National Assembly for Wales

Some of us have just walked back in time, 20 years and more ago. It’s been quite a triggering experience for some of us.

First Minister, the farming sector is being brought to its knees and is under threat in many ways by Labour at either end of the M4, be it in the handling of the sustainable farming scheme, the water regulations, and, of course, TB, where we see a 23 per cent increase in slaughtered cattle over 2023 figures, and, of course, then, Labour in Westminster’s family farm tax. First Minister, I hope your Government comprehends just how these things, and others, like the fear of foot and mouth, are affecting our family farms and our rural communities, and the impact they are having on farmers’ mental well-being and that of their families. What local support is your Government putting into rural communities to support families and farmers who are struggling in many ways, including with their mental health? These people can’t just take time off until they feel better. They need to be able to access services that understand their unique situations.

Thanks very much. We’re very sensitive and very aware that some in the agricultural community are feeling under pressure, but the fact is that we invest £366 million a year in agriculture. That is not a small amount of money, and that budget has actually gone up. So, I do think it’s important that people listen to the facts in relation to this. And when it comes to different payments, of course, we’ve got all kinds of payments that support people, on top of the basic payment scheme, which amounts to £232 million. But you’re quite right, we have to think about how people live, how their mental health is affected, and at a time of insecurity, when you don’t know quite what’s coming, I get that people feel that they’re not sure what’s around the corner. We’re all feeling a bit like that, with Trump in the United States, I think, aren't we? So, that feeling of insecurity does add to people's anxieties, which is why we have been contributing in particular to mental health charities in the agricultural sector not an insignificant amount over a long period of time.

Violence against staff and pupils in schools is completely unacceptable. We will be discussing these issues with schools, local authorities, the education unions and the police in May, agreeing a series of actions to support schools in tackling poor behaviour.

Thank you very much, First Minister, for your answer. Obviously, yesterday we saw the conclusion of the trial into the awful incident that happened in Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, and I wanted to put on record, I think, the whole Senedd's admiration for the teaching staff, who spoke so bravely, I thought, coming out of the trial after the court case had taken place. I think one of the things that has struck me, speaking to teachers and teaching staff across Wales, is how almost routine violence and behavioural issues in our schools have become over the last few years. I spoke to a teacher just a few weeks ago whose arm was totally purple because she'd been punched repeatedly in school by a pupil. The kind of nonchalance, if you like, with which she told me that I found absolutely startling, and that is clearly unacceptable. Now, we need, don't we, solutions from the Welsh Government to tackle this issue. I'm sure the notes in front of you will tell you to mention a behavioural summit that's coming up, and, whilst that's welcome, that is not a substitute for action. We've heard about this summit for months; what we need is action today to prevent violence in our schools, going forward. So, what action is the Welsh Government taking now to tackle violence and other behavioural issues in our schools?

Thanks very much. Can I just make it absolutely clear that any form of violence against staff or pupils in schools is completely unacceptable under any circumstance? We're all terribly aware of the impact on staff and the pupils at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman. They've been through a harrowing time, and it's important that we stand with them and by them, which is why there's been a significant financial package put in place in order to make sure people have the support that they need in that school.

You're quite right—poor behaviour, it looks like things are getting worse, which is why this summit is being called. I can assure you that there will be a series of actions that come out of that summit. There are lots of things already in place. All education settings have a legal duty to provide safe learning environments. All schools should have robust behaviour policies in place, and they should be applying them consistently. So, we just need to make sure we know what works best, how we make sure we action them and roll them out across the country. That's what will come out of the summit, I'm sure. The key thing about this is that all they key players are involved, and it has been something that we've been working up to for a long period of time.

Diolch, Presiding Officer. I'm sure that you will want to join me, before I go into my questions to the First Minister, in condemning the participation in a pro-independence rally in Barry over the weekend by the hip-hop band Kneecap, who have advocated for violence against elected representatives and, indeed, have allegedly also made comments in support of Hamas and Hezbollah—both proscribed terrorist organisations here in the United Kingdom.

First Minister, research by Coram Family and Childcare found that the parent of a child under two in Wales spends an average of £4,400 more per year to send their child to nursery on a part-time basis than over the border in England. That's £1,700 more per year than is currently the case in Scotland. Now, this is due to parents in Wales getting less support with childcare costs than anywhere else in Britain. Can you explain to us today, First Minister, why is it that the Labour Party in Wales does not support or value hard-working mums and dads by providing them with access to more support with free childcare?

Let's make sure that we have some facts in relation to this, okay? So, we've got the offer for three and four-year-olds: we provide 30 hours of early education and funded childcare for three and four-year-olds. That offer is available to working parents and, significantly, parents in training and education so that they can be reskilled. That is not an offer that is available in England. Also, it's worth underlining that it's available for 48 weeks a year, compared to England's 38 weeks a year. So, we are in a different place in relation to that. And, of course, what we did have as a result of our deal with the Liberal Democrats now is an extension to the Flying Start childcare programme for two-year-olds, and we are going to see now that phased expansion of early years provision to include all two-year-olds, with a particular emphasis on strengthening Welsh-medium provision. Now, let's not forget that your party voted against that budget, which wanted to extend that childcare support.

First Minister, I'm afraid your excuses won't wash. You've tried to point out the differences between England and Wales. Let me tell you one of the differences. In England, you can get free childcare support for babies from nine months old. You don't get that support if you live in Wales. In Wales, most people don't get any financial support with childcare costs until their child is three years old, and the financial gap between childcare costs in England and Wales is likely to increase significantly because they're going to extend the offer and double the number of free hours for under-threes in September of this year. Now, First Minister, your Welsh Government received £140 million in consequentials to allow you to extend your offer and to make it at least as equal—at least as equal—to the offer over the border in England. What have you done with that money, because you clearly haven't invested it in childcare?

Well, you know, I can tell you that we did extend the offer, thanks to our work with Jane. I can't find Jane at the moment. There we are—Jane. We did extend the offer. You voted against it. Let's just not forget that you voted against that. And let's also be clear that, in England, there's a system that's based on vouchers. The system here, what we've done is to try and make sure that the provision is actually available. So, when we say, 'This is what the offer is', you can actually fulfil that offer. So, for example, one of the things we did in the budget was to increase the hourly rate for childcare settings from £5 to £6.40. So, that means that those childcare settings can actually afford to pay people to work in those settings. That is not necessarily the same situation as it is in England. And on top of that, of course, we've made the 100 per cent small business rates relief for registered childcare premises in Wales permanent, and that saves providers over £3 million a year. We're trying to get to the root of what it is that's stopping us from being able to give that provision, which theoretically exists in England, but, in practice—we're interested in the practice here—what is it that allows us to make that promise a reality?

First Minister, I'm not proud of the fact that we have working parents from Wales who are deliberately relocating to England in order to get support with their finances in terms of childcare. It is wrong that parents here are having to pay, on average, thousands of pounds more than over the border. The reality is this: parents in Wales have the lowest wages, the highest childcare costs and the worst childcare offer in Great Britain. Under Labour, your childcare system is broken—it isn't working for parents who want to go to work. So, I'll ask you again: when will you listen to our calls, when will you take the action that's necessary in order to support hard-working families and give them the support with the childcare costs that they need?

We are delivering on what we said we were going to deliver. It's a practical response. I'd be very interested to hear the names of those people who are moving to a different country, because, of course, they will then forgo their free medicines, they'll forgo their cap on care for their elderly parents, they'll forgo their free bus passes for over-60s—all of those things that they receive now. It is important, I think, for us to recognise that we are committed to making sure that women can get back into the workplace. They have a contribution to make. We need to make that easy for them. We have managed to extend that offer in the budget, a budget that you voted against.

It was a real honour to have been able to support Mike on a number of his campaigns. Through his own many battles he was always a happy and inspirational presence, and he leaves an enormous legacy in music and, of course, as a cancer campaigner. My thoughts are with Jules and the family.

Llywydd, today is my first opportunity to be able to question the First Minister after the emergency session at Westminster in the recess to safeguard, at least in the short term, virgin steelmaking in British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant. I visited Port Talbot in the days after and saw deep anger at Labour’s betrayal of the steelworkers there, who lost their jobs as their blast furnaces were closed. We even had Labour MPs from Wales having their pictures taken with 'saving British Steel' placards on the day of the Scunthorpe debate. But when it came to Port Talbot, nothing. Now, Labour and the Tories alike didn’t see it worth while to save the blast furnaces there. When Welsh communities came calling, Labour did nothing. When we, in Plaid Cymru, suggested solutions the First Minister scoffed and scorned. The least she can do today is apologise for her dismissive approach to nationalisation. Now, having waved the white flag the first time around, what will she do now? Can she tell us whether or not she has pressed the UK Government for further direct support for Port Talbot in light of the substantial package of support to save jobs at Scunthorpe?

Well, thanks. There'll be an opportunity to go into this in a lot more detail later. We have a statement that I'll be making on steel. Listen, let me make it clear that I understand the concerns of the local population. Port Talbot, Llanwern, other places, Shotton, have been going through a really tough time not just in the past year, but for a prolonged period of time. There has been a Damocles sword hanging over the steel sector for a very long time. The situation has changed, of course. Even recently, we've had the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on steel, which is a fairly recent thing, which happened, obviously, after the situation in Tata emerged with the two blast furnaces. I met with Tata on Friday to speak to the management; I met with trade union leaders. And I have been making representations to the Conservative Government to make sure that they understand that—the Labour Government—to make sure they understand that there is an opportunity for them here to stand with the Welsh workforce and to make sure that we get a significant share of the green steel fund.     

That was quite a slip of the tongue from the First Minister wasn’t it, betraying the fact that we have such a conservative Labour UK Government. And, of course, it simply isn’t true that there wasn’t time to save Port Talbot. Scunthorpe was saved, essentially, in a matter of days, and yet there were three months between the election and the blast furnaces in Port Talbot shutting down for good. Now, the First Minister chose to ridicule, remember, our constructive proposals, rather than give a reasoned response, and the communities won’t forget that, I don’t think. So, there’s one painful result of Labour in action, and I hope this Labour Welsh Government will learn lessons from that when it comes to another issue of high importance to people whose well-being is currently under threat. Next week, Cardiff will host the latest event in the UK Government’s consultation on its proposed welfare reforms. The consultancy, Policy in Practice, have found that nine of the 10 authorities most affected by disability benefit cuts are in the north of England or in Wales. Now, with so much at stake, can the First Minister update the Chamber on Welsh Government’s position on the following: (1) has it now received a Wales-specific impact assessment from UK Government; (2) which elements of the proposed changes does the Welsh Government actually object to; and (3) will the Welsh Government be submitting formal evidence as part of the consultation process?

Thanks very much. First of all, on the issue of nationalisation, again, we can go into this a bit later. I think it is important to recognise that one of the blast furnaces was shut actually on the day of the election. So, it was clearly too late to save that. The coke ovens had also been shut down and there was a commitment by Tata to co-invest in relation to the electric arc furnace, a very different situation from the situation in Scunthorpe. But I understand why people in those communities are frustrated and need a better understanding of what is ahead for them and how we're going to see support from the UK Government there. 

You talked about welfare reforms. We're working our way through the Green Paper. We will be giving formal evidence to the UK Government and we have requested a meeting with the Secretary of State.

Okay. We still don't know, of course, what the objections of Welsh Government are. We need to know that—at least some of them. I did ask that, and I ask again, because we want a full response from Welsh Government to this consultation, and I remind the First Minister that, in 2015, Welsh Government did engage fully with the UK Government's consultation on their courts and tribunal service reform. It did again in 2022 on the Bill of rights, and they really have to fully engage here too.

Now, as proposed, the welfare reforms are punitive and they're counterproductive too, on one hand driving more and more people into poverty and on the other hand putting more pressure on the Welsh Government's own resources to fill the void. I urge her to rethink the pace at which Welsh Government's moving on this. But, when it does come to the final vote in the UK Parliament, can the First Minister give an assurance that no Labour MP from Wales will vote for any reforms that impoverish the vulnerable in Wales? And can she clarify whether, as the leader of the Labour Party in Wales, it will be her or Keir Starmer instructing Labour MPs from Wales how to vote?

Well, that's a daft question if ever I heard one. Look, we are going to engage seriously on the welfare reform issues. We think we've got a really good model when it comes to how welfare reform should work. I think we've proved that in relation to our youth unemployment approach and the fact that we have half the levels of youth unemployment compared to England. I think that there are some lessons there that can be learned. Look, I work with our Labour group in the Senedd. I do not control the Labour group in Westminster, and they will obviously make a decision that they think is appropriate, but I will be very clear that we will be doing what is right for the people of Wales and I'll be setting some of that out a bit more clearly in a speech I'll be giving next week. 

Well, thanks very much. Before we start, Lesley, I want to congratulate you, as the No. 1 fan of Wrexham, on the phenomenal advance of Wrexham football club to the Champions League. It really is quite an achievement—the third promotion in a row. They've made history. These are very exciting times for them. So, huge congratulations to them, and we won't be saying anything to the representatives from Cardiff today. 

I just want to make it clear that we would support, and we would encourage, Wrexham and other parts of Wales to consider entering the 2029 competition in due course. I happened to be in the city when they made the announcement that, unfortunately, Wrexham hadn't made it, but I thought that it was a really strong bid. So, I do hope that they will put in another proposal. There are some really, really exciting things going on in Wrexham at the moment, and, of course, they'll be hosting the National Eisteddfod this year, and the Welsh Government have provided £1.25 million in support of that.

Well, thank you very much, First Minister, and I'm sure all Members in the Chamber, including those Cardiff fans, will join me in congratulating Wrexham Association Football Club on the incredible achievement of back-to-back-to-back promotions under the management of Phil Parkinson. It is what footballing dreams are made of. But it is very clear to everyone that the words 'Wrexham', 'promotion' and 'success' currently sit very well together, and there is a huge amount of work going on in the background in Wrexham now making sure that that bid for city of culture in 2029 goes ahead, and I would be very grateful if Welsh Government could support that, going forward. 

Well, thanks very much, and I do think that being a UK City of Culture brings enormous economic, cultural and social benefits. Look, we're going to have to keep our powder dry until we know whether any other towns in Wales will be competing. But, obviously, if we get to the same situation as we did last time, we will put our full support behind the winning proposal from Wales. 

I'm grateful to Lesley Griffiths for raising this question in the Chamber here today. Wrexham is clearly a city on the up, and I join you, First Minister, in congratulating Wrexham AFC in their back-to-back-to-back promotions, and I appreciate it was a slip of the tongue, mentioning Champions League, but I think it's a prophetic word, perhaps, from the First Minister, for future seasons, for the football club. But just as fitting for Wrexham would be the title of city of culture, which, as you've already said, has the potential for being transformative for the city at creating jobs, at attracting investment and leaving a legacy for the future as well. I'm really pleased to hear your support—in principle, at this point, of course—for a bid from Wrexham, but, of course, there would be an ask for some specific investment support from the Welsh Government in particular around, you'd expect, infrastructure, and especially infrastructure that Welsh Government would have responsibility for. So, I wonder if you could today further your commitment to that bid from the city of culture Wrexham for that type of investment, so that we can see this bid succeed in the future.

Well, thanks very much. It certainly is a city on the up. I can testify to that, because I was helping them fill potholes over Easter. Those are part of the 70,000 potholes that we'll be filling between now and the election next year. 

Look, there are some great things happening in Wrexham. Of course, one of them is the football museum for Wales, and obviously we'll be contributing £6.4 million to the creation of that Wrexham museum, so there are real opportunities there. As I say, I can't commit at this point, because we don't know who else will be competing for the city of culture from Wales, but obviously we will continue the conversations between our officials and the appropriate officials locally when and if the situation arises.

This is a UK-wide commemoration and celebration, with events from bank holiday Monday through to VE Day itself. In Wales, the Welsh Government will be holding a service of thanksgiving at Llandaff cathedral and I will represent Welsh Government at the UK commemoration on VE Day.

I'd like to thank the many communities and local authorities up and down the country that have arranged a variety of activities to mark this historic event, ranging from street parties, picnics and afternoon teas, flag-raising and VE proclamations, beacon lighting, church services and many more. What I find most of all heartening about that is that it involves people of all generations to get involved, and it shows that VE Day is just as important now as it was 80 years ago, and that people continue to want to thank and also commemorate those individual men and women who made such a huge sacrifice over 80 years ago. First Minister, would you join with me in remembering all of those who either fought or supported the war effort, both men and women, from home and abroad, which ultimately secured the peace in Europe? 

Thanks very much. We all, I think, look forward to next week, to remembering all of those people who came together and who secured peace in Europe. There are maybe some lessons for us there in this difficult world that we're living in today. I will be making an oral statement on VE Day on 6 June, and Senedd Members will have the opportunity to respond to that statement.

I'm very much looking forward to attending some of those community VE Day events next week. I remember when it was the seventy-fifth anniversary, it was in the middle of the COVID pandemic, and I was very reluctant to see this pass, but I also knew there were very strict rules. So, in my street, I printed out a whole load of war songs and delivered them along the street and encouraged everybody to come out and sing on VE Day, celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary. I'm sure I'll be told off now by the former First Minister. I don't think I broke any rules. I think I was very, very careful. But it is something I think we should commemorate, and we will be flying the European flag outside the Welsh Government building on that day.

The eightieth anniversary commemoration of VE Day event in the Senedd on 8 May, marking 80 years since the end of world war two in Europe, hosted by the Royal British Legion and sponsored by Darren Millar MS, will pay tribute to the service and sacrifices made by British, Commonwealth and Allied forces. Working together with the Together Coalition, what action has the Welsh Government taken to involve communities in north Wales, noting, for example, the service of remembrance at St Giles' church, Wrexham, followed by a parade led by the Royal Welsh Fusiliers volunteer corps of drums, a salute and wreath-laying ceremony; the event at the Daniel Owen Centre in Mold, hosted by Mold Town Council; events in Flint, beginning with town council’s proclamation on St Mary and St David's parish church steps, and ending with a beacon on the Flintshire coastal path in Flint to symbolise the light of peace; concerts in Rhyl and Rhos-on-sea; beacons on Pensarn and Llandudno promenades; and flag-raising and beacon-lighting ceremonies on Ynys Môn?

Thanks very much. Well, you've done your homework on where the events are occurring. I'm sure you'll be attending lots of those, as I will be in my region. It is important, I think, that we note this important time and also recognise that this may be the last major anniversary when many of those people who lived through those times are with us.

I was speaking to a 96-year-old the other day, and just trying to get information from her about what she was doing on VE Day, and she told me how she had come on a bus from St Davids to Swansea when she heard the news. And, of course, Swansea had been very badly hit during the war. But we should take the time to speak to our elderly relatives, our elderly neighbours, to try and make that connection, because it is because of their heroism, and the heroism of so many of those people, that we were able to defeat the Nazis.

Of course, granted, there is a statement on steel later on, but there is serious concern in Port Talbot around what the decision in Scunthorpe will mean now in terms of Port Talbot's access to that £2.5 billion steel fund. In conversations with unions, they were very clear there's still a really bright future possible for the Port Talbot site. So, what conversations have you had with your UK Government colleagues around ensuring that Port Talbot gets more than its fair share of that £2.5 billion fund, now that those blast furnaces have been closed?

Well, thanks very much, and I know how upset people are in the community, and that’s why we have got to make sure we fight for them, and that’s certainly what we’ve already been doing. The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning has already written to the Secretary of State asking for a significant share of that £2.5 billion fund for the steel sector. We don’t want to see a situation where we don’t get what we expected from that fund. I have reiterated that in a letter that I have sent today to the Secretary of State, with a host of other measures that I have been asking for, in order to give the protection at a time when steel is under a huge amount of pressure.

First Minister, I'd welcome the fact if you could release that letter that you just mentioned, to highlight to the Senedd as a whole what exactly it is you’re asking, because, as Luke Fletcher rightly pointed out, there is a bright future for steel making under an electric arc furnace in Port Talbot, given that it's part of the Conservative-backed free-port bid at the Celtic free port, both in Port Talbot and in my constituency as well. So, what work are you doing with the UK Government to advocate for the benefits of the Celtic free port in and around steel making as well? Knowing that the Tata Port Talbot site isn't directly within the free port area but adjacent to it, how are you working with the UK Government to ensure that that free port is one of the key significant drivers of future investment at the steelworks plant in Port Talbot?

Thanks very much. I'm very aware of the potential around the Celtic free port and the link with steel and the opportunities and the skills available in the area, and the fact that the right kind of conditions exist in particular around the Port Talbot steelworks. That's why I spent two days of the Easter recess in Denmark, speaking to the WindEurope conference, meeting with potential investors into Wales, who are all very interested in what is happening in relation to the opportunities around the Celtic sea, and indeed the opportunities that the Celtic free port brings.

We know that small businesses are the beating heart of our brilliant Welsh villages and towns and communities, but data from the Novuna business finance business barometer this month shows that only 13 per cent of Welsh small businesses now predict growth, which is the lowest level it has been on record, and well below the UK average. We have seen a number of things happening to our Welsh businesses from many directions. They are being hammered. We've got the US tariff chaos. We've got the increase in national insurance. And, as we've heard on a number of occasions here this afternoon, in terms of the Port Talbot area and the businesses affected by that, we saw heaven and earth being moved for Scunthorpe for the sake of 2,700 jobs—absolutely imperative—and in Port Talbot, we've lost the potential of 2,800 jobs, as well as the knock-on of those jobs as well in the area. So, can you please tell us what immediate and concrete steps the Welsh Government is taking to restore confidence in businesses here in Wales? Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thanks very much. Well, I'm very aware that we need to see better growth when it comes to SMEs. There is a real productivity issue in relation to businesses in Wales, and I know that the economy Secretary is very focused on this as an issue. I think that we have to take up the opportunities that artificial intelligence brings, and see how we can use that to enhance productivity, but obviously make sure that that is balanced off with workers' rights and other issues.

But we do give a huge amount of support to small businesses, not least the non-domestic rates support we give—£335 million is not a small amount of money—and almost 50 per cent of those businesses receive full rate relief. I think what we need to do is to make sure that we give them that support they need. There is plenty of support through Business Wales to help productivity, to stimulate growth, to support with skills. The Development Bank of Wales is also there. You mentioned the situation in Port Talbot. The good news is, and I had this confirmed with Tata on Friday, that the electric arc furnace will start to be built this July, and already those contracts to build have gone to local companies, and they are already using some of those people who have lost their jobs to help them with that building process.

First Minister, I just heard your answer, but many small businesses in my constituency and their employees feel under attack. With the rise of national insurance to 15 per cent, the lowering of the earning threshold, and the highest business rates in the whole of the United Kingdom, and the proposed visitor levy by this Government adding further pressure, First Minister, do you not accept that these policies that are being driven here in Cardiff and in Westminster by the Labour Party risk pushing small businesses to the wall, resulting in closures and job losses for many people across the country? I've been inundated during recess with people very concerned about the future of their jobs, so I'd be very interested to hear what further work you're doing to stand up to the UK Government and actually stand up for Welsh businesses here in our country.

Thanks very much. I just want to make it clear that we are very pro-business in terms of the Welsh Government. We know that that's where jobs come from, and we're keen in particular to see small businesses thrive, and as I mentioned, £335 million-worth of support is no small amount of money. But one of the biggest threats at the moment, frankly, in relation to small businesses, several small businesses in Wales, is the threat from US tariffs, and the impact on Wales will be significant. There is something that I've already discussed with Keir Starmer, because the export balance in Wales is mostly about goods, whereas in England, it's more about services. So, the impacts on us from these tariffs are likely to be greater than they are in England.

The Welsh Government respects the decision of the Supreme Court. We will take the time to consider the judgment carefully and take the steps that are required to meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 as clarified by the ruling.

Diolch. First Minister, the UK Supreme Court's ruling is a vindication for all those like myself who have fought to raise genuine issues and concerns around safety and fairness, and safety in women-only spaces, services in prisons, and indeed fairness in sport. I hope you will join me in saying that this is a victory for women and girls across Wales, and for common sense. In the years I've tried, this has never been about anti-anybody, despite the smears; it is about protecting women and girls and ensuring fairness.

I note your written statement, which is a welcome turnaround from this Labour Government, albeit through gritted teeth, but I'm sad to say that I think it's a weak response to have a written statement on something that requires and demands an oral statement for something so important. It requires immediate leadership, urgency, and a strong Welsh Government willing to think for itself in response to this. It demands that oral statement, and I urge you to do this at the earliest opportunity, outlining when, where and how you're going to rectify some of the damaging decisions already made by the Welsh Government in the past, and what you will do now to protect women and girls going forward, referencing particularly schools, services and sport. Perhaps I could ask you to do that now, and whether you'd also outline whether you will be re-evaluating your relationship with Stonewall, and if you could finally respond to me—it was six months ago that I asked you—whether you can now acknowledge that a woman is a biological woman. Diolch.

Look, we're dealing here with incredibly sensitive issues and people have very strong feelings about them. I just want to be clear as a Government that we, in all our dealings, will be acting with respect, compassion and kindness. That is the most important thing, and I think we should heed the words of Lord Hodge when he gave his judgment: he counselled against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another. It is not. We will take our time now to work through the implications of this, and there are significant implications for public services. We'll work through that, and obviously, we will report later on in the summer.

I welcome what you just said there, First Minister, around compassion. Can I start by imploring all colleagues within this Chamber and outside of it to consider how we conduct ourselves with compassion and consideration? Because at the end of the day, this is not about politics; this is about people's lives. I've been approached in the last week and a half by many members of the LGBTQ+ community who are both tearful and fearful as well about the consequences that this might mean for them, and I'm sure, Prif Weinidog, you'll recognise and understand that. So, can I just ask you today to simply, if you can make clear, give that reassurance that this Welsh Labour Government values and supports all of our LGBTQ+ community in Wales? Diolch.

Thanks. We acknowledge that there is a lot of fear and uncertainty in many places, and I want to give an assurance that the Welsh Government will always respect and value all communities. We are a Government that respects equality; it’s part of our statute. The Government of Wales Act 2006 is clear: equality and opportunity for all in Wales. That is fundamental to our core beliefs. So, we will always act with respect, compassion and kindness, but we will take this court judgment seriously.

Trefnydd, I'd like to request a statement from the Welsh Government regarding digital connectivity, particularly in light of the ongoing switch from analogue to digital telephone systems. As you know, large parts of my constituency are rural and coastal, meaning that mobile coverage can often be limited. Indeed, during the storms we experienced last year, there were parts of Pembrokeshire that lost power for several hours, and, in some cases, several days. Many constituents were isolated, which is particularly troubling for vulnerable residents who rely on telephone services to contact people and services. 

As the shift to digital services continues, there are understandable concerns from people who live in areas where mobile connectivity and power reliability are uncertain. Trefnydd, reliable connection networks are essential, and people must feel that they aren't at any further risk during an emergency because of the switch to digital telephone services. Therefore, given that the Welsh Government has responsibility for community safety, and some powers in relation to emergency services, I'd be grateful if we could have a statement on how it's ensuring that communities in Wales are reliably connected so that in the event of any emergency, residents are able to contact their loved ones, and, of course, vital emergency services.

Thank you very much, Paul Davies. Thank you for that really important question, and I will seek to respond to it. I won't be able to fully respond to it today, because this covers a range of responsibilities within and outside the Welsh Government as well. But I think your points are very relevant in terms of that switch to digital connectivity and the issues about power reliability and what this means for community safety. Also, part of my responsibility, as you know, is to promote digital inclusion, and this particularly affects older people. In fact, I was meeting with the Older People's Commissioner for Wales yesterday and this is an issue that we discussed. So, I will certainly take this back and seek a way to bring back to the Senedd an update on this situation.

Trefnydd, I’d like to request a statement regarding the 'Period Proud Wales Action Plan' and progress on those actions. I’ve seen an increase in people getting in touch with me requesting period products, finding it much more difficult being able to access them. I know we’ve had numerous debates in the past around the consideration for, potentially, legislation to ensure that this is embedded. I know of the support of the Welsh Government and the investment made, but I just wondered in terms of that ongoing assessment in terms of accessibility, especially given that we see poverty rates continuing to increase, and foodbanks are also reporting to me that increasingly so they’re seeing a demand for period products. So, can we have that update, please, and also, if you have reflected further in terms of the need for legislation?

Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr, Heledd Fychan. Only just a couple of weeks ago, I attended a period poverty round-table. We have regular meetings that are attended by local authorities; local authorities are key, as you know, to delivering the substantial funding that we allocate to them to provide period products. Schools are crucial in terms of access, but it's not just schools where period products need to be available. The access in not just schools, indeed, in terms of education, further and higher education, but also in health services, in terms of access in leisure centres. So, I will do an update on this, because I think the period dignity initiative, which goes back several years now, has proved to be really important in terms of tackling poverty, but also linking to menstrual well-being, and that's key now in terms of our young people's mental health and well-being. Children need to feel confident in terms of access to period products, but also it's the dignity. And it is also really interesting when you meet—and I am sure you have done—in schools, where indeed school councils and boys, as well as girls, take an interest in what this means. So thank you for raising that, and I will provide an update.

I would like to ask for two statements. Firstly, I am asking for a Government statement on support for live music. The number of live music venues has declined rapidly over the last several years, and it's incredibly important that we keep these live music centres. I am asking for a fan-led review of live and electronic music, and that action is taken to ensure that the industry upholds its commitment to a £1 grass-roots ticket levy on UK stadium and arena shows. Most successful musicians had their apprenticeships in clubs. Ed Sheeran, when he came to Swansea, said, 'This is the second time I have been here. The first time I came to Swansea, I appeared at Sin City', which is a very small venue in the city centre.

I am also asking for a Government statement on progress being made to bring in a community right to buy. A community right to buy for Wales would help protect the things that make our country special, boost community ownership and place power back in the hands of Welsh people by giving local communities the right to first refusal when vital community assets come up for sale. Too often, major community assets, such as chapels, pubs and clubs, are left to deteriorate and are bought by people from other parts of the world.

Diolch yn fawr, Mike Hedges. We've heard before of your great support for live music and recognising what this means in your city, in Swansea, in terms of support for music venues and businesses. This amounts to over £10 million since Creative Wales developed this in 2020, in terms of that support. Creative Wales does work very closely with Music Venues Trust, and we are also moving towards supporting grass-roots music venues. We're aware of the MVT UK-wide survey, and we've discussed with stakeholders and the Creative Wales non-executive board, and those findings echo what we've been hearing across the sector for the past 18 months. We do need consistency of information, so we would very much support this fan-led—and here we have a fan, in this Chamber; I'm sure we have many more—review of live and electronic music, and for that to be undertaken at a UK level in terms of MVT interest in this.

Your point about community assets is really important. You know we established the community asset commission in partnership with Ystadau Cymru, and that followed from the work of the Local Government and Housing Committee as well. So, the commission was reviewing current systems of community asset transfer to encourage innovative thinking to community ownership, and Ystadau Cymru have published a community asset transfer best practice guide. That was back in 2019, and there are some good case studies. But the work of the commission is nearing completion, and there will be a report and recommendations presented to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government before the end of this term, and publication planned in the autumn.

I saw some wonderful examples of community asset transfer when I went to Gwynedd earlier this year to see some of the results of that in Cymunedoli Cyf. I think our community facilities grant has also helped where community assets have been transferred. So, I think this is a really pertinent, relevant question. Thank you, Mike Hedges.

Can I request a statement from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs regarding litter and refuse collection across Wales? It comes after I was contacted by a constituent in Swansea who had raised the condition of his street, where he'd often put his bags out for their regular refuse collection only to find that the nature of the hessian bags that were put out meant that rubbish was strewn all over the street. He told me he'd had to resort to buying bags for himself to collect the rubbish that had blown across the street. I think we need to make sure that the provisions that councils make based on guidance by the Welsh Government ensures that the collection of refuse across Wales is robust enough to ensure that the refuse put out is the refuse that is ultimately collected by waste crews across the country. So, I'd be grateful for a statement to that effect.

Thank you for that question. Of course, we are world leading in terms of our recycling provision, and waste collection is all part of that and part of the way in which we have reached that number too, hopefully to No. 1 in terms of our recycling rates. It's interesting that that was acknowledged today by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker, on the tenth anniversary of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and seeing what we're doing in terms of delivering on sustainable development. But waste collection has to be well organised, it has to do the job, and, of course, local authorities learn from each other, with WLGA playing a key role, and the Welsh Government in terms of guidance. So, you've made your point about a particular situation where things have come to your attention, but I think this is something where indeed we are proud of our record in terms of waste collection, as well as recycling.

I'd like a debate, please, to set out how the Welsh Government will mitigate the UK Government's benefits cuts. Westminster's benefit cuts will hit people in Wales hardest. We've had to guess about the extent of the distress that it will cause disabled people and those out of work, because the UK Government refused to conduct an assessment of how their cuts would affect Wales. But Policy in Practice has confirmed this now. Their research warns that these cuts will entrench deprivation in our communities. Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr are singled out as being amongst the areas that will be most severely affected. In Blaenau Gwent, one in every 10 people will be affected. The rashness of these cuts and the recklessness with which Westminster has introduced them have been appalling. So, can we have a debate to address how Wales and the Government here will respond?

Thank you very much, Delyth Jewell. This is very important. It is important to the Welsh Government, in terms of developing a robust response to the Green Paper, and, indeed, as the First Minister said earlier on, we will be producing that cross-Government response to the Green Paper. It has to reflect the views, not only of people with lived experience—. And on that point, I met with the disability rights taskforce during the recess and heard about their concerns about the welfare reforms in terms of every aspect of those. And I also have made the point, as you know, that the UK Government must come out and consult directly with disabled people in Wales as well.

So, we are seeking that cross-Government response. We will develop that cross-Government response, but also we’re looking to get that data that we need from the Department for Work and Pensions, and we’re working closely with officials to ensure that we can have a further understanding of the impact of the proposed welfare reforms on claimants in Wales.

Good afternoon, Cabinet Secretary. I’d like to request a statement from yourself, please, on the issue of how we protect and look after victims of domestic violence in Powys. Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre does an amazing job in terms of protecting our victims and survivors of domestic violence, and yet they’ve sadly had to look at the potential of cutting five jobs. And in a rural area that’s a huge impact. They deal day on day with, mostly, women who’ve come forward who are courageous and brave. And I’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to one brave woman who was sadly lost last week, and that’s Virginia Giuffre, who stood up to powerful and rich men in order to make sure that the voices of victims and survivors were heard. And it’s an absolute tragedy that she took her own life after decades of pressure and stress—a woman of sublime courage. And every single woman who comes forward has that courage, and we need to protect and support them. And so I’d like to make sure that services such as the Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre are protected in order to continue that service. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds, and thank you also for allowing the whole Chamber to hear and recognise the tragedy and the loss of Virginia Giuffre—that absolute tragedy that she took her own life after everything that she had suffered. And, obviously, this is very linked to how do we in Wales, and as a Welsh Government, deliver and respond to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

So, thank you for putting that in the context of Powys and the Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, which does provide an indispensable service for families in the area. I was pleased that we’ve been able to recently offer additional revenue—I hope you’re aware of that—to the Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre.

This is something where we have put more funding into VAWDASV services this year, and whenever I have the opportunity, we also look regionally and locally to where there is specific need. We’ve supported the crisis centre with capital grants over the past two years, and, of course, this is part of the specialist sector across Wales that we support, in challenging financial times, but ensuring that services are fully supported too in the valuable work that they undertake. And thank you for bringing it to our attention again today—their valuable work in Montgomeryshire.

Trefnydd, in light of the Supreme Court judgement, I’d like to ask for a statement from the Welsh Government reaffirming their commitment to the LGBTQ+ action plan, and, crucially, many of those really important valuable actions in it. Because I know that, like me, you are a supporter of our community, and, as I said earlier, there’s a great deal of distress and uncertainty out there at the moment. So, I think it would really go a long way to have those assurances of the Welsh Government’s commitment to the work that we’ve already set in train here in Wales.

Thank you very much, Hannah Blythyn. The LGBTQ+ action plan for Wales does create the framework for LGBTQ+ policy development across Government, and with our partners. And I thank you for the leading role that you took in terms of bringing this plan forward, and through to launching it. It does set out the concrete steps we will take to strengthen equality for LGBTQ+ people, to challenge discrimination, and to create a society where LGBTQ+ people are safe to live and love authentically, openly and freely as themselves. In particular through this action plan, the Welsh Government commits to defend and promote the rights and dignity of trans and non-binary people, and to make those communities feel welcome and included in Welsh society.

I call for two Welsh Government statements—the first on Welsh Government support for people with multiple sclerosis, a progressive neurological condition. More than 6,000 people in Wales are living with MS, and almost 300 people are diagnosed with MS in Wales every year. This week is MS Awareness Week 2025, from 28 April to 4 May. Next Wednesday I'm sponsoring an MS Society Cymru lunchtime event to celebrate this year's theme of 'MS conversations'—what it's like to live with MS, what services and research are making a difference in Wales today, what else we do need to be doing. People living with MS will be on hand to speak about their experiences living with the condition, and MS Society Cymru will showcase new data and new treatments in the pipeline for both forms of MS.

I also call for a Welsh Government statement on support for the deaf and hard of hearing during next week's UK Deaf Awareness Week 2025, 5 to 11 May. With the theme 'Beyond silence', this is focused on breaking down barriers to full accessibility for individuals with hearing loss, celebrating the diverse ways deaf people communicate and highlighting the richness of deaf culture, and aims to challenge misconceptions about deafness, promoting understanding and building a more inclusive world for all. The week promotes inclusivity by advocating for improved accessibility in workplaces, education and public spaces, and by encouraging understanding of the diverse communication methods used by deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Ahead of Deaf Awareness Week, I met with the Deaf and Sensory Network on Monday, to discuss their work as provider of the adult social care contracts for the deaf community in Wrexham and Flintshire. So, I'd welcome statements—one this week, one next week—on those two items.

Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, for drawing our attention and the attention of the Senedd to both these important weeks—MS week, and also the week where we'll particularly be able to recognise and acknowledge what we need to do and the needs of deaf people and people with hearing loss. Of course, in terms of both the contributions you've made today, in terms of questions, you do draw attention to the needs of the people affected and, indeed, the services that we provide. I'm sure that Senedd Members will want to attend and engage, and of course the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care will be particularly interested in the MS week, and we will look at any information that we need to share on that. I think it's important that we also recognise that we need to ensure that all deaf people and their carers know where they can access services, care and support in their local community, and provide assurance that they will have rapid access to services and support when they need it.

I'd like to ask for a statement from the Government following the publication of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People report last week, entitled 'Still Ignored: the Fight for Accessible Healthcare'. The report does provide a pretty damning insight, really, into deaf and hard-of-hearing people's experience of accessing healthcare right across Wales. It was drawn to my attention by Cedric Moon, my constituent, who is a great campaigner for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and he's also written about it in the Western Mail and the South Wales Echo today. The report states that the NHS is systematically discriminating against people who are deaf or having a hearing loss. This is by not meeting their communication needs, by a widespread lack of communication support, such as interpreters, note takers and speech-to-text reporters. This is an experience that I have found to be true in dealing with my constituents.

So, there are a number of recommendations to the Welsh Government, so I'm sure we'd all be very grateful for an update from the Welsh Government about how they will respond to this report and to these recommendations, and also on what further work is being done to better improve the lives of deaf and hard-of-hearing people here in Wales. I certainly support the points made by Mark Isherwood as well.

Thank you very much. Yes, that very much follows on from Mark Isherwood's question. Julie Morgan, your constituent Cedric Moon must be thanked for his continued commitment and diligence in raising these issues with you through his experience and also the fact that he is advocating on behalf of others, on behalf of people who are deaf and hard of hearing.

I think what's important in terms of looking at this from a Welsh Government perspective is that 'A Healthier Wales', our long-term plan for health and social care, and those refreshed actions that came through when it was revised and updated last November, is underpinned by that principle of ensuring that, I quote,

'all citizens can receive timely health and care services equitably, regardless of the language or communication format they need'.

So, that's got to mean something. In collaboration with third sector organisations, we're developing a future approach to audiology in Wales to deliver the best services and support for citizens in Wales and, alongside this and most importantly, reviewing the effectiveness of the all-Wales standards for accessible communication and information for people with sensory loss, exploring the barriers faced by people when accessing healthcare.

And of course we have been working as a Welsh Government with stakeholders to develop renewed standards and robust and clear guidance in relation to commissioning interpretation and translation services for British Sign Language users. We're planning to publish the renewed standards this summer, and they'll now include patients whose main language is not English or Welsh, patients who have language and communication barriers, but also patients who have language and communication needs that may also be for their parents and carers as well. So, the renewed standards will be important, but also we have key recommendations aligning to this in the disabled people's rights plan, which I'll be launching next week for consultation.

Leader of the house, could I ask for two statements, please—one on the job losses at Dow Corning in Barry, obviously an area you're very familiar with, with nearly 300 job losses potentially, subject to consultation? This is sadly another example of high energy costs here in the UK that is putting jeopardy into manufacturing jobs, and I haven't seen a statement come from the Welsh Government, which is surprising given this announcement was made yesterday. I will be pleased, and I'm sure many of the workers in the factory will be very pleased, to understand what action the Welsh Government is undertaking, along with interested parties, in trying to change this decision that Dow have taken to cease silicone production at the facility.

Secondly, could I seek a statement from the Minister for transport in relation to the A48? Just before we broke for the Easter recess, there were the tragic deaths of three individuals in one car accident on the A48. By my reckoning, in the last five years, there have been 10 deaths along the road of the A48 between Culverhouse Cross and Waterton. It needs a full engineering assessment made of that road, because it has been re-engineered many times over the last 30 years. There have been 17 new road traffic lights put in, there have been two new roundabouts installed, many new junctions, and the road, as was originally constructed, is now unrecognisable. With those sorts of tragic fatalities on that piece of road, it is vital that the department undertakes a piece of work that looks into the engineering safety aspects of it, and I would look to a statement from the Welsh Government to come forward to address that very serious issue. Thank you.

Thank you for both those questions that you've raised, Andrew R.T. Davies, both of which actually relate to my constituency, as you acknowledged.

Yes, it was a tragic call that I got, and indeed our Cabinet Secretary and her officials, on 24 April from Dow chemical's head of government affairs UK and Ireland to say that they had confirmed their intention to shut down the base silicone manufacturing process plant at their Barry facility, resulting in the loss of up to 290 direct jobs. And, as you know, Dow has been part of the history of generations of people who've worked since the 1950s at Dow. So, this is very, very bad news for the local community, for the workforce, and, of course, it will have a wider impact on contractors working on site. Of the 600 workforce on site, they are being informed that a consultation process will begin with staff. 

I've already had one meeting, and I'm having another meeting—I am having a meeting on the site with our MP, Kanishka Narayan, and meeting not only with the management, but also with the trade union, because Unite are also very engaged in the consultation process and have made very strong statements as well. So, we stand ready to support the workforce affected by this decision. But when we say 'the workforce' we are talking about the town, as you know, and so many families affected. I think it is important that they are going to—we understand—continue with an investment in the finishing specialist silicone manufacturing part of the site, that will in the future import base silicone products from other, overseas-based Dow facilities. I am giving more information today because we haven't—. I know that the Cabinet Secretary is responding to this and will want to update Members accordingly. 

On your second point, yes, the situation on the A48 and tragic loss over the Easter recess—a death as a result of those road casualties—I raised it myself, and I think this is something where there has to be Welsh Government, local authority and community engagement to look at this. Thank you for raising it today. 

Trefnydd, I'd like to ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for economy on the Western Gateway partnership having its funding withdrawn from the UK Government. I, like Peter Fox and many others in my region, am greatly disappointed by this decision. This cross-border initiative was worth £17 billion to the UK economy and offered economic growth for areas such as Newport and Monmouthshire and, indeed, the whole of South Wales East. Let's be clear, this is not about a funding cut. This is a deliberate withdrawal of support from a ambitious economic partnership. Trefnydd, this news serves as a massive loss for the whole of my region and I know that they would appreciate a statement on this. Diolch.

Diolch, Laura Anne Jones. I will refer this to the Cabinet Secretary to ensure that you get an appropriate update. 

Can I firstly put on the record, if I may, my sadness at the passing of Mike Peters, the lead singer of The Alarm, who, sadly, passed away today after a three-decade battle with cancer? And my thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Jules, his two children and his wider family at this difficult time. 

I'd like to call for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on the steps being taken to improve the quality and regulation of care in residential homes, with a particular focus on dementia awareness, staff training and language proficiency amongst staff and management. Recent evaluations have highlighted areas of concern. Care Inspectorate Wales's national review of care homes for people living with dementia found that, while many staff are warm and respectful, dementia training does not always translate into the best practices in care delivery. Moreover, there is a pressing need for better information about Welsh-speaking staff in care homes and an increase in the number of staff proficient in Welsh, and not only Welsh but staff also must be proficient in English, which isn't always the case. Ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens can receive the high-quality care and can communicate with care workers is paramount. Interim findings from the dementia action plan 2018-22 evaluation indicate that, whilst some progress has been made, challenges remain in the consistent implementation of person-centred care across all regions. So, can the Welsh Government provide a full statement, outlining the measures being implemented to enhance dementia awareness and training amongst care home staff, strategies to ensure all staff are proficient in English and increasing proficiency in Welsh, and plans to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives in improving care quality? Thank you.

Thank you for that question, Gareth Davies. Of course, the Minister for Children and Social Care will have heard that question as well. I think we can be very clear about the standards that we expect in the provision of care in our care homes, which, in terms of inspection and legislation, regulations, are very clear. But it is important that you mention this in the context of dementia awareness and the dementia action plan. So, I think that is the point where we would want to look at the expectations and also the developments and implementation of recommendations from that plan. 

The UK Government introduced the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill following a recall of Parliament on Saturday 12 April. This was in response to the deepening concerns over the future of British Steel in Scunthorpe. Jingye, the Chinese owners of British Steel, had stopped orders for raw materials to the steelworks, without which the two blast furnaces would have had to be shut down, which would have ended primary steel making at the site. The Bill allows the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to direct the company and keep staff employed. With the passing of the Bill, the UK Government has moved swiftly to secure deliveries of raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running, enabling the steelworks to remain operational. The Bill allows the UK Government the additional time to further consider the options available to secure the future of British Steel. Global events mean that, now more than ever, we must do all we can to protect our steel industry, to guarantee the availability of steel to meet our domestic needs and to continue to provide good-quality jobs for steel communities.

The situation with Tata Steel was very different not only in terms of the global context, but also because of the relationship and intention of Tata Steel. Tata had a plan for transitioning the company to more sustainable steel making while moving to lower carbon steel production, and sought financial support from the UK Government to help enable that transition. Now, the Welsh Government wasn't party to the negotiations between Tata and the previous UK Government, despite our repeated requests to be involved in the discussions. But the deal secured in Wales was a deal not just for the here and now, but also for the future of steel. The current UK Government was able to negotiate a better deal for the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot than the plan that had been announced in September 2023. And it may not have been the deal that we would have wished for, but, given the parameters and the time pressures to secure the build of the new electric arc furnace, it was an improved deal to keep steel making here in Wales.

Now, through the continued work of all the partners on the Tata transition board, we're providing advice and support to those affected, and we will continue to do so. The board has brought all our collective support mechanisms together, including those provided by local community groups, to provide a holistic approach to helping those workers, their families and the wider communities impacted by Tata's transition. A webpage is available on the Neath Port Talbot council website, providing access to the support available, and the community hub located in Aberafan shopping centre provides support and a guidance drop-in centre for the community.

My colleague the Cabinet Secretary for economy has a seat on the UK Steel Council, which is overseeing work to develop the steel strategy, and we expect to see that published in the coming months. The UK Government's steel strategy is an important piece of work, investigating the policy issues our domestic steel sector continues to face as well as researching the best opportunities for capital investment.

The national wealth fund provides £2.5 billion of capital investment for the steel sector. The parliamentary debate on the Bill confirmed this is an addition to the £500 million going to Port Talbot, and will offer further opportunities for investment and innovation in the industry in Wales. It is absolutely critical that Welsh-based steel companies benefit from this fund through capital investments and through policy developments that can further secure the future of the industry and create meaningful jobs.

The Cabinet Secretary for economy has written to Jonathan Reynolds, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, asking him to confirm a shared position and commitment to the whole of the steel sector in the UK and specifically to sites in Wales. But many of the critical issues facing the sector are not solely about capital investment. Crucially, the sector wants to see a truly competitive electricity pricing structure, greater leverage for using UK steel through public procurement, and robust trade remedies. We are going to work closely with all our partners to push for this support through the steel strategy.

We will continue to work closely with the UK Government to ensure that Wales gets its full share of investment and policy support so that the Welsh steel industry can thrive for the long term and our communities can recover and face a more certain and successful future.

Thank you, First Minister, for your statement. Obviously, I requested a recall of the Senedd so that we could have the opportunity to discuss this issue much sooner than today, but here we are, two weeks and a half later, and we're finally getting the statement through.

And I think the first thing that many people are very upset about is, obviously, the very different approach that's being taken to protecting the steel industry in Wales versus the steel industry in England by the Labour Government. Can I ask you, First Minister, were you consulted as a Welsh Government on the UK Government's approach to the steel industry being different in England versus the approach that has been taken here in Wales, and when you actually became aware of the different approach that was going to be taken in respect of Scunthorpe? I think those are important questions that people want to know the answers to. Do you support the UK Government's approach that it's taking in Scunthorpe and, if so, why do you support the approach being different there to the approach that's been taken in respect of Tata? Because people are upset, understandably, and furious about the fact that it seems to be a completely different attitude towards Welsh steel when compared to the steel industry in England.

Many Labour Ministers have obviously begun to notice that the steel industry, in order to produce virgin steel, needs a lot of coal. [Interruption.] Wales is blessed—[Interruption.] Wales is blessed still to have quite a lot of coal in reserves, so can you tell us whether, given that we're reliant on coal still at the moment to produce virgin steel in the United Kingdom, the Welsh Government will take a different approach to the coal industry here in Wales and change your policy, which currently prevents coal from being taken out of the ground here in Wales for use in the steel industry, and instead supports coal being extracted in dirty mines with appalling environmental conditions elsewhere around the world and shipped into the United Kingdom in order to support virgin steel production? Because let me be clear: you cannot cheer for steel and sneer at coal in the same breath. It is impossible to do that, because coal is needed in terms of being able to produce the virgin steel that we need. So, will you review your planning policies to make sure that we can take the opportunity to revive our coal industry here in Wales in order to make sure that there is a clean and environmentally sound policy, going forward, on coal? 

In terms of the situation at Port Talbot, I know you keep—[Interruption.] I know you keep turning your nose up at the deal that was arranged by the previous UK Conservative Government, exactly the same deal that had been implemented by the new UK Government—£500 million available to invest in order to turn that Tata Steel facility into one which produces environmentally sound steel from recycled steel products through the electric arc processes. The same number of jobs are being protected as was the case under the previous Conservative Government, and the same number of jobs, unfortunately, are being lost. Why is it that you continue to sneer at that previous deal from the UK Conservative Government when, actually, it's the same one that's been implemented by your current UK Labour Government? And let's not forget it's very different to the approach that was promised in advance of the last general election where, frankly, Labour MPs were promising the earth to people who were working at Tata, telling them that there would be billions of pounds more invested in their plant in order to save their jobs, complete works of fiction, which, of course—. A massive u-turn as soon as the Government was elected.

Now, you've rightly made reference to the national wealth fund that we have and the £2.5 billion that has been set aside for steel across the United Kingdom. You've said that you want to see some of that spent here in Wales. There was talk, of course—there was a pledge, in fact, given by Jo Stevens, saying—that there would be a direct reduced iron plant at Port Talbot in advance of the last general election. We're yet to see any developments on that front. Is that a project that you want to see this £2.5 billion invested in? Is that what you are proposing as a Government? I can't see any strategy other than warm words in terms of trying to make sure that we're taking advantage of the resources that are available, because I fear that what will happen, because we have a weak policy on steel here in Wales under your leadership in the Welsh Government, is that that £2.5 billion will go elsewhere and we won't see a penny more than the £500 million that was arranged by the previous UK Conservative Government, because of the weak strategy, the lack of policies, the lack of attention that you've given to this particular issue.

So, we want to know what additional support is going to be provided to Port Talbot as a result of the UK Government's announcement. I want to know what proportion of that £2.5 billion is going to come back to Wales, and I want to know what you're going to do to revive our coal industry here, to make sure that they can play a part in making sure that we have environmentally sound production of steel—virgin steel—here in the United Kingdom. Thank you.

I can't believe I'm getting lectures from the Tories, who had all the opportunities to step in, to do something constructive—

They did.

—and didn't. They didn't. They wouldn't even pick up the phone to the First Minister when he asked for a call. They wouldn't even pick up the phone. I think it's really important to note that.

We, on the other hand, as a Welsh Government, our powers in this area—. These are big decisions; we do have to work with the UK Government to do that. But I certainly flew out to Mumbai to speak to the people in Tata, to see what might be possible. The timing was not great. That is the truth of it: the timing was not great. One blast furnace was shut on the day of the elections. The coke ovens had also closed down. The geography of the site means that it's very difficult to keep a blast furnace open at the same time as developing an electric arc furnace.

And you talk about the need to address the issue around coal. Listen, I am concerned not just about steel, but I'm also concerned about the climate emergency that is upon us. And the point with an electric arc furnace is that we're going to see a 90 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. That is not an insignificant amount. And 75 per cent of the raw materials needed for the EAF will come from UK sources. So, that is something that I think is positive.

I am very keen to see a significant ring fence for Wales from that £2.5 billion steel fund, and I have pressed again today the Secretary of State to give us the assurance on that, as has the economic Secretary.

Now, ingrained in the heartlands of heavy industry in Wales are the stories of workers forgotten by Westminster. We became accustomed and programmed to expect it from Conservative Governments whose ambivalence towards Wales and their neglect of its workers contributed to the very existence of the institution that we stand in today. But what has become of a Labour Party unwilling to stand up for workers, or, to be precise, what's become of a Labour Party whose instincts to respond depend on the postcodes? Now, without hesitation, I say that the UK Labour Government did absolutely the right thing to step in to save those jobs at Scunthorpe, to protect a strategic interest and the livelihoods of 2,700 workers, remarkably similar to the total job losses at Port Talbot. But, Llywydd, the First Minister mocked Plaid Cymru for suggesting and pushing for everything to be on the table, including nationalisation, in order to protect blast furnace virgin steelmaking at Port Talbot. 'A pipe dream' she called it, patronisingly, which has become something of a trademark for this First Minister. But, of course, when the proposal is made in another Parliament for another steelworks in another nation, then she is more than happy to applaud that. It is blatant double standards at Wales's expense.

'If this government can't explain how it's helping Port Talbot's laid-off workers to build a future through reskilling, why shouldn't those workers then come to the logical conclusion that Labour has abandoned them?'

Llywydd, it will take a long time to restore any respect Labour had amongst the communities. There are things we need in terms of action from UK Government. There has to be, on energy, a move to make sure that we are able to be in line with our European competitors. On the dumping of cheap steel from other countries, accelerating the removal of trade barriers with Europe makes economic common sense in the face of the US's protectionist policies. But we need to see a testing of the so-called partnership in power, don't we? Welsh Government has to be relentless now in pushing UK Government to ring-fence a significant amount of the £2.5 billion steel fund, specifically for future investment in Wales's steel industry.

Does the First Minister agree with me that, after this betrayal, we need cast-iron assurances that the UK Government's investment in Scunthorpe in no way compromises the promises made to Port Talbot? In fact, the least the UK Government should do now is begin to repair the damage by announcing a new and enhanced package of support in recognition of its two-tier approach to preserving virgin steel capacity.

Well, thanks. I think there is a future for steel in Port Talbot and in Wales. The electric arc furnace provides that. We've had assurances, contracts have been signed. The situation was different in terms of the situation with Tata and in Scunthorpe. As I said, I think it was unrealistic to expect to step in at that point, because Tata would have taken on a legal case, and you take on a company like Tata—it is possible to do it, but people will not invest in your country after that. Just be absolutely clear about the implications of what that would look like. They would also have withdrawn the £700 million that they put on the table. I also think it's probably worth stating that the story in Scunthorpe is not over; we don't know what the end of this story will be. But what I can tell you is that we, as a Government, have been absolutely relentless in terms of our focus on this issue. Forty-two million pounds has already been spent with the transition board. You want some figures. There's been start-up support for 178 people; 65 people have registered interest with the resilience and growth fund; there have been over 1,500 people who have attended the centre at the Aberafan shopping centre, and, of those, 980 were individuals who were employed in Tata Steel. We've also as a Government set out the funding that we have through ReAct and Communities for Work, and we have £24 million for that pot of funding, and obviously some of that will be available to people in those areas.

I very much welcome the statement by the First Minister. I speak as a former employee of the British Steel Corporation, as it then was. I agree with the First Minister that global events mean now, more than ever, we must do all we can to protect our steel industry, to guarantee the availability of steel to meet our domestic needs and to continue to provide good-quality jobs for steel communities.

This is not a battle between Port Talbot and Scunthorpe, even if some people are trying to make it such, but the opportunity to save the UK steel industry. An electric arc furnace can be turned on and off to meet demand, to deal with electricity costs or the shortage of raw materials. I would like to see us learning from European countries, such as Sweden, and also from Australia, on working to replace coke by hydrogen to produce iron in a blast furnace—rather than creating carbon dioxide, creating water vapour.

The cost of modernising iron and steel making needs Government control and financial support. It is too much for individual companies. Does the First Minister agree with me that the future of steel in Wales is via using hydrogen to produce iron by a publicly owned steel industry?

Thanks very much. Look, I think there are opportunities that we need to explore, because there are real issues about how you switch on an electric arc furnace with the costs of energy as they are today, which is why one of the things that I've been pressing the UK Government on is to see whether anything can be done to reduce the costs of energy going to companies that are producing steel. There may be opportunities if we develop the offshore wind opportunities, which is why I spent part of the Easter break actually trying to lobby people to come and invest in our country to make sure that we have significant amounts of energy that can then, potentially, be turned into hydrogen. There are lots of opportunities here and, for me, the important thing is that we keep the focus on places like Port Talbot. There are big opportunities, there are lots of skills there, and there are lots of companies that have an interest in developing in those communities because of the significant skill sets that exist there.

Can I just say, of all those contributions on this particular item, I have to congratulate Darren Millar for his common-sense approach? At the end of the day, the Welsh Labour Government and Plaid Cymru have dithered, and we now know the difficulties facing Tata Steel.

The UK Government reported that more than 55,000 tonnes of coking coke has arrived in the UK this weekend to go to Scunthorpe steel plant. Coking coke has also been transported from Australia, with 66,000 tonnes of iron ore pellets and 27,000 tonnes of iron ore due to arrive from Sweden. This is hardly you as a Welsh Government showing true commitment to reducing our own carbon footprint when we're prepared to import this when we're sitting on loads and loads of coal. Now, even in the remediation of the disused tips, there will be found, in this remediation—. There will be found usable coal present. Does the First Minister agree with me that it is simply nonsensical for coal extracted here in Wales, or found even as part of any remediation scheme going forward, that we shouldn't be just leaving it there? It could be sold and it could have helped in keeping Tata Steel going. Diolch.

God, you couldn't make it up, could you? We've got a Tory asking us to reopen coal mines in Wales after what they did in the 1980s. It's quite, quite remarkable. You couldn't make it up.

It is important, I think, for us to recognise that there are potential—. We have to look at what the future looks like. We have responsibilities in relation to climate change, but we also have responsibilities to those people who work in the steel sector and, if we can, we need to balance those. The electric arc furnace gives us the opportunity to do precisely that.

I have to say, it's a complete and utter bleak image the First Minister has just painted of the future of Welsh industry, that we're at the whims and mercy of multinational corporations, because if we challenge them, well they might challenge us back, and we can't have that, we can't do that, we can't stop them. That is managerialism at its worst, I have to say.

I do not want to dwell on the past, but I do take issue with the First Minister saying that Tata wouldn't have reopened the deal. You yourself, along with your Labour colleagues, with much fanfare, talked about the enhanced deal that the Labour Government were able to deliver once they got into power. Now, 'enhanced' suggests to me that you had to go back and talk to Tata, so they were open to renegotiating a deal, surely. Or have I got that wrong and, actually, it's what we suspected from the start, that that enhanced deal was actually just spin, and it is exactly the same, as Darren Millar said, as the Conservative Government's deal that was on the table?

Now, I will say that the First Minister is right, that the issues within the steel industry go beyond simple capital investment, and it's right that any steel strategy looks at electric prices, trade and procurement. I'd also add ownership on to that list. On procurement, in 2016, the Welsh Government produced the 'Public Procurement of Steel' report that identified potential projects that could be completed using Welsh steel. That then led to the Welsh Government signing up to the steel charter in 2019. So, looking ahead towards the Welsh Government's new steel strategy, can we expect a similar report to be produced by the Welsh Government, outlining where Welsh steel can be used within Wales, and then a commitment that actually it will do it?

Thanks very much. Listen, it always fascinates me that nationalists want to nationalise, but they want England to pay. That is a very difficult situation. So, this week you want to nationalise steel. Last week, you wanted to nationalise Holyhead port. And you won't even support us in a £1.6 billion increase in funding for our public services.

Look, when it comes to public procurement, you're quite right, it is important that we work with the UK Government to see where the opportunities are for steel in the future, and that's why having our Cabinet Secretary responsible for the economy on that board will help to shape what the UK steel plan looks like, and hopefully those will be in them.

But I think one of the other things that's probably worth noting is that I've written to the Secretary of State, and one of the things I've asked him to do is to reduce the safeguard quotas because the situation at the moment, in particular with the tariffs that have been imposed by the Trump administration, means that there is dumping going on, and we do need to make sure that the quotas are adjusted, so that we can protect our industry at this very difficult time.

First Minister, Gordon Brown and colleagues produced a very important report for an incoming UK Labour Government, now of course elected, around dealing with the regional economic inequalities in the UK, and part of that was about green steel making. So, now that we have this UK Government £2.5 billion fund in place and a steel strategy to go forward, I'm sure you will join me in making the case for Wales to get a fair share of that funding for that green steel making, partly to address the regional economic inequalities in the UK, but also recognising the strengths that we have here in Wales in terms of existing experience and industrial strength. Part of that, of course, has to be skills around green steel making, and for me in Newport it's very much about the Llanwern site, as you would know, First Minister, and there was a commitment from Tata in terms of the UK Government funding available on green steel making, to make sure that the downstream operations from Port Talbot are very much part of that ongoing investment and that ongoing picture. So, I am sure you would recognise that in terms of Llanwern and want to make sure that everything that Llanwern has to offer for the green steel making future in Wales and the UK is realised.

Thanks very much, John, and thanks for your efforts on behalf of your constituents. I know that many of them are concerned about the situation in Llanwern and it was good to meet some of them on Friday as well, who made it clear that there are still real concerns in relation to what is going on. I think it is important that we address regional economic inequalities, which is why we do need to land investment. That is where the growth is likely to come from. We need to get our own companies growing. We need to improve productivity. We need to get quality jobs in. But you are quite right when it comes to the £2.5 billion clean steel fund. I have made it clear in the letter I have sent to the Secretary of State that we understood that the fund was intended to be for capital funding for transformation and not for revenue support. So, we will make sure that it is very clear that we do not want to see this funding going on supporting the revenue support of the Scunthorpe plant at the expense of the situation in Welsh steel.

First Minister, throughout the statement and in answering questions, you have referenced a letter that you've sent to the Secretary of State for Wales. In my FMQ supplementary question to you earlier, I asked you to publish it, but you forgot to answer that question, so if you could answer that by publishing that letter, I would be very grateful.

But what concerns me is the contradiction in language I hear around the sadness of the blast furnaces in Port Talbot closing from this Labour Government, but then the optimism of the carbon dioxide that is being saved because of its closure. You can't have it both ways here. That's the reality of this. That is what happens when jobs are offshored. Tata are opening blast furnaces over in India because that is cheaper for them to do. That carbon dioxide is still going to be released, yet we are the ones losing jobs in this country. Is that an economic strategy that you sign up to?

Look, just to be clear that I’m happy to release a copy of the letter that I’ve sent, but let me also be clear in relation to the electric arc furnace: I think this does provide a future, a sustainable future for steel in Wales. It is really difficult; there is a glut of steel in the world. These are massive global economic factors that are determining the situation in this country, and of course, we need to recognise this as a strategic industry, and we need to do what we can to make sure that as a Government we provide a home market for steel, so that they know that there will be somewhere for that to go, because there is so much steel in the world at the moment. China’s producing a hell of a lot of it, and I think we’ve got to just be aware, with our eyes wide open, that there’s a carbon adjustment situation that’s going to come in in the EU, and that will affect us as well, so there are a lot of moving parts here and none of it is straightforward. As far as I’m concerned, the key thing for us is to provide something that’s sustainable for the future of those communities. They’ve had a tough time, but they know that there is now some hope at the end of the line because of the electric arc furnace, and the jobs that potentially could be built around that provision.

What has happened at Port Talbot, though, has had effects across our communities. The workers at Port Talbot deserved better. Their jobs were just as important as those in Scunthorpe, but Labour in Westminster, they did choose not to fight for them as determinedly. Why didn’t Parliament sit on a Saturday to stop the last blast furnace shutting down in Port Talbot? Why were we in Plaid mocked for calling for the steelworks here to be nationalised? That has not been addressed. And First Minister, do you understand the anger that’s felt by Welsh workers now? Because it is a story we’ve seen unfold before, of our jobs being thrown on the scrapheap by an uncaring and aloof Westminster. Don’t you wish that your Labour colleagues there had fought harder for Welsh workers too?

Look: Jingye, owners of British Steel, they’d stopped their orders for raw materials for the steelworks and without those, the two blast furnaces would have had to be shut down, so there was an immediate issue there, which wasn’t the case with Tata; Tata were still discussing, they were still being constructive, they were still being active with the situation in Port Talbot. It is a different situation. Yes, I understand why people are frustrated. I understand that people want to see a future. As I say, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of the story in Scunthorpe yet, because some of these global pressures will come down to bear on us, which is why what we need to see is some clarity when it comes to what the future of steel looks like, and because we have the economy Secretary sitting on that board, we hopefully will be able to help shape it.

On 12 April, the UK’s emergency action confirmed what many of us here in Wales had already feared, that our workers are second-class citizens. When 2,800 jobs were on the line in Port Talbot, there was absolutely no recall of Parliament, no rapid intervention at all. Yet, for Scunthorpe’s 2,700, the Government moved heaven and earth in order to make sure that there was a plan in place. The truth is stark: they could have done the same for us, but they chose not to. Port Talbot was let down, not by circumstance but by political choices.

Labour came into power in July; the plant shut in September. There was enough time there to ensure that Parliament was recalled. There was a genuine need and a genuine desire to demonstrate the importance of Welsh jobs and Welsh communities to the Labour Government. And the Conservatives did absolutely nothing at all either. You didn’t recall Parliament in order to make sure that Port Talbot was protected, so please, do not stand there and say that you could have done better.

We have a crisis here, and the people of Port Talbot deserve better. You can understand—and you’ve mentioned this—that they don’t see why Scunthorpe was treated differently. So, what actions are you taking to make sure that the people of Port Talbot and the local community are clear that the Welsh Government is backing them and making sure that the jobs are there going forward? Diolch yn fawr iawn.   

Thanks very much. I’ve explained why the situation was different. The timing was not great, and that was partly because we had to pick up the pieces of the difficult situation that was left to us by the Tory Government. But I understand why people are frustrated. I want to give you reassurance that, as the Welsh Government, we are spending a huge amount of time supporting the communities that have been affected by the job cuts. We are in constant touch with the company, the organisations that are impacted. We will move heaven and earth to make sure that there is a future for steel in Wales, and to make sure that we take advantage of the fact that there is a steel-making facility through building other initiatives around it.

The First Minister has said that she understands why people perceive, particularly in Port Talbot, that one community, one nation, has been treated differently to another. It’s blindingly obvious, I think, to most people that that is what has happened. Like all of us, I’m glad that the steel jobs of Scunthorpe have been saved and that that community has been helped, but in terms of the situation in Port Talbot, there was an integrated steelworks. If you’re talking about creating a strategic asset, then that’s where you should have invested.

You’ve said it yourself, First Minister—this is probably not the end of the story with Scunthorpe. So, if you’re just looking at it strategically and objectively, then the UK Government should have made the economic investment on the economic case in Port Talbot. The reality is they didn’t make the decision on the basis of the economics; they made the decision based on the politics, on the political expediency, because they know, 'Loyal Labour votes in Wales, we can take them for granted like we’ve always done, but, actually, the core of our political heartlands we’ve got to look after’. And that’s the real tragedy here. People feel that they’ve been lied to, and it’s no wonder that trust is falling in politics.

What do we do now, First Minister? I would appeal to you—Wales has political capital in the bank here, because we have been let down big time. Use that political capital, because this will not be the last time that we are facing an economic crisis in Wales. Enough is enough. Use that political capital. Use your voice. Stand up for Wales, and say that the people of Wales are owed big time, and we are fed up of being let down, time and time again, by successive Westminster Governments that have taken us for granted.

Thanks. I understand the frustration. I think the timing was difficult. I think Jingye and Tata were different organisations. I want to give you an assurance that we in Welsh Labour never take the public for granted. You’re quite right, I will be using the opportunity to use that political capital. I’ll be making a speech next week where I’ll be setting out our position in relation to how we work with the UK Government in future.

It’s strange, the last time I spoke in this Chamber, it was actually when we were recalled to stop the closure of steel making in Port Talbot, nine years ago. The first time I’m back here, what are we talking about—steel making in Port Talbot once again. Thank you, first of all, First Minister, for actually coming to Port Talbot on Friday to meet with the unions and to listen yourself, first-hand, to what was being said, and to hear the anger, disillusionment and frustration that took place because of the decisions.

Everyone has said that they were all supportive of the decision to keep Scunthorpe, and they didn’t want to see Scunthorpe communities and workers and families go through the same challenges they faced, and are facing now. But what was clear was, as has been said, why didn’t it happen before? I’ve stood in this Chamber to call for a fair and just transition. Whilst I recognise what you said about the structure and layout of the site, we still could have seen blast furnace No. 4 keep going for a little bit longer, to allow that just transition to happen. But we are where we are, unfortunately, and we must now look to the future. It's important that we now make sure the future is safe and secure for steel making in Port Talbot.

To that end, you've already mentioned this letter you've sent, but I think we need to have confirmation from yourself that you're going to stand up for a fair and substantial share of that £2.5 billion and that it's not eaten away by Scunthorpe, that we do see that money coming in, that you stand up, ask and fight for a reduction in energy costs, because with an electric arc furnace and the way energy prices are at the moment, that's going to be hugely burdensome upon steel making. We need to have a fair transition so that they can compete competitively, because the tariffs coming in mean we're going to have more global inputs from steel from across the world.

Also, you've talked about the quotas. I understand at the moment that quotas actually are bigger than what we produce in the UK. So, they're actually putting all the quotas in to match our steel making. We need to see those quotas reduced, to make our steel competitive within the UK, let alone anywhere else.

Can you also ensure that Port Talbot gets its fair share of investment beyond steel? You talked about the wind, and that's important, but we want to make sure the FLOWMIS money comes so we can see the Celtic free port develop, so we can see other developments—maybe a plate mill in Port Talbot, to develop the steel making for offshore wind. We need those investments, we need to have commitments from the UK Government that that will happen. As Adam Price said, we've got it in the bank now, let's use it, let's make sure we're standing up for the people of Port Talbot, the workers in Port Talbot, and the communities that have so far struggled as a consequence of decisions to date.

Thanks very much, Dai. Thanks for the way you've spoken up for your community, and thanks for organising the meeting on Friday. It was a tough meeting, it was difficult to hear the frustration amongst many of the workers there. Since that meeting, I've responded through chasing up with that letter to the Secretary of State. You're quite right: this has got to be about a fair and just transition. We've seen enough unfair, unjust transitions in Wales over the years.

I have been clear that we want to see a substantial share of that clean steel fund coming to Wales, and also made it clear that we would like to see a reduction in the costs of energy for companies like Tata, because we simply won't be able to compete. That's the reality. The price of energy on the continent is significantly lower, which is why we have to do all of these other things by producing our homegrown energy as well. We have to see a reduction in quotas, and we need to see that happening soon, because in July, it will roll over and we’ll be locked into a situation for a long period of time.

It's not just about steel in Port Talbot. I think it's quite right that there are massive opportunities around the port there. There are people with a real interest in developing it, but we need the support from the UK Government to develop that through the release of the FLOWMIS funding that should be there to help us develop the proposition once we know what's happening in relation to the Celtic sea.

Diolch, Llywydd. As Counsel General and Minister for Delivery, it is a great pleasure today to deliver the Government’s annual legislative statement and set out the final year of our legislative programme. I’d like to begin by reflecting on some of the significant reforms that we have taken forward through our legislative agenda over the last 12 months. I'm very proud that we continue to make laws here that will deliver positive and progressive change for the people of Wales.

In March 2025, the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025 received Royal Assent. This is a landmark piece of legislation that will eliminate private profit from the care of looked-after children as part of our programme to transform children’s services. We are committed to ensuring effective, high-quality and sustainable health and social care to deliver better outcomes.

The Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024, which will remove barriers to democratic engagement and create a system of electoral administration fit for the twenty-first century, received Royal Assent in September 2024. In the same month, as part of our work to reform non-domestic rates and council tax, Royal Assent was given to the Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024. The Senedd is also considering several hugely important Bills that have been introduced since the last legislative statement.

The First Minister has been clear that connecting communities and delivering a better bus network is a top priority for this Government, and to that end the bus Bill was introduced before the Easter recess. This will create a new system to reverse the deregulation of the sector that has existed since the 1980s, and enable public bodies to work together to plan and deliver the local bus network people need in Wales.

The Senedd will consider the general principles of the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill later today and I commend this important piece of legislation to Members. The Bill will give greater security to people living in the shadow of disused tips and protect critical infrastructure.

The Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill, which will give local authorities powers to introduce a visitor levy, is currently at Stage 2. The levy will enable local authorities to raise revenue, encouraging a sustainable tourism approach, helping local areas to thrive and visitors to enjoy high-quality amenities. Through making a small contribution, visitors can support the destinations they enjoy.

We are also legislating to preserve and strengthen the language of our nation, through our Welsh language education Bill, which the Senedd will consider at Stage 3 next week. This reflects our ambition that by 2025 every pupil in Wales will become a confident Welsh speaker by the time they leave school and places a responsibility on the entire education system to work towards that goal.

The Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill is the second Bill in our programme to improve the accessibility of Welsh law. These statute law repeal Bills have typically been a periodic feature in UK Parliament legislation and are a real sign of our maturing legislature. 

Often, it is our primary legislative programme that captures the headlines, but this is underpinned by a significant programme of subordinate legislation. This includes legislation to ensure that our Acts, including the Health Service Procurement (Wales) Act 2024 and the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024, have the intended effect, as well as legislation like the Food (Promotion and Presentation) (Wales) Regulations 2025, which will have a significant impact on the health of our nation for years to come.

Llywydd, we are a Government focused on delivery, and we will maintain the pace at which we introduce legislation as we bring forward the final Bills in our year 4 programme before summer recess.

We will introduce a Bill to transform our homelessness system, so it is accessible and person centred, enabling those who are homeless to obtain long-term housing quickly, increase their own self-sufficiency, and stay housed.

We will also bring forward a building safety Bill, which will fundamentally reform the building safety regime in Wales and address fire safety issues. 

Llywydd, tackling the climate and nature emergency has been a priority of this Government and stakeholders and Members will be pleased to note that the environment principles, governance and biodiversity targets Bill will be introduced before the summer recess. The Bill will establish new environmental governance arrangements, including embedding environmental principles and the introduction of a new governance body to oversee the implementation of, and compliance with, environmental law and introduce a target-setting framework for biodiversity targets.

Llywydd, we intend to make full use of the available time to introduce new legislation this Senedd term. We will expand our legislative programme into the final year of the Senedd before the elections next May, and I appreciate the flexibility that will need to be part of the process.

I welcome the positive engagement with the Business Committee to consider how we can make the most of Senedd time through more flexible, tailored timetables for Government Bills, which is particularly important as we look towards future Senedd terms of four years.

We have also scheduled this annual legislative statement earlier than usual this year to allow Senedd committees and Members, as well as external stakeholders, as much advance notice as possible about the Bills we intend to bring forward in the final year of our legislative programme.

The Bills that we intend to introduce all relate to areas and commitment the Government has talked about publicly already and with which you will be familiar. 

Following the two recent reports from the Standards of Conduct Committee on recall and deception, we will bring forward a Bill relating to the accountability of the Members of the Senedd. 

Building on the provisions made in the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill to establish a register of visitor accommodation, we will bring forward a Bill to regulate visitor accommodation in Wales through a licensing regime. This will require visitor accommodation to meet a relevant set of standards to help give visitors confidence in their safety and enhance the visitor experience, supporting tourism, a vital part of the Welsh economy.  

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs recently announced an intention to ban greyhound racing as soon as practically possible. The Government has seen the strength of feeling on this and legislation will be brought forward this Senedd term to deliver that commitment.

This Government recognises the importance of simplifying and modernising the law, and we will bring forward legislation to consolidate the law on planning, which will consolidate Welsh planning law into a single statute by bringing together provisions from various Acts. Planning legislation will also now be fully available in both English and Welsh for the first time.

We will also deliver on our commitment to remake a bilingual and consolidated conduct Order this term, ahead of the 2026 Senedd elections. This critical Order, which outlines the procedures for conducting elections to the Senedd, is larger than many Bills and has been subject to extensive consultation. This is an example of how the Government has implemented important legislation that the Senedd has agreed this term.

Llywydd, we continue to work with and respond to the UK Government’s legislative programme and are committed to achieving outcomes in Wales’s best interests, which will always include respect for devolution and our constitution.

There are a number of other areas where we remain committed to developing legislation in the future and where we will look to publish draft Bills or engage further with stakeholders this Senedd term. This includes reform of taxi and private hire vehicles, to modernise the sector and address the problems of cross-bordering. We will also continue to progress the development of reforms to unify and modernise devolved tribunals in Wales. We will also publish a Green Paper to meet our duty under the Welsh Tax Acts (Power to Modify) Act 2022 to publish a review of the Act by September 2026. 

The final year of our legislative programme will improve the accountability of Members to their electorate, which is a key principle of a modern democracy; support the economy and enhance the visitor experience though regulating visitor accommodation in Wales; demonstrate again that Wales is prepared to take the lead by bringing forward a ban on greyhound racing, which has cross-party and considerable public support; and improve the accessibility of Welsh planning law, which is a vital component of our aim to accelerate planning decisions to grow the Welsh economy.

Llywydd, I look forward to continuing to work across the Chamber to make sure our legislation is the best it can be, and the remainder of our programme will focus on the things that matter most to the people of Wales. I commend this legislative programme to the Senedd.

After taking office in August last year, the First Minister stated that she would be a leader focused on delivery and on ambition for our nation and not some distant figure in Cardiff Bay, and that the people's priorities were, indeed, her priorities and that she wanted to lead a Government that listened and delivered. But let's face it, this Government is delivering everything but the people of Wales's priorities. So, let's take a look at this Welsh Labour Government's record.

In Wales, we have the highest NHS waiting lists in the whole of the United Kingdom, with over one in four of the Welsh population on a waiting list, and a staggering 15,500 people waiting two years or more, compared to virtually zero over the border in England. People's lives are literally on the line as a result of this Welsh Labour Government's record. In Wales, we also have the highest unemployment rate in the whole of the United Kingdom and the lowest take-home pay packets in Great Britain. Welsh Labour's policies are directly leading to the people of Wales taking home less money than our friends and our family over the border in England. And Counsel General, what has been the Welsh Government's response to this? Introducing 20mph speed limits up and down Wales, continuing to slow our country down, and creating 36 new and costly Senedd politicians, which the people of Wales do not want. Out of touch. Do you really think that you've been a Government that delivers? And looking at your Welsh Labour Government's legislative programme, it seems that you're not really doing very much at all.

Since 2021, Counsel General, the Scottish Government has delivered 58 Bills; the UK Government's legislative programme in Westminster delivered 178 Bills; but, since 2021 in Wales, you've delivered just 17. In comparison, in 2024 alone, the Scottish Government delivered 15. What on earth has this Welsh Government been doing, Counsel General? And delivery Minister, what exactly have you been delivering? Scotland has 129 MSPs, and they're producing about 0.45 Acts per politician, whilst in Wales it's just 0.28 Acts per politician. Moreover, Scotland has 2.15 times the number of politicians, yet it has produced 3.41 the number of Acts in the same time frame. So, Counsel General, when you inevitably say that we need more politicians to be more productive, we can make the case that our politicians are, per head, less productive than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. So, more politicians won't solve that problem.

Now, of course, you do still have some legislation going through the Senedd—a whopping five Bills, actually, and one of the most widely discussed ones, of course, is the one that you call the visitor accommodation Bill, but known to everyone else as the toxic tourism tax. Your own regulatory impact assessment of the tourism tax Bill has found that this toxic tax will hit the Welsh economy by up to £576 million over the next decade. Counsel General, Wales's tourism sector contributes to over 150,000 jobs in Wales and is worth over £2 billion of Wales's gross domestic product. This crucially important sector needs our support, and the Welsh Conservatives will do all we can to support tourism in Wales. So, do you agree with me and the Welsh Conservatives when we say it's time to axe the tax?

Counsel General, when you look at the Bills you have left to introduce during this Senedd term, nothing is groundbreaking, nothing is anything we didn't already know, so it's clear that, after 26 years of this clapped-out Welsh Labour Government, you're out of ideas and have run out of steam. You're not just out of touch, Counsel General, you've completely run out of ideas.

On this side of these benches, we've been really clear that Welsh Conservatives will stand up to ensure hard-working families have more money in their pockets. We'll stand up for motorists and get Wales moving. We'll fight for farmers, because when we say, 'No farmers, no food', we mean it. We will support our vulnerable pensioners by introducing a Welsh winter fuel allowance. We'll cut Wales's inhumane NHS waiting lists, and we'll stand up for those pupils in Welsh schools who consistently underperform compared with their peers elsewhere in the UK. But most importantly, Counsel General, a Welsh Conservative Government will focus on the people's priorities, something this out-of-touch Labour Government continues to fail to do. So, Counsel General, isn't it now time that you and your Welsh Labour Government get out the way and let the Welsh Conservatives deliver for the people of Wales?

Well, that was really amusing. Thank you very much, it's always nice to be cheered up on a Tuesday. Just remind me how many MPs and councils you control while you get this enormously uncontroversial thing—[Interruption.]—through. Yes, I am absolutely being patronising. I'm responding to the patronising speech I just heard. It was entirely patronising.

Let me just outline for you, very simply, as you clearly didn't listen and came with a prepared speech, what I actually said we were doing. We are about to introduce the homelessness and social housing allocation (Wales) Bill. This is the most radical change to homelessness provision anywhere in western Europe. You've only got to ask any of the housing charities who have worked alongside us on that Bill, or any of the people with lived experience, what their view of that is. So, the very idea that that's not innovative, new and progressive is for the birds.

The environmental principles, governance and biodiversity targets (Wales) Bill will leapfrog the other nations of the UK and put us in pole position to protect both our climate and our nature, our very critical nature, alongside our cultural assets, actually. It will put in place a governance body with real teeth and real power, and I commend that to the Senedd, as I'd already said.

We will bring forward a building safety (Wales) Bill, as I've already said, which will put us into prime position across western Europe for safety in our high-rise buildings. We will consolidate our planning laws to make them accessible to Welsh people and make sure that they know what they're doing.

On the visitor accommodation regulation (Wales) Bill, I had the privilege over the Easter recess of speaking on behalf of the Government at the Commonwealth Law Conference, which was held in Malta, a place where I very happily played treble about what we're currently proposing as a visitor levy to help that island really allow its tourism industry to thrive. I had meetings with the Minister for justice there, who told me how much that levy has done for Malta in terms of what they've been able to put forward in amenities and how much their tourism has grown as a result. So, it's always important to actually look at the evidence instead of the knee-jerk reactions that you have. There is evidence from across the cultural world that visitor levies enhance the experience for tourists for a very small price in order to give them the amenities that actually draw them there in the first place. So, you really are not at all in touch with the actual evidence here.

In terms of the NHS, of course, we've just had the biggest fall in waiting lists we've ever had, so I really suggest you update your statistics.

Diolch, Heledd. I agree with that. I will try and clarify a few of the things you said, but I broadly very much agree with where you're coming from. Certainly in terms of the co-operation agreement, we've done really good work, and I've got a long list here of the things that were passed legislatively because of it. I think a few of them are worth picking out, actually. The Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022, for example, is really groundbreaking and it happened because of the co-operation agreement. There's the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023, of course, and there is the Senedd reform itself. We have got the Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024—one very undersung but actually a very good Act to have got through—and the social care one. We've currently got the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill and the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill in. And, of course, we worked together during the co-operation agreement time period—in fact, Siân and I worked very specifically on some of the homelessness things and the environmental governance and biodiversity things. The building safety one—I remember several sessions on that during the co-operation agreement, which were really good. Of course, that has meant that we have been able to bring really radical, groundbreaking legislation forward, and I am really glad that that has been able to happen.

In terms of the tribunals Bill, we think we will be able to get a fully complete draft Bill in both languages, but we won't have time to get it through the Senedd. It is not part of my statement today, but I would very much hope that it is not controversial at all; it's about getting it absolutely right and then whoever the Government is after the next election will have an uncontroversial Bill to cut their teeth on, ready to go. I have already spoken to Sir Gary Hickinbottom, the President of the Welsh Tribunals, and after this statement today, I will write out to all the stakeholders and tell them that plan. I know that they will want all of the major parties across the piece to put that into their manifestos. I don't think it is at all controversial and we will have done all of the work necessary to introduce it. We just couldn't do it in the last year; there just wasn't the time. And that is actually the same for the taxi Bill as well, so we will get the draft Bill ready, but we just ran out of time in terms of getting it through the scrutiny processes and stuff. I don't think it's a bad thing to have some things on the stocks for the seventh Senedd that are not controversial, ready to go. The new Government will have something to cut its teeth on and we can—you know, we'll start in good stead. So, it's not where I would have liked to have been, but it's not the worst possible scenario.

And then, just on a few of the other things, we still have an enormous range of secondary legislation to get through. So, amongst the pieces of work that I'm actually doing—I was discussing with the Deputy First Minister only yesterday—I have a long list of things necessary to implement the Acts. That's part of your question. So, I have a long list of things that need to be done in order to make sure that the Acts we've passed are actually implemented, in action, because, obviously, there's no point in having an Act that isn't implemented. So, I've got a long, long list of secondary legislation. And of course, we've had to balance out the time spent doing that, which sometimes is as big if not bigger than the primary legislation, in order to make sure those Acts are actually in force—so, many of the ones I've just outlined there. It's been a balance about what to do, but in the end the Government has decided that it's better to implement the actual programme than it is to just keep putting Acts on and then leaving the implementation to drift off into the future.

There is a lot to welcome here—people's priorities, as well as our priorities. The environment and biodiversity Bill—. I heard on the radio this morning the future generations commissioner saying we need to do more regarding biodiversity, and we've got this legislation coming through, really welcome, but also the bus Bill, the public services bus Bill—that's people's priority—and ending greyhound racing. We heard the public and you've put that in place now to happen before the end of the year. It's really welcome. 

We also debated adopting the Pet Abduction Act 2024, which has been introduced in England—a lot of public support there, and the Senedd all supported it. I know that the Government had to abstain, because you've got a big logjam there of legislation to get through. Rhys ab Owen suggested changing the Theft Act 1968, or putting a line in, to recognise pet theft as more than just taking an object, you know. It's really emotional for people. So, is this something—you talked earlier about going forward to the next Senedd term—that we could put forward ready? We've debated it; we know people want it. Can we get it on so that it's an Act that can be taken through really quickly and easily in the next Senedd term? Thank you.

So, I think that one of the things that we'd be very keen to do as we go towards the election—and this, obviously, affects all of the parties here today—is to talk across party about a series of things that the Government can begin the preparation for in order to have them ready to go that are not controversial and would be likely to be included in all of the manifestos of the main parties. We'll be continuing that conversation. That, obviously, can go on the list of that, and then, obviously, it would be a matter for whoever the incoming Government is to pick that up. But we will be talking to all the major parties present in the Senedd about what that list might look like and to make sure that we're geared up for it.

We're going to a four-year Senedd term, so we can't really afford to not have legislation going through straight away, and so making sure that we have some consensual legislation ready to go—. And we're very happy to commit Government drafting time to some of that, to make sure that happens. So, I will be having those conversations across the piece, and, as the election approaches, obviously, everybody gets access to the civil servants to talk through what they need to do. And if we can find those consensual pieces across the Chamber—I think the tribunals Act is a very good example of them, but there are others—then we can obviously bring those forward—. Well, we can get them as ready as we can in order to make sure they happen.

Can I also thank you for the way that you've engaged with myself, just as Heledd did with Plaid Cymru? We really do welcome that approach. I've got to start with the ban on greyhound racing, on behalf of Arthur, who is no longer with us, and Wanda who is, and also I'd like to pay tribute to all those amazing animal charities who've worked so hard to get this in place. I look forward to the implementation group being in place very soon in order to take it forward.

I'm pleased at the legislation to eliminate profit, and the bus Bill as well, with the £1 bus fare for 21 and unders that we had in the deal. I am saddened that the gender quota Bill didn't go through. Many of us spent a lot of time on a committee hearing evidence from a lot of people and making recommendations, and that was a real sad day when we heard that it wasn't going to go through. But I just wanted to spend one minute—less than one minute; 10 seconds—talking about the Member accountability Bill and the deception part of that. My questions to you really are that, in order to restore public trust, we need some real principles in there, so I hope I'll be able to meet with you to talk a little bit more about it, but the issues really are about independence, about a judicial process, and about a process that is fair and accountable. Thank you—diolch.

Thank you, Jane. I share the frustration on the gender quota Bill. We just weren’t able to do it in a way that meant that we were sure we could get it through. We had to sever it, as you remember, from the reform Bill itself because we were afraid that it would take the whole thing down, and then we haven’t been able to work out a way to do it. That does not mean it can’t be done in the future, but it was very challenging to do. I share your sadness at that. I am sure that will be a piece of work that comes forward again.

In terms of the Member accountability Bill, yes, I absolutely intend to speak to yourself and to Adam and to Lee, who were the three people who pushed it forward in the first place. But I also intend to engage properly with all of the parties in the Senedd about what we expect that Bill to look like and what’s possible. I have also had a conversation with the Chair of the standards committee about what they expect and what is achievable. But I'm absolutely committed to taking something through that we can get through this Senedd term. Whether we will be able to get all of the implementing regulations through is something we will need to discuss. We will have to have discussions with the Business Committee about an expedited timetable for that Bill, because there's no way we can get it ready before the half-term in the autumn term, and so we just will not be able to have a 12-week Stage 1 scrutiny period or it will time out. So, we will have to do a lot of work across the Senedd to make sure that that happens, but that does not mean we can’t do that, and I'm very much looking forward to it. There is a placeholder in the programme to make sure that it can stay there, so I'm very committed to that. It has the two bits in it. It has the recall provisions, as well as the Member accountability provisions, so we will need to make sure that we work very hard to put those in place.

The Deputy First Minister, I know, has been working hard on the implementation group for the greyhound ban, and I hope we’ll announce that very shortly. I'm sure I've seen a draft. So, yes, that should be any minute now, I think. That should be coming out. Then, as you know, we have the placeholder Bill in place for the backstop for that as well. So, we'll be convening some groups to make sure that we have the gist of that. I will be doing that alongside the drafters, so I will make sure that the legislative counsel who actually draft the Bill are part of that group as well, so that we kind of circumvent some of the iterative processes so that we can do it as fast as possible.

Diolch. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and the Counsel General, yourself, for inviting me to a series of constructive meetings regarding my British Sign Language (Wales) Bill over the last few months. As you know, the Bill as now drafted will place a statutory duty on Welsh Ministers to promote, support and report on the use of BSL throughout Wales. The Act outlines a comprehensive framework, including the preparation of a BSL strategy, guidance for public bodies and the creation of BSL plans for key public institutions. It also requires the appointment of a statutory BSL adviser who will advise Welsh Ministers. Will the Counsel General confirm her agreement with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and I that this adviser would be a BSL user themselves and they would have the power to appoint a BSL advisory panel, which would mean that this legislation would go further than any other BSL legislation in the UK?

The need for this legislation was once again highlighted by the reports last week of the deaf man living near Mold who died from cancer and whose daughter stated that his care was impacted by a severe lack of sign language provision. This language legislation will help make Wales a more inclusive place for BSL users, enabling them to participate in public life and access essential services. Finally, therefore, will the Counsel General also confirm that legislative time will be made available in the remainder of this Senedd term to allow my Bill to progress through the legislative stages? Does she agree that we must get this legislation right, with lived experience at the heart of the Bill, for the BSL and wider deaf community?

Thank you very much, Mark. I'm absolutely delighted to be able to confirm ‘yes’ to all of your questions. It isn't, obviously, in my statement today, because it's not a Government Bill—it's your Bill—but the Government will absolutely work with you to make sure that it goes through. We are in absolute agreement on it, and we will make sure that the legislative time is made available. We will help you speak with the Business Committee to make sure that the scrutiny arrangements are in place and we've got a placeholder for it in the programme, although it remains your Bill and not mine, so that's why it's not on my list. But we've been delighted to work with you; the Minister for social justice and myself have been delighted to be part of that, and I'm very grateful to you for having brought it forward. 

Counsel General, firstly, thank you for the statement. I was disappointed in the opposition's contribution to your statement. Normally, with oppositions, they set out some of the legislation they would have liked to have seen, and I don't think there was a single piece of legislation that was mentioned. It's no wonder they lost all the Members of Parliament in the last general election. Can I say also that what is clearly happening is that we are creating a growing body of Welsh law and legislation, and obviously issues around the devolution of justice, which we all want to see, will, hopefully, make progress.

Can I just say a couple of pieces of legislation that are really important? The consolidation planning Bill—I'm glad to see that is progressing. It may actually, although consolidation, be one of the most significant and important pieces of legislation that we've passed in terms of the economic benefits that there will be. On the tribunals Bill, I very much welcome the fact that the Government will be working, the legislative programme will be working, through to the very last minutes that are feasible within it, which is quite unique, and obviously reflects the fact that we'll need to do that time after time in the new Senedd, because, with a four-year programme, there is no time, there is no availability of time, to waste or to defer—so, to maximise legislation, and particularly shorter and focused pieces of legislation as well, and I very much welcome what was said in respect of the sign language Bill.

On tribunals, obviously a very, very important piece of legislation, but again it makes perfect sense to have legislation that is continuing from one Senedd to another on important matters of policy and operation of this Senedd, particularly within the justice sector.

Can I just add one further point, then? There are certain bits of legislation that clearly need reviewing. You referred earlier to the Agriculture (Wales) Act, and I know that, for example, Unite the Union, the agricultural workers section, are keen for there to be reviews of part of that. Do you have any plans in respect of the review of legislation and updating in terms of what we've learned as legislation progresses year after year? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mick. So, I absolutely agree with your points there. As you know, as a Parliament, we haven't got a wash-up process, as they do in the UK Parliament, and it is one of the things that I think we should consider as a Senedd going forward, because there will be Bills that are consensual in that way that could fall into a wash-up process, and, if there was such a process, we might have got the tribunals Bill through. So, it's something we should really consider for future Senedd programmes.

I've also been discussing with the Business Committee—and, indeed, as a member of the Future Senedd Committee—some of the other things that we can do that would allow consensual, procedural-type legislation to go through. One of the things we intend to do, as I've said a number of times in this place to Members, is we intend to do an omnibus correction, repeal and tidying up, if you like, Bill. We would expect to see at least one of those per Senedd term, and I would very much like to see one every other year, actually, in which we improve the accessibility of the law by tidying up the various pieces. And there's a piece of work going on with all of the legislative counsels of the four nations around what is the primacy of the law. So, this is very technical. Apologies to everyone who isn't really into this, but at the moment in the UK—and I'm telling you something you already know, Mick, I know—it's the paper law that's the law, and the digital version is not the definitive law. In virtually every other jurisdiction in the world, it's the other way around. And you wouldn't, if it was the other way around, be able to give the King's Printer for Wales the ability to correct the digital record. So, for example, the example we give all the time is that, in much UK legislation, powers are given to the Secretary of State. It's not obvious which Secretary of State; you have to do a little bit of rummaging around to find out. But, because of the growth in Welsh law, 'the Secretary of State' can mean the Welsh Ministers; it can mean the Secretary of State in regard to England and the Welsh Ministers in regard to Wales. But, even more extraordinarily, that Act might be disapplied in England and it might only mean the Welsh Ministers. Good luck with figuring that out, if you're appearing in a court.

So, if we went to the digital law being the primary law, then the King's Printer could actually correct that, and they could do that as an administrative thing, whereas, at the moment, we would have to take amending legislation through, which is a huge palaver to do something pretty straightforward. So, I agree with you, I think there are a number of things that the maturing Senedd will be able to do that will improve the accessibility of law, and one of those is absolutely legislation that goes across Senedd terms or falls into a wash-up.

This is why the community food strategy is a key commitment in our programme for government. It is not a top-down directive; it is a strategy built from the ground up, shaped by and for communities across Wales. We’ve listened to and drawn on the experience of grass-roots initiatives already working to strengthen food resilience, to promote healthier diets, and to build more sustainable local food systems. Through consultations, workshops and collaborative partnerships, we’ve ensured that the strategy reflects what our communities need and value. And my sincere thanks go to all those who've contributed.

As we all know, Wales is part of a global food system. Supermarkets offer convenience and affordability, but the reliance on global supply chains also comes at a cost: environmental impact and, indeed, impacts on people’s health and diet. The levels of fat, sugar and salt in ultra-processed foods are linked to a number of health concerns. These long-term impacts on people and communities’ well-being are why we’ve grounded this strategy in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and it complements the 'Cymru Can' strategy. This strategy complements the recommendations made by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales in relation to food only earlier today. The community food strategy also integrates with the ‘Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales’ plan and the 2024 child poverty strategy, both of which promote community-led solutions and long-term wellbeing.

A stronger local food system depends on stronger links between supply and demand. Through this strategy, we are backing Welsh growers, farmers and food businesses with the investment in capacity, skills and infrastructure, and the access to procurement opportunities. We’re supporting public bodies to embed food into their well-being plans and to work closely with local food partnerships. In practice, this will help to increase the amount of locally produced food available through our public services, through initiatives such as Welsh Veg in Schools and the Rhondda Cynon Taf food partnership.

Food policy touches nearly every Government department, and last year, I published 'Food Matters: Wales' to demonstrate our joined-up strategic thinking in policy making. The cross-Government food policy forum continues to support this joined-up approach, making sure that we are making the most of every opportunity. To drive delivery and demonstrate our strategic leadership, I am very pleased to establish a new ministerial advisory group of key stakeholders and delivery partners. This group will help us stay focused, collaborative, and accountable against the objectives of the community food strategy.

We are committed to joined-up strategic thinking and leadership across all levels of government. Public bodies are increasingly embracing sustainable food procurement. Local authorities are exploring new uses for public assets—like land—to support food initiatives. Our target is bold: to increase public sector spend on Welsh food and suppliers by at least 50 per cent by 2030, increasing the market opportunities for those who grow and produce our food here in Wales. We’re supporting this shift with initiatives, including Buying Food Fit for the Future and Welsh Food on the Public Plate.

Since 2022, we have expanded local food partnerships from nine to 22 local authorities, now reaching every local authority across Wales. These crucial partnerships enable local food organisations to co-ordinate their actions, helping to maximise the positive impacts on food poverty, public health, green growth, and on education.

Universal primary free school meals are central to our whole-school approach, offering healthy food whilst also teaching children about their food and sustainability. And in 2024 alone, our Food and Fun programme reached 205 schools and supported over 13,000 children every day. Providing school-going children with nutritious and sustainably sourced food will help strengthen food resilience in our communities.

Food insecurity is a pressure on households right across the country. It undermines health and it contributes to obesity, disease, and indeed to malnutrition. The impact of food insecurity and food poverty are real, and they are lasting. That's why, since 2019, we've invested over £26 million to support those most in need, including through local authorities, Trussell Trust foodbanks, and FareShare Cymru. Initiatives such as Food Power, Healthy Start, Big Bocs Bwyd and the PIPYN pilot in Merthyr Tydfil are supporting people to make those healthier choices and improving food literacy. In February, I was delighted to visit Fareshare Cymru to see their work, and how they have made 15 million meals available since 2015. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the staff and the volunteers at all such organisations for their continued support of these initiatives. The local food partnership funding will support making healthy, locally sourced food more accessible to more people across Wales.

As well as helping more people to buy and eat local food, we also need to support more people to grow that food. Small-scale horticulture brings big benefits: fewer food miles, healthier soil, more biodiversity, and support for rural jobs. So, we're providing grants, training and support networks to grow this sector, and I look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength.

Through Welsh Government support, social farms and gardens deliver the Community Land Advisory Service and are helping to tailor guidance for smaller horticultural enterprises to enable them to grow and become more established. We're also updating 'Planning Policy Wales' to enable community growing and horticulture. At the same time, we're addressing infrastructure gaps in local processing and packaging—essential steps to scale up regional food supply.

Community-supported agriculture brings producers and consumers together to share the rewards and the risks of sustainable farming. These models deliver lower emissions, better biodiversity, and stronger local ties, but they do face barriers like access to land and financial viability. So, to create cohesive food communities, we will support more CSA start-ups—community-supported agriculture start-ups—and we'll seek to make more land available to help them thrive.

This community food strategy is not just a Government initiative; this is a shared vision, developed by Welsh communities, for Welsh communities. Together, we can build a healthier, fairer, and more resilient approach to our food system and market structures, and one that helps us build that sustainable future. 

I suppose I'd better declare an interest because we do touch on farming within the strategy. Can I thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for not only your statement today and the community food strategy, but also for the conversation we had yesterday to give me an insight into your thinking? I welcome the community food strategy. I have some anxieties, as you know. It's been a long time coming—it's been over four years—but that doesn't matter if it arrives at the right outcomes. I'm hoping that some of the work that I've done myself has helped influence its direction in some ways. It feels similar in certain areas.

I welcome the six objectives—they are very important—and I welcome the cross-Government approach. It's going to be fundamental that this is embraced by every directorate that really can impact on the future of food, and not only the food, but the well-being of the people who will eat that food.

The dedicated ministerial advisory group is also going to be very important. I feel that it's going to be offering some sort of challenge, possibly even scrutiny, but I am concerned it's perhaps going to be a little lightweight in that scrutiny function and that challenge function, but I hope I can be proved wrong. I fear it may not have enough teeth to drive the change and to maintain the pressure on the importance of rolling out these objectives.

So, whilst welcoming the strategy, I'm left with concerns though over how, on the ground, the strategy will actually drive the scale of the change we need. What is clearly missing from the strategy is a reference to expected outcomes. There is no reference to deliverable targets for the six objectives, and they're going to be fundamental if we want to drive the change, so that we can measure how we are doing on this journey of our food strategy and driving our food security.

I still believe, though, as I did when I brought my food Bill forward, that these aspirations need to somehow be anchored in legislation, which can then span administrations, so that these things continue, because it's very good to bring these things forward, but unless they're embedded in the culture of the country, things will get lost or we will deviate from where we want to go. So, whilst there are objectives here that are welcome, I fear they won't enable the scale of change we need or give the confidence, perhaps, to allow that real commercial change for the farming industry.

We talk about some really great schemes that are happening and encouraging partnerships to do a lot more and celebrate what they’re already doing, but what I'm concerned about is the scale of what we need to secure food security and to drive more local food into our schools, our hospitals and our prisons. We need to be able to commercially scale this above and beyond what is happening in partnership arrangements within local communities. I think that's going to be really important.

And real food security also needs those producers who are going to satisfy the expectations to have access to the appropriate data. One of the things we really found was short when I was trying to develop the food Bill was access to the data that is needed, so that farmers and growers could know where the opportunities were, where the markets were, where the need was. And that's still, I think, a fundamental issue of access to data.

So, Cabinet Secretary, I really do hope there will be perhaps an addendum worked on for this community food strategy that starts putting some of the outcomes to these objectives and how the Government, or whatever committee scrutinises, will be able to monitor progress, so that we can give the weight to the advisory board to challenge the Government in the right direction. Without that thinking, I fear these will stay as fine words and won't translate into what I know you and I really want to see. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.

Peter, first of all, can I just give my wholesome thanks to you for the challenge that you've provided to Government over the last few years in terms of driving forward this food agenda? And you're right in saying this doesn't sit in isolation; it sits alongside 'Food Matters: Wales', which brings together that strategic thinking across Government, of last year. But this very much focuses on the local supply chains, the community food initiatives, the procurement aspect of more food made in Wales on the plates in Wales as well, as well as those resilience pieces.

But you raised a number of good questions, and some of them do come back to this question of the monitoring, evaluation and assessment, and I think the ministerial advisory group will have a key role to play within this. I know that within the original Bill there was an idea we discussed yesterday around a commission, but we don't want to set up, let's say, another great beast of a commission when actually we know that when we've devised really good ministerial advisory groups here within the Senedd and we've put the right people on it, which would be the people who've brought forward this strategy and contributed to it, and it's well chaired, and you put Ministers in front of it—not just me, but other Ministers—from education, from health, and so on, then they will need to listen to the experiences of those on there, and they can provide ideas and so on.

It's worth me just flagging up some of the things that that group will be doing. We want that group to give us that push on joined-up strategic thinking and leadership, to drive forward local food system co-ordination and action, to strengthen food resilience in our communities, to create those cohesive food communities and to enable stronger diverse local supply chains and promote and enable community growing and horticulture. I think they will bring forward the challenge and the ideas to say to Ministers, 'Get on with this one, this is easy to do—these ones will take a bit more work.' But that's what we've seen in the best of these groups. So, rather than a large commission, I think this will monitor the delivery of the strategy, and also have a role in saying what are the key outcomes that we want to see as well, and that could be in things such as increased procurement. It could be an increased number of community growing initiatives, how they feed into procurement.

You are right in saying that we need this to be driven with data, and one of the advantages of a ministerial advisory group is that we can provide some of the substance through that through the work of our officials with some of the data and the evidence. But if we look at the procurement piece, for example, Caerphilly council—one good example here—used the guidance that we've now put forward, the revised guidance, to award their south Wales food frameworks last year. It resulted in a 70:30—this is very technical—quality-price split, a new Welsh lot, many more local options, and a Welsh wholesaler, Castell Howell, winning 100 out of 150 lots. And interestingly, Castell Howell are doing incredible work alongside Harlech on actually developing that local procurement, including small individual local suppliers, where they help them get into that procurement to land on Caerphilly council's tables. So, we can do a lot with that.

Finally, we also have the cross-Government food forum, which co-ordinates the work across Government. I've got no doubt, Peter, that Senedd committees will want to monitor the work of this going forward, and there should be a dynamic approach there with the ministerial advisory group, the cross-Government food forum, but also the work of committees here to say, 'Are you delivering on what you've set out to do?'

I'm sure you will agree that it's taken longer than maybe we would have wished to get to this point, but hopefully now we have a joined-up coherent strategy that ultimately, I hope, brings together the many threads of food policy here in Wales. And this, of course, needs to be more than a list of aspirations. It needs to be rooted in the reality of climate impacts, of food insecurity, and an unequal food system, which is what we have at the minute. And as you've alluded to in your statement, the response needs to be local, needs to be community led, bottom up and built, of course, for resilience.

Food security in Wales, of course, isn't just a question of supply. It's a question of justice, sustainability and, indeed, sovereignty as well. The Welsh food and drink sector contributes billions to our economy, but we also know that it is subject to a great deal of vulnerability when supply chains falter. Climate change, as we know, has already begun to reshape our food landscape. We've seen one of the wettest 18-month periods on record, of late, and extreme weather, of course, has impacts on yield, it affects animal health and, of course, we see then, as a consequence, worsened food price inflation as well, all piling pressure onto families, very often, who are already struggling. So, the question really we need to ask is—and I'll be fair here, we only had a copy a few hours ago—whether the community food strategy actually goes far enough to build the resilient localised food system that we want to see that can withstand the climate shocks and the other disruptions that we know are happening, and indeed, others that are coming.

Just turning specifically to the ministerial advisory group that you touched on earlier, I don't know if you could share a bit more detail about not the membership in terms of persons, but in terms of the kinds of bodies and sectors that you'd like to see represented on that. Clearly, I'd imagine primary producers, processors maybe, supply chains, voluntary or community groups as well; just give us a flavour of what that might look like. And particularly how communities will shape the work that stems from maybe some of the suggestions and challenge that comes from the ministerial advisory group.

I'd also ask whether you've had an opportunity to review with the Wales-specific recommendations in Professor Tim Lang's report for the National Preparedness Commission, because that offers a practical framework for action, especially at a community level. For example, he raises concerns about over-reliance on emergency food provision, foodbanks, community cafes, and other social sticking plasters, if you like. Foodbank operators themselves are telling us clearly that ultimately they want to be phased out, but maybe the infrastructure behind them could be reimagined as co-operatives or social enterprises. I'm wondering what your vision for transforming this infrastructure maybe into something lasting and empowering might be. The report I referenced recommends as well a national audit of community food assets; that includes land, skills, equipment et cetera, and I'm just wondering if that's something that you might be willing to consider in terms of mapping out what we have so that we can maybe from there unlock the potential of community food infrastructure.

Another important point is the call to reject extreme individualism in favour of collective action; stockpiling food is not a resilient model. True resilience lies in shared skills, in mutual support and collective infrastructure, and I'm just wondering where the emphasis is in terms of the balance of priorities within the strategy that you've published. And of course, access to land—I think you touched on that briefly—is fundamental, but what's that going to look like? Are you charging public bodies with releasing land—and I'm thinking particularly in towns and cities—for those growing spaces, or those allotments, which I know are few and far between very often? How do you think that's going to happen?

While food policy often focuses on land-based production, I want to ask where fisheries and aquaculture sits here, because it doesn't appear in the strategy. I thought maybe a more seamless, comprehensive strategy would be best, rather than seeing a terrestrial and a marine context maybe in a different light, particularly given that so much of the Welsh population lives and works along our coast. The marine environment certainly offers real potential for low-carbon sustainable food production, which should be integral, I'd say, to any national food plan in a country with so much coast.

In conclusion, it's a welcome strategy—albeit long overdue—but if it is to deliver, then it really has to empower communities, build local capacity, and embed resilience across every level of our food system. The test, I think, will be whether we can create a food system in Wales that is truly fair, truly sustainable, and community led, not just in crisis, but by design.

Llyr, diolch yn fawr iawn. Thank you as well for reminding us that this flows from a great deal of work across the Chamber, including the co-operation agreement as well. I would have liked to have brought this forward earlier, but it's important that we get it right. Our commitment was that we bring it forward during this Senedd term. It's here now, and we can get the infrastructure up and running behind this strategy, get the membership of the ministerial advisory group up and running as well, which you touched on.

And you're right: the membership of that will reflect the people who've helped contribute to what the strategy looks like, so it will be all of those from the primary producers through the supply chain, but also the community growers, those people who are involved in the thinking behind a more local, community-based food approach in Wales that gives us that resilience as well as gets more Welsh food on Welsh plates and so on. So, the membership will very much look like that. 

But we don't want a cast of thousands; what we want is the key people on there that can give us the real insight to what it feels like on the ground, from small-scale horticultural growing and where we get on that, through to people like the major distributors, who will all have a part to play. The great thing about this is the strategy has been brought forward by them and with them, informed by them. I think the work going forward, delivering on this, and the outcomes, need to be driven by them as well, to identify the barriers as well as the ways forward to ramp up what we want to do.

This is quite a sea change in the approach, I've got to say as well, and it does recognise, as you were saying, the nature and climate emergencies and the more that we can do in terms of local and community-based food solutions. It is not uncommon on the continent and it is starting to happen within Wales, but it's actually moving it at a pace now in that direction. Everybody has a part to play within that, including some of the bigger players within the supply chain like the distributors, who are really engaged in this, right down to grass-roots organisations, community growers that we will see as well, and others.

This has incorporated some of the thinking as well—although not all of it, because there's more to do on that—of Professor Tim Lang's work. Of course, he identifies the issue of food shocks to the system and the vulnerabilities with that. But I have to say that developing local food networks is a real assist against those shocks when you depend on a global food economy. We can't walk away from the fact that we have an international dependence with some of our food imports and exports, but, actually, the more that we can grow and put that resilience into local networks, it's good for the planet, good for climate, it's good to avoid having the food shocks when that system is threatened or jolted. But, certainly, we'd be keen to work with Professor Tim Lang and others as we take forward not only this work but also the wider work we have across Government in food as well.

The access to land is a fascinating one, because, undoubtedly, there will be instances where we can identify public land that will be available, but there is other creative thinking as well about those areas of land that are not used for any purpose whatsoever that are those bits of land within communities. So, there is some innovative thinking around what could be, going forward, and I'd be interested to see what the ministerial advisory group brings forward with their suggestions on that, because how do we enable every single community, including in the urban areas, to have access to good land? Some of it will be under traditional, more conventional routes that we know, such as allotments or community growing areas and so on, but there are other innovations within pockets of land, within handkerchief-sized pieces of land, as well as larger assets.

Finally, you mentioned fisheries as well. We haven't specifically drawn out fisheries within this, but we regard that as an important part of this as well. It would be good if we could get to the point where fisheries could play a more important role within local food chains as well. There's probably more work to do specifically within that that needs to be really targeted, and, indeed, much of our fisheries at the moment tend to go for export very often as well when the barriers aren't in place and so on, but there is work to do within that.

Thank you for your support, and Peter as well, for this in broad terms. As always with these, let's not make this a strategy that is written and then forgotten about. I think giving it that drive forward now and keeping sight on it is what is really important.

Thank you very much for your remarks, particularly acknowledging the levels of salt, sugar and fat in ultra-processed food, which I'm afraid is the biggest driver of early death in Wales now. I know smoking is supposed to be the biggest cause of early death, but I think UPF is definitely overtaking it, because with six in 10 households never cooking from scratch, they are basically eating ultra-processed food. Once you start doing it, the outcomes for individuals' health is really devastating.

There's nothing to disagree with in your lovely little plan and all the people you've engaged with. It's all great, but there's a huge amount more to do, particularly as relying on global just-in-time food supplies is a fool's errand with the huge disruption to international trade that we're seeing since the election of Donald Trump. We absolutely have to become more self-sufficient and ensure that we do have the food security that, at the moment, we lack. We absolutely need to back Welsh farmers and growers and get Welsh veg in schools, but it’s in its infancy. I heard today that there are still only seven local authorities engaging with Food Sense Wales, with another five being added in the very near future. But what are the other 10 doing? They have local food partnerships; why are they not aspiring to ensure that local food is available in all our schools? At the moment, the demand hugely outstrips supply, but we absolutely have a lot of work to do on it. Things like I know that Monmouthshire insists on Red Tractor chicken; most local education authorities are using chicken reared in Thailand, and that’s absolutely not sustainable in terms of carbon emissions—

Jenny, you need to conclude now.

So, No. 1, do you support the right to grow? In a place like an urban constituency like mine, we need to be using every single patch of land that’s not being used for something else. And what discussions have you had with Government about massively increasing cookery classes, not just in schools, family learning, but also in the wider community, so that people can understand how to look after themselves better so that they feel better?

Jenny, thank you very much, and also for your championing of these issues as well. You are right in highlighting that ultra-processed foods—. The link is drawn daily, now, between that and increased mortality and increased poor health amongst—. And it is a social justice issue, very much, as well. I mentioned in my opening remarks that it’s not only issues of obesity and diabetes as a result of poor diet, but it’s also malnutrition as well, which is quite remarkable. This is a real twenty-first century phenomenon. So, the more that we can do right across the piste in that area, the better. And we note that, for example, the work that’s going on at the moment with the review of healthy eating in schools is going to be important, and this needs to feed into this: how can we get locally, freshly sourced food into schools? But there's also the education piece as well. So, it’s not only—. And this was one of the big takeaways that I’ve come across before, but also from my recent visit in February to FareShare Cymru—the work that they’re doing now, not purely in diverting what would be waste food, but actually diverting that into people’s menus, but then working with people to actually educate parents and children in cookery and in how to use some of these ingredients as well. So, we need to do all of that; we need to do it in schools but outside of schools as well, right across the piste.

The veg in schools, you rightly said, is a very laudable initiative, but we need to go further, so I’m keen that, as part of this community food strategy, we identify how we can roll out that good practice, that model, to other local authorities in other parts of Wales, because we can undoubtedly do it. And in so doing, we need to do the supply side as well, and we need to really work on what we have learnt from the existing veg in schools projects, so that we can make it easy for all to do it.

And you’re right, in fact, Monmouthshire schools, which you referred to as well there, are featured within the strategy as exemplars in certain work. How do we take what’s really good and make it common practice right across all areas of Wales? Because that will undoubtedly benefit health, diet, resilience, good lifestyles, connectivity with local food culture and also, I think, issues of affordability as well.

You asked me specifically on the right to grow. I'm interested in the concept of the right to grow. I think we need to analyse the impacts of that and the implications of that. But in response to Llyr earlier, I mentioned that we have many pockets of land in urban and rural environments that are not biodiversity rich, but are often scraps of land, often pieces of former wasteland. Now, I'm a great subscriber to the idea that you need unfinished edges on communities with a bit of wasteland around to play and enjoy in. But also, they could be used for the production of food, with local communities using them. And we've seen some good initiatives on that. So, I'm interested in the concept. I think we need to understand the full implications of it. And that could well be something, actually, that we take forward as part of this, with the work of the ministerial advisory group as well, because I'm sure there are some people on that group who would want to advocate for it. But thank you, again, for your support and championing of this.

So, I deliberately haven't gone into the full menu options and menu choices within this. The focus has been very much on actually driving up locally sourced produce, and sustainably locally sourced produce as well. It is interesting that when you look at some of the species now that are under management not just within Wales, but in places like the New Forest and so on—deer and so on—they are increasingly being promoted as a very environmentally—. What's the right way of putting this? It's a good sustainable way of actually accessing affordable meat and protein, particularly within a managed regime. We deliberately don't in here enter into a thing of whether game is part of that and so on, but I think you'll understand that what we do focus on is on locally sourced, good produce, nutritious produce, and that also benefits local economies as well. That's the other thing.

I really welcome this strategy. It's really important, I think, for people to reconnect with food, where it's come from, especially young people, to get them to eat healthily. It doesn't just benefit people's health, but, as you said earlier, nature and biodiversity as well. How will Welsh farmers benefit from this as well? Do you think that it might help encourage them to diversity going forward, rather than just have monocrops?

Also, regarding planning as well, there aren't many areas in north Wales where you can grow vegetables, except in certain areas of Sealand, for example, and we've got a big solar farm proposed for there. So, could we feed this into that, as well, as part of the food strategy—that it needs to be weighed up as part of planning decisions? Thank you.

Thank you very much. Look, I think there are great opportunities here for farmers and primary food producers in Wales, because the more that we can work right across the supply chain, not only into the public procurement space, which is increasingly happening in Wales, but also onto the supermarket shelves—. That has to be a benefit. So, part of this, beyond the technicalities of it, is actually a drive towards developing a culture that is based on locally sourced food, the pride in that locally sourced food. Now, that surely will have tangible benefits, then, economic benefits, for farmers.

And on your point on the land availability, yes, we're not creating more land, unlike the Dutch, who do have remarkable propensity to do this, and on that basis, we need to be very selective in where we grow produce and where we do other uses. And sometimes, they can be combined as well, but you are certainly right that where we've got good productive land that can grow crops, then we need to making use of that land. I've missed one of your points; I'm sure you had three points. But if I have missed it, I will come back to it, Carolyn. But thank you, again, for your support and championing of this.

I would like thank all the members for their hard work and diligence in undertaking this rapid but detailed piece of work. I have today published the group's report and 29 recommendations, together with the Welsh Government's response. Earlier this morning I met NHS leaders and members of the ministerial advisory group to discuss the report and the recommendations. This was the second time that we have come together this month. At the start of April I met NHS chairs, chief executives and their senior teams to set out my priorities for the coming 12 months, including ambitious plans to continue to reduce the waiting list, eliminate two-year waiting times for planned treatment and restore a maximum eight-week wait for tests by March 2026.

Over the coming weeks I will be making further statements about the systemic changes we now need to see in the NHS this year, and how we will speed up delivery in some of our key priority areas. The recommendations from the ministerial advisory group will make an important contribution to how we will achieve this. Dirprwy Lywydd, the report's message is clear. When we look at planned care, at diagnostics, cancer and urgent and emergency care, we have a significant challenge in terms of performance and productivity. Despite the fact that we invest around half of the Welsh budget in health and social care, and that the NHS employs more people today than at any time in its history, the service is not performing at the levels, nor with the levels of productivity, that we would all want it to, and that the public needs and expects it to.

But the group's report and conclusions are optimistic, not least that it sets Wales the ambition of becoming a world leader in healthcare. Time and again it outlines the strength of our NHS staff, of the commitment and skill of clinical and managerial professionals, of good strategy and often of good practice. It's clear that, in a country of our size, with a comparatively small number of health bodies and a Government able to work closely with the NHS, we have an advantage that we can and we must make work better. If we are able to draw on the best of what we do in Wales and the best of what has worked elsewhere, we can improve performance and productivity to deliver better outcomes.

Dirprwy Lywydd, there are five major themes running through this report and its recommendations. In the time I have this afternoon I want to briefly touch on each. I will expand further on our plans in the weeks ahead.

The group makes a number of specific recommendations about out-patients and waiting list management. These will be essential to our plans for the year ahead as we continue to cut long waiting times and build on the improved planned care performance that we have seen over the last three months.

Secondly, it tells us to focus less on plans and strategies and more on delivering our existing commitments better. There are a series of recommendations about how we can use funding to unlock and drive performance. Members will recall that I provided an extra £50 million to health boards in November to fund their plans to reduce the longest waiting times. I have been clear with NHS leaders that, where those plans are not delivered in full, the funding will be returned to the Government to be used elsewhere in the NHS. However, I have also agreed to look at how we can use funding to incentivise and reward organisations to improve delivery and productivity. This is an area I am keen to develop further.

The next area is digital and data. The report is clear that a well-performing healthcare system is one that is digitally enabled. Digital transformation will be integral to every single decision we make from now on. I have tasked Digital Health and Care Wales with rapidly improving its capacity to plan, manage and deliver digital projects in our system. In the autumn, I will publish a transparency statement that will set out what data we will be making available and when.

The final theme is how we manage performance and hold organisations to account, including the role of the NHS executive.

The Welsh Government will be accepting all 29 recommendations, either in whole or in part. Where we are accepting in part, very often it's a question of timescales or resource choices, which may need to be made on a cross-Government basis or over more than one year, rather than a difference of policy intent. Our published response sets out further details about where work is already now under way to address some of these recommendations.

Dirprwy Lywydd, in the few minutes I have left, I want to say a few words about the chair. During the course of the group’s work, Sir David was appointed as the vice chair of Spire Healthcare. This appointment was disclosed to my officials. I have taken this appointment fully into account when considering the recommendations, which are made by all members of the group and not by one individual alone. I do not believe this appointment detracts from the strength of those recommendations.

Llywydd, the ministerial advisory group has presented us with a challenging but constructive report, which lays out specific, concrete proposals for improving performance and productivity. It's also given us a practical set of recommendations and a pathway towards reaching the ambition of becoming one of the best-performing and most productive healthcare systems in the world. It is a bold ambition and one I expect that we must embrace and work towards together.

I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement today, and I think the Cabinet Secretary has to be honest with the people of Wales. This isn't anything new or nothing that we haven't been told before. What this is is a last-minute scramble. After 26 years of Labour running the NHS here in Wales, with just 12 months until an election, the Cabinet Secretary arrives here today with sweeping promises of urgency and ambition. But what this really reflects is a Government that's finally realised and woken up too late that actual delivery on the ground matters.

I know we've had this statement today but I did read the speech you gave to the NHS Confederation, and I know you had this report before then, so I'm going to focus a bit on that speech as well, because I think it does tie in together. I just want to say first I'd like to thank the chair and all the members of that group for pulling this together. So, this isn't anything new—this is something we've all heard before—but what the ministerial advisory group does lay bare is what patients, professionals and opposition Members here have been saying for years. Performance is down, productivity is poor and patients are suffering as a result, and the report does make clear the operational performance of the core NHS services is in need of urgent attention and turnaround.

And after 26 years of you in charge, now what you're trying to tell us is you want to create the best-performing and most productive healthcare system in the world, and I share that ambition. I think, for half of the Welsh Government budget spent on health, it is right that we have the best healthcare system in the world and not be propping up the bottom of all the league tables here in the United Kingdom. So, I'd actually like to ask you, Cabinet Secretary: what fundamental changes are you going to make to make us the best-performing healthcare system in the world, because people have waited far too long for this change? I think it's about time we actually had some concrete answers of how you're going to do that.

You spoke today about digital transformation; in that speech you gave to the NHS Confederation, you did admit that our digital journey has been marked by underdelivery and I agree with you, and many of us have been saying this for years. We've had Digital Healthcare Wales, and I must ask you, Cabinet Secretary: what have they been doing? Because our digital infrastructure here in Wales has fallen behind. Basic—basic—integration between health boards still doesn't exist. They still don't share information between each other and now, only years later, when we seem to have two Labour Governments at either end of the M4, you want the NHS Wales app to integrate with the NHS England app, which, to me, makes common sense. It's something that should have happened years ago—it just doesn't seem to have been driven forward. But another part we see in digital infrastructure is primary care, and certain elements of primary care and allied health professionals are still having to send letters and faxes up into district general hospitals, because they don't have access into their systems.

This isn't a twenty-first century healthcare service—it's a backlog of missed opportunities. So, Cabinet Secretary I'd like to know from you today how quickly can the people of Wales and the workforce in our NHS expect to see these digital changes actually delivered, because we've had warm words for years but no delivery. So, I'd like to know when that's going to happen, and also the integration of a single patient note so everybody across our healthcare system can see the notes of those patients.

You also referenced the £50 million allocated to health boards to bring down waiting lists, and, to give some credit, Cabinet Secretary, there are some signs that those lists are starting to fall. But you've also promised, as you said today, that eight-week diagnostic target by March 2026. I'd like you to explain a bit more detail about that, how that target will be met, given the current challenges and capacity issues within the NHS. Does this mean you're going to be investing more money in rapid diagnostic centres, or are you going to be employing more staff in the NHS? Because if we don't see that, we're not going to see those tests done.

On two-year waits, I want to raise the issue with you about Powys Teaching Health Board's decision to ask English health providers to delay treatment for two years for people waiting for treatment in England, because that goes completely contrary to what you're telling us on two-year waits. You're saying, 'We need to get two-year waits down', but you've got a health board going against what your wishes are and saying, 'You must make people wait, because we can't afford to pay for it.' I'd like to know why you're allowing this to continue and to go unchecked, because it does go against current Welsh Government policy.

And also the report does give a stark warning, Cabinet Secretary, about future uncertainty, and it does say that there is a high risk that instances of patient harm will increase and value for taxpayers' money will decrease. And I'm just concerned about how we're going to address that, because it does talk, in the report, about a rebrand of the NHS executive to create a new medical director for NHS Wales, with current stature to the chief medical officer. I'm just interested in how you think adding another layer of bureaucracy is going to sort these problems, because, clearly, we need to see delivery at pace, but is that delivery being all centralised within the NHS executive the right way to do it?

I know I'm over time, but I'll just come quickly to my conclusion, Llywydd. You've said, Cabinet Secretary, that we need to grasp—you've said this—we need to grasp the nettle, because we've become a system that's become quick to point the finger. And I don't disagree with that; the system has done that. But what I want to know is how will you grasp the nettle, and what specific challenges will you introduce to health board executives to make them truly accountable to you and truly accountable to the people of Wales. Because what I hear far too often is our health boards going contrary to Welsh Government policy and not delivering on that. So, I want to know what legislative changes you're going to make to ensure that you are actually accountable for the NHS in Wales, and health boards can actually report to you and not have the autonomy of what they do now. Thank you.

Well, I slightly regret the churlish tone that the Member has brought to the piece of work that we're debating and discussing in the Chamber today. I wasn't sure whether he was attaching weight to it or not. But I'll do my best to try and unpack that from the questions that he put to me.

He asked me what the specific steps are that we are planning to take, and I'm grateful to him for having taken the trouble of reading the speech that I gave on 7 April, which set out, as he will recall, a number of very specific steps that we're planning to take, which I think answer his question precisely. And this morning, we published not only the recommendations from the report, but I was keen that we take the decision to publish our response at the same time, so that it is clear precisely what steps the Welsh Government plans to take against each of those 29 recommendations. And that enabled the discussion this morning, both with the ministerial advisory group and with NHS leaders, so that those actions could be tested. Not all of them are actions that are in the hands of the Welsh Government, as he will appreciate, and I know he will appreciate that, given the last points that he made in his questions in relation to the balance of responsibility in the NHS.

So, between the statement that I made on 7 April and the statement that I published this morning, he will find a full description of the range of steps that we are planning to take. I'm grateful to the ministerial advisory group also for giving us a steer on the timescales within which they recommend that the various steps are taken. So, he will also see in the document this morning that reflection of the three-month time frame, the six-month time frame and so on, which will give, I hope, him and others a sense of the pace that we plan to bring in relation to the recommendations specifically.

He is right to say—and I've acknowledged that in both the speeches I have made in the last few weeks—that the state of development of digital infrastructure in the NHS is not where it needs to be. That is obviously problematic from the point of view of improving performance. We need to make sure that there is a clear digital underpinning to service improvement so that it can continue to be able to take advantage of the most recent developments in terms of digital applications, technology, the growing use of artificial intelligence and so on. He will have seen that over recent weeks I have taken the decision to escalate Digital Health and Care Wales
in recognition of the fact that they have a particular need for more support to be able to develop a stronger capacity for planning and for managing large-scale digital projects. But one of the tasks we have set this year in the remit letter, which he will, I think, have seen, is the outline planning of the integrated patient record, and I'm very optimistic that we will have, over the course of the next few weeks, some, I think, exciting announcements to be able to make in the digital space. 

He makes the point about having two Governments working together, and I think was challenging me to say that those are the only circumstances in which I will be prepared to reflect on experiences from over the border. What I will say to him, in the digital space, while his Government was in power for the last 14 years, the absence of capital investment has been a significant impediment to developing digital infrastructure, and one of the many great benefits of having two Labour Governments interested in investing in public services is now that we have, over the course of the next year, access to significantly more capital than the £1 million his Government saw fit to offer Wales, I think, in the last two years of its Government. So, I hope he will welcome that changed approach.

He makes an important point about diagnostics. We are planning, over the course of the next year, on investing in that space quite significantly, on the basis of having that additional revenue as a consequence of the choices made by the Chancellor in the budget. So, I will be bringing forward further information in relation to that. I think it's a point that he's right to raise.

On the question of Powys health board and the choices it is making, I just want to be very clear that none of those choices are going to enable it or allow it not to apply the standards that every other health board is applying in relation to the time frames and the targets within which its residents need to be seen. So, that is absolutely not part of what the health board itself envisages doing, and I would not be prepared to tolerate that. But I think it exposes a tension in his view of how arrangements should be made. At the end of the day, I am accountable for the strategy set for the NHS in Wales, the expectation that I set of the health service on behalf of patients in Wales, and providing funding and resources to enable that to happen. But the decisions on how healthcare is delivered on the ground necessarily need to be taken closer to the people. The needs of a rural community in terms of the configuration of services are very different from that of an urban community, and there are other factors that come into play as well. So, I'm sure he would think it better for that to be reflecting the needs of local populations, which is what our system is designed to deliver.

So, it's vitally important that this report represents a watershed moment for the Government and that we see tangible efforts to implement lessons learnt. Here are some suggestions of what the Government could do to show it's serious about acting on this report.

As I've mentioned many times before, the NHS is nothing without its staff, but they are being let down by a lack of strategic leadership when it comes to issues of recruitment and retention. That's why we need a comprehensive NHS workforce plan, outlining practical steps to ensure that the workforce has the resilience and the resources to meet demand. This should be accompanied by an audit of health data sources in Wales, whose shortcomings are consistently cited by various stakeholders as a persistent barrier to more effective workforce planning.

We also need to see reforms to the governance architecture of the NHS, which is currently ill suited to fostering and embedding performance improvements on a pan-Wales basis. Now, in this respect, this report makes for very familiar reading, because last November Plaid Cymru published our plan that set out many of these recommendations: addressing a systematic lack of co-operation between health boards; clarifying and standardising performance metrics; simplifying targets with the aim of making them more aligned with resources; empowering the patient voice; and enhancing the transparency of accountability mechanisms. Yet, back then, the Cabinet Secretary claimed that the Government was already doing what we were recommending. Now we know that clearly wasn't the case, and six months have been wasted by this Government dragging its feet, when the problems and the potential solutions were being presented to them—solutions that were drawn together from clinicians and health managers. So, can the Cabinet Secretary explain why the Government failed to act on our report when it had the chance, and whether he now regrets the time that was lost in getting on with the job of initiating the urgent course correction that the NHS desperately needs?

We need to see a purposeful shift towards a more preventative model of healthcare resourcing, and away from the firefighting tendencies that we've seen. This includes advancing long-overdue reforms to social care, the impetus for which has been distinctly lacking over recent years, based on the feedback we've heard from the sector. So, will this Government take the bold action required, and establish a national care service without delay, so that people get the care they need, and we start to treat the sector with the respect it deserves?

Finally, I'm concerned at the proposal to ring-fence NHS funding for what is called 'the independent sector'. Whilst this shouldn't be surprising, coming from a chair so involved in the private sector, it is surprising to see the Government boast that it's already doing this. Can the Cabinet Secretary tell us where he will draw the line on this privatisation of our health service that is happening under this Labour Government?

Well, I'm grateful to the Member for welcoming the work of the group, and for recognising it as a significant piece of work, which I'm sure will have been well received by those who've worked so hard to provide their insight to us in relation to these reforms. He's right to say there are some hard-hitting messages in the report, but I myself think it's also an optimistic report, because it also outlines the assets that we have, both in terms of staffing, strategy, good practice, within the NHS in Wales, and I at least celebrate that, and we ask all parts of the NHS in Wales to learn from each other, so that each can support the other in improving across the system. And I hope the Member would agree with that approach.

He makes an important point about the workforce plan. He will know from our previous exchanges that I also believe that we need to have a workforce plan that takes a strategic view across Wales, and I think he may also know that's already under way.

In relation to governance architecture, I myself do not believe that the main challenge that the NHS faces is one of structure. I note, I think I read in the context of his party conference, his thinking about dividing secondary and primary care, for example, or collapsing health boards together. My own view is that neither of those are the main challenge that we face in Wales, and the risk that we run with significant structural change is that we lose focus on what is the principal challenge, which is improving the performance, in the interests of people in Wales, of their health service. That's why I think the plan, which is set out both in my speech earlier this month and in the report today, is the right approach, and there are new things that are being proposed in both of those interventions that I think, together, represent the way forward.

I note and commend the Member for his ongoing advocacy of the Plaid Cymru plan, as he calls it. The reason I remember it so vividly was that it almost said exactly what I had said two or three weeks before that, so I was grateful to him then for the support that his plan showed for my plan, and I reiterate that support today. He made me a very specific challenge about what we've done in the meantime in relation to that. He will know that I published planning guidance at the end of last year, which set out very specifically a smaller number of priorities, a clearer accountability framework, and a set of expectations for the sector, which was one of the key asks that I set out in my plan, and which his plan also called for, and there are a number of other steps that we've taken in the meantime.

He made an important point about a national care service. During our time in the co-operation agreement, we were able to make good progress in relation to that. He will know that there is a plan that spans the best part of a decade, which we were working together on, I think, proactively, pragmatically and in agreement, and that work continues beyond the life of the co-operation agreement as well. I think he is right to say that bringing stability and long-term resilience to the social care service in Wales is critical for social care, but it is also critical in the way that he was absolutely right to say, for the resilience of the health service as well.

In relation to the independent sector, the response of the Government to the report is very clear. The principle upon which the Welsh Government commissions from the private sector, or rather the NHS commissions from the independent sector, is one of support for the public NHS, rather than competition with it, and so it is there to supplement areas of particularly challenging need and not to replace the public NHS. What I set out at the start of this month was that we would take more national control of aspects of independent commissioning, so that we can make sure that the value for money that the public purse can achieve is better and that that strategic view of a supporting role rather than a competitive role is maintained. I think the critical test is if there is a service that cannot get demand and provision into balance over a long period of time, despite the fact that the core service in the NHS and the service improvements that we've been talking about today are implemented, then in those circumstances, a temporary level of commissioning from the independent sector has always been something that Governments in Wales have undertaken, but again, to support the public NHS, not compete with it.

I welcome that waiting lists are now going down for the third month on the run. I also welcome the building of a new orthopaedic hub in north Wales, in Llandudno, and hopefully we can have investment in the Royal Alexandra as well in north Wales.

I have been having lots of conversations with people on their doorsteps during recess, including with NHS employees. What has been raised with me is that systems and processes need to be back in place, especially post COVID, and strengthened with training and consistency. A paramedic said to me that GPs are too often referring people to A&E when they need to just have antibiotics or maybe even a blood test. This happened to two 80-year-olds on Saturday—in England, this happened, though—where they spent 12 hours on a Saturday night in A&E, from 10 o'clock at night until 10 o'clock in the morning, just to be told that everything was fine.

So, I just wanted to know, really, how employees can feed into this, because they're the ones who've got this lived experience. I really think it does make a difference. I have given some feedback to Betsi as well, which they seem to be taking on board and talking to that person, but I just think it's really important. Thank you.

Thank you, Carolyn Thomas, for those questions. In terms of the role of GPs in managing waiting lists, I think that is absolutely essential. One of the things that I hope we'll be able to do more of over the next year is, where we're providing additional funding to the system, that that isn't solely focused on the secondary care part of the system, that it's also supporting primary care practitioners to manage the waiting lists as well, and to ensure that there isn't more referral than there needs to be in the interests of the patient.

So, the work that we are doing to support health boards to manage waiting lists better can only prevail in the long term if we're also making sure that demand is managed in the interests of patients, and actually providing that holistic view, I think, is really important. So, I hope she will welcome those steps when we are able to set those out in the coming weeks.

I think she is absolutely right to say, and I was talking to colleagues in the NHS this morning, that thousands of people come to work every day in the NHS and they work hard and they're motivated by the care of the patients that they're responsible for. And what I want to see is an NHS where, as she said, the systems and processes support that effort, support that commitment, so that it can be as impactful as it can possibly be. And that's what this is all about at the end of the day. We are looking at introducing NHS skills academies over the course of the next year, which will help with some clinical skills, but also waiting list management skills to provide that sort of rounded support, which I agree with her is important.

She mentioned staffing, and she mentioned staffing in Betsi Cadwaladr. I’m conscious that the surveys that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have been seeing recently have shown greater levels of staffing satisfaction, which I think is a very positive sign, notwithstanding the challenges that they face. And I think that she is absolutely right: in my experience, and I am sure that of all of us, you speak to somebody who works on the front line in the NHS and they will tell you quite quickly five or 10 things they think could benefit the system very quickly. I would commend to her the piece of work that Llais and the Bevan Commission are running at the moment, which is about how we can identify some processes, practices that may be obstacles to that improved performance. So, if she has constituents or colleagues that she knows might have suggestions to make, I think that that would be a useful way for that to be fed through.

The first thing I want to put on the record is a huge thanks for the work and dedication of all the NHS staff, at all levels, who deliver care to us day in, day out. One area that the public have focused on is the waiting times, and most of that focus is on the orthopaedic waiting times. But it’s also clear that, month on month, those waiting times are reducing, and at a faster rate than any other time before. It’s true also to say that there has been significant improvement made in the out-patients' appointments, and again that was due to staff working at weekends. It was to do with the £50 million investment that had been made to deliver that.

And in south Ceredigion, with same-day urgent care services, you had the 50-day challenge. It went down extremely well. It ended on 31 March, and it’s now being reviewed. I know it was also valued by those people who used it, because I have had lots of e-mails pertaining to that. So, it would be interesting to those people, and to me, to know how quickly that review will be worked through—I think it’s the health board who are doing it—and if it is the case, like people are saying to me, that it’s of huge value to them, that we would look to reinstate it. Thank you.

Thank you to Joyce Watson for those remarks and questions, and we will all want to associate ourselves with the points that she made at the beginning about the incredible effort that NHS staff at all levels, in all roles, provide day in, day out. That's why making sure that the system overall is performing at its best is so important, so that all of that effort and commitment can have the biggest impact possible, which is what we all wish to see. I, as she does, welcome the reductions in waiting times over the last three months. We very much hope and expect that that will continue. That's certainly the task that I've been set and which I have set with the NHS as well. But she is right to say that we are seeing evidence of those waits coming down. She will know that, in May, we'll be able to publish the figures for March. The task that we had been set was to reduce those two-year waits down to around 8,000 patients. So, we will hopefully have some good news to be able to share in a few weeks' time.

I think she is right to point to the additional investment, which we were able to make at the end of last year. That has enabled us to provide just that little bit of extra flexibility, so that those new ways of working that we know are more effective at seeing more patients quickly can be embedded. What I would also say is that that has been accompanied by a very significant system-wide focus on a weekly basis on meeting those targets, with a very, very rigorous level of reporting and challenge that has gone with it. And I think that that has established a good way of working, whilst what we are trying to do

whilst what we are trying to do is to get the system back into balance. We wouldn't want to run things in that way when one is back in balance, but I think for the time being, I think that is the right way of doing it.

She makes an important point, finally, about the 50-day challenge. That is being reviewed by each region, but we are currently working at a national level about understanding what the most impactful interventions have been, so that we can make sure that they continue. There was funding provided last year, she will know, for some of those interventions. Some of them actually aren't about funding; they're about different ways of more collaborative working, and I think those are now embedding in the system. We've seen reductions month on month in the numbers of patients ready to go home but delayed, and what we all want to see is that progress continuing as well.

Move formally.

Are you sure only formally, or do you want to speak to the debate and to the two items? [Laughter.] You can try and get away without saying a thing, but I'm sure maybe people will want—

As Cabinet Secretary, Llywydd, it's a privilege and an honour to lead on this historic piece of legislation which is world-leading in its approach and its focus on human welfare. This Bill fulfils a commitment in our programme for government to introduce legislation to deal with the legacy of centuries of mining and to ensure coal-tip safety during this Senedd term.

I have considered very carefully the recommendations from the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee, the Finance Committee and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee. I have set out my responses to the recommendations in correspondence which they have already received, therefore, all three committees are aware of my position. The Bill establishes a new public authority, the disused tips authority for Wales, which will be responsible

which will be responsible for implementing the new regime established by the Bill. Fundamental to the Bill is the protection of human welfare, seeking to ensure that disused tips do not threaten human welfare by reason of their instability. This will be achieved by introducing a consistent and a robust system of assessment, registration, management and monitoring of disused tips in Wales. 

The Bill will bring about significant improvements to the current regime under the Mines And Quarries (Tips) Act 1969, in particular, establishing a lower threshold for intervention and providing the authority with appropriate powers of entry to any land where necessary for the exercise of certain functions. It also places on a firm legislative footing the key elements of the new management regime, such as a register of categorised disused tips, which is the foundation upon which the rest of the provisions in the Bill are built.

The coal tip safety grant scheme will continue, and, in this Senedd term, we have made available £102 million to local authorities, Natural Resources Wales and the Mining Remediation Authority for the current programme of monitoring, maintenance and repair. This is inclusive of the £25 million that Welsh Government was successful in securing in 2025-26 for disused coal tips from the UK Government in the most recent autumn budget. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, who's here in the Chamber with us today, recently requested confirmation of disused coal-tips funding from the UK Government for the financial years 2026-27 and 2027-28, ahead of the second phase of the spending review, to enable officials to operate a multi-year grant scheme, which would allow applicants to undertake larger scale capital works programmes.

During the scrutiny of the Bill, I listened carefully and noted the discussions and the subsequent recommendations regarding key matters in the Bill, such as management plans, guidance and consultation, monitoring, categorisation and assessments. Now, I want to strike the right balance between what is on the face of the Bill and the detail that should be included in guidance, and this will ensure the effective delivery of the new regime. Therefore, taking on board the committee's views, and the preference to have certain key areas set out on the face of the Bill, I have instructed my officials to draft several amendments to the Bill.

My officials have commenced work on an amendment that places a duty on the authority to prepare and maintain management plans for category 1 and 2 disused tips, and a power to prepare and maintain management plans for category 3 and 4 tips. In addition, the minimum content of management plans will be prescribed on the face of the Bill, including information relating to emergency planning. This addresses the recommendations of both the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee in relation to management plans, and it does strengthen the Bill in relation to emergency planning.

I'm keen to address the concerns of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee regarding guidance, and so I intend to bring forward an amendment that will place a duty on Welsh Ministers to issue guidance to the authority in respect of the authority's exercise of its functions in certain key areas, including management plans, monitoring and assessments. There will be a corresponding duty on the authority to have regard to the guidance, and a duty on the Welsh Ministers to consult on this guidance. In the development of guidance, we will continue to engage with experts and relevant stakeholders, ensuring that those with the relevant expertise and the experience will be involved in its preparation.

In its report, the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee recommended amending the Bill to require Welsh Ministers to make regulations on the monitoring and inspection of tips, and for such regulations to specify the minimum inspection frequency. I support the intention behind the recommendation, and I have asked my officials to prepare amendments to place a duty on the authority to inspect all category 1 tips twice in a 12-month period and all category 2 tips once in a 12-month period, with a discretionary power to undertake any other monitoring activities, including additional inspections, as determined by the authority. So, for example, this might be appropriate if there was an extreme weather event that necessitated an ad-hoc inspection.

The planned amendment will also include

The planned amendment will also include a regulation-making power, which allows the Welsh Ministers to amend the frequency of inspections, and in addition, an amendment will place a duty on Welsh Ministers to give guidance to the authority in relation to its duty to monitor registered tips and to consult again before giving that guidance. I believe these amendments will deliver the level of assurance that the committees have required.

I’ve also taken on board the recommendation of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee to place a duty on the authority to consult on its proposed policy for categorisation. I can confirm that this is currently being drafted. Welsh Ministers will issue guidance on categorisation and I can confirm that the guidance will set out the expectation that, where people live in the vicinity of a disused tip, the authority will take steps to publicise any changes to the categorisation of disused tips to those local communities.

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee expressed support for the two-staged approach to assessment. Nonetheless, the committee remains concerned about the lack of detail on the face of the Bill about what will be assessed and how, and there were mixed views about this from stakeholders who gave evidence. Now, in this instance, I remain steadfast in my view that guidance is the more sensible approach, as guidance provides the authority with that necessary flexibility to respond to change in an area that will see frequent technological advances. However, I am content to place a duty on Welsh Ministers to issue guidance to the authority in relation to the exercise of the authority’s functions in respect of assessments, and I confirm again that any guidance will need to be consulted on. Now, I hope you will agree with me that this is a reasonable and proportionate response to the issues raised by the committee.

It was also clear, Llywydd, from evidence given during Stage 1 scrutiny, that there was a strong desire for the reports of preliminary and full assessments to be published. This was reflected in a recommendation from the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, so I’m pleased to confirm that I have asked officials to begin drafting an amendment to give effect to this recommendation.

I listened with great interest to the views expressed during Stage 1 about the advantages of having a comprehensive register of all disused tips and the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee’s views on this in its report. So, picking up on the point from the committee about ensuring clarity and certainty for owners and the public, which I’m in agreement with, I’ve decided to bring forward an amendment to the Bill requiring the authority to prepare and to publish a list of all the disused tips that have been through the preliminary or assessment process, and I’m confirming that this will deliver the necessary clarity and certainty to owners and to the communities that tips have been recorded by the authority and there is transparency around this.

Turning to the financial resolution, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Finance Committee for its scrutiny of the Bill, and the committee’s interest in the cost methodologies and any potential impact upon funding to the Mining Remediation Authority and to local authorities and to statutory partners. The regulatory impact assessment confirms that the total cost of the Bill will be £99.1 million over the 15-year time span up until the financial year 2039-40. So, I'm pleased to confirm that I’ve accepted eight of the nine recommendations made by the Finance Committee and accepted in principle recommendation 8. I have also agreed to update the RIA following Stage 2 to reflect recommendations 4, 5 and 6. So, I ask the Senedd also to agree the financial resolution in respect of the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill. Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee was supportive of the general principles of the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill. The committee’s report drew three conclusions and made 22 recommendations. Our main concern with the Bill, as expressed in conclusions 2 and 3, is that the Welsh Government is relying too heavily on the use of guidance to deliver the Bill’s objectives. We therefore concluded that there was an inappropriate balance between provisions that will be on the face of the Bill or left to regulations versus what is to be left to guidance. We therefore welcome the positive response to our report from the Cabinet Secretary, as evidenced by his accepting, in full or in part, 14 of our 22 recommendations. They include acceptance of eight recommendation that proposed changes to the Bill to address our concerns.

In response to recommendations 5 and 6 about section 10, which relates to tip monitoring, the Cabinet Secretary indicated that he will be tabling amendments to place the minimum frequency of inspections on the face of the Bill for category 1 and 2 tips, as he indicated earlier today. In addition, a duty will be placed on the Welsh Ministers to consult on and issue guidance to the authority on its monitoring functions under that section. We believe that this will not only strengthen the Bill, but also provide clarity and greater certainty for stakeholders.

Another important issue for us concerns the absence in the Bill of a requirement to produce management plans and to rely on guidance provided by Welsh Ministers for their delivery instead. We are pleased, therefore, that the Cabinet Secretary has listened to our concerns and has accepted recommendations 18 and 19 in full, and recommendation 20 in part.

We believe that including a duty on the face of the Bill for the new authority to produce management plans for categories 1 and 2 tips, with a discretion to prepare plans for those disused tips in categories 3 or 4, will strengthen the Bill and again provide clarity and certainty for stakeholders. In tabling appropriate amendments, we also acknowledge and welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s intention to go further than recommendation 19 by describing on the face of the Bill the minimum content that is to be set out in a management plan.

We also note the Cabinet Secretary’s intention that this will include information that the authority considers may be relevant in an emergency involving a disused tip. This addresses recommendation 8 of our report. We agree with the Cabinet Secretary’s view that this will not only strengthen the Bill but will mean that provisions dealing with emergency preparedness are easily identifiable.

We also welcome the acceptance of recommendation 13 that the Bill should be amended to place a duty on Welsh Ministers to produce guidance following consultation.

I would like to briefly highlight some of the recommendations in our report that were rejected. First, our report stated that we are unclear why a disused tip has to be defined in the Bill by reference to the Quarries Regulations 1999 or the Mines Regulations 2014. We felt the definition is not accessible, which is a concern given its fundamental importance to the operation of the new regime. We recommended the inclusion of a free-standing definition to assist communities’ understanding of what constitutes a disused tip and help build public confidence in the new regime. We note the Cabinet Secretary’s comments, but a layperson may not realise from a reading of section 81(3) that the two sets of regulations I referred to apply to active tips. We do note, however, that while rejecting our three recommendations on section 81, the Cabinet Secretary is to include a duty to consult in relation to regulations to be made under section 81(5), which is welcome.

As regards the Cabinet Secretary’s comments about our recommendation to make separate provision about certain criminal sanctions in section 38, rather than through regulations, we would highlight our long-standing view that provision for criminal offences should be made on the face of a Bill.

In closing, I would like to reiterate our thanks to the Cabinet Secretary and his officials for the positive and constructive way in which they have engaged with our report.

We have a general concern that the evidence used to inform parts of the Bill aren't included within the RIA. This includes data informing the costs of the Bill and benefits arising from the Bill, and the cost savings of the Bill. Whilst we accept in principle the Deputy First Minister's assurances that these are evidence based, we are disappointed that this information was not shared with us either through the RIA or during the scrutiny of the Bill. As a result, it is difficult for the committee to assess if these costs are robust. We have recommended that the information is shared with us ahead of the Stage 1 debate, and to update the RIA after Stage 2 proceedings. I am glad that the Deputy First Minister has responded positively to these requests ahead of today's debate.

Although we heard assurances from the Deputy First Minister that there are sufficient funds to undertake all the work required to make land that contains a disused tip safe, we are concerned that these funds might be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We ask the Deputy First Minister to confirm that the funds will be allocated to those areas of greatest risk and based on need, and we are grateful to him for stating in his response that applications made for higher rated tips are prioritised over those for lower rated tips, if the proposed works are feasible and deliverable.

Turning now to another issue, as mentioned earlier in the debate, the Bill creates a new body, the disused tips authority, and we would welcome clarification on a number of issues. In particular, we requested further information regarding the funding for bodies who would be losing some of their responsibilities as they are transferred to the authority. From the evidence we considered, it wasn't clear if these bodies would be losing a proportion of their funding to reflect the change in responsibilities, and we are grateful to the Deputy First Minister for confirming these funding arrangements in response to our recommendation.

We are also concerned regarding the impact the new authority would have on the workforce of the Welsh Local Government Association, should staff choose to seek employment at the new authority. We therefore welcome assurances from the Deputy First Minister that the Welsh Government has undertaken a capability assessment with the WLGA to assist work in this area. We also have concerns 

We also have concerns regarding the contingency estimated for non-staff costs associated with the new body. Whilst the Deputy First Minister explained contingencies are based on experience of establishing other bodies, once again we found the evidence supporting this was missing from the RIA. Although the Deputy First Minister has accepted this recommendation in principle, it is disappointing that further changes won’t be made to the RIA, as this would be beneficial in terms of transparency.

Lastly, on the remuneration of the new authority’s staff, whilst we accept that a number of the roles within the authority will require specialist skills, we asked for a further breakdown of staff costs to ensure that remuneration is appropriate and demonstrates value for money. I am very pleased that the Deputy First Minister has responded positively to this request.

First off, I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for bringing this forward. This Bill does provide a genuine opportunity for this, the Parliament of Wales, to develop the most robust legislation possible to ensure tip and mine safety. And, where possible, our group look forward—and me in particular—to working with Members across this Siambr on this legislation.

I will be upfront, though, and state, right at the beginning, that whilst I agree with the vast majority of what is already in the Bill, major changes are needed, and I know that we have that scope, as the Bill progresses, in terms of us tabling amendments. It is fair to say, from all the committee Chairs that have spoken, that whilst you've been very generous in accepting some of the amendments, there's quite a number, if you times it by the numbers of committees, of amendments that you haven't actually in principle accepted. We don't believe the Bill goes far enough, but we will, the Conservative group,  will be supporting the fundamental principles of this Bill, and we will be looking to bring forward amendments that I hope—and it's not always been the case—will be looked upon in the spirit that they are put forward, and not the fact that they are being put forward by the official opposition.

For instance, the Bill does not consider all environmental factors, or if any, during the assessment and categorising process. The new regime provided for in the Bill focuses on disused tip instability, which, obviously, a major risk it could be, but there are also other risks that this Bill could and should be covering. There are other risk factors such as pollution, combustion and flooding, and they will not be taken into account as part of the assessment and categorisation process when they are independent of instability.

Now, the Law Commission itself highlighted that this is a deviation from its own recommendation.

The British Geological Survey said:

'explicit consideration is given to risks of environmental contamination (of soil, surface water and groundwater bodies) from disused tips in the event of collapse or changes to drainage conditions, including for ‘stable’ tips. '

The Bill also focuses on direct human effect, but what about also—and we acknowledge that—threats to our habitats, our biodiversity, our landscapes and our watercourses? Haf Elgar asserted to our Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee that, importantly, threats to habitats, biodiversity, landscapes, watercourses et cetera, while exhibiting indirect effects on individuals and communities, may not be caught by the definition of threat to human welfare. For this reason, the extent and scope of the threats arising from the disused tips should be wider and should go beyond direct human threats.

The National Sheep Association