Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

Here is a letter that I have sent to the press today on the consultation on a framework for the treatment of eating disorders in Wales. Below are attachments of the information, and the summary of the consultation.

Dyma lythyr isod rwyf wedi danfon i’r wasg heddiw ar yr ymgynghoriad ar fframwaith ar gyfer triniaeth o anhwylderau bwyta yng Nghymru. Isod mae atodiadau o’r wybodaeth, a chrynodeb o’r ymgynghoriad.

 Editor-

I am writing to encourage readers to take part in a consultation announced by the Welsh Assembly Government on an eating disorders framework for Wales. It outlines ways that health services can improve provision for people with eating disorders, and suggests where additional funding and resources can be targeted. Current arrangements for treatment of eating disorders in Wales is very patchy, and research shows that GPs and other care professionals do not receive enough training or support to deal with concerns from patients.

It is also clear that the current system of sending patients with severe eating disorders to private clinics in England is neither sustainable nor acceptable for the NHS, or for families and carers. If you wish to comment, please email mentalHealthPolicyMailbox@wales.gsi.co.uk or send to me on bethan.jenkins@wales.gov.uk by the 30th of January. We must make sure that the £1.5m the Minister announced as new funding for provision for treatment of eating disorders is used effectively and efficiently, and that a strong National framework is in place in Wales.

Bethan Jenkins Plaid AM

Chair Cross Party Group on Eating Disorders

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Today’s retro report in the Western Mail from 2002 informs us of Dafydd Elis Thomas’s eagerness to scrap the oath of allegiance to the Queen that AMs must take before they take office. The full story can be seen on the BBC website here. He said that the requirement is ’a technical necessity within the [Government of Wales] Act that I want removed” in an interview with Plaid’s now disbanded Triban Coch magazine.

He also went on to say that the word ‘royal’ should not be used in the title of events such as the Royal Welsh Show, which, naturally, I agree with. However, there has been little action on scrapping the oath of allegiance to the Queen since this revelation in 2002. Call me naive or uninformed, but I did now know that Dafydd Elis Thomas held such opinions on the oath as unfortunately, the Assembly Commission has bent over backwards to become part of the status quo in relation to the monarchy, and has made no signs of changing such a stance. Now that I am aware of Dafydd’s comments, I will raise the issue with him in the new Assembly term.

 I want to take an oath of allegiance to the people of Wales, not to an outdated institution such as the monarchy. At least AMs should be given the opportunity to choose whether or not they take a royal oath of allegiance. At the end of the day there is a religious and non religious version of the oath, so why not accommodate the royalists and the republicans in our midst? This is the case in Northern Ireland.  Anyway, you’d be surprised- there are more Labour AMs who are republicans than you know about publicly.

The organisation Republic which campaigns for an elected Head of State has launched a ‘challenge the oath’ campaign to seek to introduce and alternative oath of allegiance.  Human rights lawyer Louise Christian is to take on Republic’s planned legal challenge against British oaths of allegiance- seeking a change to the law so public officials, elected politicians and new citizens can take an alternative oath, one which pledges allegiance to the country rather than to the Queen. I sincerely hope that this campaign is successful in 2009.

On another topic altogether it seems that Jane Davidson AM and I have more in common than meets the eye. Her New Year’s resolution is to start cycling, which is also my aim! We’ll have to compare notes on the best folding bikes available…..not in the Chamber of course….

Happy New Year.