National Assembly for Wales

Good afternoon and welcome to this afternoon's Plenary meeting. Before we begin, I would like to inform the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 26.75, that the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 was given Royal Assent on Monday 3 June. 

The first item on our agenda this afternoon is questions to the First Minister, and the first question is from John Griffiths. 

Thank you for the question. We work with local authorities across the Cardiff capital region to increase economic prosperity. Our regional economic framework for south-east Wales has identified the development of key growth clusters as a priority, alongside our investment in infrastructure supporting the economic mission.

We're in the midst of a crucial general election for the future of Wales and the UK as a whole. An incoming UK Labour Government would have Gordon Brown's report available to it, recognising the regional inequalities of the UK, and providing major investment for Wales in infrastructure, renewables and clusters in south-east Wales, such as cyber security and the semiconductor industry, as well as easing the transition to green steel. What a contrast to the Tories short-changing Wales by several million pounds in not fulfilling their pledge to replace EU economic aid to Wales pound for pound, and now committing to introduce an outdated national service for our young people, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates would leave Wales £275 million worse off, in taking money from the £1.5 billion so-called shared prosperity scheme, which, of course, was originally earmarked to replace EU economic aid. Do you agree, First Minister, what a stark contrast this is between that regressive policy of the UK Tories and the Welsh Government's young person's guarantee for 16 to 24-year-olds, providing support for a place in education, training, work or self-employment?

Okay, this is now a minute and a half into this party political broadcast. I'm sure you won't be the only one that tries this over the next few weeks, and it will come from all directions, I'm sure. But if we can allow the First Minister to find the question in there and to answer. 

Thank you for the question. I agree that the national service model proposed as a shock by Rishi Sunak was not just a shock to young people, but a shock to many Conservative MPs and indeed, Ministers—a desperate gimmick at the start of a crucial general election for Wales and Britain. And the Member's right to draw a contrast between that and what we have chosen to do with the young person's guarantee—long-term investment in the future of young people and the skills they need to survive and thrive in the world that we are seeking to create. It's a direct contrast to the Tories taking away money and powers from Wales—£275 million as a minimum every year is lost to Wales because of the shared prosperity fund that now the Tories propose to put into a national service model that no-one thinks is going to work or actually provide a future for young people. That is the Tory record. I believe people will make a definitive choice on 4 July. Look at what they have done to Wales. Look at what we offer. Who on earth would want to stand with the Tories when it comes to 4 or 5 July? I look forward to the verdict of the people of Wales.

First Minister, let's bring it back to Wales now. We're in the Welsh Parliament; let the UK Government focus on their own things. Now, First Minister, businesses in Wales are finding it increasingly difficult to stay afloat following the Welsh Government's decision to cut business rate relief. Labour Ministers' move to slash the relief from 75 per cent to 40 per cent now means that businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 will be left with a rates bill of nearly £8,500. This isn't just a couple of pennies or pounds, First Minister; we're talking about businesses being expected to find thousands of pounds. UK Labour's shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, recently described your party as the natural party of British businesses and said that you are pro worker and pro business. That's simply not true, is it, First Minister, under Labour, because here in Wales we have the highest business rates in Great Britain, extremely low business survival rates, the second lowest gross value added growth since 1999 out of the UK nations, and the highest economic inactivity levels out of the four nations. So, do you think the Welsh Government should finally stop punishing hardworking businesses and start helping them thrive? And do you not think a good place to start would be reintroducing the 75 per cent rate relief support? Thank you.

I agree we're not talking about mere pennies or pounds; we're talking about over £1 billion lost to Wales because the Tories broke their manifesto pledge to replace EU funds in full. I remember Andrew R.T. Davies saying repeatedly that Wales would not lose a single penny. We've actually lost more than £1 billion, and, on top of that, our budget is worth £700 million less in real terms than just three years ago. That is the Tory record. That is what the Tories have done to Wales. I'm proud that we are pro worker and pro business. [Interruption.] I look forward to carrying our message into communities and doorsteps across the country. [Interruption.] I want a new start for Wales—

I can't hear the First Minister. Can we have some silence, please?

—to turn the page on 14 desperate Tory years.

Thank you for the question. Our Business Wales service should be the first port of call for any business in the Caerphilly area in need of support. Since 2016, it has supported the creation of over 1,400 jobs, 283 new-start businesses, and provided support to over 1,800 individuals and businesses within Caerphilly.

I was reading just the other day about the futureproofing fund the Welsh Government is introducing. Can he give us more detail about how that's going to benefit businesses in such areas as the retail and leisure sectors in Caerphilly, Ystrad Mynach and Bargoed in my constituency?

Thank you for the question. The futureproofing fund was launched by the economy Secretary on 20 May. It's a £20 million fund to provide discretionary financial assistance to microbusinesses and small and medium-sized enterprises in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. It's designed to help invest in measures to help them reduce their running costs, and to futureproof their businesses. I'm looking forward to seeing the applications that will come in for the different businesses we want to be able to support. It's part of what we look to do in investing in the future of our economy, in the jobs that our local communities and workers need. I want to see more tools in our armoury to do that, not desperately fighting against a deliberate attempt to take money and powers away from this Government and this Senedd. I expect there'll be more that we can do together, with local authorities, with businesses, if we do see a new start on 4 July. But we will carry on doing what we should do, with the powers we have, with the money that we have, to make those positive choices to support businesses in Caerphilly and beyond.

As my colleague has already said, we now see Welsh businesses facing the highest business rates in Britain. You are certainly not the party for small businesses. These businesses, especially in our region, have been crying out for help, and what constituents have been telling us all for months is that this business rate rise will cause businesses to either shut or even move to England. This is obviously damaging to the economy and is an example of this Welsh Government not supporting young people, as you've just said, or any people at all. As we know on these benches, you cannot tax an economy into prosperity. It's all about choices, First Minister. And what worries me even more is that Keir Starmer now states that Wales is his plan for the rest of the UK. So, First Minister, can you tell us how this Government, and when this Government, actually plans to help businesses in my region and beyond, and bring them in line with the rest of the UK, instead of taxing them out of business?

Well, it's an extraordinary thing for a Conservative representative to stand up and talk about taxes. We have the highest tax burden in peacetime, under this UK Conservative Government—the highest tax burden in peacetime. We have the second lowest growth in any G7 country over the last year—all on the Tory watch. And they now say they're the party of business and the party of the economy. Well, people will make a judgment on that on 4 July, and I look forward to that judgment. We are dealing with a deliberate reduction in our budget—£700 million in real terms—and the deliberate taking away of money and powers of more than £1 billion of money that this Parliament and this Government should have determined, to invest in the long-term future of our economy. All of those choices were made by a UK Conservative Government, with cheerleaders in this place. Not a single Welsh Conservative raised their voice in opposition to the taking away of money and powers from Wales. I am confident that we will make a positive case to people in Wales in this election, for our future. And I say again, who on earth would want to stand with the Tories in what is to come after what you have done to Wales?

Questions now from the party leaders. The leader of the Conservatives, Andrew R.T. Davies.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, yesterday, the BBC broadcast a programme called A Big Stink. You had to feel sympathy and empathy for the poor people of Withyhedge who are suffering the smells and odours that are coming from that tip. You took £200,000 as a leadership donation from that company. We learned from the programme yesterday that that company was under criminal investigation. Can you confirm when you knew that that company was under a criminal investigation?

Well, of course I feel sympathy for anyone directly affected by the issues raised in the programme around the operating of the site. The Member will know, and I draw attention again to my register of interests, but, actually, this is an area where it would be wholly improper or inappropriate for me to know about the investigation that the BBC reported on. That's when I was first aware of it—when it was reported on. Either in my role as the constituency Member for Cardiff South and Penarth or, indeed, in my role as a Minister within the Government, it would simply not be appropriate for me to be informed of any type of investigation going on into the operation of the site in Pembrokeshire. How could I know about the investigation taking place? And I should not know. That's the point. Whoever is undertaking the investigation needs to be able to undertake the investigation without fear or favour and come to whatever the right outcome is to see the improvement that could and should be made.

So, I take it from your answer that you did not know until the point was put to you by the BBC last week. I think I infer that from your answer. So, that leads on to the point where you've said that due diligence was undertaken on all donors to your campaign. What due diligence was actually undertaken, given that you were in receipt of the largest political donation in Welsh political history? Leave alone the other donations, but, on this specific £200,000 donation—given that you said you didn't know the criminal investigation was being undertaken until, I'm assuming, last week, because that's when the BBC put it to you—what due diligence were you and your team undertaking, as any reasonable person would expect to have been undertaken on a donation of that size?

Well, of course we undertook all the due diligence we were required to. That's exactly what happened. Again, even the BBC programme could not find an instance where any of the rules had been broken. So, we undertook due diligence. Again, I come back to the point that is being made: it would be improper and inappropriate for me to know about an investigation, whether it's undertaken by a regulator or any other authority with the ability to bring criminal proceedings. There would be no basis for me to be informed, and I should not be informed of that. That is the point. I just don't think there is much reasonable ground for a reasonable person to go over. I've answered these questions repeatedly, and I'll carry on repeatedly responding honestly and truthfully. I should also just correct the Member, as the largest political donation in Welsh political history was actually made to Plaid Cymru.

Not on an individual basis, First Minister. The largest individual donation was to your leadership campaign as an individual. You have received £200,000. Now, it's not unreasonable to assume that due diligence was undertaken given such a major donation was undertaken by this businessman. You knew that this businessman had two criminal convictions against him—the owner of this company—yet you were not prepared to ask the searching questions; you were just prepared to bank the money and run. That's the long and the short of it. There's a vote of confidence in you tomorrow here, First Minister. Are you going to win?

Again, I go back to reminding the Member that, on all occasions, I've answered truthfully and honestly about what happened, about the due diligence that was necessary and, indeed, the fact that no rules have been broken, the ministerial code has not been broken. And we come back to—. And I understand why the Conservatives have put forward a motion tomorrow—a non-binding vote, but a vote, nevertheless, in this Parliament. There is a formal method available. I understand why the Member puts the vote forward. I understand, at this time, when people are making choices, why he does not want to talk about his party's record. I understand the points being made about judgment. I understand what that means and looks like. Look at the judgments that I have made and compare them. Look at the judgments I have made on test and trace. Look at the judgements that I have made on PPE during the pandemic, with no corrupt VIP lane in Wales on my watch. Look at the judgments he has made: defending Boris Johnson to the hilt, backing Liz Truss to the hilt. When she made her speech to the Conservative conference, his response was, 'That's a cracking speech'. Ask mortgage holders what they think of her, ask people with business investment what they think of her. If you want to go into what's going to take place with people's judgment, I am very comfortable having any comparison between the two of us.

I am confident about tomorrow. I look forward to the debate, which I will attend. I could and should, in my view, have been elsewhere, but I will be in this Parliament to respond to the debate. And I say again, with the Conservative record of what you have done to Wales, who on earth would be prepared to stand with you? I do not believe the people of Wales will stand with you when it comes to 4 July.

Leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth. 

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. The First Minister has perhaps signalled his attitude towards the vote of no confidence in saying that it is non-binding, but I think we should take it seriously. It's a rare thing for the Senedd to hold votes of no confidence, especially in the First Minister, and so it should be. Whilst we in opposition may not agree with Ministers on policy, we do respect the outcome of democratic elections. But, in this instance, the office of the First Minister has been undermined to such an extent that I have no doubt that the people of Wales have lost confidence in him. There is genuine anger. His acceptance of a £200,000 donation from a convicted polluter has eroded trust in politics, and we see it on the Labour benches themselves, even. Such is the level of concern that it was reported yesterday that a senior figure within the Labour Party offered to loan the First Minister £200,000 so he could pay the donation back. Given that some contrition might have actually shown he understood public anger, why on earth did the First Minister reject that offer? 

As I have made clear before, I don't have £200,000 to pay anybody back. I'm not sure if the Member has access to that ready cash; I certainly don't. Having followed the rules for donations and having followed the ministerial code as well—. And I understand the Member wants to make an alternative case that, regardless of not breaking rules, I should nevertheless suffer the ultimate price in political terms. And I say to the Member, the idea that votes of no confidence are not commonplace is just not borne out by any cursory examination of the record. There have been three votes of no confidence within this Senedd term. Every health Minister has faced a vote of no confidence at some point in time. So, this is part and parcel of what happens. I look forward to responding to the debate tomorrow and setting out what this Government has done, what we continue to do: the ceaseless, never-ending commitment to improve our country, the reason why the vote on 4 July matters to this place and the people that we serve. I look forward to carrying on doing my duty as the First Minister of Wales. I look forward to leading a Government that wants to, and will, transform lives of communities in every part of our country. That is what we are here for. 

Perhaps the First Minister can clarify whether that means he plans to continue regardless of the result of the vote of no confidence in the Senedd tomorrow. But, once again, no contrition, no remorse, not the slightest acknowledgement by the First Minister that his actions were severely ill-judged. This is even more staggering given that we learnt yesterday that a firm that donated to the First Minister's campaign was subject to a criminal investigation at the time a donation was made. We come back, don't we, to this issue of due diligence and why on earth the First Minister could have put himself in such a compromised position. Let me ask this: if he were given the opportunity again, would he take a different attitude towards due diligence, or would he again prioritise the size of his leadership war chest over what was right and proper?  

Again, the Member has asked me a hypothetical question about the past. I'll go back to what I've said before. It would be improper and inappropriate for me to have known that there was any investigation at the time that investigation started. Can you imagine if I was informed of those investigations, whether it's by the regulator, by the police or any other authority who could undertake an investigation that could lead to a criminal sanction? I can't respond to questions about an investigation I'm not aware of. You can't undertake due diligence on matters that you're not aware of. What I am focused on is being able to turn a new page for Wales on 4 July and the partnership I believe should happen. If you look at our communities and the challenges we face, on the doorstep the cost-of-living crisis is the No. 1 issue, and, more than that, all of the issues it drives: the reality of our budget, the fact that we've lost £700 million in real terms, what that does to being able to properly fund the NHS and public services, to support the economy. Those are the things that drive me in public life. Those are the things that underpin our campaign over the next few weeks and, more than that, how the Government I lead wants to change Wales for the better.

Of course, the First Minister did know about the convictions that had already been passed on the person that had given the £200,000. It's nearly a fortnight now since Rishi Sunak looked to the heavens in Downing Street and wished he had an umbrella, but here in Wales, look up and what we see is the parachutes of Labour candidates imposed by Labour's headquarters in London. With the number of MPs slashed in Wales from 40 to 32 in this election, we can't afford, the Senedd can't afford, the Welsh Government can't afford to have our voice further diluted by having candidates or MPs who've shown no past interest whatsoever in pursuing what's right for Wales—issues of fair funding, for example. Landing parachutes in places like Cardiff West and Swansea West is damaging to Welsh democracy, it shows complete disregard for Wales, and for the views and voices, frankly, of local Labour Members, who are, understandably, livid with the UK party leadership. Perhaps the First Minister can tell us if he endorsed the choice of those candidates over local alternatives. And given that Keir Starmer clearly isn't willing to apologise to local Labour members, or to the people of Wales as a whole, will the First Minister do so on his behalf?

I see yet again the leader of Plaid Cymru is obsessed with the internal democracy of the Labour Party. In terms of candidates who are approved to stand, in the two recent instances, there was a joint panel of local members and the elected members of the Welsh executive. Those candidates now need to go out and work alongside local members and, more than that, on your point about Welsh democracy, need to persuade Welsh voters that they are the right person to stand up for their local communities within the UK Parliament. It's a UK Parliament that will have a huge amount of work ahead of it after 14 years of Tory chaos, 14 years where I do not believe families are better off, and the last four and a half chaotic years, with what that has meant to and for Wales. I believe we do need a new start, and that is the case that we will make. If you look not just at the cost-of-living crisis, not just the way that money and powers have been stolen from us in this Parliament, the fear and the division of culture wars, the failure on the economy, the fact that deliberate choices made in the UK Parliament now mean that more children grow up poor in Wales than when this party across the UK first entered Government, those are the things that I believe will drive people to the ballot box to make their choices on every Labour candidate that we put forward. I'm proud to stand on the side of Welsh Labour and the Labour offer in a UK election. I believe that none of us who believe in progressive politics should stand with the Tories. I make that division very clear about what I'm not in favour of and what I believe should happen with and for the people of the country I am proud to lead.

Question 3 [OQ61184] by Jack Sargeant has been withdrawn, for the best possible reason for withdrawing a question. I'm sure we all welcome little Noa Sargeant to this world. Croeso, Noa. 

I hope the economy of north Wales will be boosted by the arrival of Noa Sargeant, but our plan for boosting the Welsh economy is set out in our economic mission, namely to ensure a just transition to a green economy, a platform for young people, fair work, skills and success, with stronger partnerships for stronger regions, the everyday economy we enjoy, and investing for growth.

Thank you for your answer, First Minister. You will know that north Wales has had significant attention, investment and support in recent years from the UK Conservative Government, who are transforming the economic prospects of the region I represent, with a new free port in Anglesey creating high-quality, long-term jobs, attracting around £1.4 billion-worth of investment; the enablement of a nuclear power plant at Wylfa that is a key part of our nuclear revolution and will create thousands of jobs on the island; a new investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire, which will be an engine for further economic growth and improving skills and training; and £1 billion committed to upgrading and modernising the north Wales main line, which will improve links across north Wales and into the north-west. All of this is made possible by a UK Conservative Government. Why doesn't Cardiff Labour show the same commitment and faith to north Wales?

I admire the Member for saying all that with a straight face. On all of the areas that he's set out, there's joint investment and joint decision making with the Welsh Government, of course. I'm proud to have taken a pragmatic approach to working with a range of very different Ministers in succession on the free port, on growth deals, and indeed on the future of investment zones. And look at what we have done: the investment in Llanberis with Siemens, making sure there are high-quality jobs in rural Wales. Think about what we've done on Ynys Môn, investing in Halen Môn and others—a partnership over a long period of time, working alongside them. Look at what we're doing in north-east Wales with Enfinium and the work we are doing there, with more jobs coming as part of the green revolution that is on our doorstep, and the work we're doing to take advantage of offshore energy.

We could do so much more with a stable and decent Government across the UK, a Government that can make decisions. The reason why we have not seen investment delivered in a new generation of nuclear, whether that is for radioisotopes desperately needed in our national health service or whether it's new small modular reactors or larger technology, is because the Conservatives have never managed to field a Minister who could make a decision. It is because of the chaos in the Conservative Government that that investment has not been delivered. And who on earth knew, when they bought the site of Wylfa from Horizon, when they made an announcement on the day before the general election, that would be a gimmick for the election? I want a Government that is serious about being a partner with the Welsh Government and north Wales to deliver good, high-quality jobs in the green revolution that is coming.

We've not even seen any development funding for those projects mentioned in north Wales yet. In the last 14 years we've seen the UK Tory Government make vicious real-terms cuts to the building blocks of economic growth: health, social care, housing, wages and local authority budgets. We've seen them starve Wales of the funding it needs, whether through successive austerity budgets or through the deliberate holding back of billions of HS2 funding. We've seen them conspiring to take money out of people's pockets through Liz Truss's mortgage and inflation bombshell. And we've seen them give more levelling-up funding to Canary Wharf in London than the whole of Wales combined this year. Is it not therefore the case, First Minister, that the best thing we can do to boost the economy of north Wales is to vote out the UK Conservative Government on 4 July?

I think within the question the Member makes a particular point that says everything you need to know about the Conservatives' attitude to Wales and to whether levelling-up is genuine: the fact that Canary Wharf in London has received more than the whole of Wales combined. That is not a Government committed to investing in the future of the economy, not a Government committed to genuine levelling-up for the communities that need a Government on their side. And no-one should be surprised that this Conservative group are such fans of Liz Truss and the disaster that she unleashed, because, of course, just on their own watch they had a series of unfunded tax cuts they pledged to the people of Wales in 2021. This group of Tories cannot be trusted, nor can the shower down the road who are in the current UK Government. I look forward to seeing them run out of town at the ballot box and a new start for Wales and Britain.

Thank you for the question. 

Several research reports into attracting graduates into teaching, including the use of incentives, have been published since 2019. Preliminary work to further evaluate the priority subject incentive scheme specifically is currently under way.

Thank you. We know that there are great problems in terms of recruitment and retaining teachers across the whole of Wales. Indeed, the electoral messages of your own party do recognise that this crisis has happened under your leadership, and this is also reflected in one of your six electoral commitments. And there has been no shortage of announcements in recent years by the Welsh Government encouraging young people to think about a career as a teacher or classroom assistant, but we do know whether these campaigns have been successful?

Can you tell me, First Minister, whether the initial teacher education incentive scheme for priority subjects is working, and how do you know this, because I was quite shocked recently to learn from the Cabinet Secretary for Education that the Welsh Government has no data to determine if the recipients of the incentive before 2022-23 are still teaching in Wales, are teaching somewhere else, or not teaching at all? Now, this is a scheme that's been running, in one way or another, for over a decade, with millions of pounds spent on it, and we don't know if any of its previous recipients are still in teaching positions. Now, that I find quite astounding. So, can you confirm, First Minister, that this astonishing oversight will be corrected, and explain to me how?

I think there are a couple of different things, to try to address the Member's questions and points directly. There's the point about how you link data for when people go into the workforce and how you can track where they are, and how you do that successfully, and understand where they've undertaken an incentive. Indeed, incentives for teacher training have been agreed on a cross-party basis during most of the life of devolution, a recognition that you need to have incentives to bring people into the teacher workforce, and then specifically across a range of subjects. So, that's why we're undertaking an evaluation to understand more deliberately, after a period of time of incentives, how successful it has been. We also need to understand without those incentives, where would we have been with the workforce that we need to know what all of us want to see for children and young people.

So, that's why the research is important, but I would say that in the subjects that we have—a range of sciences, design and technology, ICT, maths, modern foreign languages, physics, Welsh and any of those subjects through the medium of Welsh—we know that we need more workforce. It's a challenge for both English-medium education and, indeed, Welsh-medium education for the ambitions that we share. Now, to get there, you've got to understand how you get teachers and then keep them. It's partly about the initial stage about incentives, I think. It's also partly about the environment within the classroom. It's also partly about how they're then supported and the reforms that we are undertaking on changing our curriculum. Lots of teachers positively want to come to Wales because of the journey we're on, and it needs to work to make sure that young people get the best start in life through the first 1,000 days, and into education.

So, yes, we will look at the research and the evidence that is there. The crucial part is: how do we get the workforce we need to understand how we make clear that being a teacher is a fantastic career to make a big difference for the community you live in and you serve, and the country, and it can be a hugely rewarding profession for individuals as well? Sadly, lots of parts of the teaching profession have been attacked on a regular basis by different actors, and that has turned some people—[Inaudible.]—wanting to be teachers through and immediately after the pandemic. That's levelling off a bit, so we need to understand what more we can do to get the high-quality teachers that we need, and each and every one of our constituents and their families want to see in Welsh education. 

The First Minister has been talking a lot about the last 14 years. Well, in the last 14 years in England, we've seen massive growth in the education sector in England, thanks to Conservative-led reforms that have delivered the best Programme for International Student Assessment results anywhere in the UK consistently. Meanwhile, the Welsh Labour Government refuses to follow suit, presiding over the worst education scores anywhere in the UK and getting worse.

Now, the initial teacher education priority subject incentive scheme, as the First Minister outlined, includes physics as a profession that can be taught via it. The Welsh Government targeted the recruitment of 61 students to complete the ITE programme for 2023-24. Do you want to know how many did qualify in 2023-24? Three. Is it not, First Minister, one lesson that we can learn from Wales and the Welsh Labour Government that you just can't trust Labour when it comes to education? 

Actually, what the Member points out is that the incentives are part of the answer, but not the whole answer, and if you want a serious debate about how we get the workforce we need, that contribution doesn't get you to where you need to be. You need to understand what we need to do to make teaching an attractive profession for people to want to study it, and then to stay in it and want to carry on delivering. Now, I went to university with a range of people who are now teachers; I met some of them at the Urdd Eisteddfod, actually—the Aber mafia is everywhere, as the Presiding Officer knows—but to understand why they stayed in Welsh education and what makes a difference, that's part of the work we need to do, as well as a commitment to want to raise standards with and for children and young people.

Part of it is it the environment in which they work in as well, and, of course, we have now seen, on a sustained basis, the largest school and college building programme for new facilities since the 1960s. I'm very proud of what Welsh Labour has done to invest in facilities; we'll carry on working together with the profession, and others, to make clear that teaching is an attractive profession. You can undertake a hugely rewarding and valuable career and make a big difference to communities that you live in. And that is the journey we are on, and I make no apologies for wanting to be positive about the workforce needs we have and how we want to go about meeting them for the future of the country.

Thank you. In March this year we concluded our 12-week consultation on the regulation of animal welfare establishments, activities and exhibits. This refers to companion animals. The consultation proposed licensing owners, keepers and trainers of racing dogs, including greyhounds, with a view to improving their lifelong welfare, from birth to retirement, when bred or raised specifically for sport. 

Thank you for that response, First Minister. While seeking election to the post of First Minister, you stated on your social media channel that

'Protecting Greyhounds goes beyond just ending the sport—we need to ensure good care throughout a greyhound's life.'

I could not agree more. But does the First Minister agree with me that ending greyhound racing sooner rather than later is key to protecting the welfare of these wonderful animals? Therefore, will you commit to a meeting with the Cut the Chase coalition, which has been campaigning on the issue, to discuss their concerns about the well-being of the dogs that are still being used for commercial racing in Wales? Thank you.

I thank the Member for his question and the genuineness. I know he is a supporter of the campaign to end greyhound racing and the reasons behind that. I want to thank everyone who took the time to get involved in the consultation; we had over 1,100 consultation responses. So, we're having to go through those, undertake a proper analysis of them, then come out with the response from the Government. It's why I can't give a commitment that I know the Member and others may want to hear, for a specific outcome, because we do need to understand what that response is, in all of its terms, and then to set out what the Government's response will be.

One of the points in the consultation is about whether to support a phased ban, but as I have said, and will go on saying, you need to think about not just greyhounds for today but, actually, the welfare for those greyhounds, if the sport continues or, indeed, if greyhound racing ends. That's what we'll look at. I don't want to prejudge or pre-empt the consultation, but I do take seriously the point the Member makes, and I know that there is genuine cross-party support on this issue.

Good afternoon, Prif Weinidog. It's not a surprise to many that I wanted to just say a few words on this issue, and I'm grateful to my colleague Altaf Hussain. I do understand totally that you're not able to prejudge any outcome in relation to the consultation period, but just to say a little bit about my dog, Wanda, she is—[Interruption.] No, I won't go into that. She and the previous dog that I owned, the previous racing greyhound, were both very traumatised by racing. Wanda, in fact, ran her last race in October of last year—it was her forty-eighth race in four years. I very much hope that the consultation period will mean that we have a phased ban on greyhound racing.

My question to you is this—hopefully we'll have that outcome—what will you do to secure the safety and protection of greyhounds that are on the racing track in Caerphilly, to ensure that they are protected during that period? Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you for the question. I should say I am a dog owner myself; sometimes we feel that we're owned by the dog. But she's not a greyhound, but I understand they make fantastic family pets. But there is a point here about the broader welfare and what happens with those greyhounds that are bred for racing, whether they make it at racing greyhounds or not, and I know the concerns that are there. The Valley track is now part of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, so it has to meet external standards. We will continue to maintain an interest in what takes place there, regardless of the outcome of the consultation and the Government response.

The local authority don't have statutory responsibilities to inspect the track and understand animal welfare, but we do want to make sure that the GB-wide standards they only signed up to last year, when they joined the GB overarching body, are met. And I do take seriously the point the Member makes about the welfare whilst the sport continues for greyhounds in Wales and beyond and also what might happen if there's a different future, because I take very seriously the welfare of these wonderful animals. I will stop there, because otherwise I'll start talking about family history with greyhounds, which probably is beyond First Minister's questions.

First Minister, 2 June marks National Greyhound Day. It is a timely reminder that Wales is one of only 10 countries across the entire globe—this includes all UK nations—where commercial greyhound racing still takes place in 2024. Published results from races and trials at the Valley Greyhounds stadium, which sits within the Senedd seat of Islwyn, show that from 3 March to 29 May this year nine dogs were recorded as 'fell' and 15 were recorded as 'knocked over'. The welfare of these precious greyhounds that are fallen in races remains unknown. The Cut the Chase coalition, which consists of the highly respected RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Blue Cross, Hope Rescue and Greyhound Rescue Wales, have well documented the truly shocking lack of welfare shown in the greyhound racing industry for the welfare of the animals. First Minister, what timescales and what more details, then, can you give about the outcome of the 12-week consultation considering the future of greyhound racing, and when will that report to the Senedd? I also would like to pick up on the point of what is going to happen in the interim to those dogs and their welfare.

Thank you for the question. Again, I understand the response the Member would like me to give, but I can't give it because we're going through the response to the consultation, but it is striking, the point the Member makes, that Wales is one of only 10 countries around the globe that still has commercial greyhound racing. We need to understand more about the welfare of the dogs, the standards that the Greyhound Board of Great Britain has for greyhounds to be able to make sure that they are met and that they undertake the welfare engagement they're supposed to, and we have to deal with the response to the consultation. Now, I can't give you an absolute time frame for when that will be published, but the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs is leading the work on this; we will publish a summary of the responses, and we will publish a response from the Government about how we propose to take those matters forward. So, I'd ask Members on all sides to bear with us, to understand we're treating this seriously, with the significant volume of responses that shows a real interest in the issue, and we'll set out the Government's response as soon as we're able to. And again, I recognise the significant and very genuine and well-meant and kind-heartedly-felt concern on all sides of the Chamber.

The Welsh Government continues to work closely with the health board to drive sustainable improvement that enables patients to access safe and timely health and care services. We have set out clear expectations for improvement that will be followed through by myself and the Cabinet Secretary.

First Minister, under Labour, the NHS in north Wales is on its knees: the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been in and out of special measures since 2015; there's been a failure to deliver improvements, which has resulted in patients coming to harm; patients are waiting longer than in other parts of the UK for operations and treatments; and we all know that the Glan Clwyd Hospital, which serves the people of Conwy and Denbighshire, has the worst emergency department performance in the country, with one in four people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E. It's totally unacceptable.

Now, in a bid to address some of these issues, 11 years ago, the Welsh Government promised to build a brand-new hospital in Rhyl to serve the coastal strip, improve access to NHS services and alleviate the pressure on Glan Clwyd. It should have been open in 2016, but we're yet to see a spade in the ground, First Minister, and yet, since then, since 2013, you've opened a brand-new hospital in south Wales. Why is north Wales always playing second fiddle to south Wales under your Government? And when will people in Conwy and Denbighshire get this vital facility that patients need?

Well, I recognise that long waits are something that I would not try to defend, whether it's emergency care or usual, planned care. There has been a reduction for long waits in north Wales, a more than 20 per cent reduction. There's been a reduction of more than 55 per cent, sorry, in orthopaedic patient waits as well, and there is investment going into the health service in north Wales. Ysbyty Glan Clwyd itself has had a significant refit, not just in the A&E department, but actually a whole-hospital refurbish and refit. We've also seen money going to new mental health units and indeed the orthopaedic unit in Llandudno, which the Cabinet Secretary went to open and to view. So, there is real investment going in. The challenge isn't just in the bricks and the mortar of the hospital, it's in the transformation and modernisation of the service overall, and the need to have not just the numbers of staff, but the way in which they work. It's a partnership for staff and the wider public; a partnership, indeed, with local government and beyond.

Part of our biggest challenge in getting people through hospital-based care is the fact that far too many people who are medically fit are still in a hospital bed. We can't fix that without the resources and the joint working between health, local care, local government and others. And, of course, we're in an environment, as the Member knows very well, where not only our budget has been compromised, with a more than £700 million real-terms reduction in the last three years, but actually that has a real impact on health and its partners as well.

There are real questions for us, and I believe a new page being turned on a UK level will give us more resources and different partnerships to work with. I look forward to listening to the public, understanding the challenges that I know that we face, but, crucially, I look forward to a new partnership that allows us to deliver on the aspirations of this Government and every community across the country.

Reducing waiting times is a priority for this Government, and we've been clear with health boards that they should utilise all available capacity, including through the independent sector, to reduce waiting times. Our overall objective is to have a genuinely sustainable public national health service.

Thank you. Well, interestingly, in Betsi terms, they call it insourcing of external, you know, procedures. Now, 8,568 patient pathways are waiting over 105 weeks, two years, to start treatment, and that's 3,600 per cent more than the whole of England. Now, in an effort to combat this crisis, the health board did turn to insourcing, using private companies. They've been entering contracts with external healthcare providers to provide clinical teams to attend health board sites, see patients and also undertake a number of results from scans. Now, this has only just come to my attention, but, due to funding pressure, the health board recently—. I have constituents waiting several months for scan results. Now, surely, First Minister, you can understand that, anybody going for a scan, it's a worrying time for them; anybody waiting for those results, it's even more worrying. And when those results don't come through, it just causes an additional burden of stress and anxiety. Now, what has happened is, due to funding pressures, the health board made a decision to halt the insourcing of external services on scans with effect from April 2023, a year ago. However, rather than bring in those patients back under the NHS umbrella—

I've been very patient. Please get to a question, Janet Finch-Saunders.

Yes. So, basically, those patients were then just left in abeyance for months and months and months at a time. Now, they've written to me saying—

The question now, please, Janet.

Yes, okay. So, what will you do, working with the health Minister, First Minister, to ensure that you look exactly at how the insourcing of external programmes is working? Because to actually stop it for a year and it not be picked up is disgraceful. I want to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Two minutes is sufficient for the question there.

I think, as the Member acknowledged, insourcing is where people are brought into the NHS to deliver some of the scans that are required, and our challenge is, if we want to generate the capacity we need, we need to invest in people and in equipment to do that. And we need to utilise parts of the independent sector to make sure that we don't have unacceptable waits within the system. And in fact, on MRI scans in the last year, there has been about a 30 per cent reduction in people waiting longer than our expectation, so it has made a difference. And that reduction in people waiting has actually taken place despite there being a 14 per cent increase in demand. Now, I know there has been an issue and some people were missed for follow-up. That's something the Cabinet Secretary is aware of. It's also something the health board are aware of. They've reviewed all of those cases to make sure people are put back into the system where they should have been. Part of our challenge is not just in saying what we want to do to recognise there is a problem we need to resolve; it is also, where things go wrong, about whether you are prepared to put it right. That's exactly what has happened in this instance. And we're going to need to invest more in this area to get to a point of being genuinely sustainable, and then we need to find a way to carry on investing in more preventative healthcare as well. That's the challenge we face. I understand it very well as a former health Minister. The Cabinet Secretary for health understands that very well and that is exactly what she is doing: getting on top of long waits and looking to shift our system to more preventative healthcare.

Finally, question 9, Delyth Jewell.

Access to hospital services in South Wales East under sustained pressure, with record demand and need. This inevitably affects both staff and patients. The Welsh Government will continue to work closely with health boards in this region to improve access to safe and timely health and care services.

Thank you for that. Our hospitals in Wales seem forever to be close to crisis. I was contacted recently by a constituent whose 92-year-old mother was taken to the Grange hospital after a fall. She was unconscious. Thirteen ambulances were lined up outside when they arrived, and after triage they had to wait for five hours in an ambulance outside before this 92-year-old woman was brought back into the building, and only after they'd complained—all of this before it was established whether she'd had a bleed on the brain. Now, I've spoken before here about how ambulances are the new waiting rooms, that it's normal to see queues of ambulances waiting outside A&E. It shouldn't be normal, but it has become normalised. Now, surely you would agree that that is not adequate, that that is not right. In this election, the Labour Party is focusing on the need to modernise our NHS and they are even campaigning on that in Wales, where their own party runs the health service. Isn't part of this your own fault?

I think if you look at what we are doing—. Let's take the specific point. I'm sorry to hear of the instance that the Member has highlighted. I can't address individual matters, but I hope that the Member, together with the health board, is looking at that, and there are other services available, including Llais and others, to help support the Member if there is a complaint or a concern to be raised, and it's important that concerns are raised. I remember, when the Member for Cardiff West was the health Minister, about the gift of complaints, and understanding that, when complaints are made, they're opportunities for improvement, and to do it in an environment where staff don't feel they're under attack, but, actually, how do you do this better in the future. Some of it is about how we cope with demand. Some of it is about how our whole systems work.

I made the point in earlier questions that part of our challenge is that we have too many people who are medically fit for discharge who can't go into the next phase of their care and treatment outside of a hospital. It's also something about the capacity at the front door. So, at the Grange in particular, they're looking to double the capacity for the total waiting area. That should make a real difference for people that come in, and ambulances can be released to deal with the risk that is in the community at that time. But we've got to deal with the back door, where people can get out of the hospital. Now, this is part of what you need to do to modernise the service: to invest in your staff, to invest in facilities. And I make no apology for campaigning for a modernised national health service, together with the resources we need to keep the staff we have and to recruit the staff that we will need.

If you think about what we have already done to modernise the health service, the new treatment fund that we introduced in the last Senedd term, it does deliver better and faster access to new treatments. We made that choice here in Wales ahead of the rest of the UK. Think about what we've done in optometry. Your high-street optometrist can now deal with a whole range of conditions, taking pressure off healthcare services in a hospital on eye care, and that means people get a better experience and faster access to care. I've seen that within my own family. And in pharmacy, the Conservatives in England are now planning to do what we have already done here in Wales, in reforming pharmacy, in modernising it and having new services delivered closer to where people live. That's a record that we want to build on. I make no apology for wanting to modernise and improve a public national health service with the resources to be able to do so, and I believe the result on 4 July or 5 July will be crucial to how quickly we can do that here in Wales.

Thank you, First Minister.

The next item is the business statement and announcement. I call on the Trefnydd to make that statement.

Two debates and two oral statements have been added to today's agenda; the titles are published on the Plenary agenda. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out in the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Minister, can I call for a statement from the Minister for Health and Social Care in respect of the report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists into mental health services at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board? I think that the report that was published recently was very, very troubling. It found that less than half of the 84 key recommendations and improvements that had been promised because of recommendations following independent reviews into mental health services in the past have yet to be implemented. And, as a result of that, patients have been coming to harm and have even lost their lives as a result of the incompetence of local leaders and, indeed, the Welsh Government in being able to get to grips with the problems in that troubled health board.

It was 2013 when we first read the scandalous report into the situation in Tawel Fan. We've read reports about the very poor services being provided by the Hergest unit, and we've had multiple reports since saying that things still need to improve. Why on earth is it taking such a long time for this health board, which is in special measures, to get to grips with these issues, and what on earth is the Welsh Government doing to sort these things out? People deserve to know, and that's why I think we need an urgent statement. 

Can I also request a second statement, please, from the economy Minister in relation to the report by Visit Wales last week, which found that people were being put off from coming to Wales as visitors because of the Welsh Labour Government's default 20 mph speed limit policy in Wales? This is a significant concern for people in north Wales, particularly in Conwy and Denbighshire, which rely heavily on the visitor economy, and we must do something to make sure that we don't see a significant decline in visitor numbers as a result of this barmy policy continuing. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Darren Millar, for your questions. 

In terms of mental health, of course, you are referring to the report that the Welsh Government commissioned in 2023 from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and it was to undertake that review of four previous mental health reviews and also to look at the extent to which recommendations had been completed—embedded and completed. Now, that report has been completed and—very timely—it was presented to the health board at its meeting on 30 May. So, it's there before them in terms of the health board's review of those recommendations and their implementation. 

I think it's also important, and you may be aware of this as a local Member, that Betsi Cadwaladr UHB met with a small group of representatives from families with experience of mental health services within the health board on the evening of 20 May 2024 to discuss the findings of the royal college report prior to its publication. And it's really important that that discussion took place with those families, only in the last fortnight, and that the health board, once again, apologised to those affected by past failings, and also that views were given by the families. Their concerns, of course, were expressed at that meeting, and the call for accountability, transparency and candour from those families was important. I think there has been a media response to that, interest in that, but good evidence of implementation in relation to 37 out of a total of 84 recommendations in the four external reports. 

And also, of course, the health board chair has been interviewed and there has been significant media coverage of the report, as well as engagement between the First Minister and an individual who did attempt to present him with a hard copy of the report. So, much engagement with the health board now, and the health board chair—very engaged as it went to the board on 30 May. So, topical to raise today, but, clearly, it is about implementation, and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, of course, is here with us today.

Well, of course, as for the 20 mph debate, I think you took part, Darren Millar, in the important debate that took place on 22 May, and it was an important debate, and, of course, it was the Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport who responded and made it very clear that, in all his conversations, he's putting communities at the heart of our thinking and listening to the voices of citizens, and also listening to all those partners who are engaging with this. And it was a very positive debate, and I'm sure you will agree with that. 

But what was so important was that this is very important for visitors, and that people must feel safe when travelling, including pedestrians and cyclists, as so many of our visitors are pedestrians and cyclists. And he said he wanted that targeted approach to 20 mph on roads where vulnerable road users mix with heavy traffic, and, of course, that is crucial in terms of having a welcoming, safe community for our tourism and for our visitors, because, finally, I have to say, Llywydd, the principal objective, again, of the policy of 20 mph is to save lives and reduce casualties on our roads. And that's what our visitors want when they come to Wales. And, of course, now we're pressing ahead with refining the policy, which is all to do with engaging with the 22 local authorities and how they're consulting as well, and looking at that from the whole perspective of Wales being a welcoming and open and safe country.

Trefnydd, in a similar vein, my focus is also on the safety of pedestrians, and I'd like to request a statement, please, from the Cabinet Secretary for transport regarding taking forward the recommendations made in the pavement parking taskforce report. Obviously, that was delayed until this year, which was understandable from the perspective of pressure on local government, but there are many people impacted by the delay, such as those who use wheelchairs, the visually impaired, those who use buggies, or pedestrians, all saying that pavement parking is a major issue. Obviously, in Valleys communities, we know that's a huge challenge, because if people were not to park on pavements, then there would be other issues. But, in other areas, it is possible and it is impacting. Therefore, I've had this request from many, many constituents: when will we see progress to ensure that, in terms of those who do park selfishly, which means that people can't use pavements safely, those people are able to see action and progress on this?

Well, thank you very much for your important question, because it is an important question. 

We have to look at this when we look at the safety, as you say, of our pedestrians. And that's where pavement parking is dangerous, and it is also why, of course, this was something that was taken forward by the former Minister for transport. And, now, I will certainly raise this with the Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport to get an update on where we are with this in terms of delivery. 

I'm seeking two statements. The first one is an update on Airbnb licensing and control. There are concerns that Airbnb are reducing the availability of privately rented accommodation and affecting traditional holiday accommodation. Could we have a statement to indicate what progress has been made on creating a register of all types of visitor accommodation and having planning controls on the creation of Airbnb, and when will a draft Bill on these proposals be produced?

Secondly, I've been contacted by pupils at Hafod school in Swansea, who are concerned about the cost of hiring a bus that is wheelchair accessible to take the children swimming. It is substantially more expensive than a bus that is not wheelchair accessible. Can I ask for a Government statement on wheelchair-accessible bus provision and cost?

Diolch yn fawr, Mike Hedges. You raised a really important point about the impact of Airbnb, and, clearly, the evidence is that it does reduce the availability of privately rented accommodation, and it also affects traditional holiday accommodation as well. And I think it's useful to look at the Bevan Foundation report on holiday lets in the private rented sector. And, of course, this is quite regional and local—the local authorities with the largest numbers listed as Airbnbs are Gwynedd, followed by Pembrokeshire and Powys. There are fewer, far fewer, in the south Wales Valleys. But many of them, I think, from that report, of the 21,000-plus listings on Airbnb, 14,000-plus appear to be suitable for long-term habitation, which just proves that—. That's 1 per cent of Wales's dwelling stock. For Gwynedd, it's 4.6 per cent; Pembrokeshire, 3.7 per cent; and Ceredigion, 3.1 per cent.

It's something on which we intend to develop a scheme, where all visitor accommodation providers must show they're adhering to certain requirements to operate. And we've talked about safety for our visitors. We want to show visitors to Wales the importance we do place on their safety, but that's about standards, isn't it, in the tourism sector? And then, of course, we are now looking towards a phased approach, with an initial focus on a statutory registration scheme for all accommodation providers, with the intention of supporting other wider Welsh Government policies, such as a visitor levy scheme and broader housing objectives. It is important, I think, to look back to the statement that was made on 9 January 2024—an oral statement on progress in terms of tackling the Airbnb issue. We've changed planning regulations to allow local planning authorities to control the change of use of permanent homes to short-term lets. And it's interesting to look at Gwynedd county council, who are in the process of introducing local controls using these powers, and others are looking at this. And now England is following the lead provided by Wales. So, thank you for giving us the opportunity to update on that.

But you also raised important issues in terms of public service vehicle accessibility. The regulations are not devolved to Wales and are still led by the UK Government Department for Transport. Those regulations do apply to all new public service vehicles—buses or coaches—which have been introduced since 2000 in England, Scotland and Wales, with a particular capacity. Now, importantly, it's important that all full-size single-deck buses over 7.5 tonnes are fully accessible from January 2016, all double-deckers from January 2017, and they have been required to have wheelchair access from 1 January 2005. It's important to see this in terms of how the operators have got to comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations. So, it is about us being proactive. We've talked about being proactive, engaging the UK Government and the Department for Transport on this matter. But I'm very conscious of the fact we've got a disability rights taskforce, which is now co-chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice. I was a co-chair with Professor Debbie Foster, and we had a very active transport group, a taskforce travel working group—disabled people telling us what it's like, and producing recommendations to support inclusive and accessible transport, which I'm sure will be followed through.

Trefnydd, I'd like to call for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health on GP provision in rural areas. I've had shared with me an freedom of information response from the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, which shows that only one small primary care premises has been built in Wales in the last 10 years. That lack of investment is quite troubling, certainly given the disproportionate impact that smaller surgeries can have when they're built in a rural community. It's also troubling that 99 GP surgeries across Wales have closed in recent years, which creates a further barrier for those rural communities. One example that comes up in my region is that of Hanmer surgery, which has been recently covered in a Channel 4 television programme, highlighting the quality of care that people receive there, but also highlighting that the premises is not fit for purpose and that investment is required. Local people are frustrated at the pace of progress, which is painfully slow. So, I'd like a statement addressing what will be done to bring those GP services closer to people who live in rural Wales. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you for that question. Access to primary care services is crucial, because it delivers better access to doctors, nurses, dentists, optometrists and all those other health professionals who are essential to transforming services, and it's a Government commitment.

I think it's important just to say, for the record, that, every month, GPs make contact with 322,000 people in north Wales. They refer 30,000 people to hospitals for secondary care each month. The First Minister was responding to a question on this earlier on. Also, the fact is that there are practices that have experienced recent challenges around staffing and there are financial incentives for GP training in Wales. The targeted incentive scheme in Wales provides £20,000 to GP trainees to take up a training post in north Wales, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire or Powys. I'll just say that, in terms of one particular medical centre, the West End Medical Centre, a new GP is starting this week, the week commencing 3 June, and a further two within the next few months. So, that shows the great efforts being made by the practice team to engage to recruit, to engage with the community to make improvements. Clearly, the Cabinet Secretary and her officials are reviewing progress to improve permanent staffing not just for that practice, but through other practices to make sure that those GP services in rural areas are supported.

I'd like to have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning on Denbighshire County Council's replacement of the mixed recycling blue bin with the three-tier trolley-box system where waste has to be separated—previously, it was a co-mingled system. The new system has been rolled out this week, on Monday, much to the dismay of residents across Denbighshire. My initial concern is that the decision was made without the consent of residents, who deeply dislike the new bin system. The reason given for the change has been the need to increase recycling rates, but Denbighshire already has one of the best recycling rates in Wales, at 65.9 per cent. So, I think the real reason for the change is their desire to cut costs, and I'm sure that the money offered by the Welsh Government was also an incentive for the change too. It's plainly obvious that these new bins will in fact discourage recycling as many residents would rather toss their rubbish into the general bin than spend time rifling through waste, separating it into different compartments. So, could I get a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning on the Welsh Government's position on Denbighsire County Council ploughing ahead with unpopular policies without the consent of residents?

You've already recognised the good recycling rates in Denbighshire. Let's thank the citizens of Denbighshire, and the local authority in terms of leadership, for achieving those good rates. Wales is absolutely at the forefront globally of delivering on recycling. I hope you are proud of that as well. Actually, in many authorities, including the one I live in, across Wales residents have responded to the changes in the arrangements for our recycling. It is important that we recognise that separating that recycling is important for the destination of those recycled goods, and there's a lot of support given by local authorities. Some authorities have been doing this for decades, or certainly a decade or two. So, Denbighshire is actually catching up with that. I think you will find that people will adjust to it. It is something that is best practice and it is being rolled out successfully across Wales. And, of course, it is again, through the ways in which recycling is now progressing in Wales, making sure that Wales—as I'm sure Denbighshire and the citizens of Denbighshire will recognise—will be at the forefront of those really impressive recycling rates.

And finally, Laura Anne Jones.

Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to request a statement, please, Trefnydd, from the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Sport and Social Justice on the mapping of sports facilities in Wales. It's clear from conversations with sporting bodies and organisations that it's currently extremely hard to find a clear list of sporting facilities right across Wales and even harder to find them on any sort of map. This Welsh Government claims to want to encourage sporting participation, lift up our future sporting stars, cut down the obesity rate, and ensure we have a healthy Wales. So, surely, mapping out where sporting facilities actually are is essential to ensure equality of provision for all in Wales. Currently, there is no information available. So, I'd be grateful if the Cabinet Secretary for sport could provide a written or oral statement on mapping out facilities in Wales. Thanks.

Thank you very much for your question. 

Sporting facilities are crucial, aren't they, both locally based and nationally provided. They are key to access sport, physical health and well-being, particularly for our children and young people. Again, local authorities have a crucial role to play in terms of provision and support, although it's really tough and they're hard pressed, because of the austerity and the lack of funding from the UK Government to the Welsh Government, and thence to local authorities, to maintain and improve sporting facilities. But can I also say that Sport Wales plays a really important role as well? The funding that comes through Sport Wales is very accessible, and also information about the sporting facilities is provided locally, regionally and nationally.

I think it's also important to look at this from the perspective of our schools. We were reflecting earlier on the transformational programme of school development, and, actually, many of those new schools that we've got—primary and secondary—have also not just got their own state-of-the-art sporting facilities, but they are available to the community as well, and that's where it's very important. But I'm sure the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice will be looking at, in terms of her portfolio, the very important connections, of course, between providing that information, providing the facilities, and the importance of accessibility, particularly for our children and young people, but for our adults as well, as they also take part not just themselves in terms of enjoying a sport, but also enjoying supporting their children and young people on the touchline and in training, which many of them do. 

Thank you, Trefnydd. 

Next, we have a motion to suspend Standing Orders to allow item 3, the infected blood inquiry report, to be debated. I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to move the motion. Eluned Morgan.

Formally. 

The proposal is to suspend Standing Orders. Does any Member object? No. The motion is therefore agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36. 

Next, we have item 3, the debate on the infected blood inquiry report. I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to move the motion. Eluned Morgan.

Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for the opportunity to have this debate today, following the publication of the infected blood inquiry's final report last month. I want to be clear: this was the worst treatment scandal in the history of the NHS. While it predated devolution, as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in Wales, I want to apologise to all those who were infected and have been affected by this terrible tragedy. I want to pay tribute to the infected and affected, some of whom I met earlier today and are in the gallery this afternoon to listen to this debate. There's been so much suffering by so many people. They fought for decades for the truth to be told, and they must be commended for this. 

I've just met some of those victims and heard their stories: Tony and Pat Summers, fighting for justice for decades for their son, Paul; Rose, who lost her brother in 1990, aged 44; Suzanne, setting out how her mother was a tiny bit anaemic and received tainted blood from a service that was supposed to heal her but ended up killing her and depriving her of the opportunity of meeting her nine great-grandchildren; the harrowing story I heard from Margaret Sugar about how her son Lee suffered and how her son Craig is still paying a price; Joanne, who explained how her brother-in-law was ostracised in school because he had HIV and the school failed to keep it private; Kirk, who is still suffering and is determined to ensure justice is done; Sharon and Ceri, whose father died and nobody told them he had a hepatoma; Ruth, whose husband died in 1989, and wasn’t told he had hep C. They’ve all fought for decades for the truth to be told.

The culmination of the infected blood inquiry on 20 May and Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations provided them with many of the answers to so many of the questions they’ve been asking for so long. The sense of vindication and relief is palpable. But so too is the anger that this was ever allowed to happen. I want to thank the members of the cross-party group who have also supported the victims and campaigned for a UK inquiry to take place. I want to pay a special tribute to Julie Morgan, who has worked tirelessly for many, many decades with Haemophilia Wales, helping people like Tony Lane. I also want to pay tribute to the chair, Lynne Kelly. Together, they’ve fought for the inquiry, they’ve lobbied for ex-gratia payments, for parity and a compensation package.

Dirprwy Lywydd, following the conclusion of the infected blood inquiry and the publication of the final report, we’ve already started work to consider its recommendations. We’ve set up an infected blood inquiry next steps for Wales group, chaired by our new deputy chief medical officer, Dr Push Mangat, and it will meet for the very first time soon. It will work with health boards, the Welsh Blood Service, Public Health Wales and policy officials to ensure we look at the wrongs of the past and work together to ensure this can never happen again. There are some issues we can and we will progress quickly; others will take more time. I’ll report back to Members as this work progresses.

I met John Glen, the responsible Cabinet Office Minister, just after the general election was announced, and said the Welsh Government will continue to work on a four-nations basis to implement improvements across the UK. In response, he told me that the election would not hold the work up. Members will recall that this Senedd gave its consent to the provisions in the UK Victims and Prisoners Bill to establish the new compensation arrangements for people infected and affected. The Victims and Prisoners Bill was approved by the UK Parliament as part of the wash-up process, and has now received Royal Assent. This means the new infected blood compensation authority will be formally set up and payments will be made.

Compensation is a matter for and will be funded by the UK Government, but my officials will continue to work with their counterparts in Whitehall to ensure there is a smooth transition for beneficiaries to the new arrangements. Those people who were infected and affected will rightly be able to claim compensation and we will assist them in this process. We’ll also do all we can to ensure that all those eligible for further interim compensation payments receive it as quickly as possible. A second interim payment to those living beneficiaries who are registered on a support scheme will be made within 90 days. Further interim payments will be made to the estates of those registered who were infected and the Wales infected blood support scheme will continue to make ex-gratia payments to provide welfare and psychological support until the transition is complete.

Sir Robert Francis, who wrote the compensation report for the Cabinet Office, will be holding a series of engagement events over the summer about the compensation package put forward by the UK Government. This will help ensure those able to make claims have the correct information and, where necessary, have their views heard on the proposals.

I’m now going to turn to speak in Welsh, so you may need your headphones.

Dirprwy Lywydd, it was a tragedy for everyone who was infected and affected. Sadly, many of them are no longer with us. I want to give assurances to those listening today that changes have been made and, very importantly, that the service and the blood supply is very different now. Everyone who is a blood donor is an unpaid volunteer, and the risk of infected blood going into the UK blood supply is less than one in 20 million for HIV and hepatitis C. Anyone who is concerned that they may have been infected can access a home testing kit through the Public Health Wales online service or through their health board or surgery.

Dirprwy Lywydd, the scandal of infected blood is a dark stain on the history of the NHS and of our public institutions. We must be better, and we must do better than the denials, the false reassurances, the complacency, the cover-ups, the obfuscations and the repeated failures at an individual, institutional and Government level that characterised and compounded this awful tragedy, which cost so many people their lives and their futures.

I have selected the three amendments to the motion. I call on Mabon ap Gwynfor to move amendments 1, 2 and 3 tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you to the Government for agreeing to bring forward this debate this afternoon. Although it is a debate that clearly deserves urgent attention, the truth is that we shouldn't be in this situation of having to have the debate in the first instance. 

The findings of the Langstaff report on the infected blood scandal are an utterly damning indictment of an entrenched culture of institutional abuse, governmental neglect and political obfuscation that was allowed to fester in our body politic for decades and that led to tragic consequences on an unprecedented scale. First and foremost, it is right that we pay tribute to the inspirational campaigning of the affected individuals who have fought tirelessly for justice in the face of powerful vested interests that sought to silence their plight at every turn. Thanks must also be expressed to my colleague Rhun ap Iorwerth for his chairing of the cross-party group and his consistent support to all those affected. So too I'd like to thank Julie Morgan for her immense contribution in this fight.

Though nothing will fully repair the damage inflicted on their lives by this scandal, I hope the report can provide those individuals impacted with some degree of closure and finally initiate the long-overdue process of accountability. I also hope that this proves to be a watershed moment in addressing the glaring imbalance of power at the very heart of our criminal justice system. From the Hillsborough disaster to the Post Office Horizon scandal, the wheels of justice can often turn far too slowly when it come to the misdemeanours and failings of the wealthy, the elite and the well-connected, as is sadly attested by the fact that numerous victims have gone to their graves long before justice has come to light.

It is for this reason I believe there is a particular responsibility on us as elected representatives, regardless of our political affiliations, to reflect on the report with the utmost humility that it deserves and to strive at all times to never lose sight of the true meaning of public service. It is in this spirit we have introduced a series of amendments to the Government's original motion to this debate. Last month, the Cabinet Secretary confirmed in her response to my topical question on this matter that she had received assurances from the UK Government that the second interim compensation payment of £210,000 to affected individuals registered on the support scheme will be paid within 90 days of the publication of the report. Our first amendment, therefore, calls on the Welsh Government to do everything it can to ensure this pledge is fulfilled as promised. It is vital that restitution for affected individuals, however meagre it may be in the context of their suffering, is not held up by a change in Government at Westminster.

I'd also welcome an update from the Cabinet Secretary in her response as to the duration of the regular payment scheme. Concern has been raised that regular payments are only planned up to April 2025, at present. So, does the Welsh Government have any intention of extending these payments beyond this point?

We also believe that the Welsh Government has a duty to be proactive in reaching out to the 264 people currently registered on the Wales infected blood support scheme with offers of relevant support and counselling, as set out in our third amendment. Of course, such was the protracted nature of this scandal, it straddled the pre- and post-devolution eras in Wales, over which time the range and complexity of powers assigned to the Senedd have evolved significantly. The report emphasises that the inability of both the Wales Office and the earliest Welsh Governments to challenge or scrutinise the settled position of successive UK administrations on the issue of infected blood use is a sad commentary on the effectiveness of these inter-governmental arrangements. Clearly, therefore, the frameworks of governance both here in the Senedd and on a pan-UK level can never again be allowed to fail so egregiously. And from the perspective of the Welsh Government, this means utilising the levers at its disposal as effectively and as extensively as possible. 

So, for this reason, our final amendment calls on the Welsh Government to implement the recommendations of the report that relate to devolved areas of competence fully and without delay. These darkest chapters in the history of our health service, and the political institution more broadly, are a crucial lesson in the way that institutions that are supposed to incorporate the principle of doing no harm can be exploited, leading to further harm, ultimately. It is a duty upon us, therefore, for the victims of this scandal, to maintain the greatest accountability and transparency in public life, which should include firm safeguarding measures for whistleblowers and empower those most vulnerable in our society. I am confident, therefore, that you will support our amendments this afternoon. Thank you.

There are many Members who wish to speak on this item, so if Members could keep their contributions brief, I'll be able to call more speakers. Sam Rowlands.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I also thank the Welsh Government for bringing forward this important debate today? Whilst, technically, it is a debate, there are no party lines here when it comes to the issue at hand, and we on these benches agree with all the proposals that the Government has set out and also with the amendments that Plaid Cymru have put forward here today. And it's simply because the infected blood scandal is one of the most grotesque miscarriages of justice in British history. Each of the victims had their entire lives turned upside down, destroyed or even lost in such agonising circumstances, and it's entirely right now that the priorities of Governments, both here and in Westminster, are ensuring that compensation gets to those victims and the families of those victims as well.

It's a cliché, but we also need to ensure that lessons are learnt from this as well. It must be a priority that we never allow cover-ups and, essentially, corruption of this kind to happen again in our institutions, and in particular our largest public institutions that are there to protect and serve the people that we represent. Cabinet Secretary, like you, I'd like to share a couple of stories that residents have shared with me in terms of some of their awful experiences. A resident in north Wales, who was a recipient of the Welsh infected blood support scheme, shared his story with me of being infected as a child with hepatitis B and HIV and hepatitis C, spending months in intensive care. He described the lifelong impact on him, his wife and parents as 'long gnawing at our spirits'. So, aside from the physical health impact, that 'long gnawing at our spirits', which was constantly with them. Another constituent was infected with hepatitis C through treatments for Von Willebrand disease, and her mother also infected, and both had to undergo liver transplants—clearly a very, very serious procedure that has long-term impacts for them and their family. And there are many traumatic details to these cases and far too many others. All of these people are in our thoughts here today, as we engage in this debate.

Of course, we did have the opportunity to discuss the inquiry report before our recess a couple of weeks ago, but Cabinet Secretary, as you pointed out, there have been some updates in the interim, and I'm pleased that, on 24 May, as part of the pre-election wash-up process, the Victims and Prisoners Bill was granted, as you say, by Royal Assent, creating the infected blood compensation authority, which will be responsible for making these final payments to victims. There are, of course, a number of moving parts within that, so I wonder, Cabinet Secretary, if, as part of your closing, you'll be able to just clarify that confidence that you have that, with the general election taking place now, and some of those moving parts, you have that confidence that this compensation will indeed get through to people who rightfully deserve it in the quickest timescale possible; we're told that by 24 August is the deadline. 

I'm also pleased, as you mentioned, Cabinet Secretary, that the interim chair of the IBCA, Sir Robert Francis, made a statement that they are working as quickly as possible to be in a position to receive those applications and make those awards, so I'd like to understand how you may be working with the IBCA to help that process happen with the much-needed haste.

I'm conscious that there are many speakers here today, Deputy Presiding Officer, but I simply want to thank the Welsh Government for bringing forward this debate and recognise all of the hard work done by so many people over so many years to ensure that justice is finally being done. Thank you.

I'm very pleased that we're joined in the public gallery by a large group of those infected and affected here in Wales, including my constituents, Sybil and Bev, and chair of Haemophilia Wales, Lynne Kelly. I'd like to pay a particular tribute to Lynne Kelly to thank her for the sensitive, determined way that she has led this group. Because it's those that have had their lives incomprehensibly turned upside down that must be at the forefront of this debate today. I'd like to, therefore, put on record the experiences of two of my constituents, Sybil and Bev, illustrative of the experience, of course, of many others.

Sybil had a heart operation in 1989. Ten years later, she received a letter from the head of the Wales blood transfusion service and got the news that she had blood infected with hepatitis C. She was told not to use the same crockery or cutlery as her husband, and not to have an intimate relationship. Sybil received no counselling. She had to attend the infectious disease clinic at the University Hospital of Wales, and described how she felt dirty because she had hepatitis C. The side effects of her treatment were worse than having chemotherapy. The publishing of the infected blood inquiry's report on 20 May was a milestone in the campaign for justice. In Sybil's own words, 'No-one can possibly begin to understand how I currently feel when hearing Sir Brian Langstaff's opening comments say, "This was no accident".'

I'll now turn to Bev, whose two brothers, Gareth and Haydn, died 10 months apart in 2010 after receiving infected blood contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C. Gareth and Haydn were key figures in the campaign to provide support and justice to haemophiliacs and their families through Birchgrove Wales, Haemophilia Wales, the National Birchgrove Group and the Tainted Blood campaign group, and, in fact, they started off by meeting as a group in the Birchgrove pub in my constituency in Cardiff North, but now, of course, it has become Birchgrove Wales.

When haemophilia patients were told about their HIV diagnosis, it was a terrifying ordeal—a death sentence, with life-expectancy estimates of between two and five years. The stigma was horrendous and the majority of patients kept their status secret. The groups that Gareth and Haydn set up to support those who had been infected were a lifeline. Bev told me that Gareth was angry, outspoken and determined, whereas Haydn was much quieter and measured in his approach, working away and quietly researching. 

With devolution in 1999, campaigning to get the truth gathered strength, and Gareth, as chair of the newly formed Haemophilia Wales, presented the case for a public inquiry at the first cross-party group held in the newly formed Assembly. When Bev travelled to London on 20 May, she described it as an 'emotional, uplifting experience' to hear the outcome and see survivors from across the UK, but this was filled with huge sadness given the fact that her brothers, Gareth and Haydn, with their huge input towards the inquiry, were not there to hear it. She wished they could have been there.

But the fight is not over. Brian Langstaff has said that it was not an accident, and that has been a huge comfort, I think, to many of the people infected and affected. But there are great worries about whether Sir Brian's full list of recommendations will be implemented. There are concerns about the monthly support scheme, and many people are worried that they might be financially worse off if Sir Brian's recommendations are not acted upon. I think many people believe that false hope has been given. And I think, if you look at the history of what's happened to this group, you can absolutely understand why people feel that way. This is a fantastic report, Brian Langstaff was absolutely great in everything he said, but now we've got to make sure that it is implemented, and I know that the Cabinet Secretary will do all she possibly can within our powers here to make sure that all those recommendations are implemented. It's taken 40 years to get to this point, and we need to learn from past mistakes and do the right thing from the outset. 

It was an honour to be in London some weeks ago to listen to Sir Brian Langstaff announcing his final report. Julie Morgan was there as well, and so many of those who have been campaigning over the years in Wales. It was an extremely emotional event, with many in tears, of course, and remembering those who could not be there—those who had paid with their lives for the scandal that should never have happened and, yes, that was no accident. And they were there to hear the findings and to accept the justice that they deserved, and to hear the truth, of course—we all know that it was the truth all along. 

Mr and Mrs Hutchinson, my constituents, presented me to the scale of the scandal, and I've kept in touch with them over the years. It was through them that I learned of this injustice. Through them I became part of the cross-party group on infected blood, which was chaired by Julie Morgan at the time. And when she became a Minister in the Government, it was my honour to take over as chair and co-operate and work closely with Lynne Kelly and all of the individuals and families who have given their lives literally, or their time, their energy and all their passion to fighting for the justice that we haven't quite had yet, but we're very close to getting it. Listening to them again at lunchtime today—the brothers who had lost their sisters, the sisters who had lost their brothers, people having lost their parents, parents who had lost their children; the stigma, the name calling, the shame that has cast a shadow over so many lives.

I'm not going to make additional points in terms of what we need to see from the Welsh Government and the UK Government, more than what has been said by Mabon ap Gwynfor on behalf of the Plaid Cymru benches here, but just to echo those words and just to make the point that we can't miss a second in our determination to reach the end of this journey and get that real justice, because an important milestone has been reached in that statement by Sir Brian Langstaff and the work of the inquiry, but it's only a milestone at present.

The apologies and the strong response from the Ministers in Westminster came just hours, indeed, before a general election was called, so things have been halted, but we now, under the next Government, of whatever stripe, need to be just as determined as we were ever to press ahead with this, for those who are still campaigning, and those who, because they've paid the ultimate price for this, can't do that anymore. It's our duty, and our debt to them is to do everything that we can to ensure that they get that justice. 

Mark Isherwood. Mark, you are unmuted.

Oh, I'm speaking. Thank you. The damning findings of the infected blood inquiry published on 25 May shone a light on one of the biggest treatment scandals in NHS history. An estimated 3,000 people infected with HIV and hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products have died. Around 400 people in Wales are known to have been infected, excluding those who died without it being known they were infected. Haemophilia Wales state that 283 patients in Wales were infected with hepatitis C in the 1970s and 1980s, and over 70 people with haemophilia died in Wales alone.

As the five-year inquiry stated, infected blood was not an accident and was avoidable. The truth had been hidden and victims had been repeatedly failed. Haemophilia Wales has asked me to speak about the impact of infected blood on North Wales constituent Jane Jones and her family. Jane was infected with hepatitis C through treatment for Von Willebrand disease, a rare clotting disorder. She was not told about her infection. Her late mother Anona was also infected with hepatitis C and both underwent liver transplants due to hepatitis C. Jane travelled from north Wales to London to hear the recommendations made by Sir Brian Langstaff, chair of the infected blood inquiry. She was interviewed by the media in Welsh and English for weeks ahead of the inquiry and on the day itself, and was chosen to represent Welsh victims and Haemophilia Wales. On 21 May, Jane represented Haemophilia Wales and Welsh infected blood victims in Parliament and watched John Glen's statement on infected blood compensation from the Speaker's gallery.

Haemophilia Wales are very grateful for the important role Jane and her mother played campaigning for the public inquiry to finally get to the truth about what happened. Both maintained that they had never been informed about the risks of the treatment and were then not told about their infections. As Jane said in her statement to the inquiry, being infected with hepatitis C is something you would not wish upon an animal.

A Denbighshire constituent, Rose Richards, has also written asking me to speak on her behalf in this debate. She is an affected person both as a carrier of the haemophilia gene and as a sister to a haemophiliac brother who died of AIDS in 1990 aged 46, after receiving contaminated factor VIII treatment in the early 1980s. She is also a core participant in the infected blood inquiry and has submitted two written statements to it. She made a decision on whether to have children based on information that withheld the truth about the known risk of serious harm. Her sons, born in 1983 and 1985, both have haemophilia. Fortunately, neither required factor VIII until it was a safer product in the late 1980s. As she states, however, the experience of hearing of other parents losing their children has been harrowing now that we know the truth about the scandal. She added that, although Sir Brian Langstaff recommended that the current ongoing support payments under the Wales infected blood support scheme should continue for infected persons and spouses or partners of infected persons who have died, and compensation should be paid in addition to the support payments, there's been no commitment to honour this. She concluded that, 'As a group we're very concerned about any further Government delay.’ Victims continue to die at the rate of one every four days without justice.

Speaking here in the 2017 debate, calling on the UK Government to hold a full public inquiry into the contaminated blood tragedy of the 1970s and 1980s, I quoted Monica Summers, whose husband Paul, a contaminated blood bank victim, died on 16 December 2008, aged 44. Their daughter was five years old. Monica said,

‘Every day for 18 months she asked “when is daddy coming home?” She turned 13 years in October and we both struggle. My husband didn’t have a choice, it was made for him and he and he lost his life because of decisions taken by others. Yet over 30 years later we are still trying to get some agreement. Please let the next decisions be made by voices of people who are currently suffering with HIV and Hepatitis C, by the widows and families left behind trying to heal and build a new normal life.'

Their daughter would now be 20. As I said then, contaminated blood has had and continues to have a devastating impact on the lives of thousands of infected people and their families. 

Dirprwy Lywydd, I'm aware of three victims of the contaminated blood scandal from my constituency in Newport East: Colin John Smith, Terry Webley and Bill Dumbleton, all victims of the shocking failures of the health and political systems that were involved and have been set out in the report. At the event earlier held by Haemophilia Wales and chaired by Lynne Kelly, such an amazing campaigner on these issues and such a source of strength and support to the families, I met  Joanne Davies who spoke about her husband Gavin's brother, Terry Webley, who died aged 10, and of the ignorance and fear that we've already heard about, the stigma that existed around HIV/AIDS at that time, which meant that they were avoided within the community, the families involved, that the schools didn't provide the support that they should have, that the local media weren't sensitive or understanding and showed little empathy, there was bullying and name calling involved and, of course, that has an ongoing impact on the health of the families, and, in Joanne's case, the health of her husband Gavin and the wider family.

And also present were Colin and Janet Smith, who lost their son Colin John Smith, who died aged seven of AIDS weighing just 13lb, having been a victim of those failings. And I know that their house, Dirprwy Lywydd, was daubed with abuse and graffiti as a result of the situation of Colin John Smith, that it was difficult to get him into school and that there were problems at the school and, again, that there were these problems within the wider community. It was a terrible scandal and indictment of the systems at the time, Dirprwy Lywydd, and so many families suffered in the way that these families did. Colin John Smith knew that he was dying and was in fact giving his toys, before he died, to his brothers. You just think of that huge torrent of emotion that engulfed families at the time, so many families, and the terrible failings of those systems set out in the report following the inquiry. 

But I would just like to say in closing, Dirprwy Lywydd, that, as we reflect on that suffering—and we'll hear further examples here today, and we've heard those examples through the inquiry report and also proceedings up at the House of Commons in Westminster—when we reflect on the scale of the human tragedy and suffering involved, I really think it's important that we also reflect on the massive human spirit that's involved in those families of the victims, the love and the commitment that was sustained over such a period of time and is still sustained today that produced the campaign, produced the inquiry and the report that got that recognition for the victims and their families, which should now lead to the speedy action that others have called for today. 

And I would just like to close with the words of Janet Smith, Colin John Smith's mother, when she spelt out what this campaign, what the inquiry, what the report is about for the victims and the families. Janet said:

'I want recognition. I want my son to have his name back. His name is Colin John Smith. And that's what I want people to remember.' 

'To save face and to save expense, there has been a hiding of much of the truth.'

Sir Brian Langstaff's damning and shocking words must be at the very forefront of our minds as we consider the impact of the infected blood scandal on the constituents that we represent here. There are two sisters from the Swansea valley in the public gallery today, Sharon and Rhian. They wanted me to highlight their family's situation and suffering in relation to this appalling and unforgivable scandal, because their story highlights how the unique circumstances of each family affected must be considered, recognised and fairly and equally compensated without further delay. Their late father, Arwyn Davies, from Trebanos, was a haemophiliac. He was under the care of, and trusted in, the medical professions that provided treatment for his condition. He attended both Cardiff and Swansea haemophilia centres, and Mr Bloom was his main consultant. Arwyn Davies died on 18 March 1992, aged 60 years. His death certificate stated he died of hepatitis C, hepatoma and haemophilia.

His whole career was spent as a local government officer, but, in the 1980s, his health began to deteriorate and he had to take early retirement from work, and little over a year later he was dead. His wife Eira passed away in 2018, 26 years after her husband, and only after their mother's passing did Rhian and Sharon become aware of what was written on their father's death certificate. During those 26 years, no contact was made to inform any of the family of any of the risks they had been made subject to, or to inform them they were entitled to any kind of benefit payments. It was so hard to hear from Sharon and Rhian about their long and distressing battle to obtain medical records relating to their father, as they campaigned for justice for their family. But they finally got proof, which confirmed their father was given contaminated factor and that the consultants were aware of how he had died.

Since obtaining this information, they've been working with the infected blood inquiry and Haemophilia Wales to ensure that someone is held to account. And although Sir Brian Langstaff took the unusual step of announcing interim compensation ahead of the final report, this was only for the living infected and the bereaved widows. There has been no commitment by the UK Government to the recommendation in the second interim report on compensation, of April 2023, which called for interim compensation payment for the previously unrecognised deaths, and, to date, children who lost parents, like Rhian and Sharon, have never been provided with compensation or recognition of their father's death. They haven't even received a letter of apology from their local health board. So, my question is: how will the Welsh Government endeavour to ensure the UK Government do not delay progress any further?

And within the new regulation of infected blood compensation, under the heading, 'Estate application', it states:

'where an affected person has died it is not possible for the personal representatives of their estate to apply for compensation.'

Cabinet Secretary, do you agree that is unjustifiable when people, such as Rhian and Sharon's mother Eira, suffered and endured financial hardship and ill health, with no financial support, following the death of Arwyn? Does the Welsh Government therefore accept that the right thing to do in circumstances like this family's would be to ensure that the family of the affected be allowed to benefit from compensation? I believe it's not only morally right, it's also a symbol of an apology rightly owed by the state—the state, remember, who covered up—to those impacted by this scandal, those whose whole lives have been scarred by loss and by lies? And how further will the Welsh Government ensure that all of those now currently living with haemophilia, like Arwyn's grandson, Sharon's son, are provided with the best possible support by public services, not having to explain the implications of their condition to education settings and healthcare settings, for example, each time, which is what's happening, so that wider steps can be put in place to increase awareness and ensure safety for all those who live with haemophilia? Diolch.

I remember the day eight years ago, I was sitting next to Julie Morgan in this Chamber, and it was just after lunch time, and she said, 'There's a cross-party group I'm chairing, would you come and meet some of your constituents who are affected by this scandal?' And I went to meet with them—and I can see Kirk Ellis in the gallery today—and it had a huge impact on me and I wanted to join that campaign, so I'm proud to be vice-chair of the Senedd cross-party group on haemophilia and contaminated blood.

I just want to give some examples of those constituents I've met and have been in touch with since then. Janet Morgan and her daughter Felicity wrote to me to talk about their late husband and father who was a haemophiliac, who was infused with factor VIII and, as a result, was infected with hepatitis C. He received a number of clinical trial medications that made him very ill, and he and his family were robbed of a normal life. Felicity was only 12 years old when her father was informed that he had hepatitis C and three to five years to live. The loss of their husband and father in 2010 shook them and still deeply affects them as a family, as he was such a loving husband, father and grandfather, and their lives have never been the same.

I was contacted by Susan Hughes, whose brother Alan Jones was a haemophiliac who was infected with HIV and hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood in the 1980s at the age of 15. He was told at the age of 17, without his parents being present, that he had contracted the viruses. Alan had learning difficulties after suffering a brain haemorrhage at the age of three, and he passed away in 1994 at the age of just 25 of a brain tumour caused by the AIDS virus. Alan and Susan's parents have now sadly passed away themselves, and they never saw justice.

I was contacted by Professor Nicholas Moran, whose late brothers, Peter and Tim, who were twins, were co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C by NHS contaminated blood products. They died at a young age due to HIV-related illnesses. Their mother's health suffered consequently, and her passing was a direct result of that. Professor Moran is a senior surgeon who's worked exclusively in the NHS for over four decades, but he has told me that he is so shaken by the outcome of this scandal that his confidence in the service has been shattered, particularly by the devastating revelations of Sir Brian Langstaff's report. As a result, he has decided to leave the NHS. He wants to see the recommendations from Sir Brian’s report implemented fully and without delay, and he’s concerned that although the UK Government has announced that interim payments will be made to infected persons, there has been no commitment to support affected relatives or previously unrecognised deaths.

I come to Kirk Ellis. Kirk gave me this tie, which is in the colours of the campaign, outside Wayne David’s office in Bedwas, I think it was three years ago now. We were still working on just basic compensation levels at that point. He regularly attends meetings of the cross-party group, and, as I’ve mentioned, he’s in the public gallery. I met him just after lunch today, and he said he’s got real concerns about the UK Government’s proposed compensation scheme. He could actually end up worse off in spite of the payments if he was to get the lump sum mentioned in the compensation scheme statement, as the support payments he receives would then stop. His lump sum would last him and his family for 20 years at most, and he points out that in Scotland the Scottish Government has guaranteed that ongoing current support payments are for life, as well as the lump sum compensation payments proposed by the UK Government in response to Sir Brian’s report. What he wants the Welsh Government to do—he recognises that this was a pre-devolution issue—is to make sure that that issue is resolved, that he isn’t reliant on just 20 years of funding as a result of the compensation, and that he isn’t caught in the trap of having that income that reduces, then, the disability benefits to which he was previously entitled.

And finally, I want to pay tribute to Wayne David, the now former MP for Caerphilly. Wayne worked very hard on this issue in the House of Commons, and presented a petition recently on the infected blood inquiry in the Chamber of the House of Commons. The petition called for immediate compensation to be given to those who had been affected by contaminated blood, and, jointly, our constituents Lee Stay and Kirk Ellis had added a number of local names to that petition. I think Wayne’s campaigning spirit on this will be missed from the House of Commons, but I think he’s worked hard too to make sure that we see the outcome that we’ve got today, albeit, I still think, as a staging post in the journey of providing full justice to the families and people affected by this scandal.

Firstly, I want to pay tribute to all those who have campaigned on this issue and continue to campaign. Some are here with us today, and we will remember the ones who are not. As the Cabinet Secretary highlighted, before FMQs, there was an opportunity to listen to those affected by this scandal, and I don’t think anyone could have left that room without a clear understanding of the injustice faced by families. You would have heard how people in positions of authority vilified these families for raising concerns, accused them of lying, accused them of giving life to rumours. Corruption is the long and short of it, isn't it—a bid to save money. What an indictment of our system.

Last week, I was contacted by Deborah James, a constituent in Bridgend, who told me the story of her brother. Her brother, a serving police officer, died aged 31 in 1982, as a result of receiving contaminated blood at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Deborah shared that he had been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma, and had been given the all-clear following chemotherapy. However, complications meant that he had internal bleeding and was taken to Cardiff, where he received several pints of blood to replace the blood that he was losing. They were advised that he had received what was referred to as 'a bad pint', and that he had been infected with hepatitis C. Due to the impact on his liver, Deborah's brother suffered jaundice. It would hurt for him to have them hug him, and—I'm quoting Deborah here—they have not as a family ever recovered from what happened in those last few weeks of his life.

One of the key things that stood out for me in the meeting earlier was something that was said: an apology means nothing if there's no recognition of what people have gone through. Compensation is one way of giving recognition, and whilst an interim compensation payment of £210,000 to those infected will be made, disappointingly there's been no commitment to make the interim compensation payment available for the unrecognised, as highlighted by other Members. I would hope the Minister could comment on this, because this is, of course, a concern for families—specifically how we can help those families whose relatives died but the cause of death was registered as something else.

There's no denying that deaths were covered up, documents were destroyed—it was in the report. For Deborah's family, it has taken 42 years to get to the truth. The worry now is that, despite recognition that what happened was not an accident, families will be denied compensation because of destroyed documents during those cover-ups. I will conclude, Dirprwy Lywydd, by referring back to Deborah's words to me: 'It is inconceivable that, 42 years after his death, and following Sir Brian's report, there is still uncertainty, and battles for those infected and affected are still to be fought.'

We've already heard from the Cabinet Secretary for health and many other people about the tens of thousands infected and affected, as well as the 3,000 people who died of infected blood. But this isn't just about a treatment scandal, as Luke Fletcher has already said. This is about a criminal cover-up. And it's that that I wish to address my remarks to today. Sir Brian Langstaff catalogues three separate sets of documents that were lost, or deliberately destroyed in most cases, and the failure to safeguard these documents, which were supposed to be kept in a safe place, precisely to be able to be called upon by victims to consolidate their claim for compensation.

The first lot were papers relating to the Advisory Committee on the Virological Safety of Blood. It was discovered back in the middle of 1995 that one of the volumes had been destroyed, in September 1994. No attempt was made to safeguard all the remaining volumes of documents, which were then destroyed between October 1997 and November 1998. This is truly, truly shocking. We have to understand how it was that the Department of Health was allowed to continue to try and cover this up, even after Yvette Cooper asked for a report, which was called the self-sufficiency report, when she became the Under-Secretary of State for Public Health in 2002.

This led to an extraordinary cover-up. An initial report by a senior officer at the Department of Health was actually delivered to somebody on the day before Christmas 2002, and it did not emerge to the light of day until a further three years, by which time it had been doctored from a factual account of what the document said about self-sufficiency to an excuse for why it hadn't been possible to avert this terrible scandal. These are really, really devastating points that we really need to take seriously.

Lord Owen's papers, the former Secretary of State for Health, completely disappeared, because obviously they revealed things that they did not want to admit. And in one case, the Department of health was saying it was probably destroyed by a junior member of staff. Really? I just cannot see that. It's absolutely unjustifiable and egregious behaviour by our public servants. 

To this end, we really do have to challenge the defensive culture of cover-up and get behind Sir Brian Langstaff's calls for Ministers to consider statutory duties of candour for civil servants and Ministers in all their day-to-day work. 

I am very pleased that Mark Drakeford, under his leadership, did introduce this duty of candour last year, but we need to ensure that this extends to leaders in our health services as well. There is clearly much more that we need to consider on this. But we have to ensure that leaders in the Welsh NHS, including board members, really are going to be following through with this and that our own civil servants also are not continuing to be less than candid with the truth.

I'd like to associate myself with a number of the comments that have already been made. Sometimes, there is a contact made by a constituent that really strikes you, and I think that we've all received e-mails from families and from those who have suffered and who continue to suffer today that have had that impact. So, I'm going to use my time to give a voice and share some of those stories, according to what has been asked of me. 

Maybe many of you have read about or seen on tv the story of Owain Harris regarding his father, Norman. Norman had haemophilia, and in the 1970s and the early 1980s he began a new treatment for the condition. In the mid 1980s, he was told that he had contracted hepatitis C and that he had HIV. His son, Owain, was four years old at the time, and his parents did not share the full diagnosis with him until he was 26 years old. Norman died in 2012. Owain, his sister and his mother have given evidence as part of the inquiry, but it was only last month that they spoke publicly about this for the first time, with Owain saying, 'This was a total cover-up by the establishment.'

David shared with me in his own words, 'I was infected with hepatitis C in the early 1980s, likely between the age of nine and 13. I was informed of my diagnosis aged 23 in 1994, and ever since this date have been permanently in a state of worry about my health and my mortality.' He went on to share with me the impact this has had on his life, including having to fight tooth and nail to get access to the new retroviral drugs that were becoming available towards the end of 2014.

Another constituent, Paul from Cardiff, said, 'I'm one of the haemophiliacs that has been infected in the mid 1970s, early 1980s, with hep C. This has made life a living nightmare. I had to undertake horrendous treatments. I could not continue working due to my mental health and the stigma. I have hidden myself away, no longer feeling able to interact with others and became isolated. People reacted to my condition at many times with abuse. It has left me with lifelong complications, not to mention not being able to have children and causing many relationship issues through my life.' He urges us as a Senedd, 'Please, with people passing away at an average of four a week, all we want is to have some of our life that is ours and not stolen from us by this deliberate use of infected blood, which has destroyed mine and many others' lives.'

Another constituent, who wants to remain anonymous, shared the story of her father, who died 20 years ago at just 38 years old. Carol told me of her father Ian’s death in 2004, at the age of 48.

Rachel wrote to me, saying,

'My father (who was a haemophiliac) died of AIDS in 1990, after a six-year illness, during which his body and brain wasted away.' 

You referenced at the beginning, Cabinet Secretary, the Sugar family. And it is important that we do tell the story of Leigh, a much-loved son, husband and father, who was a mild haemophiliac, infected with his first and only treatment at the age of 14, following a fall from his horse. He was only told of his infection 14 years later, by which time he was married and had five and three-year-old daughters. He died at the age of 44 from liver cancer, having been infected with hepatitis C. His family shared that he spent the last year of his life in intense pain and suffering, and that his father Graham died three years ago, never seeing justice. They describe their family as 'having been torn apart by contaminated blood'. 

I'd like to pay tribute to all the victims and their families who’ve campaigned for justice and who've been brave enough to share with us their suffering and continued pain. We can acknowledge that today, apologise for all they’ve been through, but also state unitedly that we will ensure everything possible that can be done to right this terrible, terrible wrong is done. It should never have happened and nothing we do will put this right, but we can try and offer that support. This is going to have an impact for generations to come on these families affected. Therefore, I'd like to finish by asking the Cabinet Secretary: what support is being provided to those still living with the infection, who are in pain, who are suffering, but also their families, who are still in pain and suffering? We need to be able to provide not just compensation, but ongoing support, and I'd like to know how they will be able to access that support. Diolch.

Like other speakers before me, I would like to read the testimony of two of my constituents whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the contaminated blood scandal. And I think it speaks volumes, as to the stigma still attached to this, that both of my constituents have asked that their stories remain anonymous. One of my constituents contracted hepatitis C from contaminated blood whilst being treated for leukaemia between 1985 and 1989. They have now lived with hepatitis for 35 years, undergoing five gruelling courses of interferon, numerous invasive and non-invasive tests, reduced career prospects and limitations on the size of their family. Prior to diagnosis, they were sent to one of the first AIDS wards in London and then to a mental health institution in Cardiff, because the medical professionals thought that they were making their illness up. Fortunately, my constituent tells me they have worked hard to manage their condition and are now in good health, but they say there are many less fortunate, who they believe deserve so much more. 

My other constituent was just 17 years old and ready to start their life, when they were told by their haemophilia doctor that they'd contracted HIV from contaminated blood. They were told not to tell anyone, not even their mother. Doctors told them that they would live about 18 months. They've seen their fellow haemophiliac friends dying of AIDS in the hospital, and they thought that they would die in the same way. This was a death sentence. They had three nervous breakdowns over the years, attempted suicide three times, and for years spent spells in and out of hospital. The stigma associated with HIV, they say, is unbearable, and they meet this in all aspects of their daily life. In 1994 this same constituent was told that they were also infected with hepatitis C. They underwent three courses of treatment with horrendous side effects. They haven't been able to have children, get life assurance or mortgage protection, due to the impact of HIV and hepatitis C. 

My constituents say they hope that the inquiry's recommendations will prevent things like this from ever happening again, that people will not be tested without consent, that commercial interests will not take precedence over patient safety. They hope that future generations do not have to suffer the pain and stigma that they have, and that medical professionals will be educated to ensure that they are treated with the respect that they deserve. 

Siân Gwenllian? No. I call on the Cabinet Secretary to reply to the debate. 

Diolch yn fawr. I want to thank all Members who have contributed to this important debate today. I think it's been a really emotional debate, and it has been quite heart-wrenching to hear some of the stories of your constituents. There are just a few points I want to address. First of all, one of the issues that people have asked about is those who are unrecognised. Part of the issue here is that records are required to make claims. Now, we are aware that there have been issues with NHS records in the past. Both our Wales infected blood support scheme and the new infected blood compensation authority will work with those infected and affected to gather the information required for claims to be made. In terms of young beneficiaries, this is an issue that my officials have raised with the Cabinet Office, and we've been given an assurance that this is something that they're looking into. 

In terms of immediate next steps, Sir Robert Francis, along with the interim CEO of the IBCA, David Foley, will meet with the main campaign groups, including Lynne Kelly of Haemophilia Wales, to discuss looking at the proposals for compensation to check if they're fair. They will check if the scheme will work, and they will check if anything has been missed. And what they learn from these meetings will help frame the work of the IBCA. In terms of future and current schemes, representations have been made in each of the nations to retain the support schemes. Discussions, I know, are in their infancy, and officials will take on board the representations received.

I'd like to make it clear that we will be accepting all of Plaid Cymru's amendments. 

I also want to pay tribute to Rhun ap Iorwerth for his work as chair of the cross-party group on haemophilia and infected blood. I know that you have been fighting very hard for many years, along with those who have been battling for justice. 

I'd like some time to go through the report. He has taken years to write this report and we need to give it the respect it deserves, and so we will do that. And I want to assure Jenny Rathbone that there is, as you have noted, already a duty of candour in the NHS in Wales, including the one that applies to leaders in the health service. Tonight I think we unite as a Chamber and as a Parliament, and I'm sure you'll join with me to pay tribute to those who have suffered as a result of this, the greatest scandal in the history of the NHS. Diolch.

The proposal is to agree amendment 1. Does any Member object? No. Amendment 1 is therefore agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

The proposal is to agree amendment 2. Does any Member object? No. Amendment 2 is therefore agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

The proposal is to agree amendment 3. Does any Member object? No. Amendment 3 is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

The proposal is to agree the motion as amended. Does any Member object? No. The motion as amended is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Item 4 is a statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: a consultation on the school year. I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Three weeks ago I was pleased to come to this Chamber and to talk to Members about my priorities for the education system in Wales. I have always championed the rights of children and young people, and in that statement I made clear my commitment to raising attainment, to being ambitious for every learner in Wales and to supporting our most disadvantaged learners and closing the attainment gap. To me, these are central ambitions and, as I said, ones I want and expect the whole education system to work together to achieve.

As Members know, the Government committed in the programme for government to explore reform of the school year, and I would like to thank my predecessor, Jeremy Miles, for all of his efforts in that work. I would also like to thank Siân Gwenllian for her efforts and support in taking this forward.

With learner outcomes at its core, we have looked at the system as a whole to see how the way we structure the school calendar could better support school staff to improve the educational experiences of our young people, particularly our most disadvantaged, while aligning more effectively with how people and families live and work.

On 13 November last year we announced the launch of the consultation on the school year. Today I am publishing the findings of that consultation, which closed on 12 February. Having received over 16,000 responses, it is clearly one of the Welsh Government's widest reaching consultations, and it is fair to say that the issue of the school year is one that reaches across society, with views on all sides. This is reflected in the responses, where views were split almost evenly on every question posed and every option put forward.

The consultation set out three core proposals. They were, first, to maintain the status quo; the second would see a five-week summer, a two-week break in the autumn, and the flexibility to decouple the Easter end-of-term break from the Easter festival; the third and final option built on this, and would look to move to a four-week summer, introduce a two-week break in May, and arrange for AS, A-level and GCSE results to issue on the same day.

Members will see that while the results indicate there is support for changes to the pattern of the school year, there was no strong preference for any of the options put forward. In this context, I have returned to the evidence base for change, and again, as Members will be aware, this is not clear-cut. 

There is evidence that suggests the summer period contributes to learning loss, and there are obvious concerns around how we support those children for whom school is safer than home. But there is also evidence that shows the benefit of an extended break for the well-being of both children and the workforce, and how that contributes positively to family life. This is just one example of many, and Members can see more detail in the information previously published on our website.

In my statement last week I said I would listen to the views of those working within the education system, and to the views of children, young people and parents, and I have taken time to consider the comments made in response to the consultation and to listen to the differing views and opinions. As a result, I have taken the decision that we will not implement any changes to the pattern of the school year within this Senedd term. It is important to be clear about this, and so I am also confirming today that I have asked local authorities and other relevant bodies to publish term dates for 2025-26. I do, however, want to continue to look at what more can be done to support our children and young people, their learning and the all-important actions needed to raise attainment, standards and aspirations.

Over the remainder of this Senedd term, I intend to continue exploring the proposals set out in our second option in the consultation: a five-week summer, a two-week break in the autumn, and the flexibility to decouple the Easter end-of-term break from the Easter festival. However, getting reform right means ensuring it is properly planned out and has the time and space to succeed. I want to take this time to discuss with children and young people, parents, the workforce and other partners both what these changes might mean and when would be the right time for them. No final decisions will be taken in this Senedd term, as I feel strongly that we need to remain focused on our existing and ambitious programme of reform over this period, and I am acutely aware we are already asking a lot of teachers and schools.

In the coming months, I will prioritise support on curriculum design, progression and assessment. I will work with teachers to ensure the right support reaches their classrooms and that they have the knowledge, resources and confidence to ensure every learner and every part of Wales feel the benefit of the curriculum.

As I set out before recess, I will also focus on ALN reform. I want to ensure firm legislative foundations are in place, and I want to strengthen implementation by improving the consistency of the approach being taken. That certainly does not mean we won’t be doing anything to address the impact of the long summer break here and now. Our immediate priority will be to maximise the support available to learners during the summer holidays, including doing more to target that provision towards the poorest communities and increasing the educational value of that provision.

We will look to increase the impact of the school holiday enrichment programme and enhance our community-focused schools programme, including through the work being undertaken by the school improvement partnership programme. I am pleased Julie Morgan MS has agreed to lead a review of SHEP for the Welsh Government on how provisions can be maximised during the summer holidays to ensure they are reaching those children and young people who need it most. I look forward to working with her on this important piece of work.

The issues raised in the consultation show that this is an area where there are lots of interests, including from sectors and organisations not involved in the education of our children and young people. And so I do need to be clear that, as Cabinet Secretary, my priority is the well-being and learning of our children and young people. That will be the driving force behind my actions and will be central to the further exploration of the proposals.

To conclude, I am fully committed to ensuring our education system supports all children and their ambitions. I will continue to explore changes to the pattern of the school year where these can support attainment, ambition and well-being, particularly for those who are most disadvantaged, to give them the best opportunities in learning and life. And I will do this over the remainder of this Senedd term, working in partnership with the education sector, children, young people and parents to ensure that we make the right changes at the right time. Diolch.

Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement today and for meeting with me earlier this afternoon to discuss the contents of the statement? I welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has kicked into the long grass its latest plans for changes to the school year. But we should be very clear that these plans haven't gone away for good, and they appear as though they might be back with a vengeance in two years' time, should this complacent Welsh Labour Government remain in power by then.

We know that it was a hugely unpopular policy across a range of sectors in Wales and, back in January, 11 different bodies came together, including teaching unions, farming unions and representatives from the tourism sector and many more, and wrote to the education Minister at the time to warn about the damage that these plans could cause right across Wales. The letter said, and I quote:

'This proposal runs the risk of fixing a problem that does not exist, when there is also little public appetite for such a change.'

End quote. And they're right. The evidence base for bringing forward the change is weak at best. These ideas about lost learning over the summer months are flawed to begin with. We know that this evidence is often based on countries like the USA, which have a much have a much longer summer break than we do. In fact, our summer break is already amongst the shortest in Europe, and these plans would have seen it reduced further. And countries above us in the Programme for International Student Assessment rankings—and there are many of them—have significantly longer summer breaks than we do.

But even recent research from the USA shows that Welsh Government's core assumption that poorer pupils are disproportionately impacted by the summer break is flawed in the first place. Research conducted just before the pandemic by American academics Megan Kuhfeld and Karyn Lewis said, and I again quote,

'recent data does not show that summer test score drops are concentrated among students in poverty'.

End quote. So, does the Welsh Government now accept that the academic evidence about the impact a summer holiday has on lower income earners has changed, or is the Cabinet Secretary still clinging onto outdated assumptions about the issue?

But let me return to that earlier letter, because in it they say, and I quote:

'The education unions are also incredulous that, at a time when schools are facing a crisis in funding, recruitment and pupil behaviour, the Welsh Government should be so engaged in this entirely unnecessary distraction.'

I'm sure they don't use a word like 'incredulous' lightly. But they're entirely right. After 25 years of this Welsh Labour Government we've seen hardworking pupils and staff completely undermined by Labour's record of falling standards. We've been at the bottom of UK-wide league tables in every single subject assessed by PISA every time that we've been assessed. What a damning indictment of the shambolic education policies of this Welsh Labour Government. We also know that the policy so far has cost the Welsh taxpayer £350,000. What a difference that could have made to our schools. The message from parents and teachers alike is clear, Cabinet Secretary: we don't want this proposal delayed; we want it consigned to the dustbin of history for good.

More widely, the tourism and hospitality sector were clear that these changes would mean businesses closed and jobs lost. That's on top of the other policies pursued by this Welsh Labour Government, such as a tourism tax, which seem intended to decimate a sector on which one in seven jobs in Wales relies. The agricultural sector was also clear that it would massively damage those farms that have diversified to capitalise on the summer months. And similarly, the Royal Welsh Show said that schools remaining open during show week would lead to a £1 million loss to the show and threaten its future financial viability. Representatives from across these sectors said in that damning letter that these are

'a few of many arguments that we have all repeated time and again to Welsh Government officials, but no one is listening.'

So, did the Welsh Government do its due diligence on the impact that these changes would have on other sectors in Wales, and why does she think that they said that no-one is listening?

And finally, it would be remiss of me not to note, Llywydd, where this sits in the wider picture of the last few weeks of decisions taken by this Welsh Labour Government. In the last few weeks alone, we've seen a sustainable farming scheme delayed, ALN reform under review, changes to council tax in Wales shelved, 20 mph rowed back on, and now school year reform kicked into the long grass. These are policies brought forward by the Welsh Labour Government in this term—money wasted on development and consultation—and then shelved in the face of opposition. That's simple. The reason for that is simple. It's because this is a divided and a weak Labour Party in the Senedd that can't agree on anything, and a weak First Minister who can't command the authority of his group. And we, the Welsh public, are all paying the price for it. When Keir Starmer said that the Welsh Labour Government was a blueprint for a UK Labour Government, I now understand what he means. [Interruption.] I know he likes to flip-flop, but now I know where he gets his inspiration from.

Allow the Member to finish his contribution, please.

So, in closing, Cabinet Secretary, the next time a Labour Minister gets to their feet in this Senedd Chamber, or a hypothetical Labour Minister in Westminster, and announces a policy, how can we have any faith that it will actually happen?

Can I thank Tom Giffard for his remarks? He started so positively, didn't he, and it all kind of went downhill from there, really, but there we are. I don't regard this as being kicked into the long grass. As you've highlighted, Tom, the evidence base on reform of the school year is a mixed picture. Much of it is based on America, which has an entirely different system to us. Much of it was based on something called year-round education. So, we have looked at the evidence base, but we've also conducted a really thorough consultation, which I hope you've had the opportunity to review, and that consultation was mixed and contradictory. A majority of people thought there were better ways to redesign the school year, but a majority of people also wanted to keep the status quo, and there was no majority for any one of the options available. So, rather than kicking it into the long grass, I regard this as listening—listening to the consultation that we undertook. Why would we have a consultation and we then not listen? And this was a consultation that had more than 16,000 responses. That's the biggest consultation we've ever had in education.

I'm very well aware of the letter that you referred to from the trade unions, which was sent to my colleague Jeremy Miles, and I'm aware of the trade union concerns about the proposals. I've also taken every opportunity I've had since coming into post to talk to front-line staff about these plans. And it is for that reason, as well as listening to the consultation and in recognition that we are asking an awful lot of our schools—they are recovering from a pandemic, they are implementing major reforms with Curriculum for Wales and ALN, they're dealing with some huge challenges with attendance, and I want to make sure that they have the time and the space to focus on delivering those reforms, and, while that happens, we will continue to explore these discussions with our partners and stakeholders.

You referred to the tourism and hospitality sector, and I'm sure you'll have seen that their views were indeed reflected in the consultation, and there was engagement with both sectors and indeed with the Royal Welsh Show throughout the consultation. And I've been very clear, I think, that the decisions that I make on this will be made on the basis of what is in the best interests of children and young people and the school workforce that supports them. But we will still, of course, continue to engage with wider stakeholders, which is right and proper to do.

I'm probably not going to dignify your party political rant at the end with a response.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for the statement today. Evidently, you did refer to the fact that a lot of this stems from the co-operation agreement, and you mentioned Siân Gwenllian's work on this. Evidently, there will be a number of people that will be disappointed that these radical reforms, these long-awaited reforms, aren’t going to happen, and, as you've recognised and as is clear from the evidence, the response has been mixed, very mixed, and a number of people do want to see change, so even though there is nervousness among some people, and, evidently, we have to listen to the stress being experienced by teachers and listen to their voices in this challenging situation, I think that we do have to look also at the broader timetable in terms of how we are going to proceed with that. And maybe the question to ask is: were we looking at enough options? Are there even more radical options that we should be considering?

I am pleased to hear that you have given Julie Morgan the task in terms of improving the SHEP programme, because I think it is very important. Even if we do reduce the school holidays to five weeks, that still leaves five weeks for some children who can't get a healthy meal as they do at school, and who can't have access to the kinds of activities and so forth that are available to others in their peer group.

So, there is a wider problem here, isn't there, in terms of looking at the context of young people and children, in terms of it's one thing to look at the support provided in schools, but what do we do in the holidays? I've been part of the work on the Children, Young People and Education Committee, and I've heard about the great challenges in terms of parents with additional learning needs children and those with disabilities in terms of having access to any kind of childcare during the summer holidays at all. So, it doesn't matter how long the holidays are; there is a lack of provision.

So, am I right to assume that, in terms of the fact that you are going to delay this—? Is this going to be broader work, looking at all of the package of support that's available in terms of childcare and provision during the summer holidays, and are we going to see more radical proposals being submitted? Because one of the things that emerged very clearly from teachers and parents from the research was that people didn't want to see us tinkering just to change things, but that people did want to see change that would meet some of those challenges. There were concerns, obviously, in terms of the Royal Welsh Show and the impact upon the National Eisteddfod, which, of course, as has already been outlined, are not just important in terms of tourism, but also the local economies in many areas, and a very important part of the calendar. So, we need to look more broadly at this.

If I could ask one question as well: in terms of the SHEP programme, what's the timescale for that work, and is it the intention that things are put in place for this summer's holidays? Because I'm already having food banks and so forth contacting me asking me what support will be available.

And could I also ask: will you be looking at the element of Welsh-medium provision? Because often—. Trystan Edwards from Garth Olwg school, who is part of the working group looking at this, was on the radio this morning, and he was talking about the challenges with the Welsh-medium schools in terms of Welsh-medium learning loss that happens over the summer holidays, and, even though there are excellent activities that are organised by the Urdd and so forth, and the mentrau iaith across Wales, not everyone can have access to those activities at present. Certainly, in my region, the SHEP wasn't always available through the medium of Welsh, or there were only a small number of Welsh-medium sessions available. So, how do we ensure that whatever is available also caters for that Welsh-medium element? So, if we could have clarity in terms of the timetable for this coming summer holiday, but also taking this work forward, that it isn't forgotten, but that we do see the radical action that is needed to ensure the best opportunities for all of our learners. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Heledd. As you highlighted, this work was part of our co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru. I was very grateful for the work that we did together on it, especially the very constructive relationship that I had with Siân Gwenllian on this, and also Dafydd Trystan as well, who was helping with that work. As you've highlighted, the response was very mixed, and I'm grateful for your acknowledgement that this is about listening.

In terms of the work that Julie is going to do on SHEP, we've asked that this be a rapid review. I need to have further discussions with Julie about how that will look. I'm sure you recognise that Julie has a really sterling record of working with young people who are experiencing disadvantage, so I also want to take into account her views about what should be included as well. It's my understanding that, for this year's SHEP, plans have already been made, so it will be more likely that this will be for the following year, although we've already agreed to extend SHEP this year despite the really difficult financial circumstances.

I understand completely what you're saying about ALN, and you'll have heard me tell the committee how concerned I am to make sure that we get support for ALN right. My colleague Jayne Bryant leads on childcare issues, and I know that she, like myself and Lesley Griffiths, is waiting for the committee's report on access to childcare and education for disabled children. We will want to make sure that we consider that carefully and respond to the recommendations.

In terms of what you've said about Welsh-medium education, I think that's a very important point. This was something that was considered as part of the consultation in terms of learning loss for those children where they didn't have a Welsh-speaking family at home. Again, the views were quite mixed, and it didn't come out with a strong range of views. But we do provide SHEP in quite a number of authorities through the medium of Welsh, and in some local authorities we have a dual-track provision in Welsh and English. I acknowledge that it could be more and better. I'll certainly make sure that that's one of the things that Julie looks at, and I'm happy, if it's helpful, to write to you with a list of the local authorities that offer SHEP through the medium of Welsh.

Cabinet Secretary, I'd like to thank you for having the courage to resist political pressure and to really listen to the responses to the Welsh Government's consultation on the school year. Speaking as a former teacher and being mindful of the scale of the radical reforms that we are already expecting our schools to undertake, I think that your focus on raising standards is exactly where we need to be. Pausing these plans will allow our schools to focus on that, in particular addressing attendance and attainment issues amongst our most disadvantaged pupils. So, Cabinet Secretary, could you expand on how you intend to tackle these two key issues?

Secondly, Cabinet Secretary, I wholeheartedly welcome your decision to appoint Julie Morgan MS to oversee a review of the school holiday enrichment programme. I make a habit of visiting SHEP programmes in my constituency every summer, and I'm always impressed by the excellent nutritional meals and the fun educational tasks that are on offer. Uptake, though, is always an issue, and what I see is that while SHEP programmes are always located in our more disadvantaged communities, I still don't feel, truly, that they are reaching the most disadvantaged pupils within those communities. So, can you confirm that the review will take a real hard, long, nuts-and-bolts look at how we can truly reach those most disadvantaged pupils?

Can I thank Vikki Howells for her comments and for her support? I particularly welcome you drawing on your experience as a teacher and that recognition of the amount of reform that we're asking schools to manage at the moment. I've been very clear since coming into post that raising attainment is a priority for me. I certainly don't recognise the bleak picture that was painted by Tom Giffard, but I do recognise that our PISA results last time around were disappointing and that we need to focus on raising attainment across the board.

Officials are currently working on a plan that will allow us to raise educational attainment across Wales, putting equity, inclusion and well-being at the centre, and there'll be four strands of work to achieve that. The first is that attainment for us includes inclusion, equity, aspiration and stretch. Secondly, the curriculum and additional learning needs reform are central to our achievement of improved standards in Wales. Thirdly, we need to set up our national leadership to bring our partners together to all focus on improved standards, and you'll be aware of the school improvement partnership programme, which is currently in the second phase of its work. Fourthly, as I've said many times, mental health and well-being is fundamental to this whole agenda.

You're absolutely right to recognise the issues around attendance. The attendance figures in Wales are going in the right direction, but there's more to do. I'm particularly concerned about the attendance of children and young people who are eligible for free school meals. So, we're really looking at what more we can do in that space. I'm chairing the national attendance taskforce, which now has all its work streams and sub-groups in place, and I hope that we can bring a real laser focus to that work.

Thank you for your comments on SHEP; I would certainly encourage any Member to go and visit their local SHEP schemes during the summer. You're right to highlight the issues around uptake and that's something I've been worried about myself. I know that there is a fair amount of soft targeting that goes on with SHEP that's based on local knowledge from the people who are running the schemes, but one of the things I'm very keen for Julie to really look at is how we can make sure that the schemes are reaching those children who are—I hate the term 'hard to reach'—least likely to engage with the SHEP programme, to make sure that nobody is left out.

May I thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary? I think taking a step back in light of the responses to the consultation is sensible. I am surprised that there was no specific reference in your statement to the impact that some of the proposals would have had on the Royal Welsh and the National Eisteddfod, particularly as this was a very prominent feature in the summary that you published of the responses, and certainly something that we, as a party, have made clear in terms of our opposition to changes that would have a negative impact on the Royal Welsh or the Eisteddfod. You've said that no final decision will be taken in this Senedd term, but in your statement, you also say that you now, as Cabinet Secretary and as a Government, will continue to look at the second proposal in the consultation during the rest of this Senedd term. But, of course, that was one of the proposals that would have had an impact on the Royal Welsh particularly. So can you confirm that, as you develop that work, you will not only be aware of the need to protect the interests of the Royal Welsh and the Eisteddfod, but that you will also ensure that any changes ultimately implemented will not lead to a negative impact on those festivals?

Thank you very much, Llyr. As you highlight, the Royal Welsh Show and the Eisteddfod did feature in the consultation and there have been discussions with relevant organisations in relation to that. I want to be really clear, though, that I think this is a decision that has to be taken on the basis of what is best for children and young people, but I know too that there are communities in Wales that really value taking their children and young people to visit the Royal Welsh Show. Indeed, the consultation itself reflected that there was a need to make sure that major events were catered for in that respect. So, I understand that this is a cause of concern for Members representing rural areas, and you do have my assurance that we will continue to engage with the Royal Welsh Show, the Eisteddfod and other organisations about this as we take this work forward.

I wish to welcome the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, and there are arguments and value on both sides of this issue. But the consultation on the change to the school calendar in Wales has received 16,000 responses, and we must note that this is the biggest ever education consultation in Wales. The list of organisations opposed is very extensive, as is the very mixed response from parents, pointing to a commonsense approach needing to be adopted. It is right to consult on this matter, and it is also right to listen and then act on that consultation.

Today, as our school communities continue to strive forward away from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and struggle out of the darkness of austerity, we know that their challenges are profound and we cannot, and should not, underestimate this, none more so than the drop in school attendance seen across Wales, critically by some of the poorest children in our society, our most vulnerable cohort.

Cabinet Secretary, thank you for the clarity that you've given today; it will be broadly welcomed. In terms of the assurance that you can give us today—to the children, teachers, staff and families across Islwyn—that you will prioritise and focus the Welsh Government on tackling attendance, the implementation of the new curriculum, the needed additional learning needs reform, the development of a stronger school holiday enrichment programme, the reduction in teachers' bureaucracy and, finally, the need to strengthen staff retention across Welsh schools, we need that prioritisation. 

Thank you very much, Rhianon, for that welcome for the announcement today, which is very much appreciated. I'm very happy to give you the assurance that attendance is absolutely critical. Children aren't going to learn and thrive if they're not in school, and we know that we've got more work to do in that space. We're rolling out ambitious Curriculum for Wales reforms, and I've been very clear that we've got more work to do on our ALN reforms. There are the workload issues that you've just mentioned as well—we are doing lots of work on that. We have a strategic workforce group within the Welsh Government; we're developing a digital tool for headteachers to do workforce impact assessments. You raise an important point as well when you talk about retention, because one of the issues that the workforce were concerned about was that these proposals could impact on the retention of the workforce. So, I think it's why it is really important that as we take this work forward, we do so in partnership with the workforce and with our trade union partners. 

I just wanted to draw a focus on the impacts of what the change might have meant. I did post a video on my Facebook page asking people who live in Caerphilly what they thought, and it was very much mixed, which reflects the responses you got. One of the things that came through strongly from the people with whom I attend, with my daughter with ALN, the Sparrows group is that in the summer there are a lot more free activities available for them, and you can't keep a child with additional learning needs in the house continually over the summer holidays, or any holidays. We went to Morgan Jones Park on the weekend; there's a splash pad there, and there are lots of good-weather outdoor activities that tend to close up in the October half term. In the October half term, we tend to see soft play, trampolining—those things that you've got to pay for under a roof—and it is much more costly for families, particularly families who are in that position and also more likely to be on lower incomes. So, I welcome this pause, but I also would ask you to keep in mind what I've said, if you decide to proceed in future.

Thank you very much, Hefin. Indeed, those issues did come out through the consultation: concerns about things like heating your home in an extended October half term and the fact that it is harder to find free activities to do. But the other side of that was that there was also a recognition of the fatigue that kids and the workforce experience during that very long run into Christmas. The debate we're having today really highlights how mixed and contradictory these issues are, and how there is that work to be done to balance out those contradictions.

I listened carefully to the Cabinet Secretary's disappointing statement this afternoon. I noticed that she chose to begin and end her statement by referring to her commitment to the best interest of children. Of course, the quality of her commitment is not an issue this afternoon—that's evident week after week here in the Chamber. It's the quality of her decision making that we are scrutinising, not the quality of her commitment. And let's be clear that what we've heard this afternoon is the abandonment of a manifesto commitment made by the Labour Party at the last election. And the Minister shouldn't seek to shelter behind semantics in saying to me that this was a commitment to explore reform of the school day, because she knows perfectly well that her predecessors published a plan—not an exploration, but a plan—to implement that commitment, and that will now not be happening in this Senedd term. And what was that plan, Llywydd? It would have moved one week—one week—in five years from the school holidays in the summer to the autumn half term. Nobody I think could claim that the Government was rushing headlong down some radical path, but it was a start. It was a start on a journey that would have improved the outcomes for children in Wales. I regret the political damage. I regret the reputational damage that will be done to Wales, just as other parts of the United Kingdom were looking at Wales and pointing to us as an example of what a progressive Government could do. What I really regret is the damage that will be done to the life chances of the children who are at the heart of this policy.

Colleagues here will know of the difficulties experienced on the Ely estate here in Cardiff. I'll say to the Cabinet Secretary: the children that I am concerned about, their families will not be worrying, as was said in your statement, about the quality-of-life opportunities that come with an extended summer break. Those families will approach the summer holidays in a spirit of anxiety, sometimes amounting to fear. And the life chances of those children rely absolutely on what the school can do for them, and the fantastic schools that there are on the estate who do so much to invest in those children who have no chances—[Interruption.]—otherwise, and who work through them all, from September to July. And in July, those children have had—

Hefin David is seeking to heckle at this point. I'm allowing the Member to carry on with his contribution. Mark Drakeford.

Diolch, Llywydd. Those children, in July, have had the benefit of everything that that school can do. [Interruption.] And then those children go away—

Excuse me, don't question my decision to allow Mark Drakeford to—. You said, 'This is ridiculous', me allowing Mark Drakeford to continue. It's not. I've allowed you discretion time after time to continue on important issues for yourself, so remember that, Hefin David. I'm allowing Mark Drakeford to continue.

Diolch, Llywydd. When those children go away in July, in those six weeks, they will not see a book, they will have no opportunity to play in a way that allows them to appreciate what maths can do for them in their lives, and when they come back in September, the school starts all over again. The idea that there is no learning loss in the lives of those children is absolutely absurd. What this policy would have done is it would have begun to close the gap in the lives of those children. Here is a Government that could have done something to help them, but it has decided not to. What explanation does the Cabinet Secretary think I should offer those children who now find their interests in second place, against those of the reactionary forces that will always be attached to the status quo?

Can I thank Mark Drakeford for his comments? I do regret the tone of some of those comments, which I do feel call into question my own commitment to children and young people, which is the only reason I am standing in this job, and the reason I have done every job that I have done in this Chamber: to promote the rights and the well-being of children and young people. And with respect, Mark, I think I have set out very clearly my reasons for this decision today. It is about listening to a consultation. You cannot have a consultation and then just ignore that consultation. That would not be acceptable. But it’s also about recognising that we have to implement a series of major reforms and tackle some serious attainment issues in our schools. And do you know who suffers most from those attainment challenges? It's those very children that you are talking about. Getting those children out of poverty is what I am interested in doing, through implementing our reforms. To think that a week's change in the school year is going to make a difference to the systemic challenges we’re facing in education is, quite frankly, fiddling while Rome burns, and I’m really, really sorry that you have chosen to couch it in those terms.

The persistent absence rates for free-school-meal children at secondary school are 50-plus per cent. That is an astonishing figure, and it is that which we have to address. It is not about tweaking a week here or there. And this is not about reactionary forces. [Interruption.] Can you let me finish? Because I let you speak, didn’t I? I didn't say a word while you were speaking. This is not about reactionary forces. This is about me making a decision based on a 16,000-plus consultation and what I am hearing on the ground about a school system that is struggling and overwhelmed with reform, which is finding it challenging to raise attainment, and which is also struggling for funding. So, that is what I am prioritising, and I make no apologies for that decision. I have made that decision after many weeks of careful consideration, in what I consider to be the best interests of all children and young people, including the children on the Ely estate, who I care passionately about.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary. 

The next item is the statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice on reaffirming our values. Cabinet Secretary, Lesley Griffiths. 

Diolch, Llywydd. I am pleased to make this statement on my priorities for the culture and social justice portfolio. This is a diverse portfolio that reaches across many aspects of Government, and which has the potential to make profound and lasting change to the lives of people and communities across Wales. Culture, heritage, sport and social justice are interconnected pillars, and when leveraged effectively can help build a more inclusive, equitable and vibrant society. I want to harness the collective impact of these elements to address systemic inequalities, strengthen community cohesion and ensure Wales continues to be a nation of sanctuary.

One of my main priorities is to make progress on tackling poverty, in particular child poverty. More than 3,000 people helped to develop our child poverty strategy, and overwhelmingly the message from stakeholders is we do have the right objectives and priorities. Our focus now is on delivering them in a way that is person-centred, kind and compassionate, including ensuring people are financially and digitally included, and able to claim all the benefits they are entitled to.

There is a commitment to children's rights across my portfolio in tackling poverty, ensuring the right to play and the right to meet, addressing discrimination, protection from violence and abuse, and enabling them to participate freely in cultural life.

Another key priority will be to continue our focus on ensuring equality, inclusion and respect for human rights. Our recently published national equality objectives set out our long-term vision for the future. Disabled people are often excluded from employment and other opportunities, including arts, cultural and sporting activities. We will continue our work to advance equity for disabled people, taking account of people's lived experience. The important work of the disability rights taskforce is supporting the development of a plan that will capture our ambition and help us focus on making changes to measurably improve disabled people’s lives.

I am wholly committed to driving forward on the 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan' and making a reality of our vision of becoming an anti-racist nation by 2030. We have committed more than £5 million over 2022 to 2025 to support this work. I am proud our LBGTQ+ action plan has been recognised by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance as a good example, and a potential model for others. I will continue to lead the work to make Wales the most LGBTQ+-friendly nation in Europe.

In all areas of my portfolio, as across Welsh Government, the third sector and volunteers play a vital role in delivering services and supporting communities. Tomorrow I will be speaking at Gofod3, as we mark together Volunteers' Week.

Turning to criminal justice, we will continue our efforts to improve outcomes for people in the justice system. Although criminal justice is not yet devolved to Wales, these services regularly interface with devolved areas such as housing, healthcare and education. Through our women’s justice blueprint and youth justice blueprint, we are embedding a preventative, evidence-based approach to justice that addresses the underlying causes of offending and supports people towards fulfilling, crime-free lives. In 2024 to 2025, we will extend the women’s pathfinder approach to the whole of Wales to further strengthen our support for often vulnerable women, as well as maintaining our strong focus on tackling violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence through the VAWDASV blueprint. 

I will also have a clear focus on delivering a strong cultural, heritage and sports offer. The cultural well-being of Wales is indivisible from our society, our environment and our economy. I recognise the intrinsic value of culture and commit to the principle that every person in Wales has the right to access, create, participate in and to see themselves reflected in the cultural activity of our nation. Our ambition is for culture in Wales to be thriving, with a long-term strategic plan for investment. I recently published the consultation for our culture strategy, which provides a policy framework for our public and culture sectors in Wales, defining the strategic direction for the arts, museums, libraries, archives and the historic environment sectors.

The priorities set out in the strategy have been developed during a period of severe financial constraint. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the financial landscape, and I know many organisations are facing difficult financial challenges. The public sector in Wales has been impacted by cuts in funding over a number of years, and the culture sector feels fragile and vulnerable. I am aware of the impact the reduction in our indicative grant-in-aid allocation for 2024-25 will have on our culture, arts and sports arm's-length bodies. I have acted to mitigate the full scale of the budget pressures on them, but there is no budget flexibility that can prevent significant reductions to their budgets.

My priority is to ensure the allocations are targeted towards continuing to deliver our programme for government commitments. Collaboration with Government and within the sector is more important now than ever. I know how resilient the arts and cultural sectors are, and I have long admired their can-do attitude. I recognise the very real contribution heritage and the work of Cadw can make to my wider priorities of inclusion and equality—widening access for all to the outstanding historic sites and landscapes of Wales, and telling the wider stories of Wales.

I know there is nothing like a great football match in your hometown for bringing people together, which is why we must continue to work together to find innovative solutions to the challenges we all face across a range of sports. Through working together across Government and with our external partners, we have the opportunity to address and dismantle many of the harmful barriers and causes of inequality and poverty experienced by people in Wales. I am determined to do my part in making Wales a prosperous, equitable and safer place for all its citizens. Diolch. 

Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary, albeit a very non-committal one. I have to admit I found the statement rather interesting because you mentioned culture, yet we have the Welsh National Opera's future literally hanging in the balance, and I can't say I'm very reassured by any of the statement. There doesn't seem to be any clear plan ahead on anything that you've mentioned, particularly sport, as what seems to be an afterthought at the end of your statement, with no commitments on how to improve the current state of play in Wales.

You mention your LGBTQ+ action plan. To press ahead with this now, in light of the Cass review findings, would be irresponsible and could potentially put children and young people at risk. The Welsh Government's LGBTQ+ action plan needs to be reviewed in light of Dr Cass's findings. So, Cabinet Secretary, I ask once again: when can concerned Welsh citizens—and this Senedd—expect a review of the plan to be undertaken? These priorities are not the current priorities of the people of Wales.

However, I was pleased to hear you mention, albeit briefly, sport in today's statement, as something known to bring communities together, as you know, and to change lives. The Labour Government, in the last two decades, have completely let down the people of Wales in regards to sporting facilities. Sport just does not and has not ever received the investment it desperately needs, from community to national level, over the last 2.5 decades—embarrassingly so, when you compare it to the rest of the UK. This Government is meant to want to be a leader in sport participation at grass-roots level, and should be wanting to be a leader at elite level too. We will not achieve this, or even come close, on this current trajectory. It is clear to everyone, particularly in rural areas, that access to sporting facilities is increasingly difficult or non-existent, and yet it gets worse in winter time, due to the lack of all-weather sporting facilities, particularly, again, in rural areas, where they're found lacking. Cabinet Secretary, when sport is a leveller, it provides health benefits, it instils national pride, it improves well-being, when is it going to get the level of investment it so desperately deserves, due to the huge role it plays in the prevention of health ailments, as well as, of course, people's right to have access to sporting facilities, wherever they are in Wales, close by?

And finally, Cabinet Secretary, continuing again with sports, it is vitally important that women and girls are supported in order to grow women's sports, going forward. For reasons of both safety and fairness, the Welsh and UK Conservatives support strengthening the Equality Act 2010 to enshrine the rights of women and girls in sports in Wales through an emphasis on biological sex. Everyone should have the opportunity to play sports, but women should not be penalised by having male biological advantage—by having to accept biological males into their category. It is harming female sports and having a negative impact on the participation levels of both women and girls. I suppose, before Labour can start to claim they properly support women, they need to first learn, of course, how to define one. So, Cabinet Secretary, can you commit today to protecting biological women's sports, please? Thank you.

Thank you. Well, I did say at the start of my statement that I've got a very diverse portfolio, so it is very hard to kind of narrow it down to your priorities, but if I can encompass it in three from that statement—and I made this very clear to my Cabinet colleagues—tackling poverty has to be the top priority, and that obviously includes child poverty. But we know children are in poverty because their parents are in poverty, so I use the phrase 'tackling poverty', which obviously includes child poverty. For me, community cohesion or community safety is very important, because I think, for our constituents and for everybody in Wales, they need to feel safe in that community and in their home. And the third is a general bringing together. It wasn't an afterthought at all; it was bringing together arts, culture and sport, because I think the three of them—we have a tremendous amount to offer here in Wales.

I recognise that we don't have enough money to be able to support our arts, culture and sport sector in the way that we would all want to, but we have to be pragmatic and in Government you have to make tough decisions, and, unfortunately, our financial situation meant those tough decisions had to be made. But I do want to reassure everyone that I continue to work with the WNO. I've got a meeting tomorrow with Rhianon Passmore. I've met with WNO. I think, last time I was in the Chamber, I had already met with them to see what we could do, because I absolutely recognise that they're a jewel in our crown, and I think I mentioned, in our question session, that, from a global point of view, they're very widely recognised. So, you know, I can't offer reassurances about funding, but what I can offer is my commitment to continue to work with all parts of the arts sector, the culture sector and the sport sector.

I absolutely agree that sport brings people together, and, if I think about my own experience, my daughter, who comes to the football with me, she lives two hours from home, but, on a Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock, we get together, and that's the case—. I look around the Racecourse stadium, and I can see that right across the Racecourse stadium, so, for me, that is really important. From an elite point of view, I think we punch above our weight in Wales.

Going back to grass roots, we do need to see more all-weather pitches, for instance, because, as you say, it's not just in the winter, is it, that we have flooded pitches et cetera. I've met with the FAW to discuss the plan that they have, and we just need to work together to make sure that funding is there. We've also got other people who are very happy to help us in this way with grass-roots sports, and I and my officials have had meetings and we will continue to do that. 

Around the LGBTQ+ action plan that you mentioned, as you know, that plan was published in February 2023, so I don't think we need to have a review of it; we need to focus our efforts on implementation and on making substantial and positive impacts to the lives of LGBTQ+ people here in Wales. We will make sure we update progress against each activity and action point in the plan, and they will be monitored.

The point you make at the end, and I think you referred to the Equality Act—. There is no reference to biological sex in the Equality Act. I'm not quite sure what the UK Government—the Tories—are planning around attempts to amend the Act on that basis, but I think they need to tread very carefully.