Sometimes AMs discuss stuff that only matters to themselves or those who lobby them. Sometimes they concentrate on things that have more topical relevance – as they did today.
Sepsis (also known as septicaemia) kills more people each year than the most common forms of cancer and has been in the news a lot this week following a BBC Wales Week In, Week Out episode featuring Derek Brockway (iPlayer link). It also has a personal resonance as my mother died from septic shock in 2014.
As the two backbench questions I selected (on sepsis and letting agency fees) - asked by Janet Finch-Saunders AM (Con, Aberconwy) and Jenny Rathbone AM (Lab, Cardiff Central) respectively - were covered in party leader questions I've decided to amalgamate the sections this week.
FMQs, 29th November 2016
Party Leaders
UKIP leader, Neil Hamilton AM (UKIP, Mid & West Wales) said it was right the Welsh Government will be represented at the Supreme Court's Article 50 hearing next week. What instructions will be given? Will they support the UK Government, or will they stand in the way of the will of the British people?
The First Minister confirmed the Welsh Government will represent itself and its own position; it's about ensuring constitutional law is observed not blocking Brexit. The principle at stake – from a Welsh perspective – is whether royal prerogative powers can be used to change Wales' constitutional position.
Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood AM (Plaid, Rhondda) brought up a ban on letting agency fees, which are to be banned in England. The ONS have shown that Scottish rents have risen slower than England, and actually fell in the last year – proving a ban doesn't lead to higher rents (with costs passed on to tenants). As Wales could end up being the only part of Great Britain applying them, could the First Minister commit to banning them? Leanne also criticised lack of Labour support for Plaid Cymru amendments to laws which would help working people – such as their proposal to ban letting fees in 2015.
The Welsh Government are looking at the evidence and a ban on letting agency fees is “actively under consideration”. Carwyn admitted it would be unusual if Wales kept the fees while England and Scotland didn't. On Plaid amendments, there's no disagreement in principle to many of them – such as banning zero hour contracts in the care sector – but there were concerns they may be challenged in the Supreme Court.
A recent report found there were 7,500 hospital admissions for sepsis in Wales, leading to 1,500 deaths. The report also found variation in how clinical teams respond to the condition, with just 12% of patients treated in line with best practice.
Conservative leader, Andrew Davies AM (Con, South Wales Central), said sepsis was “quietly lurking” in health professionals' minds. He praised measures by the Welsh Government to improve assessments, but demanded action and progress – including hard targets so progress can be properly measured. Pockets of good practice aren't good enough. There's also a need to address staff shortages, with a large number of adverts for consultant vacancies not being replied to.
The First Minister said sepsis prevention – part of the 1000 Lives programme - continues to be a top patient safety priority, but early diagnosis is crucial. Wales has been recognised for its work on sepsis awareness, with a national early warning score system in place to enable staff and paramedics to tell if patients are developing sepsis.
He refused to give any hard numbers for targets, and the focus has to be on consistency across all hospitals; though he expects the 12% figure to improve. It's hugely important all health professionals are aware of sepsis, including GPs who patients may present symptoms to first.
The Welsh Government continues to be proactive in doctor recruitment, holding events in Harrogate and London which resulted in 280 “solid responses”.
Best of the rest:
- The First Minister rejects the idea of the Irish Government contributing to the cost of M4 improvements (due to the amount of Irish trade that uses the road), as it's the Welsh Government's responsibility to maintain trunk roads. We can't go to another EU member state to ask them to make up the shortfall either using EU funds (following a suggestion of accessing TEN-T funds) - to David Rowlands AM (UKIP, South Wales East) who, I've got to say, made a complete pig's ear of it.👎
- Under-performance by Network Rail in dealing with delays caused by leaves on the line is unacceptable. The Welsh Government will continue to call for the devolution of rail infrastructure, though he didn't want to think Network Rail were spending less than they should on track side clearance to prevent leaf-fall. The First Minister also believes rail infrastructure and train operations should be undertaken by the same company – to Gareth Bennett AM (UKIP, South Wales Central).
- On the Welsh Government's intentions for £400million in extra capital funding resulting from last week's Autumn Statement, the focus will be on restoring previous capital budget cuts. It's also worth exploring the creation of a publicly-owned broadband infrastructure company following the Ofcom ruling on BT Openreach today – to Nick Ramsay AM (Con, Monmouth).
Point of Order
The Llywydd will review the record to determine whether the First Minister made a “discourteous” or “offensive” comment to Neil McEvoy AM (Plaid, South Wales Central), following an exchange on Cardiff's Local Development Plan. The First Minister clunkily insinuated Neil - who's of mixed ethnicity background - was hostile to “incomers” due to his long-standing opposition to greenfield development.
As a mellow, tactful and not at all theatrical guy, Neil took exception to this. The Llywydd's initial reaction was that nothing out of order was said.
If this handbags at dawn ends up overshadowing anything that was said during FMQs (for obvious reasons), I'm not going to be a happy bunny.
Urgent Questions
Firstly, Russell George AM (Con, Montgomery) asked for a statement on the Welsh Government's decision to suspend the activities of the Sport Wales board (I can't comment any further as the report which triggered the move hasn't been made public AFAIK). This is an “unprecedented intervention”; when did they first know Sport Wales was dysfunctional? Do they have confidence in the Chair? Do they recognise the findings of the leaked report?
Minister for Public Health & Social Services, Rebecca Evans (Lab, Gower), said the board will remain suspended until a governance assurance review reports back in the new year. The Welsh Government acted in the best interests of the organisation, and were aware of “tensions” within the board over the last few weeks. A vote of no confidence in the Chair - without exhausting all possible avenues - counted as “exceptional circumstances”. There's no intention to appoint an interim board.
Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales) asked for a statement on the proposed Yr Egin centre in Carmarthen. There's been confusion about the scheme, with Yr Egin being about creating a creative cluster that would house S4C as a tenant alongside other companies, not exclusively a new S4C HQ. When can we expect a decision?
Economy & Infrastructure Secretary, Ken Skates (Lab, Clwyd South), said discussions have been ongoing for two years and mainly surround coming up with a successful business case and whether there's a need for public funding. It's also right to distinguish between S4C's move and the wider Yr Egin project.
S4C have already indicated they will fully fund its share of the costs, but Trinity St Davids University can no longer draw down its expected share and have approached the Welsh Government to make up the short fall. There's no question of the Welsh Government subsidising S4C's move either (as broadcasting's non-devolved), this is about creating a creative industries hub.
Jeremy Miles AM (Lab, Neath) asked for an outline assessment of the potential implications of a mooted legal challenge against the UK Government in relation to Article 127 of the Lisbon Treaty (which governs membership of the EEA/single market). The issues straddles a line between a hard Brexit and a soft Brexit - a question voters weren't asked in June's referendum (see more at: What type of Brexit suits Wales?)
Counsel General, Mick Antoniw's (Lab, Pontypridd), assessment is at an early stage as it was only made public over the weekend. It's about clarification of EEA membership post-Brexit, but there are no plans for litigation yet. It also underlines the UK Government's complete lack of strategy and preparation for Brexit as well as a lack of regard for constitutional law. The EEA agreement is an EU treaty woven into the Welsh constitutional settlement, and if there are any specific issues relevant to Wales, the Welsh Government will be advised accordingly on what interventions it should make.
Written Question of the Week
Progress has been made, with the receipt date of answers now being published, revealing they're generally answered within the 7-8 day timeframe (….I'll take their word for it). Publication of the answers is still inexplicably lagging behind, but I'll cut everyone some slack.
On 7th November, Janet Finch-Saunders AM asked what support will be offered to local authorities to produce public toilet strategies under the recently-introduced Public Health Bill?
The Minister for Public Health & Social Services said the Welsh Government will issue guidance to local authorities, taking into account the needs of drivers, tourists and visitors, access to toilets in public buildings and businesses that receive grants to make their facilities available to the public. The Welsh Government intend to discuss the requirements of the strategies with interested parties to make sure they're fit for purpose.
Statement of Opinion of the Week
Lynne Neagle AM (Lab, Torfaen) wanted AMs – 11 signatories at time of posting - to note that sending sexual communications to children was made a specific criminal offence in 2015 following an NSPCC-backed petition. However, the UK Government haven't yet set a target date for the new law to come into effect, with her statement calling for the Welsh Government to press the case to Whitehall.
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