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

Diolch, Llywydd. I've made the following changes to this week's business. Firstly, I've withdrawn the statement on an update on COVID-19, and secondly, subject to a suspension of Standing Orders, we will debate the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 9) Regulations 2022. 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. 

Thank you, Trefnydd, for your statement. Can I call for two statements from the Minister for Health and Social Services please? The first is a very much needed update on the citizen voice watchdog, and the implementation of the new role of that organisation. Many people in north Wales, as Members in this Chamber will know, have been very impressed with the work of the north Wales community health council over the years, and one thing that I'm personally passionate about is I think that the new citizen voice watchdog ought to be located in north Wales, not in Cardiff, or any other part of the country. North Wales doesn't have many of the headquarters of the different bodies that have been established by the Welsh Government, and I do think that this would really put an important stake in the ground for the region. 

The second statement that I want to hear from the Welsh Government is in relation to an update on mental health services in north Wales. Y Byd ar Bedwar, the programme that was broadcast on S4C last night, had some shocking revelations. There were members of staff from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, at the Hergest unit, who said that they were scared to come into work, that they were frightened from speaking out due to potential repercussions about services, that they felt there was a lack of support from management, that there were staffing issues on those wards, and that the working environment was toxic. In addition to that, there were patients alleging that they were denied the in-patient treatment that they needed. And, of course, this comes on top of a report last week that emerged about the suspension of a member of staff in your own constituency's hospital, at Wrexham Maelor, allegedly in relation to WhatsApp messages that were circulated of a patient with dementia who had soiled a bed. 

This clearly does not suggest that the issues in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board's mental health services have been resolved. Many people have contacted me who had concerns and relatives who were impacted by the Tawel Fan scandal to say that they feel grossly let down by the Welsh Government and the Betsi Cadwaladr health board that theses sorts of things are still going on. When will the culture in our mental health services in north Wales change? People need to know, and they need to know what action the Welsh Government's health Minister is going to take in order to turn this situation around. 

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

Thank you. In relation to your first question around the citizen voice watchdog, as far as I'm aware—and the Minister for Health and Social Services is in the Chamber to hear your question—no decision has been made about where it's going to be placed. I agree with you; as the Minister with responsibility for north Wales it's really good to see organisations based in north Wales—the Development Bank of Wales, for instance, which, again, is in my own constituency. But it's really good to see headquarters, and I think we need that right across Wales. I'm sure the Minister, when she comes to that decision, will think about that point as well.

In relation to the programme, I didn't see the programme myself last night, but I know the Minister for Health and Social Services and her Deputy Minister for mental health did. You raise two points within that programme. Certainly, the incident you referred to in the Maelor hospital last week is subject to a police investigation. The health board are fully engaged in that investigation, so it's really not appropriate to comment further at this time. On the wider issue that you raise around mental health, obviously, the health board is in targeted intervention for its mental health services. Again, I know the Minister for Health and Social Services and the Deputy Minister for mental health meet regularly with the health board, as do their officials. There are clear and agreed actions in place, and, again, from my own discussions with the Minister for Health and Social Services, from a Minister for north Wales point of view, I know she is looking at the timeline and whether she needs to bring that forward, to see the improvements that we all want to see.

I would like to request a written statement from the Minister for Finance and Local Government on support for school transport providers. I've recently been contacted by Pencoed Travel and Cresta Coaches, who have raised concerns regarding the rise in fuel costs. Since their contracts were originally tendered, in June of last year, Pencoed Travel's fuel costs, for example, have risen by 40 per cent. Both Cresta Coaches and Pencoed Travel have contacted Bridgend County Borough Council, requesting help with covering these rapidly increasing costs, but to no avail. BCBC stated that they are waiting for Welsh Government advice before they seek to resolve the issue, as they believe that this is a matter for Welsh Government and not them. However, I am aware of other local authorities that are offering a resolution. I'd be grateful for some clarity on who is responsible for resolving this issue.

Thank you. I do think you raise a very important point, because, clearly, we are seeing this escalation in the costs of fuel, which will have an impact on the services to which you refer. I know the Minister for education and the Minister for local government are aware of this. I think the Minister for Finance and Local Government will be having further discussions, and, if guidance is required, that can be given at the appropriate time.

Good afternoon, Minister. I wonder if I could request two statements, please, Trefnydd. The first statement is from the Minister for Health and Social Services on what steps the Minister is taking in relation to international GP trainees. The Welsh Government supports around 160 trainee GPs a year, and I understand that NHS Wales has indicated that 80 trainees—half that cohort—will not be eligible to remain in the UK when their training concludes this year, because they will not have yet been here long enough to apply for indefinite leave to remain. Could the Minister make a statement on what steps she is taking in the short term to retain these GPs in Wales, and, more long term, at the support that could be provided by the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership to help individual GP practices retain these GPs?

The second statement is from the Minister for Climate Change in relation to building safety. Earlier this month, the UK Government announced that a number of large-scale housing developers had made financial commitments to help put right building safety failures, many of whom operate in England and Wales, but are only making contributions to remediation work in England. There are also a number of statutory protections that have been afforded to leaseholders in England, through the Building Safety Bill, that have not been extended to Wales. Can the Minister update the Senedd, and, crucially, leaseholders, about the Welsh Government's own legislative plans? Diolch.

Thank you. In relation to the second statement that you're requesting, around building safety, I know the Minister for Climate Change was deeply disappointed that the UK Government decided to go ahead with the building safety levy on an England-only basis, for instance. I know there were calls from both Wales and Scotland for it to be a UK-wide measure. In relation to our own legislation that we've proposed, we know that a fundamental and comprehensive change to the culture and legislative framework in Wales is required. We will be having a White Paper consultation, to be published later this year, and the reforms will include the introduction of a new category of accountable persons, changes to registration and licensing and establishment of a new joint inspection team, and that will start in this financial year.

I think the point you raise around international GP trainees is a really important one. We want to retain as many GP trainees as possible. We've really sold Wales as a fantastic place to come, to learn, to train, to live, to work, and so it's really important that we do all we can to retain those. I know the Minister is having discussions with her UK Government counterparts in relation to that. 

Yesterday, the Deputy Minister for mental health and public health and I attended a wonderful event in the Senedd, the City Hospice Forever Flowers launch, which enables people to sponsor a sunflower to commemorate somebody who's died of cancer, and then it will be displayed in Cardiff castle in the first two weeks in August, both an uplifting idea as well as a very effective way of fundraising. One of the really excellent speakers at this event described the excellent care he and his wife got from the City Hospice and the way in which they didn't have to tell their story over and over again. In contrast, every time they had a different NHS expert involved they had to recount all the latest updates. So, just as pregnant women and, indeed, those receiving continuing care at home have their own notes with them, I wondered if we could have a statement from the health Minister as to what progress we can make on ensuring that patients have their own electronic notes, and, in the case of cancer patients in particular, enabling them to ensure that everybody knows exactly what level of treatment they're getting from different specialists so that everybody is up to date with what they're getting, rather than always asking people to recount the painful history of their treatment. 

Secondly, I just wanted to ask about the Istanbul convention on combating domestic violence. On 8 June it will be 10 years since the UK Government signed the Council of Europe Istanbul convention, but, 10 years later, we still haven't ratified it. It was 2015 when we legislated our Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act. I know that the UK Government was behind the curve in not having legislated until last year on this matter, but what now is stopping the UK Government from ratifying this very important convention? I wonder if we can have a statement to update us on what the barriers are and what the Welsh Government might be able to do to get rid of them. 

Thank you. It's very good to hear about the event you attended yesterday and the sunflowers. I think we can learn a great deal from our hospices, not just in the way that you referred in relation to patient experience, but also around fundraising. Just last week, my local hospice, Nightingale House in Wrexham, asked us to send photographs of forget-me-nots to do something very similar. I think we can learn a lot from them. The Minister does make regular statements around the services that are provided by hospices, and I will see if she is able to add what you refer to to one of those statements. 

In relation to the Istanbul convention, it is one of the key priorities in protecting victims of domestic violence right across the globe, and as a Government we are very much committed to seeing the UK Government ratify this as soon as possible. As you say, it's taken a long time. I know my colleague, who is here and has heard your question, wrote to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Victoria Atkins, about six months ago, really sharing her disappointment at the plight of migrant women, for instance, who are victims of domestic abuse. It wasn't recognised on the face of their Bill that's now an Act. I will ask the Minister, if she has anything further that she can inform us about, to write to Members. 

I call for a single statement on funding to rescue the curlew from imminent country-level extinction. Last Thursday, 21 April, was World Curlew Day, shining a light on the dangers that curlews face as a result of shifting factors, primarily loss of quality habitat and increasing predation. Last Thursday was also the feast day of St Beuno, the patron saint of curlews in the traditional Welsh calendar. Curlews and their ethereal call are iconic in Wales, central to culture, history and belief. When I became Wales's species champion for the curlew, however, I warned here that we had only 15 years left to prevent their extinction as a breeding population in Wales, and six of those years have now gone and been lost. Well, on World Curlew Day last Thursday, Mick Green—Welsh Ornithological Society and member of Gylfinir Cymru/Curlew Cymru—also wrote to the Minister for Climate Change personally and publicly asking her to live up to her promise given at the launch of the Wales action plan for the recovery of curlew last November, where she pledged to work with Gylfinir Cymru to ensure that we can finance it and get it up and running—quote—an action plan with multiple and multi-species benefits. Mr Green continued, 'We now only have nine breeding seasons left to save this iconic species from its projected extinction. Please instruct your officials to work with Gylfinir Cymru to find an urgent way of getting funding directly to Curlew Action.' He concluded, 'Please, on World Curlew Day, can you ensure me that direct funding will be available to save the curlew from extinction and that Welsh Government ensures its own projects do not further jeopardise this species?' The time for talk is over. If we don't act, they're gone. I call for a statement accordingly.

Thank you. Certainly, the Welsh Government is continuing to do all it can in relation to preserving and ensuring that the curlew does survive. I was very fortunate to be on a farm only probably three weeks ago where I heard one, so the work that we have been doing within the agricultural sector is clearly beginning to work. I know the Minister is looking at all the schemes she has within the biodiversity part of her portfolio to ensure that funding is going to the correct places to make sure that—. We do have a nature crisis as well as a climate crisis. So, I will certainly ask the Minister to update us if there is anything new that she is able to tell us from within the schemes she has.

Can I ask for two statements, please? The first: may I ask for a statement on any plans that the Government has to improve democratic accountability in our health boards? You will be aware that there were significant changes in health boards around 10 years ago. We saw, for example, the Dryll y Car care home in Llanaber closing, losing eight beds for elderly mental health patients. As a result, there aren't sufficient beds available for people with elderly mental health needs in Dwyfor Meirionnydd and they've had to go to Hergest, and we are all aware of the situation there. Now, if local government or this Government or this Senedd were to make such a decision, there would be a scrutiny committee scrutinising the decision in order to see if anything could have been done differently. But there is no scrutiny of our health boards. The community health council does laudable work, but they don't have the ability or the teeth to do what's necessary. So, I want to hear of any plans that the Government has to ensure the ability to scrutinise our health boards more effectively.

Secondly, can I ask for a statement from the Minister for local government on what steps you're going to take in order to tackle what appears to be a crisis in our community, town and city councils? Look at Gwynedd, for example. There are 139 wards for community councils, and only eight of them, I think, have an election. This is true across Wales. In Ogmore, for example, there are two wards without a single candidate for the community council elections. This is not sustainable. There have been changes within town and community councils over recent years, and clearly they haven't worked. So, what steps will you take in order to ensure that this level of local government is viable?

Thank you. I think that the second point that you raised, around the local government and community council elections that we have in Wales next week, is a really important one. I think that it's really disappointing to see so many seats go without an election, and so many candidates not coming forward in the way that we would want. I think that, as a Government, we have done an incredible amount of work to try and increase awareness about how important it is that people are able to make a choice at the ballot box, and I know that this a continuing piece of work that the Minister for Finance and Local Government is undertaking.

In relation to scrutiny of health boards, of course, anybody who goes on one of the health boards goes through the public appointments process, which is very scrupulous. Obviously, the Minister for Health and social Services is responsible for appointing Chairs through the process as well, and through that Chair, is then able to scrutinise the health board as a whole. I am not aware of any further work that is going on, but again, if the Minister knows of anything, she could write to you.  

I'd like to bring to the Trefnydd's attention the fact that there's an event taking place called 'Next steps for waste, recycling and the circular economy in Wales' run by an organisation that calls itself the Policy Forum for Wales Online Conference. In fact, it's nothing of the kind. It's a Bracknell-based company. It charges the Welsh public sector £210, plus VAT, per person to attend. All of that money is taken outside of Wales, and the directors are taking millions out of the company. Two of the keynote speakers advertised—and I'm sure that they are doing this in the greatest of faith; I don't think that they are aware of how they are being exploited—are Bettina Gilbert, head of programme delivery for WRAP, and Dr Andy Rees, head of the waste strategy, resource efficiency and circular economy division, Welsh Government. Now, I know that Welsh Government Ministers are boycotting this. It was a decision that the First Minister told me about last term. Would there be a possibility that this Chamber could scrutinise the Welsh Government on whether any further engagement is happening from Welsh Government? And would she take steps to discourage our public sector from engaging with what can only be described as a bunch of cowboys? 

I am aware that you did raise this with the First Minister previously. I think that it was probably about three years ago now. Of course, we welcome all forms of debate on public policy matters in Wales. But, as you say, as Ministers, we consider very carefully events that we speak at—whether we accept invitations to speak at commercially organised, fee-charging events. We have to take a lot of decisions around those, taking a lot of things into consideration. Our officials are the same. They have to consider invitations as well on that basis, if there is a fee-charging event. They need to assure themselves that there is a clear public benefit about them participating. Again, you may be aware that the previous Permanent Secretary wrote around that, following the First Minister's answer to you. I think that it's really important that, obviously, if an official takes part in an event—if a civil servant takes part in an event—there is no perceived breach of political impartiality. But certainly, as Ministers, we take those decisions based on the impact that it would have. 

Minister, I have always been proud of Bridgend as an exciting and vibrant place to live. But, it has become clear that the town centre is struggling, with so many empty shops and premises giving a sense of abandonment. Many businesses have struggled to get back on their feet since the pandemic. Many have reverted to online sales, but the town centre remains important to keep that sense of community. Will the Minister schedule a debate for us to consider the Government's strategy for town-centre renewal, and for the Government to publish what investment has gone into our town centres since the pandemic to ignite their revival? Thank you, Minister.

Thank you. Well, I don't think that it's too long since we did have a statement around regeneration of our town centres, and it's really important that the Welsh Government continues to work with local authorities to ensure that our town centres are as vibrant as they possibly can be. I do think, as you say, that the pandemic brought on far more businesses in a position of struggling than had been the case, but I do think we had seen a change in people's behaviour in relation to shopping ahead of the pandemic and a lot of our shops going online. But it is really important, as you say, for that sense of community. We are seeing our town centres change and becoming much more residential, I think; certainly in my own constituency, I'm seeing flats go above shops in a way that perhaps we hadn't done before. But I don't think it's too long since we did have a statement. 

And finally, Janet Finch-Saunders.

Thank you. I'd like to request a statement from the Minister for Climate Change on the planning appeal process in Wales. Only last week, our local authority granted conditional approval for 49 homes to be built behind Ysgol y Gogarth. This was a very controversial planning application, with democratically elected members at all levels opposing this, and the planning office themselves opposing this. On a further application placed before the committee last week, there was a u-turn by the officers, in which they decided to support it, and one of the reasons cited was that they were very concerned about the costs associated with any appeal process. I've been asked since, and indeed by constituents over the years, as to why it is that developers who can afford barristers and things have an appeal process for when an application is refused, yet there is no appeal process for applications such as this, which, in my opinion, if you look at 'Planning Policy Wales', actually breaches some of the actual PPW guidance. And so I have raised with the Minister previously whether we could have a fairer system, so that the appeal process works both ways—not only just for the developer, but indeed for the communities and, in fact, the democratically elected members, so that the true voices of the community are able to have a second go at this, because I know there are a lot of aggrieved constituents on many planning applications where planning officers feel obliged to allow an application to go through because they fear the costs of any appeal process. Thank you.

Thank you. It's not that long since planning policy here in Wales was updated; I think it's been in the past couple of years. I'm not aware of any plans to bring forward an appeal process in the way the Member suggests. I would advise her perhaps to write directly to the Minister, asking that specific question.

I thank the Trefnydd.