Part of the debate – Senedd Cymru am 5:02 pm ar 12 Hydref 2016.
Diolch yn fawr iawn, ac a gaf i ddiolch i bawb sydd wedi cymryd rhan yn y drafodaeth adeiladol y prynhawn yma am y cyfraniadau o ar draws y Siambr? Diolch. Rydym ni wedi clywed straeon pwerus iawn. Mi wnaf i enwi Bethan Jenkins fel un a ddaeth â phrofiad un etholwraig i’n sylw ni fel rhan o’r drafodaeth yma mewn modd cryf iawn.
So, thank you for all your contributions. Not surprisingly, there is much agreement on this principle of what we’re trying to achieve in terms of people’s attitudes, and I welcome the contributions of Members from across the Chamber, across political divides. In practical terms, in policy terms, Angela Burns said that the differences between us came down to seven words. I do regret that the Conservatives, along with Labour and UKIP, won’t take on the challenge of seeking devolution of employment law. Angela Burns said it was a nationalist thrust. We seek devolution in this area with a purpose, and with the threats her party at Westminster are posing to the rights of people in employment, we need to ensure that we have in our hands—us, the people of Wales—the powers to guard the interests of the people of Wales, especially some of the most vulnerable in our society. So, UKIP agreed with the Conservatives; Labour also, in their amendments, choose to reject the notion of taking responsibility in this area and to trust the Tory UK Government instead, even though the Member for Merthyr Tydfil acknowledged that we are in a very different context following that vote in June, perhaps facing a very real threat to some of the laws that do protect people within our society, and laws that protect workers with mental health problems.
But, putting that very important issue to one side, this debate rightly brings us all together in our determination to address prejudice in our attitudes towards mental health. On that point of disagreement, I would appeal to Labour and the Conservatives to reconsider their amendments to protect our most vulnerable workers, and I would say, ‘Be brave and seek the powers that will potentially make fighting that prejudice more easy in the future’.