Islwyn AM Rhianon Passmore has penned her latest Your AM Writes column. She says:

ISLWYN residents regularly express to me their desire for the Welsh Government to maintain the highest possible standards for General Practitioners’ practices.

It is a cornerstone of our National Health Service and the Labour belief that healthcare must be free at the point of care.

Therefore, I welcome the Welsh Labour Government’s announcement of new standards for GP practises in Wales.

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There is nothing more frustrating for people than finding difficulty in making an appointment to see their GP.

A recent national survey found that 42 per cent of participants found it difficult to make an appointment.

This is self-evidently not satisfactory.

People in Wales should know what to expect when they need advice on their health and well-being, when they need to consult a GP or other healthcare professional and what other options are available to them.

Personally I was delighted to intervene and make successful representations to the Aneurin Bevan University Heath Board to ensure that the GP surgery at Cwmfelinfach remained open.

I have followed this up with further meetings with health board to explore how we can ensure Islwyn GP practices are sustainable and that we attract young Welsh graduates to serve our valley communities.

I shall examine with interest the implementation of the new standards and will watch closely to ensure that they bring improvements for the quality of provision available to my Islwyn constituents.

We have all been struck by the passionate campaigning of Greta Thunberg.

South Wales Argus:

Greta Thunberg. Picture: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Greta is 16-year-old girl who has caught the world’s imagination when last August she skipped school, picked up her packed and sat outside the Swedish Parliament in the run up to the Swedish elections last year to highlight the imperative issue of our age climate change.

The first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford AM, has stated “We must harness the passion of young activists” as he recently launched the plan to reduce Wales’ carbon emissions.

The Welsh Government has published Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales - a robust and detailed cross-government plan to cut emissions and contribute to the global fight against climate change.

It sets out how Wales will meet its first carbon budget and lays the foundations for how Wales will achieve its ambitious target of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050.

It sets out 100 priorities and policies across all areas of government, including:

- Increasing tree planting to initially at least 2,000 hectares per year and then to double that to 4,000 hectares as rapidly as possible

- Encouraging take-up of electric vehicles by developing a rapid charging network.

- A bold ambition for buses, taxis and private hire vehicles to be zero emission by 2028.