4 February 2026 , Health 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.
Thank you. Can I bring Joyce in, please?
4 February 2026 , Health 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.
Thanks, Mabon. One more question from me, before I hand over to Joyce. How confident are you that our social care workforce is on a sustainable footing for the future? I know in your last programme for government, there were talks of the Government taking…
4 February 2026 , Health 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.
Yes, thank you, Minister. Mabon, would you like to come in?
4 February 2026 , Health 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, thanks. I'm conscious you wouldn't have had time to digest much of that yet, so we'll wait to receive that, and that would be very welcome. Just on a reflective note, what have been the key areas in your portfolio where progress has been slower than you…
4 February 2026 , Health 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 appreciate that, Minister. I think those are areas that we're still anxious about, as a—
4 February 2026 , Health 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.
Thank you for that update. Obviously, we played this out in the last session we had with you, and there still seems to be a little bit of a mismatch between what you've just shared and, certainly from unpaid carers, how they're seeing things and what we're…
4 February 2026 , Health 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.
Welcome, all. Thank you very much. We have about a two-hour session today, with the first section looking at more general issues, and the second session more focused on waiting times. We do thank you for making your time available to us today. We have quite a…
4 February 2026 , Health 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.
Minister, online?
4 February 2026 , Health 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.
Today, we are having a general scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary and Ministers. Welcome, Cabinet Secretary, and welcome, Minister and Minister online. Perhaps before we start, can I ask you to introduce yourselves and your officials, please?
4 February 2026 , Health and Social Care Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions, and declarations of interest
Good morning and welcome to the Health and Social Care Committee. I am Peter Fox, Chair. Good to see everyone this morning. Can I welcome Members? Can I give apologies for James Evans, please, and welcome Russ George, who is joining us for this meeting?…
3 February 2026 , Plenary
& 7. The Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Act 2018 (Continuation) Regulations 2026 and The Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Minimum Unit Price) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
I'm responding to this today not as the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, but in my own right, representing our group. Now, whilst the intention behind this policy is well meaning, we do not think the legislation in its current form is wholly…
3 February 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Thank you, First Minister. When I laid this question, there were significant concerns in many of our communities in the constituency about those ongoing roadworks on the A4042. A traffic regulation order was published suggesting that the road could be closed…
3 February 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
4. Will the First Minister provide an update on the programme of ongoing and pending trunk-road works in Monmouthshire? OQ63776
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2026-27
I've only got five seconds left. Look, from a health perspective, we would declare a health emergency so that we could actually focus all of our resources to put things right, as we did in COVID. It's not until you recognise the problem you've created that…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2026-27
No, I'm pointing out the problems that you've created and why we—. It's going to take some while to put some of these things right. As I was saying, £3.5 billion into the health service over the last 10 years would have created a resilience, and wouldn't have…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2026-27
I'm pointing out your failures. It's important for an opposition to point out your failures, so that we can learn from your mistakes of many years past and we can start improving things for the future. So, what are patients experiencing under the so-called…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2026-27
I think I am, yes. Yes.
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2026-27
I'm pointing out how your choices have deprived an important service of very important money over many years. Now, to unpick your choices, which took 27 years to create and create the problem we've got, will take some while to do, and that's how—. We would…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2026-27
I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Cabinet Secretary. Whilst we might not agree on choices, I recognise the challenge of that role, and I thank Mark for the way he's delivered that over the years. I will focus my budget contribution today on the…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Waiting Times
Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. It would be remiss of me not to focus on the situation in Betsi Cadwaladr, which has been unacceptable for too long. I know that you acknowledge that more needs to be done there, however, the latest data…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Trefnydd, can I request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales? The A4042 is a major trunk road running through my constituency, in both Torfaen and Monmouthshire. It has recently been announced the road will see both its…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
Thanks, Counsel General. Torfaen's replacement local development plan has been pushed back significantly, with the authority indicating that adoption is now not expected until 2028. Now, this follows earlier revisions that aimed for adoption in 2026, but the…
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
2. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government about the actions it can take to secure the lawful adoption of Torfaen’s Local Development Plan by 2028? OQ63722
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
First Minister, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in Wales, with one in eight men here being diagnosed with the disease during their lives. Now, as you know, First Minister, the key to surviving this dreadful disease is early detection…
22 January 2026 , Health and Social Care Committee
Motion under Standing Order 17.42(vi) and (ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting
Okay, item 4, a motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of today's meeting. All in favour? We are. Thank you very much.
