8 December 2021 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Mental health services
This motion fails to acknowledge any of the work over the last few years, but instead looks to assign blame. It fails to support the organisation. It fails to support the hard-working and determined staff on the ground—the same staff we clapped on our…
8 December 2021 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Mental health services
—the response to crisis. However, most people presenting with emotional distress do not need specialist mental health support. Often it is support for wider social and welfare needs that is required, and I am committed to driving a multi-agency and…
8 December 2021 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Mental health services
Some suggest there was some sort of delay between the report being produced and the health board being placed in special measures. However, as we know, the Holden report was one of a number of independent reviews commissioned by the health board in response…
8 December 2021 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Mental health services
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to respond to this debate and to place on my record my recognition of the commitment of Betsi Cadwaladr health board to continue to improve mental health services. I'd like to acknowledge the dedication…
8 December 2021 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Mental health services
Formally.
24 November 2021 , Plenary
Short Debate: Drug policy in Wales and the UK: Starting a national conversation
In October, I attended a second UK drugs ministerial meeting, alongside my counterparts in the devolved administrations. The meeting was hosted by the Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP, Minister of State in the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, and the purpose of…
24 November 2021 , Plenary
Short Debate: Drug policy in Wales and the UK: Starting a national conversation
Thank you, Llywydd. I'd like to thank Jayne Bryant for tabling this debate today and for the points she had made, and also to thank James Evans and Peredur Owen Griffiths for their contributions. Whilst Wales does not have the powers on many aspects of drug…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you, Laura, for those points, and thank you for your kind words, and I'm very keen to work cross-party to deliver this agenda, and I certainly echo your strong points about the contribution everybody's openness has made. I belive we should have parity…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you very much, Huw, and can I thank both you and Sarah for the round-table that you organised? I think things like that are an incredibly valuable opportunity to listen to that lived experience at a local level, and I do really commend you for doing it…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you very much for that question, and I'm very sorry to hear that your constituent has had that experience. Clearly, that is something that shouldn't have happened, and if you would like to write to me with the details of the constituent, I will…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you very much, Altaf Hussain, for those questions. You are absolutely right: lived experience is absolutely crucial, and if we are going to have effective policies, they have to be co-produced with people with lived experience. We already have the input…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you, Ken. And thank you, too, for the work that you're doing in chairing the cross-party group, which I also very much appreciate. As you've highlighted, that cross-Government working on mental health is absolutely crucial, and there is a huge amount of…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you for those questions, Rhun. I absolutely agree that we're in a position in this Chamber where we can take action and not just talk about things, and that is absolutely what I want to do. Can I just correct a mistake that I made about the completion…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you very much, James Evans. There were lots and lots of questions and points there, but, before I start to respond to you, can I just place on record my good wishes to Andrew R.T. Davies for a speedy recovery and to say how helpful I think it is to…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Progress on ‘Together for Mental Health’ Delivery Plan
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. We are 12 months into delivering our refreshed 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan, and I want to provide an update on our progress. The delivery plan was revised in light of the pandemic, realising the need for it…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
I'm probably going to bring an official in on this in a moment, but just to say that, as you know, all young people have access to relationship and sexuality education in schools, but it is very much part of the Welsh Government's agenda to really enhance…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
I do recognise that this is a problem, particularly in quite a crowded curriculum. Just to assure you that there is work ongoing in this area. The Daily Mile Foundation in Wales has 545 schools signed up across Wales, and I know from my own personal…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
That's quite a wide-ranging question, but I'll try to cover what I can and then maybe we can write to you with more detail. Obviously, the pandemic has affected our work in the area of preventative public health. We're trying to build our understanding of the…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Shall I start, James? I hope that you feel better soon.
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you, Ken. Well, perinatal mental health is a priority in our 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan, and it's a priority for me personally. As you've identified, there has been some progress, but there's further work to do in terms of making sure we…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you, Ken. I'm going to bring Julie Morgan in on this in a second, but just to be clear with the committee that the NEST framework that I referred to also has a really key role to play for children who are neurodiverse, and our approach is very much one…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you, Ken. Can I take this opportunity to place on record my heartfelt thanks for the work that the Together for Children and Young People programme is doing? I worked closely with them in my previous role as committee Chair, and now as Minister, and I…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you, Ken. As the committee, I'm sure, is aware, the escalation level at Ty Llidiard was raised a few months ago, and that is a cause of great concern to me. I would like to assure the committee that I immediately asked for assurances about the safety of…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you. Obviously, the pandemic created pressures, but we haven't lost capacity due to adult services, because they are different beds, really, and we wouldn't have adults on paediatric wards, because of a variety of reasons, including safeguarding issues…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you very much, Ken. If I can deal with your first point first, just to assure you that I am already chairing a ministerial oversight board for 'Together for Mental Health', which is designed to give me assurance across all our programmes that we are…
