The hospital parking issue has developed into a highly entertaining spat between the junior health minister, Ben Bradshaw, and his WAG counterpart, Edwina Hart. Both are members of the Labour party, but you'd never guess it from the following remarks:
Bradshaw:
"We don't think it makes sense to spend money that's currently being spent on patient care - getting people treated faster and better - on subsidising car parks.
"If that's what Scotland and Wales want to do, that's one of the joys of devolution.
"We're spending the money on improving patient care.
"In Wales, you have to wait much longer for your operation; you have to wait much longer in A & E.
"You're not going to enjoy the extended GP opening hours that patients in England are soon going to be enjoying.
"Those are the priorities that we think the English patients are more interested in, rather than subsidising anyone who wants to park in a hospital car park for free."
Hart:
"The statement actually sounds like sour grapes from the Department of Health because they've been probably having a lot of flak because they haven't looked at these issues themselves."
Poor Bradshaw; how utterly defeated he must feel after his exposure to Edwina’s devastating, rapier-like debating skills.
Bradshaw:
"We don't think it makes sense to spend money that's currently being spent on patient care - getting people treated faster and better - on subsidising car parks.
"If that's what Scotland and Wales want to do, that's one of the joys of devolution.
"We're spending the money on improving patient care.
"In Wales, you have to wait much longer for your operation; you have to wait much longer in A & E.
"You're not going to enjoy the extended GP opening hours that patients in England are soon going to be enjoying.
"Those are the priorities that we think the English patients are more interested in, rather than subsidising anyone who wants to park in a hospital car park for free."
Hart:
"The statement actually sounds like sour grapes from the Department of Health because they've been probably having a lot of flak because they haven't looked at these issues themselves."
Poor Bradshaw; how utterly defeated he must feel after his exposure to Edwina’s devastating, rapier-like debating skills.
3 comments:
David Jones (Clwyd West, Conservative) | Hansard source
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many archaeological finds made in Wales have been recorded under the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
What's that all about??
The Scheme has been a great success and is important to preserve antiquities found in this country.However, the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council (MLA), through which PAS is funded, received big cuts in the CSR and the risk is that MLA will pass these on to PAS. The Minister has agreed in principle that funding for the PAS should be transferred to the British Museum (which all agree will offer it a more certain future) but it is essential MLA passes on adequate funding for the Scheme. Currently MLA is offering £1.3M for next year, but no commitment thereafter. The contracts of all staff within the PAS (including the Welsh Finds Liaison Officer) expire at the end of March. The funding issue consequently needs to be resolved.
"In the Assembly there is almost no real power. Much of the disagreement is synthetic. This bored me to tears".
Glyn Davies
ex Assembly member
2008
Sums up the whole sorry story.
it is like a bad dream to most of us ths assembly was born out of apathy.
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