Welsh Labour

Speeches and questions

Speeches and questions in Plenary and in committees, newest first. The Llywydd's and deputies' chairing of Plenary is left out.

2,879 speeches and questions

24 February 2026Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Well, I heard the important points that the Member and others on his benches made in relation to that point. In the context of the amendments, I do propose to come on to say something specific about that. The second point, Llywydd, that I want to make on…
24 February 2026Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Diolch, Llywydd. I would like to thank Members for the thoughtful and often detailed contributions that have been made during today's debate. It's been a debate, as a number of Members have said, about the provisions of the Bill that have regard to devolved…
24 February 2026Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Llywydd, this Bill marks an unusual constitutional moment for Wales. The provisions for which consent is sought have regard to devolved matters. That is not significant in itself. At the same time, it highlights the unique procedural challenges that arise…
24 February 2026Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Thank you, Llywydd. I wish to open the debate on the LCM for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by setting out what Senedd Members are asked to do today. In some ways, this is a conventional debate on an LCM. We are asked to consider whether we…
10 February 2026Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion: The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you to those who’ve contributed in the debate. Perhaps I could start my response by reflecting on the points that the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee made in relation both to the timing and the…
10 February 2026Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion: The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill
The Bill secures an aligned, coherent and fair approach to medical training prioritisation across the UK. It ensures graduates from medical schools in the UK, Ireland and European Free Trade Association countries are offered training places ahead of other…
10 February 2026Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion: The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I recommend that the Senedd gives its consent to the relevant provisions of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill 2026. These are set out in the legislative consent memoranda. This Bill makes necessary and important provisions…
4 February 2026Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Health board governance
Dirprwy Lywydd, the board delivered an improved in-year financial deficit trajectory last year and showed further ambition by submitting a financially balanced plan for this year. Disappointingly, it has been unable to deliver this, and is now forecasting a…
4 February 2026Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Health board governance
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd like to start by recognising the commitment of everyone who works in health and care in north Wales. They do so under huge pressures, and their work is deserving of our thanks. It is important that we constructively and jointly…
4 February 2026Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Health board governance
Formally.
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Chair, could I just say, as I reach the end of my tenure, and the committee reaches the end of its life as a committee, thank you from me to the committee for the work that you've done throughout the Senedd term? It's been very valuable. It's helped shape a…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Well, that's a big question, Chair. I guess I would say, from a ministerial point of view, that my reflections are twofold, really. So, firstly, much of the discussion that we've had today has been in the context of delivering more effective services so that…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Well, I don't have the answer to the ratio question, but I can provide that separately. To the extent we have it, we'd be happy to provide it. In terms of what it means for the NHS core capacity, obviously each health board has very clear rules and…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
I can give you an outline sense of that, if that's helpful. What we've been able to do, as I touched on earlier, in taking a more national, centralised approach to some of this capacity procurement, is deliver better value for money as well. So, the…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Okay. So, on productivity, generally—. Just to say, I was speaking at a staff event the other day with a trade union partner, and I made the point there, which I'll make again—when we talk about productivity, what we are not saying to individual staff members…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Could I ask Nick to answer that, if possible?
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
No.
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
As I understand it, it's a challenge around something that arises in the context of procurement in general when a new contract comes in. There's a process around that that can go on longer than anyone or any health board involved in the process expects to…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
It's a pathway rather than capacity. It's a matter of the pathway that the patient follows.
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
That is correct. The point of the rapid diagnostic centres was to ensure that people could get diagnoses sooner. It happens in other health boards, but the performance does vary from place to place, and I think I'm right to say—maybe Jacqueline or Nick could…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
There are plans on the horizon to create more capacity in the system, for example in Llantrisant and other places. But one of the things that we have seen and which is an element of success, you could say, is that because we have tried to increase the number…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Well, I do think it's true to say that the pressure is on diagnostics, and you are right to say that there’s more than one element to that. I would say that it's a wide term that can cover a lot of things. We do have specific challenges, I would say, in terms…
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
But I'm I'm happy to provide that, unless—.
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
I don't have the number in front of me, Chair.
4 February 2026Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Well, Chair, I think I've made quite clear how the data is captured and the expectation the public would have about who would know that. I'm not sure it's particularly helpful for me to have to make the point again, but I'm content to do that if you think it…