6. Debate on petition P-05-912 Supporting Families with Sudden and Unexpected Death in Children and Young Adults

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:55 pm on 3 November 2021.

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Photo of Jack Sargeant Jack Sargeant Labour 4:55, 3 November 2021

Diolch yn fawr, acting Llywydd. In concluding today's debate, I once again want to pay tribute just one more time to Rhian Mannings, to 2 Wish, to everyone who is here watching us today and to those in the wider community who supported this petition. Typically, in Senedd debates, in closing you offer a summary of contributions, and I'm going to try to do that just briefly, but it won't do justice to what cross-party group members have said here in the Chamber. So, I do thank all Members, and that extends to the Deputy Minister for her heartfelt contribution. It was wonderful to hear the Deputy Minister welcome the petition and welcome that the support is needed and it's crucial. And that grief is very personal. I know my colleague on the committee, Joel James, said grief can act as a road map to devastation. I very much recognise that. As Members across the Chamber have said, consistency is needed, and again the Minister referred to that in her response. 

It was great to hear the announcement of funding, because as Buffy Williams rightly recognises from her own inspirational work running charities, there is a consistent worry, and we need to take that worry away for those who have come out from the darkness and into the light so that they can focus on delivering the support that they never had. And it's the support, as Rhun ap Iorwerth said, that we never knew we needed, but thank God it's there. 

In closing, because as I said, the summary of contributions does not do what Members have said justice, it does not do the petition justice, again I want to thank the Deputy Minister for fully recognising that the immediate support pathway is needed, and her commitment to work with Rhian Mannings, with 2 Wish and with those on the bereavement support working group to action this, because that's what we need here in Wales. With the cross-party support that we have here, I believe that we can achieve what this petition set out to achieve. As I said in my opening of this debate, Wales can lead the way for other nations, not just in the United Kingdom but across the globe. 

Acting Presiding Officer, through the petitions process, we do sometimes come into contact with truly inspiring people, people who are seeking to change the world for the better. And it is often having experienced that extreme difficulty in their own lives. Rhian is an example to us all, and I wish to thank her for everything that she has achieved and will continue to achieve. I want to remind her that, just because this has been debated today—our cross-party support from Members of the Senedd continues and we will continue to work with you.