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

Diolch, Llywydd. Today's agenda has been reordered so that debates and voting time will follow the oral statements. 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 ask for a statement from the Minister for health on Welsh Government efforts to tackle escalating cancer waiting times in the Aneurin Bevan health board? I make this request because recent data showed an increase in people waiting more than eight weeks for key tests most commonly used to diagnose cancer. This shocking statistic falls below the suspected cancer pathway performance target, which aims for 75 per cent of patients to start treatment within 62 days. In my own area, the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, only 56.9 per cent of patients start their first treatment for cancer within the Welsh Government's target, compared to 67.9 per cent in April 2021. Access to treatment as quickly as possible is absolutely vital to raise a cancer sufferer's chances of survival. Minister, it's essential that a robust and urgent package of support, including a full cancer strategy, and workforce strategy, is implemented as soon as possible. 

Thank you. You will have heard the First Minister clarify the reasons why we have the rapid diagnostic centres, and how many are already up and functioning to help with the very difficult situation that you have just presented. 

I'd like to ask for a debate in Government time about how the UK Government's assault on human rights will impact on people in Wales, as well as Welsh policy and legislation. I welcome the written statement from the Counsel General last week. He said that there'd been very little engagement with the Welsh Government about the UK Government's plans to dilute the influence of the European convention on human rights. We know that the UK Government wants to make it easier for themselves when they carry out cruel and shameful policies like shipping off asylum seekers to Rwanda, to make it easier for them to ignore what is morally right in order to achieve what is politically expedient. We need a debate, Trefnydd, please, to scrutinise how this will impact on Welsh legislation and Government programmes, given the Cwnsler Cyffredinol has said that human rights is fundamental to the devolution settlement. I want to know how the Welsh Government plans to protect the rights of Welsh citizens if the UK Government does plough ahead without the Senedd's consent. I would welcome a debate, please, so that we can discuss these hugely important matters. Thank you.

Thank you. As you say, the Counsel General did publish a written statement last week. He is working very closely to make sure that we are fully aware of the UK Government's plans, and I'm sure that, when there is further information to come forward, he will update Members.

I would like to request a Welsh Government statement on pollution. In Swansea East, the River Tawe suffers from sewage being regularly released from the Trebanos pumping station. Further into the constituency, we have plastic being burned off wire and the pollution attached to that. We have pesticides polluting soil and rivers. Finally, we have nitrogen oxides from cars along the main roads. I'm sure this is replicated across Wales. A Government statement on the problems that exist and what actions are going to be taken will be most welcome.

Thank you. I do understand that Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water have been investigating high-spilling combined overflows in the River Tawe as part of their storm overflow assessment framework investigations, and that they are investing significant funding—I think it's over £100 million—to upgrade their wastewater management network. Also, Natural Resources Wales and Swansea Council have been working on reducing domestic misconnections, which is where households or businesses incorrectly connect their sewage systems to the main sewer network. That's, obviously, in collaboration with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water as well.

Could I have two statements, please, Trefnydd? One is on long COVID. It's estimated that, in the UK, around 30 per cent of those who contracted COVID-19 now suffer with long COVID. In fact, I've been actually approached in my office recently by a number of people who are very concerned because they can't find services. In my own health board, Betsi Cadwaladr, they've promised to provide a range of support and clinical interventions, individually tailored to patient needs. However, when you go on the website, it's warning that they have a waiting list due to large numbers of referrals. So, could you arrange for the Minister for Health and Social Services to provide a statement on what access to long COVID treatment is available in each health board separately?

My number two is: during the fabulous Llanrwst Show on Saturday, which saw thousands of people there, I was actually pleased to meet up, as always, with our farmers and the Farmers Union of Wales. However, they did raise serious concerns with me and other colleagues here today about the operational costs of farms and the fact that energy prices—[Interruption.] Can I just ask my question, Member?

Yes, ask your question, Janet Finch-Saunders.

Fertiliser, fuel and, of course, fodder prices are increasing, and they're very worried that, over the winter, there may be a tremendous fodder shortage. So, what support and what dialogue is coming from this Welsh Government for our farmers, who are very clearly worried—[Interruption.] It sounds like I have an echo—about this? Thank you.

Thank you. Regarding your first question, around long COVID, you'll be aware that there are long COVID clinics, and resources have been made available to health boards in relation to this. Unfortunately, I can't find it in my file, but I was reading this morning that the Minister for Health and Social Services has ensured there was a six-month review around long COVID clinics, and over 80 per cent of people felt they'd gained great benefit from that.

I'm very well aware, obviously, of the concerns within the farming and agricultural sector around operational costs. Fuel, food and fertilisers have increased in price hugely over the past few months. With my portfolio hat on, I have met with my counterparts from right across the UK. Victoria Prentis is the Minister of State who is leading the cost-of-living crisis within our portfolio. Unfortunately, we have asked to meet her much more regularly than we have. I think we've only met twice. But I do continue to have—. Because it is the UK Government that has the levers to do something in this area. However, you'll be aware that I have opened some windows around schemes, particularly around nutrient management, for instance, which will help our farmers in the short term.  

I also would like to hear a statement from you as rural affairs Minister, so that we can really get to grips with some of the issues that we've already heard about in relation to, particularly, animal feed. The Welsh Government really needs to be proactive. I hear what you're saying in terms of it being a UK Government thing, and they primarily have the levers to effect real change, but just look at what's happening in Ireland. The Irish Government, in March, announced a €12 million crop-growing scheme, and it's a return to a wartime tillage programme, which was last utilised during the second world war. So, that's the scale of the crisis that Welsh farming is facing, and not just in an economic sense, but more so in relation to animal welfare. And we need that plan now, because, when that crisis hits in winter, it will be too late. So, we really need to see the Welsh Government being proactive.

Another example is that, back in 2018, I'm sure you'll recall, the Irish Government introduced a fodder import scheme to make sure that there was plenty of food for their animals. There have been calls particularly for greater flexibility around Glastir to allow our farmers to get more fodder into the ground. I'd really like to know what your thinking is around that, because that is very much in your gift. That's not a UK Government thing. So, we need to know what the plan is, because if there is no plan, then there will be a crisis when winter hits. 

In light of the increase that we're seeing in COVID cases, there is now growing concern that we are seeing more waste, in terms of the increasing use of face masks, and I would like to know what you, as a Government, are going to do to educate people on how to dispose of those masks in a responsible way. We remember how we saw them in our environment, all over the place, during the height of the pandemic. Now, of course, with mask use being normalised more for the longer term, I think there's a piece of work that needs to be done in order to ensure that that problem is tackled. So, I'd also ask for a statement to explain how the Government is going to tackle that issue. Thank you.  

Thank you. I think we have been very proactive. You'll be aware that back in March, I think, I announced an additional £237 million over the next three years, specifically around schemes to help our farmers become much more productive and competitive. I mentioned the nutrient management scheme; I think the window is still open for that. I've announced a variety of schemes and there are more to come. There's the sustainable farming scheme, and I have committed to publishing the outline scheme ahead of the summer shows, so that we can have that engagement. These are all things that will help our farmers with the cost-of-living crisis. But, I'm sorry, it does remain with the UK Government, who do hold the majority of those levers, to make sure that that support is provided. I agree with what you're saying, that it could be an animal health and welfare issue as well, and that is something that we've looked at very closely, as we've looked at what schemes we bring forward. We're constantly looking at what flexibility we can have. 

In relation to your question around face masks, I think you're absolutely right. Nothing infuriated me more—you'd go into the supermarket car park and there would be disposable masks all over the floor. I know that the Minister for Climate Change—. I think there was a social media campaign to encourage more people to think much more carefully about how they dispose of those masks. 

Could I ask for a statement, Minister, from the health Minister on the care provided to teenage cancer patients? I was contacted last week by the family of a teenager, an 18-year-old young woman in Blaenau Gwent, who is undergoing some very distressing treatment for cancer at the moment. It is clear, from the treatment that she has received, that there is a structural issue within the national health service, where young people undergoing some very, very significant and difficult treatment do not have access to the care they require. She has been taken to A&E units in different parts of south Wales, where she has not received the treatment she has required. There seems to be a break in the linkage between Velindre and individual hospitals, and the consequence is that the treatment, which is distressing enough, is further distressed and compounded by these matters for her and her family. We all know—those of us who are parents will understand—that there's nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a child in this situation. I've contacted the health Minister and asked for a meeting on this specific issue, but I do believe that the Government should also bring forward a statement on this matter so that we can all be reassured, in whichever constituency we represent, that young people receiving this treatment will have the treatment they require at times and in places they require to have it.

Thank you. Well, it is absolutely paramount that a patient receives the right treatment in the right place at the right time, and you've clearly outlined a very distressing case. You say that you've asked the Minister for Health and Social Services for a meeting, and I think, probably following that meeting, if the Minister feels that she should make a wider statement to Members, she will do so.

And finally, Tom Giffard.

Diolch, Llywydd. Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from either the Minister for Climate Change or the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport as to how sporting facilities are protected during the planning process? As the Wimbledon tennis tournament begins, it's the time of year that people often start to pick up their rackets and get involved in tennis. However, in Porthcawl, a new planning development, which will see 900 extra houses being built, will see the town lose its only tennis court as a new road is being built through the middle of it. Whilst the council have promised that new tennis facilities will be built, they've not specified where this will be or how long this will take, which could mean the town could be without tennis courts for years, which would be a bitter blow to local tennis stars of the future there. So, I ask for statement, please, from either the Minister for Climate Change or the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport to see how they work alongside the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to ensure that sporting facilities are protected or, indeed, enhanced in the planning process.

Thank you. You refer to something that's obviously in the gift of the local authority, and I would suggest you write to the local authority. You seem to be a bit unbelieving of the timescale they've given to you, and I would advise you to write to the local authority in the first instance.

I thank the Trefnydd.