concerned about the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's decision to delay the publication of its new revised guidelines for the treatment of ME. And campaign groups for people living with ME believe this delay has been caused by a small number of professional bodies pushing back against changes in the revised guidance. I wrote to NICE, who responded that they are convening a round table next month, to try and reach a compromise position, but some of the campaign groups are not satisfied and believe that NICE are breaking its own protocols in delaying publication. So, could we have a statement from the Minister for Health and Social Services to provide an update on what, if anything, Welsh Government can do that's appropriate to bring pressure on NICE to publish its revised guidelines as soon as possible, for the benefit of people living with chronic fatigue syndrome?

And I'd also like to ask for a statement on people who are at risk of flooding. I've got constituents who live near a river that is causing erosion at the rear of their properties. We met with Natural Resources Wales at their properties. One resident would be expected to pay £36,000 just to prevent erosion. Natural Resources Wales say they've got no powers to issue any kind of funding for erosion issues. We feel that there's a group of residents who are stuck in the middle. They're not subject to immediate flooding, but must take action now to prevent it in future, but there's no funding available for them to support what would be otherwise unaffordable long-term flood risk prevention. So, please could we have a statement about those people who are stuck in the middle between immediate flooding now and possible flooding in the future?