on the clip
Prynhawn da, Weinidog.
Official English translation
Good afternoon, Minister.
Contributions
147 contributions on record. Newest first, by sitting day. Page 2 of 4. Counted by Siambr
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I'm really pleased to hear from Reform UK that there's not a rejection of the net-zero targets, which we have previously heard. So, I'm hoping that there's been a bit of a change on those benches over there. But I would like just to come back on the point that was made by Joe Martin in relation to selective forms of energy, because what we should be doing is everything. The world is on fire. We've seen the wildfires across Wales this summer, and, actually, we have at our fingertips the opportunity to deliver a whole raft of renewable energy, and here in Wales, as you've said, we've got a real opportunity. Very different to my friend on my right—you're not on the right, I know—. We've talked about this before, but I would like to give you another opportunity, just to be clear on this, that, in developing onshore wind, your commitment still is to undergrounding those transmission cables, because that's what our communities want. I'm hoping you'll confirm that, and also that we're looking at how communities can own that onshore wind as well. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
- Not timed: the Record publishes no broadcast time for this contribution, so Siambr cannot place it on the stage.
8. Pa wiriadau diogelu y mae'r Comisiwn yn gofyn i Aelodau o'r Senedd eu gwneud cyn iddynt ymgymryd â gweithgareddau sy'n ymwneud â phlant a phobl ifanc? OQ64547
Official English translation
8. What safeguarding checks does the Commission require of Members of the Senedd before they undertake activities involving children and young people? OQ64547
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Diolch yn fawr iawn am yr ymateb.
Official English translation
Thank you very much for that response.
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During my first term as a Senedd Member, I was really surprised that I could go into any school, any youth club, any provision where a child, a young person or a vulnerable person lived or worked without any checks, without any need to show any documentation. On all of those visits, I was accompanied by somebody, but it wouldn't take a genius and it wouldn't take much imagination for somebody quite powerful, who is a Member of the Senedd, to say, 'I'd like to do this on my own'. I do believe it is the Senedd's responsibility to ensure that Senedd Members, who have access and are in powerful roles to influence other people—. It should take the responsibility. There is no reference to this in any recent documentation, and I raised it in the last Senedd. I wonder if the Senedd Commission could take this forward, even on a voluntary basis, to look at how Members could get a DBS check, which doesn't give you an absolute safety mark, but it is a tool in the toolbox that ensures that this Parliament is not putting children, young people and vulnerable people at risk by allowing Senedd Members to do their duties. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Next month, Wyeside Arts Centre in Builth Wells celebrates an incredible milestone—50 years of bringing arts and culture to the heart of rural mid Wales. The fiftieth birthday weekend brings that history to life, with Welsh music, poetry, art and community participation. At its centre is Cymuned Gwy, a new bilingual work commissioned for the anniversary, inspired by the River Wye and the people who live alongside it. Wyeside is a small, independent charity, but its contribution is anything but small. Open six days a week, it provides cinema, live performance, music, exhibitions and opportunities for people to come together across a large rural area. Places like Wyeside offer far more than entertainment. They are places where people meet, participate and belong. The anniversary, as well as looking forward and back, has amazing plans to introduce to people as well, which will improve accessibility, and new facilities that will serve mid Wales for decades to come. Alongside this celebration, we know there is a serious challenge. Despite operating all year round, generating much of its income, and being supported by a small team of volunteers, Wyeside continues to face a significant revenue shortfall. I congratulate everyone who has sustained Wyeside over 50 years, and encourage colleagues to join the celebrations from 9 to 11 October, to see its plans for the future, and help ensure it remains at the heart of mid Wales. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Diolch i Lafur am godi'r mater pwysig yma.
Official English translation
I thank Labour for raising this very important matter.
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Further education is the door to young people having an opportunity to get a great start in their working life. Not only that, but it is the door to a skilled workforce of young people here in Wales. It allows them to remain in Wales, work here, buy properties, raise their families. We know that too many young people are leaving Wales. Funding further education is literally an invest-to-save opportunity and programme. I want to talk about Black Mountains College, which is a further education college based in Talgarth. It provides qualifications in green skills and renewable energy. Black Mountains College provides the skills that Wales desperately needs, here in mid Wales—sorry, there in mid Wales; we're not in mid Wales, are we? I'm used to saying that—
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Thank you. —in mid Wales, where we are desperately in need of our young people to stay there. Black Mountains College has a road map to growth and yet, with a shrinking budget, it is having to say 'no' to young people who want to get on these courses, and like we've heard, has a waiting list of young people as well, who are desperate to get onto their range of courses. Companies are crying out for skilled young people in the green agenda and renewable energy. In the case of Black Mountains College, the environment is crying out, as well, for those skilled young people. Mid Wales is crying out for our young people to stay, but most importantly, our young people are crying out for these courses. This literally is an invest-to-save opportunity and programme for this Government. And therefore, I agree with what's been said: further education must have the money it needs to be able to offer our young people that opportunity to remain here in Wales. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lywydd. Prynhawn da, Gwnsler Cyffredinol.
Official English translation
Thank you very much, Llywydd. Good afternoon, Counsel General.
- Not timed: the Record publishes no broadcast time for this contribution, so Siambr cannot place it on the stage.
1. Pa gyngor cyfreithiol y mae'r Cwnsler Cyffredinol wedi'i roi i Lywodraeth Cymru ynglŷn â'i phwerau cyfreithiol i ymyrryd mewn penderfyniadau ad-drefnu gwasanaethau a wneir gan fyrddau iechyd lleol? OQ64489
Official English translation
1. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government regarding its legal powers to intervene in service reconfiguration decisions taken by local health boards? OQ64489
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Diolch am yr ymateb.
Official English translation
Thank you for that response.
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Sections 26 to 28 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 clearly give Welsh Ministers the power to intervene where a health board is failing to perform its functions adequately, and to remove board members, which we saw in the Senedd last term. Section 12 of the same Act allows Ministers to direct health boards on their functions more generally. While there appears to be some confusion over the 2006 Act, and the social care Bill in 2020, Vaughan Gething at the time was relatively clear that the Bill did not affect Ministers' powers under sections 26 to 28. That is a bit of a mouthful, I'm aware, of lots of sections. I ask for a clear answer, and I'm very happy to take a response in writing to this: is there anything in law that prevents Welsh Ministers from intervening under sections 26 to 28 where a board has lost public confidence in this way, or is the truth that Ministers could act and are choosing not to? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Dwi eisiau cario ymlaen efo trafnidiaeth, os yw hynny'n iawn.
Official English translation
I want to continue on transport, if that's okay.
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I want to ask about speed limit guidance, and it's great to have the Deputy Minister here. I've raised this repeatedly in the Senedd, because communities across Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd— Rhayader, Llanspyddid, Libanus, Cwmdu and others—have been waiting for many months and years for revised guidance on the speed limits. And we've had correspondence, and I understand it will be some time in 2027. But I just wonder if we could just be clearer and more specific, given that we represent communities—and it's not just me—who really need this speed guidance in order to ensure they're safe. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Diolch am y datganiad.
Official English translation
Thank you for the statement.
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I've got two issues, and I genuinely really want to understand this. You keep using the phrase, 'I want the people of Wales to decide their future' in relation to the issue around independence, and I really would like some clarity on that. What does that mean? How will you measure it? How will you make sure you know what the decision is by the people of Wales? And just to put on record, I'm anti-independence, but, absolutely, we need more powers here in the Senedd. Secondly, on child poverty, you have my absolute support for all the measures on child poverty that you're introducing, and the universality of it. That is essential, for Cynnal and, obviously, the roll-out of universal free childcare as well. Just to put on record as well, it was me as a Liberal Democrat who made the deal with Labour for the 12.5 additional hours from Flying Start to be rolled out. That was a deal two years ago, and we want to see more. And I do want to just come back to your Deputy First Minister and myself. When we were previously on the back benches, we were like a stuck record, saying, 'Give us targets on child poverty, give us targets.' So, I'm really interested: what are your targets and when will we hear about them? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Diolch yn fawr iawn, a phrynhawn da i chi, Brif Weinidog.
Official English translation
Thank you very much, and good afternoon, First Minister.
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I welcome the emphasis in the consultation on increasing community energy, and I think it's shameful and shameless of Reform UK to abandon—[Interruption.] It's my job—to abandon and just to sideline net zero. The world is on fire. As the First Minister has said, you just needed to look and see and talk to the communities that we represent over the summer just to see how bad it is. To get back to the very good point raised by Gwyn in relation to the community energy issues, I was lucky enough to visit Hwb y Gors in the Amman valley, where community-owned wind turbines have paid for the renovation of the community centre there. But it took 10 years to secure planning permission, and we need to make it much easier for our communities to be able to own community energy. So, Prif Weinidog, what will you and the Government do to make sure that we accelerate this, so that, actually, communities can own that community energy and ensure that they see the benefits and we stop the world being on fire? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Prynhawn da, Drefnydd. I'd like to request a statement, please, on the future of community hospital services in Powys. Earlier this month, Powys Teaching Health Board published proposals confirming the scale of change that's now on the table. Hospitals from Ystradgynlais to Llandrindod Wells could lose their in-patient beds entirely, leaving Powys with as few as 60 physical health beds across just two hospitals. Minor injury units and x-ray services would also disappear from several sites. You cannot plan healthcare for Powys as though we were in an urban area with another hospital only 10 minutes away. Geography matters for our population, which is ageing, as well. Families' ability to reach loved ones also matters, particularly those needing palliative care. There's also a serious question about the consultation itself, with the option of protecting our existing network of community hospitals discounted before residents even had a chance to respond. May I ask you what the Welsh Government would do to intervene and stop these proposals? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Gaf i ddweud diolch yn fawr iawn am y datganiad sydd yn dod oddi wrthoch chi, Brif Weinidog? Mae'n dangos, onid ydy, pa mor bwysig yw hyn a'r digwyddiadau sydd wedi bod dros yr haf. Felly, diolch yn fawr iawn am wneud y datganiad ac am wrando arnom ni hefyd.
Official English translation
May I thank you for that statement from you, First Minister? It shows just how important this issue is and the events that we experienced over the summer. So, thank you very much for making this statement and for listening to our comments today.
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I also want to pay tribute to all of those firefighters, farmers, landowners, moorland managers, the army as well, for the work that they did. In my constituency this August, a wildfire in Glascwm just showed the importance of those people coming together and being resilient as a community. They brought tractors, bulldozers, water bowsers to a rapidly spreading fire over 30 hours. Machinery was pushed to its limits. One landowner has told me that he spent £4,500 on diesel tackling three wildfires in the space of that time. So, I really would like to know from you who will be brought together. It would be really good for some clarification, and Laura Anne has asked for that. Will that include moorland managers and farmers and people with the National Trust, for example, who are land managers as well? And moving forward, we know that climate change is going to be worse again next year. So, we really do need a plan in place and we'd love to know what your timescale is going to be, particularly for 2027, to make sure we've got things in place to make sure that we tackle this as well as we can. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Prynhawn da, Weinidog. The issue of community beds in our communities and our local areas is really important, as you'll know, and I just wanted to focus in on Powys. I know we've had a discussion about this, but you'll know that there was a leak recently that Powys Teaching Health Board is considering stripping in-patient beds from eight out of our 10 community hospitals. That means that we will lose them from Ystradgynlais, Llandrindod, Builth, Knighton, Bronllys, Welshpool, Llanidloes and Machynlleth. That's up to 146 beds gone in a county with no district general hospital, where the population is older, more rural and further from alternative care than anywhere else in the country. We already know, don't we, that hospital stays in Powys average 40 days against the nationally agreed ambition of getting that down to 21. So, Cabinet Minister, I realise these plans are not confirmed as yet, but could I just ask for your views on these potential plans? And also, would you consider intervening, as did your equivalent in 2013 in Hywel Dda health board, when there was concern about a similar issue? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Thank you to Shav for bringing this forward. It's great to see that there is cross-party support. I really just want to say that when you meet a young person who cannot find a job, it is really heart-wrenching, because there is a sincere lack of hope and a cycle of desperation for that young person going forward. We know that the youth unemployment figure in Wales is actually rising. It's nine times faster than Scotland and five times faster than the UK average. So, what should concern us is not simply the level of youth unemployment, but the speed at which the situation is deteriorating. For too long, and let's not blame anybody, we have not seen action to deliver the investment and economic growth that creates those high-skilled jobs that young people need. Combine that with the rising costs of housing and the burden of student debt, as we've heard, and it becomes so much easier to understand why so many talented young people feel their future lies outside of Wales. But this shouldn't be a debate of despair, because that simply is not what young people are telling us. The Open University's business barometer, published this month, found that 71 per cent of young people who are not in education, employment or training, otherwise, as we've heard, known as NEET, would be willing to retrain or upskill to improve their prospects. Eighty two per cent say they would stay longer with an employer who invested in their development. That is heart-warming. This, then, is a crisis of opportunity, not a lack of aspiration—not a lack of aspiration on behalf of our young people. And I will always defend them when I hear all the time those phrases that are about negatively talking down our young people. They do point to the barriers that there are: poor mental health, financial pressures, employers asking for experience that they've never been given the opportunity to gain. These are not inevitable problems, but policy failures, and we want them to be fixed. I have three areas just to highlight. Firstly, as has been pointed out by many of the speakers, we must address the shortage of education and training places. The young person's guarantee is an important commitment, but it is only meaningful if opportunities exist behind the promise. Secondly, I believe we need to change how we support those young people who are furthest from the labour market. We've heard about those young people with disabilities, but I just want to talk briefly about those young people who've had the experience of care. Recent research from Action for Children found that one in four care-experienced young people lack the basic forms of identification needed to secure employment. Nearly a quarter have limited or no access to a mobile phone or computer, compared to just 7 per cent of their peers. And 41 per cent of care-experienced young people enter the labour market with a diagnosed mental health condition, nine in 10 of which say it affects their ability to find and keep their first job. These are problems on top of problems, compounded by a lack of understanding and support. My final point is this: we must not only respond to today's labour market, we must prepare for tomorrow's. As has been said, many of us, perhaps in this Siambr, started with part-time jobs or Saturday jobs, but that opportunity has virtually disappeared. Mine was a Saturday job in the pick-'n'-mix in Woolworths. Probably, most of you here don't even remember Woolworths, and don't even remember pick-'n'-mix. It was a dreadful job, because I not only had to administer the pick-'n'-mix, but I also had to administer Slush Puppies, and the Slush Puppies would regularly go on my feet, and my shoes would end up totally sugar covered. But that gave me the opportunity, believe me, to be able to get into the world of work and then to put on a cv the experience that I had. That matters, because today's entry-level job is tomorrow's skilled worker; it's the first rung of the ladder and if it disappears without being replaced, we risk quietly dismantling the pipeline that supplies the workforce that we need here in Wales. Our young people have not given up on Wales, but it can feel like Wales has given up on our young people. We need action, Minister. We need to hear from you what your plan is. We need to hear from you how you're going to engage with our young people in order to build the economy that we need to make sure that our young people have the opportunity to get into work and stay here in Wales. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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There seems to be absolutely no disagreement here in the Siambr that we need to support recycling and a deposit-return scheme. Really, the only thing I am wrestling with is that I seem to agree with the Conservatives in relation to their motion. So, my concern, like has been heard, is the decision to include glass when the rest of the UK is not. And that is why I voted against the DRS scheme when it came around here in the Senedd. There were a few reasons, and one is about listening to businesses. They are the heart and soul, big or small, of our economic system here in Wales. And the other, which is just to respond to the issue of 'Why shouldn't we do it here in Wales when we can see it in other countries?', is that, actually, we have a huge border with another country, a country that I want to continue working with. I don't want us to be independent. So, we need to be looking at how we are going to work with England, who have a huge border with us. Like many, I've spoken to businesses across my constituency, large and small, and the message has been remarkably similar: they support the scheme, they understand why we're doing it, but they're worried about the uncertainty created by a Welsh-only approach to glass. One conversation that really stuck with me was with a small independent cider producer. This is exactly the sort of business that we want to support. They told me that, even with the proposed four-year transition period, they still don't know how a separate Welsh system for glass will work alongside the rest of the UK. We also spoke to Radnor Hills, which is in my constituency, Wales's largest drinks producer, right on the border with England—literally, they're about five steps away from the English border. Around 95 per cent of their sales are outside Wales. They ask a simple question: does it really make sense to redesign production lines, labels and warehousing for the remaining 5 per cent? The answer clearly, for them, is 'no'. That warning matters because these are the businesses that have to make the scheme work. They need time to trial stores in store reverse vending machines, ensure accessibility, train thousands of colleagues and adapt complex supply chains. And, as we've heard, we've seen what happens when implementation gets ahead of preparation, in Scotland. We saw that their attempt to launch their own deposit-return scheme was delayed repeatedly before Circularity Scotland collapsed. Wales should learn from that experience, not repeat it. If we do that, Wales can continue to lead on recycling. We need to be listening to our businesses. We need not to be different for the sake of it. We need, in time, potentially, to develop a glass recycling scheme that the rest of the UK has the confidence to adopt. Let's get this right first. Then, let's lead. Diolch.
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Thank you so much. I was going to come to that, and I was the one who mentioned the long border. The difference, though, is, isn't it, that Finland is a country on its own and makes its own laws, and there's no opportunity then for you to go—you have to go across a border, literally. I don't even know where Finland's—[Interruption.]
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Thank you, Russia. I'm sure it's got a—.
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So, could you—? Would you mind, please, Minister, addressing the issue around the border and how those companies—like Radnor Hills, for example—will be able to look at a scheme that works for them? We're looking at—
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I've just asked you a question. Diolch, thank you.
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Prynhawn da, Drefnydd. Dwi eisiau cario ymlaen efo'r pwnc o byllau nofio, os gwelwch yn dda—y pwll nofio ym Mhontardawe.
Official English translation
Good afternoon, Trefnydd. I want to continue with the issue of swimming pools, if I may—a swimming pool in Pontardawe.
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For almost two years, my constituents in Pontardawe have been without their local swimming pool. Families, schools, swimming clubs and older people are now having to travel to either Neath or Ystradgynlais. And, as we've heard, it's really important for children as well to learn to swim. That's really, really important. Neath Port Talbot Council has done its part in completing a feasibility survey and identifying a preferred option for replacement, but there's still an £11 million shortfall. So, I was just wondering what could the Welsh Government do in order to help Neath Port Talbot Council to get that money in order to ensure that there is a swimming pool in Pontardawe. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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I do welcome this statement. Thank you very much for all of the work that's gone into it. You've said that you've got a laser focus on delivering this, having had the ambition that many of the parties here in this Siambr had. So, I really take issue with Reform UK and your spokesperson criticising the ambition, because you never had an ambition—nothing in your manifesto talked about childcare whatsoever. So, the criticism of the ambition is actually without any foundation. My question to you, though, if I may, is about our private providers. We do rely on private providers across Wales, and particularly in rural areas we see that they're really up against it. So, how will their interests be represented on your panel, because currently it's only through Cwlwm? Will you be looking to get more views from independent providers? And also how will that be rolled out in rural areas? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Prynhawn da i chi, Weinidog.
Official English translation
Good afternoon to you, Minister.
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I also feel the same as you, it's really encouraging to hear how much focus there is on childcare. But, with the greatest of respect to Helen, it does, in my view, take some nerve for Reform UK to demand answers on childcare when your entire Senedd manifesto contained nothing on it at all. In a nation with nearly one in three children living in poverty and around one in 10 in deep material deprivation, Reform UK had nothing to say on it. The public are not confused at all about what's at stake here, despite Reform UK never mentioning it. They're very, very clear. A recent survey from Public Health Wales tells us that 70 per cent of people in Wales believe more affordable, accessible childcare would meaningfully reduce child poverty. I'm grateful that we're going to have a statement next week, Minister. Could I ask that that statement is made available to the spokespeople and those of us who are in smaller groups before, so that we're able to have an opportunity to be able to scrutinise it and to be able to ask you about it? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Diolch yn fawr iawn, Ddirprwy Lywydd. I do really want to start, as many have, by really praising Sarah and the work that you've done. I heard you on Radio Wales this morning, and what an advocate you are—an amazing interview, and you really put it across so clearly. Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr iawn. I totally support this Bill. Let us just be clear, though, in passing this Bill, it does not require the Government to adopt it, which is a travesty and a tragedy. So, the least I expect the Deputy Minister to say is that this will be taken forward formally by the Government. And may I just say about the Deputy Minister—I do totally respect you—you have an amazingly broad brief. We've called for a Minister specifically for babies, children and young people, and that is what our babies, children and young people here in Wales deserve. So, I hope the Welsh Government will take this back and create another Cabinet role, at a very senior level, for that brief specifically. I've worked, as many of you will know, with children for over 25 years as a social worker. Most were lost, traumatised, desperate for love, and many of them, sadly, could only react by kicking out and feeling in a corner. 'Why do they do that?', many people ask. Because it's actually easier to reject straight away than think they are going to be loved and then find out later that they are not. So, they are immediately judged, they are rejected, they are damaged even more. They are our children. They belong to us. And we, in this Senedd, are responsible for them. There are currently more than 7,000 children in Wales who are looked after, yet their futures are shaped not just by social services but by our schools, our health service, our housing system and the wider public sector. Imagine what it feels like to be cared for by a series of agencies. That's not how it should be. They are our children and we need to provide them, as we've heard, with the highest level of care. You've heard that much of this is agreed across the Siambr, and it's really encouraging to hear that, but I do appeal specifically to the Deputy Minister here today: we must see this enshrined in legislation. We must see you take forward the seriousness that you take—and I know you do—for our babies, children and young people by adopting a ministerial role, so actually we can then give all of the issues that we want to give to that specific role. So, I look forward to hearing from the Minister, and once again I pay tribute to Sarah. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Will you take an intervention?
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Thank you very much for doing that. Just on that point about should it be voluntary or should it be statutory, if you're a young person and you want to actually hold an agency to account and it's not statutory, what powers does that young person have? Would you agree that that, surely, is where we should be?
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Diolch yn fawr iawn ichi, Gwyn. Dyma un o'r rhesymau y mae pobl yn gwneud gwaith cyn iddyn nhw ddod i fyd gwleidyddiaeth, achos mae'n bwysig iawn ein bod ni'n clywed y profiad rydych chi wedi dod ag ef atom ni.
Official English translation
Thank you very much, Gwyn. This is one of the reasons why it's important that people work before they come into politics, because it is important that we hear the experience that you've brought to us.
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I've got a very personal story. In 2016, I was a candidate for the Welsh Senedd in Maldwyn. Suddenly, the sight in my right eye went. I couldn't see anything. It was the day of the election, so I was slightly busy. I was in Newtown, and I really didn't know what to do. I did listen to that phrase, though, 'You should have gone to Specsavers', and I did. I went to Specsavers in Newtown and saw an optometrist—a very brilliant person who was able to almost immediately diagnose what my situation was, and she told me it was urgent, and I had to then attend Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals in the days after that. And I won't tell you that I might have driven in between, which I was told very clearly I shouldn't have done, but I'm just saying that there are really qualified people who can, at the front line, actually help people with sight problems, and we need to include them as well in this debate. I'm very grateful to them for saving the sight in my right eye. The electronic records didn't work. They didn't work across the borders at the time, so if we're aiming to get electronic records being shared in Wales, we also have to consider how they're going to be working across the border with those English hospitals that those of us who live on the border use, and I know the health Minister is thinking of that. We want to see a change in the approach here in Wales to sight. I wanted to also tell you about a gentleman who came to the Health and Social Care Committee. His name was Edward Kenna, and Edward had macular degeneration. I'm sure some of you have heard of his situation. Edward was sadly in a terrible place and wasn't able to save his sight, but he gave very clear evidence to the committee that changes should be made. I want to set out three things I want this Government to do differently in this arena. I want honesty, geography, and follow-through. Firstly, honesty about harm. Between 2021 and 2023, as the number of patients waiting beyond safe time frames climbed past 70,000, Wales managed to record only 45 incidents of harm. This was not because sight wasn't being lost. The Royal National Institute of Blind People Cymru, the royal college and the health boards themselves all told the committee that harm was almost certainly going uncounted, and that is unacceptable. If we cannot count the harm, we cannot be honest about the scale of the crisis. Secondly, geography. You won't be surprised that, being in a very rural area of Powys, I need to mention the rurality issue here. Being in a rural area means that we have particular challenges. I was very lucky; I found Specsavers in Newtown and a very qualified person was able to help me. But Powys, as we know, has no district general hospital, and we have to make other arrangements. I would like to hear from the Minister how we're going to deal with geography and rurality in this issue. And finally, we need to see follow-through. Too many patients are not once offered support—not emotional, not practical, not a single person to tell them where to turn. We don't need a new idea to fix this; we need an eye care support pathway with ophthalmology and optometry lying at the heart of it. That already exists, but we're not seeing it followed through. As we've heard, what we want to see is a single agency for ophthalmology that operates across Wales and offers our residents here, and those who use across the border, a really high-quality service. People losing their sight in Wales today are not losing it because we lack the medical knowledge to help them. They're losing it because of where they live, because we have not trained enough people to treat them and because too often, when they have tried to tell us something is wrong, nobody has been listening. I know that there is no burden on the Government to take this Bill forward, but I do hope that through this debate the health Minister will listen and look at what options there are to make sure that we deliver better on this. Diolch yn fawr.
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Good afternoon, First Minister. You're hearing a lot about Powys this afternoon. I will just follow up on the issue of us being really unfairly treated in Powys with the cross-border issues that we face. As we now know, there are rumours and concerns that we will miss out on our community beds in Powys. There are nine community hospitals in Powys and around 146 in-patient beds. These are vital in order to be able to deliver good-quality social care, to be able to get people home from hospital and to be able to move them out into their community. Therefore, what action will you be taking in order to intervene with Powys Teaching Health Board to stop the closure of those hospitals? Diolch yn fawr.
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Prynhawn da, Drefnydd. Could I ask, please, for a statement on the worsening state of youth unemployment in Wales, particularly in rural areas like Powys? Data uncovered by the Welsh Liberal Democrats earlier this month show that youth unemployment in Wales is now the highest in the United Kingdom at 16.5 per cent. Wales has seen the steepest rise of any UK nation, increasing by 9.5 percentage points in the last year, almost nine times faster than Scotland and five times the UK average. Scotland can do it as a devolved nation, tackle youth unemployment, so I would like to ask you what is the Welsh Government doing in order to address youth unemployment and ensure that our young people, particularly in rural areas, are not leaving Wales for England for jobs, but are remaining in Wales and have the opportunity to work. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Prynhawn da, Weinidog. Dwi eisiau chwifio'r fflag ar gyfer Powys, os gwelwch yn dda. Rydyn ni wedi gweld ym Mhowys bod cynnydd gwirioneddol a chroesawus yn y maes cyfrwng Cymraeg dros y blynyddoedd. Mae teuluoedd hefyd mewn ardaloedd gwledig ym Mhowys wedi teimlo bod mynediad at addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg yn cael ei gyfyngu gan ddaearyddiaeth yn hytrach na chan y galw. Mae hynny bellach yn dechrau newid, dwi'n falch i ddweud. Mae dwy ysgol pob oed yn symud tuag at fod yn ysgolion cyfrwng Cymraeg yn llwyr. Mae ysgol pob oed cyfrwng Cymraeg newydd yn cael ei chynllunio yng nghanol y sir, ac mae cynnig i ehangu darpariaeth mewn ysgol gynradd ger Aberhonddu ar fin cael ei gyflwyno i'r cabinet. Rydyn ni'n gwerthfawrogi cefnogaeth y Llywodraeth, wrth gwrs, ond mae angen mwy o arian ar y cyngor yna. Felly, beth allwch chi ei ddweud wrthym am yr arian a'r cymorth sydd ar gael i lefydd fel Powys, er mwyn sicrhau bod yr iaith Gymraeg yn cael ei chynnal yn fwy drwy ein hysgolion? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Official English translation
Good afternoon, Minister. I want to wave the flag for Powys, please. We've seen in Powys a real increase and a welcome increase in Welsh-medium education over the years. Families also in rural areas in Powys have felt that access to Welsh-medium education is being restricted by geography rather than by demand. That is starting to change, I'm pleased to say. Two all-age schools are moving towards being completely Welsh-medium. A new Welsh-medium all-age school is being planned in the middle of the county, and a proposal to expand provision in a primary school near Brecon is about to be put before the cabinet. We appreciate the support of the Government, of course, but more funding is required for that council. So, what can you tell us about the funding and the support available to places such as Powys to ensure that the Welsh language is maintained more through our schools? Thank you.
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Good afternoon, Deputy Minister. Thank you for the statement. I do welcome your ambition, unlike Reform UK. I am totally perplexed by your statement that you feel that Wales does not have the skills to have rail devolved to Wales. You're always doing Wales down. But I do want to say that where we are now in terms of having rail devolved to Wales, we've been here for a number of years through the Welsh Government. I can see that, over the years, we've not seen any change whatsoever. In fact, just this year, David Chadwick MP tabled an amendment to the Railways Bill, which would have transferred responsibility for infrastructure, investment and long-term strategy to the Senedd within two years. Unfortunately, not a single Welsh Labour MP supported it. And so I do hope that when this comes back before the Labour Government, which it probably still will be, that there is persuasion given from the Senedd to Labour MPs in Westminster. I'd like to ask you specifically: Scotland have done this, so how are you learning from Scotland? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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I want to start with some really good news. On 18 June, we heard the most awesome news that children vaccinated aged 12 to 13 are now close to zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30. Between 2020 and 2024, there were no cervical cancer deaths. That is in England, but that is something we need to celebrate in terms of the medical advancements. And I'd just like to hear from you, maybe in a letter, what is the situation in Wales, because it's something we need to celebrate—it really is. To hear that news is amazing. I just want to talk about social care, going back to a point I raised this morning—this afternoon, sorry—about Powys losing 146 social care beds. We could see hospitals going in Powys, in Builth, Knighton, Ystradgynlais, Machynlleth, Llanidloes, Welshpool and Bronllys. That is not going to help our challenge with social care in a rural area. So, please can I ask you what you are doing in order to stop the closure of those rural beds in Powys. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Rwy'n ddiolchgar iawn hefyd am y cyfle i ofyn cwestiynau ar y pwynt pwysig yma. A dwi'n cefnogi popeth mae Lis wedi'i awgrymu yn ei chwestiwn hi hefyd. Dwi eisiau, os yw hi'n iawn, jest sôn am beth rydych chi wedi ei wneud yn gorffennol—roeddech chi'n sôn yn eich ateb.
Official English translation
I'm very grateful for the opportunity to ask questions on this very important topic. And I support everything that Lis has suggested in her supplementary question too. If it's okay, I just want to talk about what you've done in the past, and you mentioned that in your response.
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We were, in opposition, constantly arguing that undergrounding should become the default position for any new electricity infrastructure. You and I were both frustrated by the previous Welsh Government, and by the independent advisory group, both of whom were meant to provide clarity and direction, and neither did. After more than a year of delay, we found that the group admitted it could not reach that consensus, and communities right across Wales right now are faced with the threat of large-scale pylon developments. So, I want to hear from you: will this Welsh Government finally strengthen 'Planning Policy Wales' so that the presumption is in favour of undergrounding and is genuinely enforced? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Let's be clear why GB News was banned from the Senedd estate in 2023—[Interruption.] If you'd like to respectfully listen. Thank you. It was following comments made by presenter Laurence Fox asking what, and I quote, 'self-respecting man' would 'climb into bed' with journalist Ava Evans. And he then went on to say, quote, 'Who’d want to shag that?' That went unchallenged. The situation was further worsened when Conservative Member Andrew R.T. Davies commented live on GB News that former Llywydd, Elin Jones, was too busy doing her hair to appear on the show. The Llywydd made the decision; it was not a political party. I find it perplexing that Members might wish to lift a ban within the Senedd, given that the ban was not about its political stance, but about misogyny and sexism. This is not an isolated issue. As we know, Ofcom have repeatedly found GB News to be in breach of their standards. So, Llywydd, I support the Commission's position, and I would want to come back on it if it was going to be reviewed the other way. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi, Beca, am ddod â'r mater yma o'n blaenau ni.
Official English translation
Thank you very much, Beca, for bringing this issue before us this afternoon.
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And a very special thank you to Sarah for sharing, very bravely and courageously, your experience. Thank you so much. That was really important for us to hear. I was a child protection social worker for 25 years before I went to Westminster and then came to the Senedd, and my register of interests will show that my husband is still a child protection social worker. Despite those years of experience, I continue to learn, and for me that's so important. During my time on the Equality and Social Justice Committee, as it was, one thing became abundantly clear to me: that adverse child experiences do not happen in isolation. They are a panoply of issues, and we must seek to address these to prevent adverse child experiences. I want to start with someone affected. As we've heard really powerfully about James, I want to speak about Mimi from sir Gâr. She was adopted from Thailand as a baby, and she has reflected that early trauma linked to being taken into care as an infant shaped many of the difficulties she later faced. She also said that speaking with others with similar experiences, through support networks, has really helped her to make sense of what she's been through. She said, 'My mental health is better than what it was last year, but I still get those days where I cry a lot, overthink things and have no motivation.' So, I hope we can think about what we can do—well, we've talked about prevention—and that we prevent ACEs wherever we can. That means, for me, investing in families early on, before they reach the crisis point, through strong early years services, parenting support and tackling child poverty. It also means embedding children's rights into every decision that we make. Last year, myself and other Members in the Senedd at the time, and cross-sector, developed Bil pob plentyn, a Bill for every child, which was about making sure that children's interests were paramount to every decision that we make. Secondly, we need to respond better. An ACE should never define someone's future. That is why programmes such as Palix are so important. They help adults understand how childhood trauma has shaped their thoughts, behaviours and relationships, and I have worked with this programme and have seen the results and the outcomes. For many participants, simply understanding why they have felt or reacted in certain ways can be the first step towards recovery. But our institutions must also become trauma informed, and I would argue that we in the Senedd also need to be trauma informed. We need to be looking at trauma-informed training ourselves. Public Health Wales have found that people with four or more ACEs are around 20 times more likely to have been incarcerated than those with none. We can change this, though. That is why we should explore trauma-informed training for judges and magistrates and those working in our judicial system. New Zealand already trains judges in trauma, child development and family violence. The result is better informed decision making, a greater focus on rehabilitation and a stronger chance of breaking the cycle of repeat offending. That surely is an approach worth taking here in Wales, and one that we can do within our current legislation. Finally, ACEs are everyone's business. They affect our schools, our NHS, our housing services and our justice system. We cannot change a child's past, but we can change how we respond in the future. If we get prevention right, provide the right support and build trauma-informed institutions, we can ensure that childhood adversity does not determine someone's future. Let's do this on behalf of all the children I have worked with, all the children my husband continues to work with, all the children and adults in Wales who need us right now to understand and to listen to them. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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Sources
The Record of Proceedings for each sitting day, quoted verbatim.