The summer recess shall shortly be ending, and normal politics will resume. The Plaid Welsh Government will need to come back to the Senedd with a revised Welsh budget so it remains to be seen if there will be a compromise – most likely with the Labour Party.

Plaid has announced the latest plan for dealing with waiting lists. Removing follow-up appointments after surgery is one of the methods proposed. However, patients will still be entitled to request one, and I suspect that most will. Plaid is reluctant for the NHS to use the private sector to tackle the lists – but I meet very few people who have any objection to this. Patients just want the surgery.

Today I attended the Defence Security Resilience (DSR) Cymru Conference in Newport. This was a very welcome event looking at how Wales is contributing to the DSR of the United Kingdom. Put perhaps over-simply: Defence in terms of war by a foreign power; Security in terms of internal threats; and Resilience in terms of our ability (all of us) to cope with the expected or unexpected. The latter could be as much from climate change as from hostile acts. Unfortunately, we now live in a more unpredictable world. The protestors outside incorrectly called it an ‘Arms Fair’. There were companies in attendance who employ thousands of people in Wales producing the equipment with which we defend ourselves. But the event covered the growing number of threats to our way of life – at sea, on land, in the air, in space and in cyberspace.

The Stroke Association has been doing good work briefing MSs about stroke detection and treatment. Stroke is the fourth highest cause of death in Wales, with around 7,000 strokes a year. Remember that if someone has a sudden problem with their face, arm or speech it could be signs of a stroke. Look up the details online under FAST. The key to minimising brain damage is an urgent scan followed by treatment, so getting the person to hospital within twenty minutes is the aim. Call immediately for an ambulance if a stroke is suspected.

Finally, I shall be at the Usk Show on Saturday 12th September. This is the biggest of the rural shows in our part of the world. It is a great day out for all the family, and I hope to meet some of you throughout the day.