Janet:
Diolch, Llywydd. Our health staff are the cornerstone of our NHS, many of these originating from the European Union. In Wales, 4 per cent of GPs and 15 per cent of dentists gain their primary medical qualification in the EEA. According to the report entitled, 'The Public Health Implications of Brexit in Wales: A Health Impact Assessment Approach', Brexit creates a positive potential to attract skilled workers into key sectors to Wales from within the UK and non-EU nations. Counsel General, in addition to reassuring EU nationals that they are valued and still required in Wales, will you state what action the Welsh Government is taking to attract medical professionals from non-EU nations?
Counsel General and Brexit Minister:
We—. I'm not quite sure where to start with that, really. We've been absolutely clear, and I wish that she and Members in her party would be slightly clearer than perhaps you have been, on this issue of how important it is for our health and care services to continue to be able to rely on the services of very valued employees and workers who are from the European Union. We've taken particular steps—she mentions qualifications in her question—to ensure that those qualifications continue to be recognised and respected here in Wales and across the UK. She describes Brexit as an opportunity. I'm afraid to say that, in this particular context, I think that is probably one of the more bizarre reflections. I think Brexit is a threat to the workforces in these places across Wales, and it is incumbent on us all in this place to remind EU citizens working in our public services across Wales that they are valued and welcomed and that they continue to be valued and welcomed in the coming months and years.
