Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

Welcome back to you all. We will begin this afternoon with questions to the First Minister, and first of all, question 1, Steve Bayliss. 

Diolch yn fawr iawn. The Welsh Government has sought comprehensive assurances from Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Local Health Board on safeguarding arrangements and health visiting capacity during the industrial action. The health board provided evidence of safeguarding oversight, risk assessment, multi-agency working and recovery planning. This evidence demonstrated appropriate governance and action to protect children and families. As recovery progresses, ongoing monitoring remains important to identify any emerging needs and ensure safeguarding continues to be prioritised.

Diolch, First Minister. I accept that the health board is the employer, but holding it to account on child safety is your responsibility. On 16 September, your Cabinet Minister for health told this Chamber that he had sought and received detailed assurances on safeguarding. Eight days later, the board's own nursing director proposed only qualified assurance on safeguarding, and limited assurance on capacity, warning that reduced contact diminishes opportunities to identify hidden harm. That is the child nobody yet knows is at risk. When the First Minister was first told about the safeguarding and capacity concerns, its quality committee's paper records 'ministerial requirements'. On 13 October, you spoke of full transparency. Then let families see the evidence. Within seven days, will you publish what Ministers required, what the board replied and the number of child health contacts missed or deferred—totals, not names? Diolch. 

This Government, of course, has been transparent throughout, and I should emphasise also that the review was commissioned because of the exceptional duration of the dispute, not because there was evidence of safeguarding failures. And where services experience prolonged disruption, it is of course entirely right that Ministers seek additional assurance and challenge, and that is precisely the action that we took as a Government. Our responsibility is to be satisfied that appropriate safeguards remain in place, that risks are being identified, and that those risks are being managed effectively, and that is exactly what the review was designed to do. I welcome the assurance provided by the health board, while recognising, of course, the need for continued vigilance. And this has all been done, as I say, in a transparent manner.

First Minister, on several occasions during this dispute, I and Plaid Cymru colleagues have met with health visitors and, indeed, with Unite. It's clear that the lack of regular family contact as a result of the strike has created, and continues to create, risks for children. We know that the number of safeguarding referrals across the constituencies of the health board has fallen. The longer this dispute continues, the greater that concern. 

I know that the Cabinet Minister has been challenging the health board to provide regular updates and robust evidence of the mitigation measures in place, recognising that the best way to ensure the safety of children and families is by finding a solution to this long-standing dispute that started way before this Government came into office. Given that, First Minister, what extra pressure is the Government exerting in order to ensure that this matter is resolved soon? Thank you. 

I, of course, share that concern about the impact that this long-running dispute is having on children and on families. And that's why, as I said earlier, we have asked for assurances in some detail from Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Local Health Board on the safeguarding arrangements that were in place. We continue to keep a very close eye on those arrangements, and we will, of course, hold the health board to account in order to ensure that children and families are protected. 

This Government has engaged actively in every way that we can with the health board and with representatives of trade unions in order to try and encourage early resolution of this dispute. We do want to see it resolved as soon as possible, and we will continue to do everything that we appropriately can in order to ensure that a resolution is found.

We are, Llywydd, currently considering the implications of the autumn budget announcements for Wales. The Welsh Government remains focused on prioritising permanent support for the small businesses that are the heart of our vibrant town centres and high streets. We have made significant early progress on delivery of that commitment, with the permanent 30 per cent reduction in business rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure premises from April next year.

So, you've probably guessed, First Minister, that I'm going to talk about the threshold, which has been increased to £18,000 for small retail, hospitality and leisure premises in England. In Wales, if we just remind the Chamber, it's £6,000, with tapered relief up to £12,000. Will your Government assess how many Welsh businesses would actually benefit if the threshold matched over in England and publish that estimated cost ahead of the Welsh budget? Diolch.

It's not so much looking at what's happening in England as deciding what best we can do and how far we can push the support that we give businesses here in Wales. We showed a real declaration of intent, I think, by taking that permanent measure from April next year with the 30 per cent relief. So, I think we have shown our determination to find every way we can of supporting businesses. We will look at all opportunities, moving forward, including any that might emerge as a result of a budget that still leaves Wales with less money to spend in real terms next year.

Last week's recess gave me the opportunity to speak to many businesses across Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, many welcoming the decision by this Plaid Cymru Government to cut business rates by 30 per cent for eligible high-street hospitality and leisure businesses. But the UK Government ignored Plaid Cymru's calls during the autumn budget to cut VAT for our high-street businesses, many of which are still struggling. Would the First Minister agree with me that this is a missed opportunity that could have made a real difference to our hospitality, hair and beauty businesses across Wales? Diolch.

I'm pleased to hear that businesses in the Member's constituency welcome our early action to rebalance the business rates system. This permanent reduction will apply to 20,000 or so retail, hospitality and leisure properties across Wales. It's a significant number. It will provide a total benefit worth over £30 million to eligible businesses from April next year. We are using the levers available for us to support businesses in the sector, using our devolved powers. VAT isn't one of those, of course. Whilst those calls on the UK Government to take action are on one side of the balance, we also look at what we can do within our powers now, and that, as I say, is what we will continue to do, moving forward, looking at every opportunity to make sure that we target those businesses that are most in need of our help. Helping those leisure, retail and hospitality businesses in Wales, we thought, was a very, very important step to take.

I think we can all agree that we want to see our high streets thriving and keenly await some of the decisive action from the Government in relation to the budget. But there also, I guess, really does now need to be a conversation about where we target that support and how we sustain strong and vibrant communities in all of our constituencies, which is why I welcome the fact that the UK Labour Government is raising taxes on gambling, increasing machine games duty from 20 per cent to 25 per cent for higher stakes machines. Following this Labour budget, vape and adult gaming centres in England will no longer be eligible for small business rates relief. The extra revenue that then this creates will help fund and support the kinds of businesses that support stronger communities and healthy high streets, which, again, we all want to see here in Wales. So, when it comes to supporting small businesses in Wales, will this Government, then, consider following the example of the UK Labour Government and ask that vape and gambling shops also pay their fair share?

Again, I make the case that it's not a matter of us following what happens in England, where the UK Government is able to take action using reserved powers. That is one thing. We must always look at the way in which we can use our powers in the most effective way. We have limited funding. The fact that public spending is going down next year in real terms as a result of the budget doesn't make things easier, but it's a matter then of targeting those specific areas that we believe can benefit most from the help that we can put in place. If we have a focus on the kinds of high streets that we want to build, and the way that the help that we put in there, including through the work of the taskforce, helps to create those vibrant high streets, I think that is the way that this new Plaid Cymru Government shows that we are serious about supporting towns and city centres the length and breadth of Wales.

First Minister, I recently visited the Wolfscastle Country Hotel and Spa, and restaurant, in my constituency, which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year. It's a fantastic hospitality business that is a significant employer, supports local suppliers and helps boost the local economy. During my visit, we had a frank discussion about the significant challenges facing the hospitality sector and the need for Governments at both ends of the M4 to do more to support the sector and safeguard its future. As we've just heard, whilst some announcements were made in relation to business rates, unfortunately the UK Government's autumn budget failed to deliver the support that many hospitality businesses in Wales had hoped for. In addition to your earlier answer, can you give us an indication what the Welsh Government will be offering in its own upcoming budget to specifically support hospitality businesses like the Wolfscatle hotel so that they can continue investing in the local economy and providing vital jobs in the local community?

Let me wish the Wolfscastle hotel a happy fiftieth birthday and hope it remains a thriving local business for many, many years to come. I agree with the Member that this is a budget that fails to deliver for Wales in a number of different ways. But, again, I make the case that we haven't waited for just the results of the UK budget; the announcement that was made by the finance Minister and I—she even pulled a pint for me while making that announcement—was a clear declaration that we wanted to act as quickly as we could. Having said that, we will always look for opportunities to see how we can use the powers that we have to identify those businesses that are most in need of support. We have identified this as a sector that is important to us in terms of the economy, in terms of the vibrancy of our high streets and our communities. We will always look for different ways, more ways, and push the boundaries of what we can do as a Government within the limitations that we all know arise from that budget, which did indeed let Wales down.

I now call on the party leaders to question the First Minister. First of all, the leader of Reform UK, Helen Jenner.

Diolch, Lywydd. First Minister, when you were in opposition, you said that Wales needed its own COVID inquiry and that the bereaved families deserved answers. Now you're in Government, you're offering them a review without the powers of public inquiry. Are you becoming Wales's answer to Keir Starmer, saying one thing in opposition and doing another in office?

This Government is doing exactly what we said. Just as we said we would introduce the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the UK, we're pressing ahead with it; prioritising the NHS, we're pushing ahead with it; supporting farmers, we're pushing ahead with that. On the COVID issue, we were very, very clear in the manifesto, and for some time before the manifesto, that what we wanted was a means to find the answers that we need to give people assurances that, when another pandemic happens—I hope it's not for a very, very long time, but when it happens—we have learnt the lessons from it. We have an ability now—and we will get more detail this afternoon from this Government—and we have now a mechanism that helps us, yes, to learn from what has happened, but, in doing so, looking forward to giving the people of Wales what they deserve, which is the answers about that future response to COVID. That, surely, is what we're looking for as a nation now.

Will witnesses be compelled to give evidence under oath—yes or no? The fact is the answer is 'no', First Minister, isn't it? I want to remind you of some of the commitments your party made to COVID bereaved families. You've stood in this Chamber and been on the airwaves to argue that Wales needs its own specific COVID inquiry. You criticised the then Labour Government for resisting scrutiny and said the families deserved answers. Your party repeated that commitment in your 2024 general election manifesto. In March this year, your Trefnydd privately reassured one of the bereaved families campaigners that there would be no rolling back on that commitment—no rolling back, First Minister. And on 20 March, just seven weeks before the Senedd election, your now health Minister confirmed to BBC Wales that witnesses would be compelled to give evidence under oath. His words, not mine, First Minister. Yet, on 22 October, you confirmed that the Government's review would have no statutory powers to compel witnesses. First Minister, these families were given repeated assurances by senior members of your party, including you. So, what has changed? Did you dupe bereaved families for votes?

Again, I'd make the case that we are delivering exactly what it said in our manifesto we would deliver, which is to provide answers in order to prepare us for the eventuality of another pandemic in future. I've been here for a few years longer than her, and most of those years—

You can't tell.

—were spent as health spokesman for my party. And the Member is right that we were the first, back in probably April or May 2020, to call for a COVID inquiry for Wales. There was no talk of a COVID inquiry at all. The reason we wanted that was not that we wanted a particular model of inquiry, but that we wanted answers to whatever it was that was emerging around us in those early days of COVID. We knew that this was of such a serious nature that we would want to make sure that we were prepared to face a pandemic in future, learning lessons. 

Now, standing here, I'm not interested in a witch hunt, I'm not interested in particular models, I'm interested in the answers. And in the election and for a long time before the election, it is this model that I totally believe—. She may disagree with me, but I am totally convinced, and have been for some time, that this is the best way to provide the answers that we owe the people of Wales and the victims and their families.

First Minister, these were your commitments, not mine, not Reform's, and I'm simply holding you to account by asking you why you haven't kept to them. And I'll say once again, the question is: will witnesses be compelled to give evidence under oath? And the answer is 'no'. And that's simply not good enough for these families.

First Minister, a leaked letter to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board staff has revealed that the health board has approved a formal consultation on proposals to cease its urgent primary care centre services across north Wales by 31 March next year. These centres were established to relieve pressure on GP surgeries and emergency departments. And you know as well as anyone in this Chamber what that pressure looks like, especially at hospital emergency departments. Penrhos Stanley hospital in Holyhead has already lost the St David's Hospice ward. The award-winning specialist leg ulcer and complex wound service has been reduced to just one member of staff, while the minor injuries unit has, on occasion, operated on reduced hours. Where does this end, First Minister? What next? Are we eventually going to see somewhere like Penrhos Stanley hospital close altogether? Betsi Cadwaladr remains in special measures, and I don't want to hear that these decisions are simply a matter for the health board. Your Government has responsibility for overseeing this health board, and your health Minister, sitting right there, has statutory powers of intervention. So, will you ask your health Minister to urgently examine the use of those powers to prevent these proposed cuts? Because the people of north Wales expect their Government to take responsibility, not stand by and wipe their hands while more local healthcare services are put at risk.

So, just as this Government did exactly as we promised we would on finding answers following the COVID pandemic, we are delivering exactly as we said we would on Betsi Cadwaladr—a troubled health board that all of us want to see desperately turning a corner. We are in the privileged position of being able to try to help it to turn that corner. It's why my health Minister pressed on in the early days of this new Government to find what those steps are that need to be taken. Measures were announced in June, commissioning an independent review of leadership, governance and culture at the health board, which is expected to be submitted to the Welsh Government imminently so that we can move forward. 

When it comes to operational decisions by health boards, we all know, of course, that those are decisions for the health board itself, and this has to be put, though, in the context of the sustainable GP services that we all want to see in place. There is an expectation by this Government that health boards engage openly and transparently with patients, with staff, with communities about proposals that they have, and my understanding is that no decision has been taken by the health board on this matter. But we also, of course, as a Welsh Government, expect very, very clearly that health boards, wherever they are, deliver sustainable, accessible GP services, and that is our expectation for Betsi Cadwaladr, as for the rest of Wales's health boards.

Leader of Welsh Labour, Ken Skates.

Diolch, Lywydd. First Minister, before May's elections, your party made a raft of promises. But, six months on, health visitors in Cwm Taf are still waiting for you to end a dispute that you'd promised to end within days; parents on low incomes are still waiting for payments that you promised within weeks of the election; council tax revaluation, one of the key issues on which you walked away from the co-operation agreement in the last Senedd, has been kicked into the long grass; and you promised never to repeat the injustice of Thatcherism, but you're looking at snatching free milk from schoolchildren. We thought that The Traitors season had come to an end, First Minister, but isn't it the case that people in the public gallery today and across Wales have found themselves with a Government that isn't being faithful to its promises?

All those, with respect, are nonsense, of course, because, on council tax, whereas the previous administration kicked it to one side and did nothing, we are determined that we need to find a more progressive solution to council tax as it is. On school milk, a consultation is happening because a contract came to an end, and milk continues to be delivered in schools as part of free breakfasts. We're looking at a Government here that made a set of promises, and I know it's a new concept, but it's a Government that's sticking to those promises in making sure that we are delivering the free childcare; that we are delivering those free school meals, with further announcements this week on expansion; that we are delivering help for families with the cost-of-living crisis. That is what people are seeing in this Government: a Government of action.

I apologise for laughing. This is no laughing matter, I'm afraid. People do feel let down by broken promises, and perhaps a review or a plan to review or a plan to establish a commission to review the broken promises of your Government is required.

Six months into your Government's term, families caring for children with complex and additional needs are finding that support is disappearing rather than getting better. Last week, funding ran out for Clwb Cwtsh, Wales's only provider of support for children with complex needs over the school holidays, and Sarah, a parent who relies on this service, has contacted me about the impact that it's having. Her son, Thomas, attends Ysgol Pen Coch in Flint. She wants to know why children with disabilities are being left behind by this Plaid Cymru Government. And, First Minister, it goes without saying that Welsh Labour will be seeking reinstatement of this vital support, obviously, through the process of budget negotiations and through correspondence. But that, surely, shouldn't be necessary. Will you, today, make a commitment, to Sarah and so many others, on what they are calling for, for this Government to reinstate the support immediately?

So, we remember, don't we, Labour going into the recent election with £9 million for additional learning needs. We didn't think that was enough. And I'm pleased that we now have come to an agreement where we're able to, hopefully, release some £60 million as a first step towards strengthening additional learning needs, which is something that the Member and I want to see happening. This is about using our position here, and working constructively with other parties, to make sure that we do deliver on additional learning needs.

We have now a position where an opposition Member here in the Senedd, after last week's budget, seems to be hanging out the bunting, celebrating great wins for Wales, despite the truth being that we are now receiving a real-terms decrease in the public spending that we have in order to spend on matters such as additional learning needs. When we have a Labour Party that, on paper, says it has £14 billion for rail, but the Labour leader here was again hanging out the bunting, celebrating £30 million, one five hundredth of what the Labour Party in Government say they will offer Wales.

Let's be realistic about the need for us to all work together, recognising the pressures that we are under and finding the ways that we can work together, such as on ALN, to make a difference to people's lives, and it comes from co-operation.

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar.

Diolch, Lywydd. I will say, it's a bit rich of the Labour leader complaining about broken promises when we've still got hundreds of thousands of people on waiting lists and lots of people waiting over two years in spite of your broken promises.

Now, if I can turn to the First Minister. First Minister, back in early 2025, I was contacted by Emily Vaughn. She was a victim and survivor of grooming gangs. She was trafficked around the UK and raped more than 1,000 times by hundreds of men. Your predecessor as First Minister declined every invitation I made to meet with Emily Vaughn. Instead, she said that Emily would be involved in the Welsh Government's own work on tackling this issue, but there's been a lack of progress. I raised concerns about this last year, and again in February. Emily contacted me again just a couple of weeks ago. She's still heard nothing now for months, in spite of these assurances. She's heard nothing about the work that Ministers are doing on modern slavery; she's heard nothing about the promised adult victim survivors advisory group. And yet this is in spite of the fact that, in September, the Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women's Health told this Chamber that survivors' voices would be heard and that their experiences would drive change. Well, I say this to you, First Minister: Emily has a voice, she wants to be heard, but she doesn't feel as though anyone in the Welsh Government is listening. Will you take the opportunity today to agree to meet with Emily and me in order to listen to what she has to say?

Listening is at the heart of everything that we do. I'm a firm believer that we as politicians are conveners of the ideas that we need to bring together to sort out the many issues that we have as a nation and to make the most of the opportunities that we have, and that absolutely includes learning from lived experiences. It's why I want bereaved families to take part and to contribute towards the review that we are putting in place, to learn lessons for the future following the COVID pandemic. And the same is true in this case. If Emily wants to speak with Government Ministers to share her lived experience, why would I not want to engage with that?

Well, thank you for that response, First Minister. I think it is important that she meets with you, as the leader of the Welsh Government, in order that we can assure her and other brave victims who have talked about their experiences that you will be determined, as we all need to be, to stamp out the abuse, the horrible abuse that's been experienced by people like Emily and many others, especially when they were children, at the hands of these evil and wicked perpetrators.

One of the things that you and I still have yet to agree on is the need for a Wales-wide inquiry. We clearly have a UK Government-initiated inquiry into grooming gangs. That has taken the decision now to undertake an investigation in Wales, and that is welcome. But in spite of that, we know that Wales is very different from England. It's a more rural nation; we have more fragmented local government; social services legislation is different; we have a rights-based approach to legislation around children; and community safety is devolved, while policing isn't. These are the same sorts of arguments that you used to posit when you called for a Wales-specific COVID-19 inquiry.

So, after meeting with Emily, which I hope can be scheduled very, very soon, will you agree to look again at the case for a Wales-specific inquiry into grooming gangs, so that we can be sure that we learn lessons and prevent more vulnerable children from being groomed and raped by gangs of paedophiles across our country, and so that we can hold public services to account for any failures?

I will repeat what I've said before, because there's nothing more important than making sure that people are safe, that people feel safe, that they trust authority to look after them, and goodness knows people have plenty of reason to mistrust authority. I have said previously that I will always be open to considering what are the best means to find answers on these issues. It could be on a whole raft of issues.

We've returned again to the COVID issue. I believe we're doing the right thing on that. I believe we're doing the right thing in engaging with the UK inquiry on grooming gangs, especially given the engagement that we had as a Government with that inquiry, wanting that inquiry to be as intensely involved in looking at what was happening in Wales as possible. And now that we have that assurance that work specifically is being done to learn the experience of Wales as a part of that inquiry, that gives me confidence that this is an inquiry that is very relevant to our situation in Wales and that will help us find answers. We'll wait and see what comes out of that, and if we feel that that is woefully inadequate and has failed to get to grips with some of the issues that we face here, let's look again. I am satisfied that the measures being taken now have, at their core, the interests of women, young people and vulnerable people in Wales who need answers about whether authority can be trusted to look after them.

We want to put community pharmacy at the heart of a stronger primary care service. We will be investing to enable pharmacies to provide more clinical care closer to home. We want to build on current arrangements, working in partnership with the community pharmacy network, to make sure that it is sustainable for the future and build on the clearly vital role pharmacies already play in communities across Wales.

Thank you, First Minister. It's quite nice to hear you talk about funding. I've been speaking to pharmacies across my constituency and wider, and they tell me that their colleagues across Wales share the same concerns about underfunding and rising costs. They tell me they are regularly dispensing medicines for less than they pay for them. How is that fair? And how can we expect them to keep absorbing these losses alongside rising staffing and running costs? Our pharmacies are pillars of our community. We rely on them, our GPs rely on them and so do our accident and emergency departments. They need our support and we cannot afford to lose them. So, I'm asking today: will your Government review how pharmacies are reimbursed for medicines and take action when they are constantly being paid less than the medicines cost them? Yes or no? Diolch.

Again, I can only emphasise how important it is that we have a sustainable community pharmacy network. We talk about primary care, and all too often we can think that we're only talking about GP surgeries. GP surgeries are very important, but we're talking about the whole raft of providers of primary care. I think positive steps have been taken in recent years around the expansion of the minor ailments scheme to emphasise the fact that a community pharmacy really is a first contact point for more and more people, but we have to make sure that the support is there for them. Our manifesto committed to putting the NHS on a new and sustainable footing, with greater emphasis on prevention, keeping people well and shifting focus and resources towards day-to-day health services. The role of community pharmacy in that clearly is vital. A strong, sustainable community pharmacy network is absolutely essential to our ambition to shift towards prevention and deliver more care closer to home. In our deliberations about how we make sure that we get money to the front line in the context of falling funds as a result of the UK Government, we will absolutely have a focus on how we can work as positively as we possibly can to make the most of our community pharmacy network.

First Minister, the Welsh Government has a vision to shift more emphasis onto primary care, which is so welcome and so long overdue. We've heard that community pharmacies are a central component of that and I'm sure there's no Member here who disagrees with that statement. I was going to ask you what work you're doing to invest in the community pharmacy network, but I'm going to ask you what we can do to stabilise the network so that the sector can continue to bring their expert care closer to the people. And if I could sneak—. And what further work can be done to improve public awareness of pharmacy services to strengthen their role in front-line services and help to ensure that sustainable future? Because it's what they do and they do it very well.

Public awareness is very important, and, just as we were mentioning earlier, making sure that more and more people know about what they can get out of visiting their community pharmacy first is very important. We can all play a part in that. In terms of sustainability, yes, I use that word a lot, but it's not just freezing what we have. We want to expand clinical services, don't we? And expanding those clinical services is key to the sustainability of community pharmacy in Wales. The more people know about the services that they can offer, the more that they are able to offer. They're at the business end of health within our communities. They are the ones who are there, able to nip problems in the bud, their doors open to the communities that they serve. Through the Help Us Help You campaign, for example, we provide pharmacies and health boards with national communications materials to promote services locally, to ensure more people understand what their pharmacy can do. Creating that momentum behind the growth of the sector is key to its sustainability in the long term.

We all depend on community pharmacies. There was a pharmacy in Morriston, run by Jhoots, which had a shortage of medicines and where the staff were not paid for several months. In January this year, Jhoots Pharmacy entered administration, with the administrators' statement outlining £19 million of debt. Fortunately, the pharmacy was taken over, and also fortunately, Morriston, where I live, has a large number of pharmacies. This is not true across Gŵyr Abertawe. Pharmacies need more support. I support better publicising of what pharmacies can provide, such as flu vaccines. Will the Welsh Government consider increasing the number of items pharmacies can prescribe? For example, rosacea cream needs a prescription. If we do let pharmacies prescribe more, it will reduce pressure on GP surgeries and help pharmacies.

I think we should always have a view to looking at how we can expand the services that are provided by community pharmacy. We have learnt, through the minor ailments scheme and people's engagement with it, that there's a lot more that a community pharmacy can offer than most people think. It would be a mistake by any government not to work very closely with community pharmacy to see what can be expanded, how that would work. Of course, we have now more direct prescribers within community pharmacy. That is the direction of travel that we want to continue on. 

First Minister, community pharmacies are often the first point of contact for people seeking healthcare, playing a vital role in keeping people well, supporting our NHS and taking pressure off already stretched GP practices and emergency departments. Not only that, they also deliver more than 84,000 NHS clinical service consultations each and every single month, yet the network has fallen from 716 pharmacies in 2019 to 683 today. That's 33 fewer local pharmacies at a time when prescription volumes, clinical activity, workforce costs and expectations are all increasing. The loss of a local pharmacy can have significant impact, particularly on older people, those with long-term health conditions and people who may struggle to travel further afield. As well as outlining what the Welsh Government is doing to support the sustainability of community pharmacy networks in Wales, will the First Minister also explain what steps are being taken to reverse the drop in the number of pharmacies here in Wales?

The answer to that last question is the sustainability of the sector as a whole, and making sure the contracts that are in place allow those businesses to be viable. We need them to be viable. When deciding on how contracts work between Government and pharmacies, that's at the core of it. The Member mentioned some statistics; here are some more: 0.5 million consultations have been delivered through the common ailments scheme. I think it was 200,000 independent prescribing consultations in community pharmacies last year. That is significant, as the Member says, in terms of the pressure that it takes off general practice. I also make the case—. We often have questions here, as we have had today, on the vibrancy of high streets. The pharmacy plays a key role in terms of footfall on our high streets. It's very important that we maintain and support pharmacies as a beating heart of town centres.

Co-operation takes many forms, of course. In recent weeks, for example, I proposed an economic partnership to make sure that the Welsh Government and the UK Government work better together in delivering prosperity to people in Wales. It's an issue I was able to discuss with the Prime Minister at the National Economic Council last week. That partnership, which must be based on respect, has to also sit alongside changes to our devolution settlement, so that we have the tools we need to improve delivery of Welsh public services.

Thank you for your response, First Minister, and I was pleased to see you at the National Economic Council in Glasgow as well. I'm sure you entered into those discussions with a genuinely open mind, because it's clear from the people of Wales, First Minister, that people want close collaboration within the United Kingdom, not just to drive growth, but because they understand the deep, long-held links we have, and because we want to see Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland work together for an ambitious future. This seems at odds, First Minister, with your separatist summit held with the leaders of Sinn Féin and the Scottish National Party here in Cardiff just a couple of months ago, where you spent time plotting to break up our United Kingdom—completely the opposite to promoting co-operation and building the stronger links that the people of Wales want to see. It is clear that Plaid Cymru’s plans to sever those crucial economic, cultural and human links that Wales has with the rest of the UK would be disastrous for Wales. So, First Minister, I'll ask you now: what plans do you have to listen to the people of Wales and strengthen Wales's future inside the United Kingdom?

He's still shuddering at the idea of three First Ministers meeting to talk about how we can work together in the interests of the people that we serve. Let me go back to his opening remarks. It might come as a surprise to him—I'm not sure why it should, given what I've said over the years—that I also believe in close collaboration between us as nations within these islands, and I also appreciate and think we should make the most of the deep, long-held links between us in these islands. The difference between he and I is that I don't believe the way that we work together in these islands works particularly well when all the cards are held by a UK Government that cares very, very little about the well-being of the people of Wales. I say let us have the powers in our own hands and use those powers to build those very close, collaborative links that make the most of the deep, long-held links between us in these islands. That's the difference between us: I don't think things as they are now work as well as they could for Wales.

We are within the United Kingdom now, which is why I engaged with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues in Glasgow last week in a positive spirit, and why I was pleased to leave with genuine gains for Wales, with a significant step forward on fiscal flexibility and on borrowing powers, so that we can use our tools as a Parliament and as a Government in the interest of the people of Wales. We now have an assurance that the Prime Minister personally will look at how he can invest more politically in understanding the injustice of rail underfunding for Wales. That's an important step forward. We have agreement that the proposal I put on the table for a partnership of growth will be looked at in detail now, between Welsh Government and UK Government officials, so that we can find that common ground to create prosperity in all parts of Wales, which is what I've always wanted, and what I'm reading that Andy Burnham wants too. This is positive. I believe in positive collaboration. Don't be scared.

Wales's interests are best served by making its own decisions, and the current constitutional setup is essentially unfair. But as long as the current arrangements continue, they need to genuinely empower Wales. Last week, as a result of a meeting with the Prime Minister, you came out of the meeting with more of an agreement from the UK Government on what is needed for Wales. However, would you agree with me that the assurance from the Prime Minister that allowing more financial flexibility for the Welsh Government is a matter of how and when should become a reality without delay? And does he further agree with me that if the Prime Minister is to be guided by what's best for Wales rather than what's best for some MPs in Westminster, that has to mean immediate and meaningful talks about devolving policing and justice?

I strongly agree. I'm grateful for that question, to be able to build on the comments that I made just a few moments ago. I agree that the constructive calls made by this Government have led to positive comments from the Prime Minister on fiscal flexibility for Wales, as I said. I had an opportunity, as I said, to set out a number of other areas with the Prime Minister—on the growth partnership and the railways—where there are real gains to be made, I think. But it's very clear that the argument on the devolution of justice and policing isn't moving at the pace that the Welsh Government would want to see. So we will, again, strengthen and reinforce how we take that argument to convince Ministers in Westminster that the case for the devolution of justice and policing is stronger than ever. All of the evidence points to that as a step that would benefit the people of Wales. Likewise, we are still waiting for the Treasury to move to allow the Welsh Government to proceed with the Cynnal child payment pilot, and we would encourage the Government not to hamper the Welsh Government's efforts to deal with child poverty. So there are great steps needed to be made by the UK Government.

Well, First Minister, you've certainly succeeded in one kind of cross-border co-operation, haven't you? People travelling from Wales to England to buy alcohol for a start—good news for English retailers, but not for Welsh businesses. 

Turning to a matter of a more serious nature, I know personally the pain of losing someone close from the scourge of cancer, and there are other people in this Chamber for whom the same has happened. So, what practical arrangements are you pursuing with NHS services elsewhere in the UK so that people in north Wales waiting for cancer treatment or specialist treatment can access available capacity when services here cannot meet their needs? And how will you show that those arrangements are reducing delays?

On alcohol pricing—Members might laugh—this is a serious health issue. The question of cross-border trade is one that was taken very seriously on a serious issue by the committee that looked at this and in the previous Government, when it introduced this legislation. These are serious issues, as is the question of cross-border health provision—people travel in both directions, of course, for healthcare across the border, as is normal. Making sure that those agreements are solid and in place to provide for patients in Wales when they go across the border is something that my health Minister works on with his team, to strengthen and to make sure those arrangements are as resilient as possible. And, of course, on cancer services in particular, we will become the first Welsh Government to have a long-term cancer plan, because we recognise that this is something that the people of Wales deserve.

On the First Minister's reference to what he's on the as record saying, can I give another quote by the First Minister? When he met the European Union's ambassador to the UK last year, he said that

'Brexit has caused deep damage to Wales’s economy, and unless the structural barriers to trade and investment are removed, the UK Government’s growth ambitions will remain unrealised.' 

Now, I entirely agree with him, and I hope that he will join me in welcoming today's news of an UK-EU draft deal removing post-Brexit checks on food and agricultural exports. The UK Labour Government is getting on with delivering for the Welsh economy; Welsh voters will be expecting the Welsh Government to do likewise. But the First Minister has devoted a significant amount of time since coming into office promoting Welsh independence. Now, do you accept, First Minister, that you are campaigning to introduce the very trade barriers, frictions and, indeed, borders that, in the case of Brexit, you have argued have caused such damage to the Welsh economy?

We're getting used to the Labour, Conservative and Reform alliance against Wales daring to have ambition.

Oh, come on. 

Let me respond to the question on Europe—

We want to see Wales succeed, First Minister. What are you doing?

Welsh Government has been working—

Can we listen to the response from the First Minister?

Welsh Government has been working constructively with the UK Government on the sanitary and phytosanitary issue. I was able to discuss with the UK Prime Minister last week the question of our relationship with the European Union. I am pleased that we have warmer words from a Labour Prime Minister. I encouraged him, though, to be braver. I encouraged him to go further and to talk about now getting back into the customs union and back into the single market. That is where we want to see an alliance being built of people who are genuinely pro a close relationship with the European Union. Plaid Cymru is clear that that is the relationship that we want to have. I invite the Member to join me in calling on the UK Prime Minister to act in the same way.

We are making good progress towards our programme for government commitment for a compassionate Welsh welfare system. As an initial priority, we are improving the administration of existing Welsh benefits, helping more people receive the support that they are entitled to. We will continue to press for additional welfare powers to deliver made-in-Wales support schemes that reflect our values and meet the needs of communities across Wales.

Diolch, Brif Weinidog. I recently met with the Bevan Foundation and discussed a Welsh benefits system and how it could help deliver real outcomes for some of the poorest households in Wales, without stigma or requiring people to provide duplicate information and navigate duplicate systems. The Bevan Foundation has also long called for a Welsh child payment, and I'm pleased that the Welsh Government is working to develop the Cynnal pilot. This represents not only an important part of a Welsh benefits system, but something that could be life-changing for so many low-income families.

We know the payment could interact with benefits and tax, but the UK Government could introduce a disregard so that families living in poverty in receipt of these payments would not be penalised. What assurances has the First Minister had from the UK Government that these barriers will be lifted so that the Welsh Government can proceed to roll out Cynnal and support can reach those that need it most?

This is a crucial issue. We're still awaiting confirmation from the UK Government on the treatment of Cynnal payments for tax and reserved benefits. We continue to press for the assurance needed to maximise support for families. Ministers and officials have consistently raised these issues with UK Government counterparts and stressed the importance of resolving how the payments are treated in relation to tax and benefits. I should report that there's still positivity around this. We hold the UK Government to account over it because we remain committed to delivering the Cynnal pilot as intended, to ensuring that eligible families receive the full benefit of the support available, as we make the case for the devolution of broader welfare powers. So, we'll continue to engage closely with UK Government on this and press for the decisions needed to remove those barriers to implementation.

The Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health keeps me and Government routinely updated on the implementation of the strategy. That includes how the work to develop the open access model for mental health services will support our children and young people.

Given that specialist psychological therapy waiting times in Wales remain at the highest levels since the pandemic, with thousands waiting more than 26 weeks, what concrete commitments, if any, emerge from those discussions with the Cabinet Secretary to reduce specialist child and adolescent mental health services and therapy waits for young people in the Betsi Cadwaladr and Powys health board areas that serve Gwynedd Maldwyn?

I'm not sure if it is one issue. Whether it's child and adolescent mental health or adult mental health, it will always be a range of measures that we need to make sure are robust. So, on children and young people, we can look at the broad range from school-based counselling to the open access support that I mentioned, and, of course, there's the CAMHS in-reach itself. The in-reach to schools teams focus on early intervention rather than waiting for problems to escalate. That's the key thing, and they do that by providing expert consultation, liaison advice and training. What we want to do as a Government is to make sure that that suite of measures that young people are able to access, depending on the nature of the issues that they face, are there for them where they want to access them, and that we genuinely have a no-wrong-door approach to the delivery of mental health services.

As the Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport said in Plenary here on 14 October, Sport Wales is right now working with governing bodies, local authorities and other partners to develop, for the first time, a national picture of sports facilities across Wales. This initial phase of the work will identify gaps in the evidence that we have on what provision is in place and then establish how that information can be maintained, creating a stronger evidence base to support, then, policy and future strategic capital investment.

Thank you, First Minister. Grass-roots sport is essential to the health and well-being of our communities, particularly in rural areas where alternative facilities can be many miles away. In Powys alone, the council estimates that £16.8 million is needed over the next decade simply to bring its leisure facilities into good repair. Meanwhile in Gwynedd, concerns have been raised about the equality of leisure facilities and the declining number of children receiving swimming lessons. Your Government recently announced £13 million in capital funding for sport across Wales. What assurances can you give that rural communities, such as those in Gwynedd Maldwyn, will receive a fair share of that investment, and that access to basic sporting facilities will not become another casualty of the pressures facing local government?

Government is determined to look at all the options that are before us. The Member mentions swimming lessons—of course, we have a programme that is rolling out swimming lessons to children throughout Wales. We've identified that as something that's important for health, for safety and so on. But the truth of the matter is we don't have a sense of the scale of the problem that we face. The Member references a number of estimates that have been brought forward by local authorities, and I've no reason to doubt those figures at all, but the totals that we're looking at in terms of the gaps in provision are going to be greater than that, aren't they? So, the answers that we need to be putting in place are long term. The truth is, though, that we need to understand the scale of the problem. There are examples of investments going on right now: Bro Dysynni in Tywyn, a new all-weather hockey and football pitch, supported by £360,000 of partnership investment between Welsh Government, Sport Wales and partners. Again, in that part of Wales, Byw'n Iach facilities across Gwynedd are seeing investment in improved leisure, fitness and wellbeing facilities, supporting that sort of broader agenda of local participation across all age groups.

But on rurality in particular, I'd include this in the work that we're doing on rural-proofing, so that when we make decisions as a Government on investment in improving our estate for sports and leisure, we remember, as the Member says, those specific requirements of rural areas, where rurality and distances make access to provision more challenging than it does in many urban areas.

The Welsh Government makes a significant investment, of course, in further education in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr and across Wales. We recognise the vitally important role of further education in supporting economic growth and skills development too, with some £466 million being provided for mainstream further education provision via Medr in this financial year.

Thank you for that answer, First Minister. Naturally, I'm really pleased that thanks to the UK Labour Government and pressure from Welsh Labour MSs, there will now be an additional £60 million to support ALN, including £2.5 million for the FE sector through that second supplementary budget.

Now, FE is really under pressure to support learners with ALN. My local college, Coleg y Cymoedd, has noted a 50 per cent increase in demand, and that's before we look at the participation pressures, which have now risen from an estimated 5,000 learners this year to 5,500 learners unfunded, the equivalent of an entire college of young people without funding.

Now, as the finance Minister confirmed, the extra money for ALN that Labour has secured will include an allocation of funding for long-term planning, which is vital. The college in Merthyr Tydfil has told me they're experiencing increased need in year, as learners are diagnosed. So, how will that resilience and flexibility that's really needed to address this be built into future funding?

Again, I'll take this opportunity to say that I'm pleased that we were able to deliver on this joint determination of ours to deal with the pressures on ALN, and as I have maintained, an element of it has been about agreeing on a quantum of money, but it's about how we can use that and how that's rolled out. So, it's not just that we've been able to talk about a sum of money, it's that we've been able to sit around the table and decide between us how we spend that money, and I think that's very positive co-operation between us, and I'm very pleased that within that is the £2.5 million that's specifically around ALN in further education.

Now, the Member knows full well, as a former tertiary education Minister, that we have seen increasing pressures on FE in recent years, and we inherited from her, from the last Government, a significant set of pressures. That's something now that we deal with, but that we look to building partnerships to make sure that we are as able as we can to build an FE sector that really is fit for the future. We have such great strengths within FE, and that represents opportunities for our young people. That is the key thing. Our job as a Government, and we're always looking for partners to work with on this, is to unlock those opportunities.

Thank you, First Minister.

We have a long day ahead of us, so we will move on to the business statement and announcement. I call on the Trefnydd, Heledd Fychan. 

Thank you, Llywydd. There's one change to this week's Senedd business. No topic was tabled for this week's short debate. Consequently, this has been removed from tomorrow's agenda. Draft business for the next three weeks is shown on the business statement, which, as usual, is available to Members electronically. 

November is Men's Health Awareness Month, commonly known as 'Movember'. In Wales, life expectancy for a man is 78. For a woman, it's 82—almost a four-year gap there. More men are dying by suicide, at a rate almost three times that of their female counterparts. Prostate cancer in Wales is going to increase by 2035. Men are facing a lot of health issues, and I'd be grateful if the Trefnydd could ask the health Minister to come forward in this men's health month with a strategy for men's health specifically, because far too many men now are dying young, and of diseases, without getting the care that they need. So, I'd be grateful, Trefnydd, if you could ask the Minister to come forward.

I thank the Member for raising this issue and requesting a statement. I will make the Minister aware of that. The Member has mentioned a number of statistics. Clearly, there are major inequalities across Wales. There is great variance in terms of age, and in terms of inequalities in different parts of Wales. So, I will certainly make him aware of the issues that you've raised today. 

May I request a statement from the Cabinet Minister for social justice? Stories about sexual assaults in universities are not unique to Wales, but what is clear in Wales is that people, at a time when they are most vulnerable, are expected to go through a complex complaints process. We need a process that is robust and independent enough to ensure that those policies are being effectively implemented, and to ensure that organisations are accountable for any failing to do so. At the moment, what we have in Wales is a regulatory framework through Medr that doesn't go far enough, and which has been criticised for being a self-evaluation process by the universities themselves. So, Trefnydd, can I request a statement by the Cabinet Minister for social justice on what assessment has been made of the need to change the regulatory framework in Wales in order to prevent similar failings from happening again?

I thank the Member for raising this issue. Evidently, I hope that all of us are unanimous in this Senedd that there is no room for sexual harassment, sexual violence or abuse anywhere in Wales, including in our universities. And students have to be able to study and take part in university life safely. That's the starting point for all of us.

The Welsh Government has strengthened the regulatory framework recently, and the requirements of Medr do deal specifically with the safety of staff and teachers, including freedom from harassment, violent misconduct, including sexual abuse, and hate crimes. Medr is working with Public Health Wales and the National Adviser for Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence in the Welsh Government to target the support package on VAWDASV to improve consistency across the higher education sector.

We also have to be clear that it's not just an issue of regulation through education. Preventing sexual violence requires a whole-Government response, and we're committed to doing that. It also needs a response from all of society, bringing the wider VAWDASV agenda together.

Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement on eating disorder in-patient services in Wales? It's more than three years since I updated the Chamber on the predecessor to the joint commissioning committee being asked to undertake a feasibility study on in-patient eating disorder services. Still there is no outcome from that work, and, meanwhile, patients with eating disorders are having to travel to England for their treatment, with all the consequences that entails. This is urgent. Can I ask for a statement on when we can expect an outcome from the JCC on this vital piece of work?

I thank the Member for raising that issue. I will ensure that the responsible Minister is aware of that request and does consider whether further steps are required. 

Trefnydd, I'd like to request a statement from the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care regarding dentistry, following reports that Hywel Dda University Health Board has a £5.1 million underspend in dental funding for 2026-27. Now, this news is, of course, deeply worrying for patients across west Wales as access to NHS dentistry remains one of the most significant healthcare challenges facing local communities. My constituents continue to report difficulties accessing an NHS dentist, and so it's difficult to understand how such a substantial amount of funding can remain unspent. This of course raises serious questions about workforce capacity planning and what impact this could have on efforts to improve access to NHS dental services in west Wales. Therefore, I'd be grateful if we could have a statement from the Welsh Government regarding dentistry so that we can openly question the Cabinet Minister about any discussions that have taken place with Hywel Dda University Health Board regarding this specific underspend, as well as what further steps are being taken to improve access for patients who continue to struggle to get an NHS dentist.

I thank the Member for raising this issue. Dentistry is a concern for many Members, I know. You will have heard the Cabinet Minister recognising those challenges, and outlining what the Government is doing. In terms of the specific issues that you raise, I would ask you to write to the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care specifically on Hywel Dda health board, and, also, there is an opportunity to ask questions to the Cabinet Minister next week in the Chamber.

I'd like two statements, please, Trefnydd. Now, there's something totally wrong with socialist Governments at both ends of the M4 utterly content to give away British taxpayers' money to everyone except the British. At a time when British people are really struggling and our infrastructure is crumbling, I ask myself why on earth is Labour spaffing away £40 million in the Caribbean on green projects and is this Plaid Government wasting £60 million on the nation of sanctuary policy whilst our own Welsh people are on their knees. It has to stop. Can the Government make a statement, setting out exactly how much it gets to spend on foreign aid, foreign people and foreign projects? Because I for one think this Chamber and everyone in it deserve a proper explanation of how, in these times of hardship, you can possibly justify that.

Secondly, I'd like to call for a statement from the Welsh Government recognising the bravery, the courage and the sacrifice of Welsh men and women who fought to suppress the slave trade—Welsh men like Robert Everett and Morgan John Rhys and our great Welsh, English, Scottish and Irish sailors that served together, united in the Royal Navy, under the British Empire, fighting to stop this evil trade. We should be proud of their courage, their sacrifice and their contribution. Will the Welsh Government affirm this in the statement, setting out how their actions will be remembered in our schools, in our museums and in our commemorations? Diolch.

Well, I'm pleased to see the Member taking this opportunity to speak in the Chamber, without actually introducing a short debate that could have covered one of these topics that she has asked for statements on today. It is one thing to ask for time, but when the Member has that time to table a short debate and doesn't do that, then I have to question why ask for statements in Government time when she can't even table her own short debate.

Could I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care about the decision by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to consult on closing urgent primary care centres in Holyhead, Bangor and Tremadog? I totally accept that this is the health board's consultation to own and that the Welsh Government has no say in the strategic and operational work of the health boards. However, I think it's important that I convey the scale of the concerns prompted by this news in Bangor Conwy Môn and across north Wales. I would appreciate a statement from the health Minister that sets out a clear view from the Welsh Government on the importance of urgent primary care centres as a means of providing key health services within our communities.

I thank the Member for raising this issue. You will also have heard the First Minister's response earlier today. But, certainly, we as a Government recognise the strength of feeling on access to healthcare across north Wales, and particularly on Anglesey. I do understand why the future of emergency care services locally is so important to patients and communities. Certainly, we would ask everyone to engage with the health board on this issue. It is important, of course, that health boards engage openly and transparently with patients, staff, communities and broader stakeholder groups in accordance with national guidance. You will be aware that the urgent primary care centre is continuing to operate as usual until any future decision is taken. The fact that you've raised this does show the strength of feeling locally on this issue, without doubt.

Prynhawn da, Drefnydd. I'd like to request two statements, if I may. One is on the provision of speech and language therapy in our youth justice services. Three years ago, the Senedd's Equality and Social Justice Committee recommended embedding speech and language therapists in every youth offending team in Wales, but at the time the Welsh Labour Government rejected this. So, I'd be pleased to hear how the Plaid Cymru Government will ensure that this funding is in place.

Secondly, I'd like to request a statement on British Gas resuming forced prepayment meter installations. British Gas made £56 billion in profit, and yet they are going into the houses now. This has now resumed. They are planning to go into houses to install, forcibly, prepayment meters. So, I'd like to hear how the Welsh Government is going to protect vulnerable families in Wales. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

I thank the Member for raising those two important issues. On that second point, a number of Members will remember what happened in 2023 when this issue was raised, and on a cross-party basis there was a strong response, from the Government at that time but also from all of the parties in this place. Certainly, the Minister will contact British Gas about this. We do recognise that this causes great concern and that it will cause more pressure on already-pressured households.

In terms of the first issue, as you mentioned in your question, the previous Government didn't accept the recommendation to embed a speech and language therapist in every youth justice team. We are looking anew as a Government at how young people and children who are involved with youth justice services can have more consistent access to the correct speech, language and communication support when those services are needed from them. The Wales youth justice advisory panel discussed these issues on 30 October, with the Deputy First Minister present. The panel was invited to make comments on the challenges noted and the proposed direction of travel, and also to help to steer the next stage of that work.

Trefnydd, I'd like to call for a statement on how the Welsh Government is ensuring that HMO licensing puts the concerns of local residents first and that access to housing prioritises local people. Byba Properties Ltd has submitted plans to Cardiff Council to convert 50 Hendre Road in Trowbridge into a five bedroom house in multiple occupation. This has caused significant concern among local residents, who have stated in their petition that, quote,

'Hendre Road is predominantly a residential street where many families have found a peaceful and supportive environment. The change into an HMO could disrupt our way of life, exacerbating existing problems and creating new challenges.'

Another quote from that petition:

'HMOs often lead to transient populations, which can undermine the sense of community and stability that we have worked so hard to build.'

I am proud to stand alongside Trowbridge's Reform Councillor Ed Topham in opposing this. I therefore call for a Welsh Government statement. Diolch.

There has already been a debate on this issue very recently here in the Senedd, and providing further time wouldn't be a good use of Government time at the moment.

Trefnydd, can I call for a statement from the Cabinet Minister for enterprise on the Global Centre of Rail Excellence, a company that is owned by the Welsh Government and therefore Welsh taxpayers? In 2021, £70 million-worth of public funding was invested into this project on the promise that hundreds of millions would be delivered by the private sector on top of the Government investment and that many jobs would follow. But what happened was that the Welsh Government simply bought a big hole in the ground, which is largely still a big hole in the ground. There doesn't appear to have been any progress on securing any investment, and the Welsh Government at the moment has simply kicked down the road a further decision on what to do about the project until next year. In the meantime, the chief executive's remuneration package has risen by more than 11 per cent in two years and now stands at more than £267,000 per year, with £39,000 per year in employer pension contributions alone. They are eye-watering sums. The taxpayer deserves to know whether they're getting value for money from this project. So, I would like a statement demonstrating who authorised those sorts of pay increases, when the promised private investment and jobs will materialise, and whether we can have some clarity from the Welsh Government on the timetable, because many people think that the taxpayer has been sold a pup on this issue and that we need to make sure that we safeguard our money in the future.

I thank the Member for raising this issue. I will ensure that the Minister responsible will be aware of what you've raised. You will have heard responses by the First Minister and the Minister giving that assurance in terms of value for money and the questions that we're asking as a Government. So, I do hope that you have heard that assurance. I do restate that assurance and, as I said, I will make the Minister aware.

I would like to request a statement from the Welsh Government on their policy towards face coverings and religious dress in Government buildings. Llywydd, I've just come back from my ninth visit to Turkey, which is a Muslim country, and one type of face covering, the burqa, is banned in their public buildings. Here is a list of all the other countries that have also banned the burqa in public buildings: the Netherlands, France, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Belgium, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Chad and the Congo. So, I would like a statement from the Welsh Government on whether they will ban face coverings, including the burqa, in Government offices, schools and hospitals, and whether any guidance to local councils will require them to do so. Diolch, Lywydd.

A statement was given by the Deputy First Minister last week, and let me give another statement: all cultures are equal in this Senedd.

Business Minister, can I please request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health about support for people living with ME across Wales? Recent research suggests that around 18,500 people in Wales have ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, but Action for ME estimates that it's nearly as many as 62,000. Around one in four people with ME experience severe symptoms, with some left homebound and bedbound as well. I recently met with Action for ME, who shared concerning findings from their latest big survey, which revealed 81 per cent of respondents in Wales said they do not feel supported by the NHS, while 82 per cent reported receiving no ongoing support or follow-up care for their ME. Despite these challenges, Wales has no ME delivery plan or named national clinical lead responsible for improving services. Action for ME has called for both measures to help improve consistency of care alongside greater investment in research. Will the Cabinet Secretary, therefore, make a statement outlining what action has been taken following the Welsh Government's recent engagement with ME charities, what steps are being taken to address the gaps in NHS care identified by Action for ME's survey, and whether the Government will commit to introducing a Wales-specific delivery plan and appointing a named clinical lead for ME?

Well, I thank the Member for raising that issue. The Cabinet Minister is here and will have heard the comments that you made. As you mentioned, he recently met with those groups and plans will now be developed.

Trefnydd, can I have a statement from the health Minister outlining how the watered down COVID review will deliver justice for COVID bereaved families? I'd like to read a quote:

'The Government has chosen not to subject its pandemic record to full, Wales-specific scrutiny, unlike the approach taken in Scotland. If we are given the opportunity to lead the next Welsh Government, we'll take a different path.'

Now, those aren't my words, they are the words of your health Minister. Just weeks before the election, your health Minister assured bereaved families that the review would have statutory powers. Those families believed in Plaid Cymru. They believed in you. Trefnydd, bereaved families are watching today—some are here in the gallery, some are watching from home—and after years of fighting for answers, they deserve more than another political explanation. They deserve to know why the commitment has changed. They deserve to know why the statutory inquiry that they painstakingly handcrafted with Plaid Cymru has been abandoned. Now, you yourself said we need a statutory inquiry just like they have in Scotland, in this very Chamber, 11 months ago. It's clear that this can only be called a shameful betrayal from Plaid Cymru of these families, and they deserve answers. Diolch.

Well, I'm content to provide a copy of the agenda to the Member if he's not aware that there is a statement to be made on COVID this afternoon. But I will make this point: some of us in this Chamber have worked with COVID bereaved families for many years, have got to know them very well, and have got to know the heartbreaking stories in their families. And there are some people here now who are playing political games rather than trying to find the solutions to the genuine questions, and also looking to the future. You can use my words from the past today—of course, you can do that, as can the COVID bereaved families. But my conscience is clear, as there's a commitment from the Welsh Government to learn those lessons and to ensure justice for those families. So, unambiguously, I can give that commitment. But if you want to use my words, I have the opportunity to use my words back, and I have worked with those families for many years, as have many in this Chamber, and it does mean a great deal to us, as it does to many people around Wales, to get those answers and solutions.

Finally, Trefnydd, James Evans.

Diolch, Lywydd. I'd like to have two statements, please, Trefnydd, with one from the Minister for education around the protection for small rural schools. In my constituency, Gladestry Church in Wales School is under threat of closure from the local Liberal Democrat-controlled Powys County Council. So, I'd like to know what further protections the Government can offer for small schools that are under threat of closure.

I'd also like a statement from the First Minister, who is sat beside you, on the wildfire summit, because a number of my constituents and bodies have contacted me concerned that the round-table was actually full of the usual suspects and not many people who were actually out there battling the fires, including our farmers. There was only one farmer in that summit who was actually battling fires. So, I'd like to have—[Interruption.] Well, you can chunter away; perhaps you'll give us a statement, First Minister, because I'd like to have that statement from the First Minister to update us on the wildfire summit and what actions are going to come out from it.

Thank you. The First Minister heard your request there. However, in response to what you said, there were agricultural unions there, there were affected farmers, there were more than 40 representatives of the public and private sectors, volunteers and other stakeholders, who all came together for that summit. Clearly, on behalf of constituents, you can always write to the First Minister or any other Minister on any issues that you wish to raise with Ministers on behalf of constituents.

Thank you very much, Trefnydd.

We'll move now to item 3, a statement by the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and Constitution on the Wales COVID-19 review. I call on the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution, Dafydd Trystan Davies. 

Today, therefore, I announce that an independent panel, a review-and-assurance panel for COVID-19 Wales, will be established. Its main aim will be to assess whether Wales's capability to respond to a pandemic or a national emergency in the future is strengthened. It will assess whether lessons have been learnt and have led to practical improvements, and whether those improvements have taken root and are delivering the impacts needed, and whether we need to do more. Having read the most recent module 6 report from the UK COVID-19 inquiry, it is clear to me that much work remains to be done in order to ensure that the lessons for Wales are properly and thoroughly learnt.

The panel will be expert led and independent of the Welsh Government. It will focus on health and adult social care, services that are substantially within devolved responsibility. They were a central part of Wales's response to the pandemic and were frequently raised as matters of deep concern to bereaved families and others significantly affected. We must—we must—be able to demonstrate, not simply assert, that the lessons have been understood, acted upon and sustained across the system. And we must be able to do this in a focused and timely manner.

I'm pleased to announce, therefore, that Professor Daniel Wincott, professor of law at Cardiff University School of Law and Politics, has agreed to serve as the panel's independent chair. He brings extensive expertise in public law, Welsh devolution, constitutional governance, public administration and the operation of government. The panel will also consist of experts in healthcare systems, social care and public health, giving the panel the breadth of knowledge needed to test evidence, to challenge assumptions and also to challenge the Welsh Government. I will soon confirm the membership, and I expect the panel to meet for the first time early in the new year.

The review will complement, not duplicate, the UK COVID-19 public inquiry. It will make best use of the substantial evidence already collected, including inquiry findings, published reviews and other relevant work. Where evidence is insufficient or where gaps remain, it will be able to examine issues in greater depth and identify what more needs to be done. The UK COVID-19 inquiry has made significant further progress in recent months, with substantial evidence having already been considered, and that emphasises the need for the Welsh review to complement the work of the UK statutory inquiry rather than to duplicate it.

Lived experience will be an important part of the work of the review in Wales. Alone, published and documentary evidence cannot show how changes are impacting communities, families and individuals. I will therefore ask the panel to consider how best to ensure that citizens' voices inform its work and help it to judge whether improvements are making a practical difference.

The panel will report publicly. Evidence-led and outcome-focused assessment will identify progress and remaining vulnerabilities and provide assurance about the readiness and resilience of health and social care services here in Wales. When the panel finds good practice, we will want to share it. Where it finds weaknesses, uncertainty or incomplete implementation, we will consider its conclusions carefully and act to ensure that they are addressed, and do so transparently.

We must also ensure that the work of Government to learn from COVID-19 is strengthened, and that the lessons from the pandemic lead to practical improvements in terms of preparedness and resilience arrangements as swiftly as possible. In recent months, as a Government, we've provided substantive responses to both modules 3 and 4, with policy teams and relevant organisations implementing actions and beginning to implement those actions. We've adopted the national infection prevention and control manual developed by NHS Scotland. Public Health Wales is continuing to work with UK partners to ensure that guidance that future assessments of transmission risk consider the wider context, including how easily infection spreads, the environment, ventilation, the type of care setting and the care being provided. We've also concluded our year-long participation in Exercise Pegasus, the largest pandemic preparedness exercise ever undertaken in the UK, bringing partners together from across Government, NHS Wales, Public Health Wales, local resilience forums, the third sector and wider UK organisations. And the Welsh Government's report on the findings from this exercise will be published shortly.

I'm confident, therefore, that the review that we are announcing today will reinforce the substantial range of activity that is taking place to futureproof our services and emergency response protocols. But Ministers remain accountable for progress in their portfolios, with collective responsibility across Cabinet and Government for ensuring that lessons lead to lasting change. I will bring together ministerial colleagues regularly to assess progress in implementing lessons and consider where further action is needed. This will maintain sustained attention and scrutiny across Government, ensuring that momentum is maintained and lessons continue to inform our work.

Let me reiterate my earlier point: there is much work to be done to ensure that the lessons are properly learnt. Dirprwy Lywydd, learning lessons doesn't diminish the dedication shown by staff, volunteers, carers and communities across Wales; it honours their contribution by ensuring that public services can respond to future crises with confidence and clarity.

Our commitment to action is also grounded in remembrance of those whose lives were lost and changed by the pandemic. We must remember those who lost their lives to COVID-19 and the deep impact this has had on their families, friends and communities. I have asked officials to consider how this Government can suitably mark the commemoration of the pandemic here in Wales. There is significant grief in our communities that is still keenly felt. We owe it to those communities to properly mark that grief and those bereavements.

Our responsibility is to turn remembrance into resolve and lessons into lasting change. This review will help to test our progress honestly and transparently. We will act where needed and strengthen public confidence in our preparedness by so doing. Learning lessons from the pandemic that affected so many lives here in Wales is at the core of the steps I am announcing today, and that is how we will honour all of those affected and build a safer, more resilient Wales for the future. Diolch yn fawr.

I'd like to thank the Cabinet Minister for his statement and acknowledge the fact that the Welsh Government is finally taking steps to establish a Wales-specific COVID review. But, having listened to what we've just heard, I have to say, I am concerned that this isn't going to deliver what the bereaved families have actually been asking for. Because there's a big difference between looking at whether we're better prepared for the next pandemic and properly investigating what went wrong during the last one, and that's the distinction I want to focus on today.

Dirprwy Lywydd, more than 13,000 people in Wales lost their lives to COVID. Behind every one of those deaths is a family, families who have waited years for answers about what happened to their loved ones. Last week, Members received the voices of the Welsh COVID bereaved, and some of those accounts were absolutely heartbreaking. One daughter described watching her mother die through a care home window because she wasn't allowed inside. Another account described a care home losing 26 of its 52 residents after untested hospital patients were transferred in. And one family lost their father after he caught COVID in hospital, only to receive a letter inviting him for his vaccination the following week. These are the people this process must deliver answers for.

Cabinet Minister, you've announced an independent review panel, and I acknowledge the appointment of an independent chair, but your statement makes it very clear that the panel's main purpose is to assess whether Wales is better prepared for a future pandemic. That's important, of course it is, but what about accountability for the decisions made during the last pandemic, because there are still some very serious questions that need to be answered? Why did the Welsh Government wait until 23 October 2020 to introduce the firebreak, despite receiving advice weeks earlier? Why were more than 1,000 patients reportedly discharged into Welsh care homes without being tested? Why were there delays in vaccinating some of our most vulnerable care home residents? And why did the Welsh Government have personal protective equipment stockpiles containing equipment that had expired years earlier? These weren't just administrative decisions. They potentially affect people's lives, and the families deserve to know why those decisions were made and who was responsible.

So, here's my first concern. Nowhere in your statement do you confirm that this panel will have legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence or require documents to be handed over. And that matters, because if a former Minister or senior official refuses to co-operate, what can this panel actually do about it? Can it compel them to attend? Can it demand the evidence, or will it simply have to accept whatever information people choose to provide? Because surely we cannot have a process where the people responsible for making decisions can decide for themselves whether they want to answer questions about them or not.

And there's another issue. You say the panel will consider how best to involve bereaved families. I'd like to thank the Cabinet Minister for his—. Sorry, let me start again. You say the panel will consider how best to involve bereaved families, but why is that still something to be considered? That's the point I'm making. Surely those families should be guaranteed a meaningful role from the very beginning. They've waited long enough, and they've already made it clear what they want. They want a process that can establish the truth and hold decision makers accountable. I understand the Government doesn't want to duplicate the UK COVID inquiry, and I agree that we shouldn't waste tax moneys unnecessarily, but the families themselves have suggested a focused Wales inquiry, using evidence already gathered by the UK inquiry while retaining the powers needed to obtain further evidence where necessary. So, why has that option not been taken forward? And what evidence does the Government have that the panel announced today will deliver the same level of scrutiny?

Dirprwy Lywydd, I also notice that the Minister hasn't given us a budget or a reporting deadline. We're told that the panel will meet for the first time in the new year, but how long will it take? How much will it cost? And when will the families finally get some answers?

So, I want to finish with four straightforward questions. First, will this panel have the legal powers to compel witnesses and to obtain documents, and if not, why not? Secondly, will bereaved families be guaranteed a meaningful role in this work? Thirdly, what is the budget, and when will the panel report? And fourthly, will it investigate the decisions made by Welsh Ministers during the pandemic, or will it only examine whether we're better prepared for the next one?

Thank you.

Because that's the real issue here. Nobody disputes the importance— 

Can you conclude, please?

—of learning lessons and preparing for future emergencies, but we cannot simply move on to the next pandemic without properly examining what happened during the last one. The families deserve more than assurances that lessons have been learned. They deserve to know what went wrong, why it went wrong, and who was responsible.

Sorry, Iain. Conclude, please.

And until those questions are properly answered, I don't believe this Government can honestly claim to have delivered what families were promised. Diolch.

I thank the opposition spokesperson for those questions. Let me begin in reverse order. In order to properly learn lessons, you have to be clear what went wrong, and that is clearly part of the process of learning lessons. I was struck by module 6, which you may have seen, recently published by the UK COVID inquiry, which looks in some depth at some of the issues in Wales around social care particularly. Some of the personal accounts that you've referenced there were very clear in that—I mean, in the failures identified by that module 6 report. So, I am clear that the review will need to learn lessons, and in order to learn lessons, will need to be able to identify what went wrong as part of learning lessons.

The budget is within the public inquiries line of the Welsh Government, and that is subject to the ongoing process. We've allocated that there will be money within that budget line, which is some millions—that is the budget line for the public inquiries unit of the Welsh Government. It is £1.5 million in terms of the initial budget that we've been looking at there for the year ahead.

Are we talking about the bereaved families being part of the review? I very much hope that they will play a full part in that review, and I will do anything I can to ensure that they can play that full part, and encourage the chair and the panel to involve them as far as is possible.

You have identified the issues. It is a non-statutory review. We've been clear about that. I would expect every Welsh Government Minister who’s served in this place to support this review in completing its work and in learning lessons for the future. I think that is a reasonable expectation that I should place on Welsh Government Ministers and on the public sector in Wales.

My thoughts and the thoughts of all of my Welsh Labour colleagues are today with those who lost loved ones during the pandemic and those who continue to live with its consequences and, of course, with all those who worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe during what was the biggest public health challenge this country has faced in living memory. It is vital that we continue to learn lessons from that time and to ensure that Wales is as prepared as possible for any future pandemic. That must remain our shared objective.

The UK COVID inquiry has received thousands of pages of evidence from the Welsh Government and has heard extensive oral evidence from former Ministers and from civil servants, and importantly, that work is ongoing. It has not yet fully reported. I think it is important that the purpose, scope and intended outcomes of the Government's review are clearly understood. In particular, the Minister needs to be clear about how this work will complement the UK COVID inquiry and what additional lessons it's intended to identify for Wales. That clarity will be important for everyone affected by the pandemic, including bereaved families who understandably want answers and reassurance that lessons are being learned.

So, can the Minister set out how the review will complement rather than duplicate the work that's already been undertaken by the UK inquiry, and how it will relate to the recommendations that are yet to be published? And given the concerns already raised by some bereaved families, can you tell us what steps the Government will take to ensure that those affected feel their voices are properly heard? It's difficult to see at this stage how this matches the expectations of bereaved families who feel let down, to say the least, by this Government.

Today's statement fails to identify the terrible harm that COVID-19 inflicted on young people and on their well-being, on education, on employment, businesses and the economy as a whole. Why? Infection control was a key concern in these areas as well as, of course, in health and care settings. How can you guarantee the independence of the review panel where political appointments are being made? And, as I've already said, infection control was the biggest issue influencing what happened during the pandemic, so do you agree with this, and who do you believe has the adequate expertise in this field to be part of the review?

With regard to Exercise Pegasus, in which I and a number of my colleagues participated, I'm afraid it did not reflect the recommendations of all modules of the UK inquiry. And turning to those previous modules, does this Government have a different position or a different view on any of the recommendations from previous modules?

Will the review meet publicly? Will all documents submitted to the review be available to the public? And how much will this review cost over the course of not just the single financial year that it will take place over, but in total? You mentioned a figure of £1.5 million. What will be the total amount that the review will cost, and how does that compare to the cost of a Wales-specific COVID inquiry?

Finally, I think the most important question to ask in any form of inquiry is not necessarily when, what or where, but why. Minister, why were Plaid Cymru promising a Wales-specific COVID inquiry before the election, only to drop it after getting into power? If you argue that a review is the same as an inquiry, can you therefore explain why you allowed the public to believe you meant that they'd have a public inquiry, if it was only ever your intention to set up a review? Diolch.

Diolch to the spokesperson for a wide range of questions. I'll begin by stating very clearly that the Plaid Cymru manifesto set out—and I've read it numerous times recently—that

'we will establish a review of Wales’s Covid response, its legacies and lessons for the future within the first year of the next Senedd term, with a targeted focus'.

That's the 2026 manifesto for this election. That is the manifesto upon which we stood and upon which we were elected to this Senedd. I would hope that the inquiry is as public and transparent as possible. The spokesperson will be aware that there are some issues of confidentiality around medical issues that would need to be dealt with, but I would expect the inquiry to be as public and transparent as possible. I would expect us as a Government—and we will—to set out all of our responses to the UK COVID-19 inquiry and our responses to those recommendations.

There is a programme of work, as the spokesperson will be aware, in the UK COVID inquiry, and what my officials have been working on is a prospective programme of work for our review, which would complement that and would build upon the work and the evidence gathering that is being undertaken by the UK COVID inquiry. I, like the opposition spokesperson, pay tribute to the bereaved families, acknowledge their grief, and very much hope that their experiences will form a central part of the considerations of the review, as I have set out.

Can I thank the Cabinet Minister for this afternoon's statement and also for taking the time out to speak with me before the contribution today?

Where do we begin? What on earth has happened here today, Cabinet Minister? Because for years, Plaid Cymru, like the Welsh Conservatives, supported calls for a Wales-specific COVID inquiry. Both of our parties lobbied the previous Labour Government to launch the probe relentlessly throughout the last Senedd term. It is probably one of the very few things on this planet that we actually agreed on together.

Given how vocal Plaid Cymru has been on this important topic, I think most people thought that this was going to be a done deal and that we would get just that when your party came into power in May this year. Well, how wrong could we be? Because this review is nowhere near enough. It is certainly nowhere near what we and, more importantly, the people who lost loved ones during the pandemic were promised. How have we gone from being promised a full-blown independent Wales-specific COVID inquiry to a mere review, Cabinet Minister? Because just under a year ago, the now First Minister said, and I quote:

'despite failings during the COVID response, the Labour Welsh Government still refused to establish a Welsh COVID inquiry so we can truly learn lessons. Plaid Cymru will right this wrong.'

On another occasion, Plaid Cymru's leader told the Welsh Parliament, and again I quote for everyone:

'Surely Welsh government can see now what I and the Covid-bereaved campaigners have long called for, which is that we need that full Welsh Covid inquiry, if we're to have any chance of getting at the real truth and learning lessons.'

Mabon ap Gwynfor, now our health Minister, said last summer, and again I quote:

'From the very outset, we on these benches were firm in our belief that the scale of the pandemic, as well as the influence of Welsh Government decisions in dealing with its impact, deserved a full Wales-specific public inquiry'.

'That's why a Plaid Cymru Government would establish a COVID inquiry for Wales within the first year of the next Senedd term'.

These were clearly nothing more than hollow words and empty promises, weren't they, Cabinet Minister? Did Plaid Cymru ever have any genuine intention of delivering on its pledge to hold an inquiry, or were you just making the right noises in the run-up to the election? Because, quite frankly, for me, this is an unbelievable u-turn.

What I find a particularly bitter pill to swallow is the fact that Plaid Cymru politicians have totally disrespected and strung along bereaved families. You have genuinely sold them down the river. It is no wonder the COVID bereaved families group—who, I must say, have been truly remarkable in every way in their campaigning—feel like they have had the rug pulled from underneath them. By not holding a statutory inquiry, I fear important questions will remain unanswered, Cabinet Minister.

Last term, as I'm sure many of you will recall, the Senedd established a COVID committee. Conservative Member Tom Giffard was, in fact, a Co-chair of this committee, and Members from all different parties were sitting on this committee too. It was a great start, but, unfortunately, its powers were limited. That's why a review simply cannot achieve what an inquiry can. Can't you see that, Cabinet Minister? With an inquiry, you can compel witnesses to give evidence. You simply can't do that with a review. Do you honestly think, Cabinet Minister, that the likes of Vaughan Gething, Mark Drakeford and other key players are going to voluntarily take part in such a thing? We all know that a review cannot guarantee the proper transparency an inquiry can.

Does the Cabinet Minister accept that a review is destined to fail from the start, or is that part of Plaid Cymru's plans? Because, Cabinet Minister, the UK inquiry will not, I fear, put the Welsh Government's actions and decisions under a microscope in the same way a Welsh inquiry would. Wales runs the risk of becoming a footnote in the UK inquiry's final findings, and we cannot allow that to happen. The Plaid Cymru Government—in fact, the Plaid Cymru party as a whole—used to share the same train of thought until recently. Cabinet Minister, there's nothing wrong in admitting that you've made a mistake. It is to be expected with a new Government still finding the ropes, although I'm still not quite sure how Plaid Cymru can make a blunder as big as this one. So, will you and your colleagues drop this review and instead bring forward an independent Wales-specific COVID inquiry, which Plaid Cymru originally promised? Thank you.

Thank you to the spokesperson for those questions. We have been clear that the COVID review as set up by this Government will ensure that we learn those lessons. I would expect this Senedd and the people of Wales to hold us to account for learning those lessons. The measure of the success of this Government in this area will be how we learn those lessons. We have set out, you've set out, our colleagues have set out eloquently why those lessons desperately need to be learnt. They need to be learnt in a timely fashion, they need to be learnt in an effective fashion and that is why we are setting up the review today.

You've made comments that the UK COVID inquiry would give no attention whatsoever to Wales—[Interruption.] A footnote, even. Thank you. I would gently suggest to the Member that it would be good to read the module 6 report, for example, which has recently been published, where there are over 100 comments regarding the performance of the Welsh Government and Wales in relation to social care. I'm afraid to say it is grim reading, it is damning reading, but it is clear in its view on the actions of the then Welsh Government. That, amongst many other things, persuades me that we need to learn those lessons promptly, effectively and efficiently, which is why we have settled on a review.

While there is so much to be welcomed and much that I would agree with in the Minister's statement today, I do remain confused and disappointed by the Government's stated position this afternoon. After calling for a statutory Welsh inquiry for many years, like so many others, whilst in opposition, Plaid Cymru have now downgraded to a non-statutory review. Like others, I have met with representatives of the bereaved families and they do feel deeply let down by this decision. A non-statutory review risks unnecessary duplication of work already carried out by the UK inquiry whilst lacking the power to compel witnesses to provide evidence under oath. The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign proposed a short, sharp statutory inquiry focused on the issues that have been insufficiently scrutinised by the UK inquiry, which they believe could be delivered within a budget of £10 million. They have stated that they are not prepared to participate in yet another review that has no powers to hold decision makers accountable or drive forward meaningful changes. Is the Government confident that this proposed review can go ahead in a meaningful way without participation from bereaved families? Diolch.

I thank the Member. One of the reasons for establishing a review is that that is an effective way of complementing the work of the UK COVID inquiry and ensuring that there is a forum for a focus on Wales. I shall repeat the point that I have already made: I should very much hope that the COVID bereaved families and those who have suffered from COVID in all its forms will play a full and active part in the review. That is what I will be asking the chair of the review to ensure and that is the commitment I make today to this Chamber. 

I feel very sad standing here today. I feel very sad for the families affected, many of whom are in the public gallery and are actually shaking their heads at what you've said, I'm afraid. I feel very sad that the integrity of this Senedd has been compromised. The reason I say that is I sat here in the last Senedd term hearing very clearly from both the current Cabinet Minister for health and the First Minister how important it was to have that independent inquiry. And I feel very sad that I haven't heard the word 'sorry' in your statement this afternoon: sorry that you've let down the families, sorry that you have to have another tack. Being honest, there are things that change, but the people who deserve to hear that you are very sorry are those families sitting in the gallery and those families affected. So, will you now use this opportunity to apologise and to say 'sorry'? Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Diolch to the Member. We have been clear, the manifesto was clear, that a Plaid Cymru Government would seek to establish a COVID review. That is what we are doing today. I acknowledge the immense work that the COVID bereaved families have done, their loss, their grief, how they were let down during the pandemic. I am deeply sorry for that—I am deeply, deeply sorry for that. I don't think any human being who sat there listening to the families talk of losing loved ones in detail, and in awful detail, could not be moved by that experience. That leads me to the conclusion that we must learn the lessons and learn the lessons promptly and effectively. I acknowledge—and I acknowledge those who have campaigned—that is not the conclusion that others have reached, and I am sorry we have not reached an agreement on that. But that is the conclusion—conscientiously, carefully, thoughtfully—that I have reached.

After six years and three different Labour First Ministers, your announcement that Wales will finally have our own focused COVID review marks real progress. The ongoing UK inquiry started four years ago, but it has been criticised for minimal scrutiny of Welsh decision makers. Testimony from Welsh Government officials and Ministers was very limited, and their written evidence was described as often slow, incomplete or missing entirely—not to mention the disappearing WhatsApp messages. Last month's UK care sector report has been described as weak on establishing responsibility and lacking recommendations, both crucial here in Wales, where so many untested patients were discharged from hospital back into care homes. There is also concern that the UK inquiry has failed to properly consider the impact on young people on so many different levels, especially the most disadvantaged. Rather than focus wholly on blame, our review must consider deeper lessons to be learnt and provide a road map for long-term support for the children who have paid a hidden price. Finally, the concerns of the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru should be addressed. In particular, will the Minister confirm what steps can be taken should witnesses refuse to come forward or the UK inquiry does not co-operate? Diolch.

I thank the Member for the questions. I think the impact on young people is clear and continuing. I was discussing matters with the Cabinet Minister for education yesterday about the work that she is doing to make sure that we learn the lessons and we improve our education system around attendance and around those issues with schools that have been clearly a hangover from COVID.

I repeat my statement from earlier: I would expect former Welsh Government Ministers and public servants in Wales to fully co-operate with this inquiry; that is a wholly reasonable expectation. I set that out in front of the Senedd, and I will report to the Senedd if that expectation is not met.

In terms of the UK COVID inquiry, the points are very well made. Officials have already been in close discussion with the UK COVID inquiry to ensure that the vast amount of evidence submitted by the previous Government, and others, is available to this review, so we can build on and complement the UK inquiry, not duplicate what has already gone on. These are the core elements of why I have taken the decision that I have, and proposed to my Cabinet colleagues that this is the way we properly learn the lessons from the COVID pandemic here in Wales.

This review is a broken promise, and it's a pale imitation of the accountability that the people of Wales were led to expect. Plaid Cymru spent years demanding a fully-fledged, Wales-specific COVID inquiry, with the powers to compel evidence. And instead, they have chosen to undertake a non-statutory process that cannot require the attendance of witnesses, or compel evidence under oath. I understand, Minister, that you expect former Ministers and civil servants to participate, but you had the power to force them to, and you've chosen not to use it. Bereaved families in Wales have rightly pointed out that without those necessary powers, this review risks becoming nothing more than an expensive exercise in reputation management. 

The UK inquiry has already shown that there were serious failures in Wales that warrant further investigation, but this review may be unlikely to be able to explore those failures in a necessary level of detail. The people of Wales deserve a process with real teeth, they deserve a process that examines failures to protect the vulnerable and they deserve a Government that actually delivers on what they promised. Diolch yn fawr. 

Diolch. I agree, we need a review to look, with teeth, with effectiveness, at what has gone on. As you've mentioned, there were very serious failings identified by the UK COVID inquiry. We need to learn those lessons, and we need to learn those lessons effectively so that those things do not happen again. 

Finally, Cabinet Minister, Andrew R.T. Davies. 

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, I have a very high regard for you, but you've sold the COVID bereaved families out here. Your telling remark in answer to a question was that this is an inquiry. It's not an inquiry, it's a review. And you have sold out on what Minister after Minister who sit on that front bench now, when they were shadow spokespeople, were saying to the public, and to this Senedd, that you were going to come forward with a statutory inquiry that, ultimately, would have powers to compel witnesses.

So, I have three questions for you, Minister. One: if your witnesses do not turn up, or evidence is withheld, will you put powers before the commission to ultimately compel those witnesses to come before them? Two: when you look at the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Act 2026, if you look at what your colleagues said in opposition, and you compare it to the contents of that Bill, I would suggest that the First Minister, the health Minister and the leader of the house would be on a charge today for misleading people and not holding true to their word when they came into Government. And the final point I will make to you is: why did you rule out the inquiry that the COVID bereaved families put before you, that was worked up with the health Minister—and the e-mails are there for us all to see, that he was working with the COVID bereaved families—that would cost £10 million and would be delivered within 18 months? Why did you rule that out?

I thank the Member for the questions. Let me just return once more to what was in the manifesto, upon which everyone, everyone on these benches, stood:

'we will establish a review'—

a review—

'of Wales’s Covid response, its legacies and lessons for the future within the first year of the next Senedd term, with a targeted focus'.

That is what I am delivering today. 

The Member has made the point regarding the compelling of evidence. That has been made by several colleagues. I do expect Government Ministers to play a full part in that inquiry. If that isn't the case, then I will report it to the Senedd and take what steps necessary following that. But I do not believe we will get there, because the focus of this inquiry is on learning lessons, on ensuring the people of Wales are safer in the future, by understanding what happened, by honouring the legacy of those who fell during the COVID pandemic, and by ensuring better preparedness for the future.

Let me acknowledge: these are not easy issues, these are not issues where there will be agreement. There are people who have campaigned for many, many years on various aspects of this, and I want to pay tribute to all of them. I will say this: as we return to these matters, as I'm sure we will, in questions in the months and years ahead, what I very much hope to be able to do—to this Senedd, to the families and to everyone else—is to report on genuine progress on learning the lessons, on being clear where there were failings and on building a safer and more resilient Wales for the future. That is what my pledge is to you as Members of this Senedd. Diolch yn fawr.

Thank you, Cabinet Minister.

We will move now to item 4, a statement by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality: partnership working with the third sector. I call on the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality, Sioned Williams.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. Our programme for government, quite rightly, places community empowerment, partnership working and prevention at the heart of delivery. It is in this context that today I want to clearly set out the relationship that we as a Government want with the third sector, how we will support the sector and recognise the importance of volunteers.

We are fully committed to discharging our duties to promote the community and voluntary sector and to delivering on the commitments set out in the existing third sector scheme, because the devolution journey in Wales has always been steered by the relationship with the community and voluntary sector. Wales has strong foundations for better partnership between Government and the sector, and we have seen other parts of the UK look to Wales as they develop their own mechanisms and arrangements.

The current third sector scheme was put in place back in 2014. Since then, we've seen significant events and changes impact Wales and its communities—from COVID-19 and the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis to important legislative changes such as the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. As a result of our ambitions for Wales and our commitment to partnership working, it is now time for us to shape a new relationship with the sector, a relationship that builds on recent lessons and reflects our shared ambitions for Wales. I want to see a scheme that continues to be fit for purpose and that works for Government and the voluntary sector. Whilst having a scheme is important, in order for it to have genuine impact, it needs the right infrastructure and mechanisms to bring it to life and to realise its ambition.

We are fortunate in that we already have the third sector partnership council and Third Sector Support Wales. These important pieces of infrastructure enable positive working relationships with the community and voluntary sector and effective representation at national, regional and local levels. The scheme also includes the code of practice for funding the third sector, which is a key tool in guiding Welsh Government's funding of the sector.

We will all, I'm sure, have visited community groups and voluntary organisations, recognising and valuing the contribution that they make. But as with our public services, we also see the pressure facing those voluntary organisations, which are often the first places that people turn to, not just in a crisis, but also when they want to see change in their communities.

Last month, Cabinet confirmed its commitment to the third sector funding code and its five principles. These principles include, for example, the fact that early and continuous dialogue ensures we develop strong relationships with the third sector. These relationships, in turn, support policy development, service delivery and a team Wales approach to tackling the challenges facing our communities.

The code advocates for the use of longer term funding agreements where this is appropriate. The benefits of longer term funding include allowing funded organisations to plan better services, without the stop-start cycle we often see with one-year agreements. It also means longer employment contracts, leading to improved recruitment and retention of staff, and it cuts bureaucracy for both the funding department and the funded organisation.

Annual funding agreements mean that the funded organisation bears all the risks and burdens of the delivery of services. The uncertainty around whether a funding stream will continue or will be processed in a timely manner can see organisations issue redundancy notices to employees or lose staff due to short-term contracts or continued uncertainty. High turnover of staff has a cost implication and can affect the ability to deliver services. This is why, as a Government, we are committed to implementing the code.

Volunteers and voluntary organisations are at the heart of every community. They are the social glue that keeps our communities together. That is something we should never forget. Blood Bikes Cymru volunteers, mountain rescue teams, lifeboat crews and community first responders are all volunteers. The public perhaps are not always aware of that. Volunteering is special because it's something we can all do with the right opportunities. A person’s background or upbringing should not be a barrier.

Our communities and society are all the richer for volunteers, and this is something we should be proud of and celebrate. The co-developed vision for volunteering in Wales, along with its implementation plan, is focused on creating safe, supported and sustainable volunteering opportunities. They form a coherent narrative that will allow organisations across all sectors and parts of Government to unleash current and future volunteers’ potential in ways that will benefit both the volunteers and those people they support. This Government will provide the strategic leadership, along with other key partners, for volunteering in Wales. We will help to remove barriers, widen participation, support volunteer-involving organisations, and ensure volunteering is recognised as a key contributor to community well-being and community life.

The community and voluntary sector is our nation's social and moral conscience. They ensure no-one is left out or left behind. However, without good organisations and community centres, volunteering cannot take place. Whilst the act of volunteering is free, there is a cost associated with ensuring it is safe and well managed. By working in partnership, the Government and the sector can provide creative solutions that enhance our offer and remove duplication, because the third sector is able to be both nimble and flexible to the needs of communities—for example, the positive connection between sports activity and health.

Our programme for government cannot be delivered without the independent community and voluntary sector and the volunteers who support it. As a Cabinet, we recognise that, and that's why we've confirmed our commitment to the third sector scheme and agreed the principles of the code of practice for funding the third sector, as well as the vision for volunteering in Wales.

Next week is Trustees' Week. Our charities cannot operate without your contribution. So, to all those people who volunteer or help in any way, I’d like to say 'thank you' on behalf of our Government. Our communities are safer and healthier because of your contribution. Thank you.

I thank the Deputy First Minister for her statement, and I join her in thanking the thousands of volunteers and third sector organisations across Wales. Their contribution is enormous. But that is precisely why they deserve more from the Government than warm words, and, Deputy First Minister, there are a lot of warm words in the statement—partnership working, community empowerment, strategic leadership, shared ambitions, a team Wales approach—but remarkably few targets, deadlines or measurable outcomes. And we have heard this language before.

The current third sector scheme dates from 2014, so if Government now wants to shape a new relationship with the sector, what exactly is going to change? Because perhaps the most revealing part of your statement is your own description of the current funding system. You acknowledge that one-year funding creates uncertainty, that organisations can be forced to issue redundancy notices, that they lose experienced staff, that high turnover affects service delivery. I agree. But those are not theoretical problems, they are consequences of the funding environment over which your Government presides. So when you tell us that the funding code advocates longer term funding, I have a simple question: how much Welsh Government third sector funding is currently awarded on a one-year basis, and by what date will you substantially reduce it? Because advocating longer term funding is very different from providing it, and partnership cannot mean Government holding the purse strings whilst charities carry the risk. Your own statement says that, under annual agreements, the funded organisations bear the risk and burdens of delivery. That is quite an admission. So what are you going to do about it?

This brings me to accountability. The Welsh Government distributes hundreds of millions of pounds in grants to third sector organisations. Taxpayers have every right to expect proper scrutiny, but accountability must operate in both directions. Organisations receiving public money must demonstrate what they achieved, and Government must demonstrate that its funding decisions are transparent and based on evidence of what works. What changed for the person who needed help? That is the outcome. So what outcomes will you publish? How many organisations will move onto multi-year settlements? How much bureaucracy will be removed? And when can this Senedd objectively judge whether any of this has worked?

I also want to ask specifically about small community organisations. When Government talks about the third sector, there is a danger it hears disproportionately from organisations large enough to employ policy officers, bid writers and professional fundraising teams. The small organisations in Wales may have one employee or none. It might be five volunteers around a kitchen table. They don't have a compliance department of somebody permanently available for another grant application, consultation or procurement exercise, yet they are often closest to the people we represent. So what assessment have you made of whether the current system inadvertently advantages large professionalised organisations over smaller grass-roots organisations? And what will you change to ensure those smaller voices are genuinely heard?

There is another sentence in your statement that deserves scrutiny. You say,

'our programme for government cannot be delivered without the independent community and voluntary sector'.

Precisely. But if Government increasingly relies upon the third sector to deliver its programme, partnership must not become a polite description for outsourcing responsibility. Charities should complement effective public services. They should not become the emergency service, permanently filling gaps left by the state. Nor should organisations become afraid to challenge Government because Government is also their funder. So what safeguards will protect their independence, including their ability to criticise you?

Deputy First Minister, nobody disputes the value of volunteers or the importance of the third sector. The question is whether this Government can turn around another statement of good intentions into something organisations can actually see. So, I'll finish with three straightforward tests: how many organisations will receive longer term funding, by when, and what measurable outcomes will you publish so that this Senedd can hold you accountable? Because the existing scheme has been in place for 12 years. After 12 years, another declaration of commitment to partnership is not enough. Partnership will be proven by what changes, not by how often the word appears in a Government statement. Diolch.

Thank you very much for those questions. I will focus on funding. As I set out very strongly, I think, in the statement, I did emphasise that this Cabinet has committed to ensuring that we commit to the code of practice, which is part of the statutory third sector scheme. That has been co-produced with the third sector, through the third sector partnership council, and that ensures that it is accessible and that it continues to be relevant and that it is regularly updated.

There are five principles in the code, which are not only focused on funding; they are also intended to create a holistic environment for a positive relationship and understanding between the sector and whoever provides the funding to it. So, we are very clear that multi-year funding is something that does support better services in terms of what is provided through the third sector. As I mentioned in the statement, it also ensures that those organisations and voluntary groups can plan more effectively, and, certainly for those that have staff, can provide assurances to staff too. And so, as I set out very clearly in my statement in terms of that funding environment, because we have committed to provide multi-year funding where that is appropriate and possible, we will continue to promote longer term funding and also encourage all those in the public sector that are also funders to follow that code of practice in relation to the funding of the third sector.

You mentioned and I also referred to the fact that the third sector scheme hadn't been updated since 2014. And that's why we are now reviewing that, because, as I mentioned, there are so many things that have changed in our society in that period—all of those things that we've been through since 2014, the way that people engage with each other, the technology that's now available—and I'm sure that many of the people in this Chamber hear from groups that there are challenges in attracting volunteers and that that might have been easier in days gone by. People now work in different ways. Their weekends look different. And of course there have been those major events, as I mentioned, such as COVID, of course, which has had an impact there. So, there is a need—it is about time that this was reviewed.

Therefore, a group has been established, the third sector partnership council group has been established, to consider how that relationship can be strengthened and made more effective. So, when I have further details as to how that work is progressing, I do commit to bring that back to the Senedd.

Finally, you mentioned smaller groups and smaller organisations, particularly those that are volunteer led, and I do recognise that those challenges can be different for smaller groups, particularly those groups that are run by volunteers. So, I do recognise, and have raised this issue myself on the opposition benches, that the requirements in relation to monitoring, evaluation and reporting do have to reflect the scale of the funding provided and recognise the nature of the organisation that is funded, because I do think that that element of proportionality in terms of that relationship and fair funding is very important indeed.

I want to thank the Minister for her statement today, and I know that she is genuinely committed to the sector, and it's a sector that does incredibly important work for us across the whole of Wales. According to a report from the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, published in May this year when this Government formed, more than 200,000 regular volunteers support the work of more than 10,000 registered organisations in Wales. And as someone who, myself, has volunteered and represented and worked in the sector, I know genuinely the difference that the organisations make to everyday people's lives in so many different ways. In Wales, the total value of the sector to the economy has been estimated at £2.5 billion, with £4 billion of a tangible social value. So, clearly, it's a crucial part of Wales's future as well as the current.

I want to take, of course, this opportunity to recognise the long-standing contribution of Jane Hutt, the previous Minister, whose years and years of dedicated service were integral in building many of the partnerships and the networks and structures that still do underpin the relationships between the Welsh Government and the third sector today. The sector still benefits from initiatives like the revised third sector funding code and the longer term arrangements through the single advice fund. So, I welcome the Minister's commitment to the third sector partnership council, which will be a continuation of that good work done by the previous Labour Government. So, I'm sure the Minister will continue to engage.

During the pandemic, of course, we know that volunteers demonstrated the very best of us, supporting vulnerable people and keeping communities connected. These opportunities are valuable, particularly for young people who develop skills and confidence and have that pathway into the world of work. Now, through my work, I have seen support for refugees and asylum seekers as they settle and integrate into our communities; services that are helping people facing homelessness and housing insecurity; support for disabled children and their families; VAWDASV services supporting women and children; and programmes that help, actually, people gain the skills and confidence and experience, of course, that they need to access employment.

Now, without the third sector, the safety net protecting some of the most vulnerable people would become much smaller, and the job of Government would, clearly, be way too big. And we know that Wales is always stronger, as you say, Minister, because our voluntary sector actually exists. Now, we should also, of course, recognise their vital contribution to social care—the organisations that help people live independently, that support unpaid carers, and that work alongside the NHS and local government to deliver essential services. Quite simply, we couldn't deliver many of the care and support services that we rely on without the contribution of volunteers.

The sector's a major employer and a workforce largely made up, of course, of women. From care and support services to housing advice—all of the above—they provide vital support every day. Now, this success has been built, of course, on years of social partnership between Government, trade unions, local authorities, volunteers, voluntary organisations, and I welcome that you will continue to do that work and strengthen that approach as well. Which then, I guess, leads me also to welcoming the focus on sustained funding. I think it's absolutely critical. Longer term funding arrangements, such as those introduced through the single advice fund, have demonstrated clearly the benefits that greater certainty can bring for organisations, staff and service users, including helping them in terms of recruitment and retention.

However, many organisations continue, of course, as you recognise, to face challenges recruiting and retaining skilled staff. Funding pressures can make it difficult to offer competitive pay, secure employment and clear opportunities for progression, despite the essential services that these workers then provide. If we are serious then, of course, about sustainable services, we must also be serious about fair pay, fair work and workforce development. So, can the Cabinet Minister then please outline how the commitment to sustainable funding will translate into improved workforce sustainability and better retention across the sector? What measures will the Government use to assess whether the principles of the third sector funding code are then delivering tangible improvements for organisations, for workers and the communities that they serve? Because the third sector continues to be squeezed, and we know that the pressures that they face in providing crucial services for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities mean they have—. Quite often, those individuals become vulnerable themselves while they're providing that service.

It's also true that the third sector is changing. We have many more social enterprises and community interest companies addressing new challenges and playing an even bigger role in everyday life and wider society. So, can the Minister define the third sector and the voluntary sector? What does this Government consider as a voluntary sector group?

And finally, as the Minister said in her statement, one of the principles of this funding code is early and continuous dialogue. I know from my previous experience as general secretary of TUC Cymru about the importance of informal meetings, of course, and maintaining that working relationship between all of the official scheduled arrangements. So, could the Minister take this opportunity to commit to maintaining that same level of flexibility and transparency, allowing an open and constructive dialogue with the sector? And I think that we should all really welcome the fact—

Can I ask you to conclude, please?

—that the Government's pledged to honour the funding code. And now, of course, the five tests that are within it are going to be the next bit.

Thank you very much to the Member for her support for today's statement. I think we are completely in agreement, aren't we, about the importance of volunteering to our society, and as she mentioned so clearly, all the different kinds of difference that the third sector can make.

All over Wales, it's remarkable. I know many of us have seen this in action in our constituencies. Good people are giving help for free, where they feel it is needed. They're making things better for other people, putting themselves at the service of other people, for the places where they live, and also, of course, for the wider environment. And we know, of course, that although it's 32 per cent of people in Wales, which is an awful lot—one in three, nearly, of people in Wales—are doing formal volunteering with charities and other volunteer-involving organisations, so many more, as we know, volunteer informally in the heart of the communities where we live. Just good people giving whatever time and effort they can spare to make things better. So, you know, those voluntary actions, as the Member spelt out, touch every aspect of the lives of our communities.

I'm a trustee of a foodbank. The volunteers we have there are incredible. They keep that foodbank going. They raise the money for the foodbank. They keep the community hubs running. They run our sports clubs. Think of all the sports clubs that run in our communities that would not be there and would not give those opportunities to our young people, and people of all ages who enjoy activity, if it weren't for those sports clubs. And you're quite right to point out the vital work that's being done in social care and also in our hospitals. There are many friends of hospitals organisations out there, which I'm sure every one of us come into contact with when we visit loved ones in hospitals. They're working with refugees. They're working with victims of crime. They're working with prisoners. Our faith and belief groups, they hold our communities together and provide pastoral care when people are at their very lowest.

So, you can tell that I've got a similar passion for this work. We, as a Government, will do everything we can to support those organisations. But we do recognise, as I said, that we have this long-standing infrastructure, to which the Member has referred, to support and promote this activity, including the Volunteering Wales platform, which is run through the WCVA in conjunction with the county voluntary councils, of course, which cover the whole of Wales. And I'm sure, again, we all know the great work that they do.

As I said, I think how and why people want to volunteer is developing. So, we have to be nimble as well in our support of that. And that is something that I want this Government to really look at, in partnership, to make sure that what we are looking at—. As I said, the scheme is from 2014. It really does need a new pair of eyes looking at it, aligning it with policy and legislation that's happened since then, as well as those societal changes. But what we can do is try and make sure that we have a bright and uniquely Welsh future for volunteering; something that is safe, something that is supported, and something that is sustainable.

So, obviously, I've talked about the multi-year funding; we absolutely recognise the importance of that and I think I spelt that out in my statement and in the previous answer, so I won't reiterate that again. But we would also urge anyone else who is funding the community and voluntary sector—because it isn't just Government—to also adopt the code of practice for funding the third sector for the very reasons that you've set out.

Can I thank you, Deputy First Minister, for your statement today, and for recognising, as I knew you would, the vital contribution that Wales's third sector makes to communities across Wales? I share many of the sentiments that have been shared today. We will all talk about the same things, but it's important we all do share the importance of this issue. There's no disagreement that voluntary organisations and community groups are often the first to identify local needs and the last to walk away when challenges arise. They are vital in supporting vulnerable residents. So, I welcome the positive messages, but very clearly, from my experience, positive messages have to translate into tangible outcomes. For decades in public service, I've heard the same calls from the third sector and fine words from those of us in governments, and we haven't delivered and filled those gaps. So, it's important we do do that.

Deputy First Minister, you've spoken previously about the importance of respect, solidarity and fairness and about working with partners across the public, private and third sectors to tackle poverty, reduce inequality and strengthen communities. Those are objectives, I believe, that Members across the Chamber can support, however, if partnership is to mean anything meaningful, it must extend beyond just consultations. Across Wales, many organisations continue to tell us that whilst partnership structures exist, they often feel excluded from decisions that directly affect them. Too frequently, funding arrangements remain short term—I know you're addressing that—uncertainty persists from year to year, and organisations are forced to devote valuable resources to securing their own survival rather than focusing on the communities they serve. So, I also welcome your commitment in the statement to revising or revisiting the code of practice for funding, and this is absolutely fundamental—and I welcome multi-year settlements—but sometimes there's a conversation about the quantum as well because so many bodies are just really struggling to make ends meet.

In my own constituency, organisations such as Age Connects Torfaen provide invaluable services. The Widdershins Centre, which I visited the other day, becomes a hub for community activity, supporting families, carers and vulnerable residents. It's a crucial facility. And there are hundreds of those across Wales that save us billions of pounds a year and help people in a way that public services couldn't do, and this should be truly valued. Just look at St David's Hospice. It provides exceptional end-of-life care and support for families at the most difficult moments in their lives, yet like many hospices across Wales, it continues to rely heavily on charitable fundraising to sustain services that ultimately help reduce pressure on the wider healthcare system, and that has to be taken into account somewhere.

If Government and public bodies rely upon the expertise and reach of the third sector, then funding must reflect the true cost of delivering services. Long-term planning requires long-term certainty. Deputy First Minister, I would therefore welcome further detail on how the Welsh Government intends to strengthen implementation of the funding code of practice, increase the availability of multi-year funding arrangements and ensure that voluntary organisations are involved at the earliest stages of policy development, rather than consulted only after decisions have largely been made. Given your commitment today to develop a refreshed third sector scheme and shape a new relationship with the sector, can you also set out the timetable for this work and explain how voluntary organisations themselves will be involved in designing those changes?

The third sector remains one of Wales's greatest assets and strengths. It possesses local knowledge, deep community trust and an ability to reach people who often will be overlooked by statutory services. If we are serious about tackling poverty, reducing inequality and building stronger communities, then the third sector must be treated as a true partner, and that means not only recognising its contribution, but recognising and providing the certainty and resources and influence necessary for it to thrive. Diolch.

Thank you very much, Peter Fox, for that welcome that you've given to the fact that we are making a statement today regarding the value and the recognition that we give to our voluntary and third sectors.

The points that you've raised, I fully agree with and, I think, I have addressed in this statement. But I will reiterate: we, as a Cabinet, have committed to fully discharging our duties under the existing scheme, under the third sector scheme, of which the code of practice, as regards funding, is a part. But that third sector partnership council relationship group has been established now to consider—so, fully in partnership, fully co-developed between Government and the sector—how that relationship can be strengthened, be made more effective under the third sector scheme. So, we are working closely, I can assure you, with our third sector partners to create the environment that we all want, I think, from the contributions I've heard today, where we can make sure that our third sector organisations can thrive. So, as I said, that code of practice, which is the part about multi-year funding, forms part of the statutory third sector scheme. That has been co-produced with the third sector, through the funding and compliance sub-committee of the third sector partnership council. So, that's, as I was saying, to make sure that it's relevant and accessible and up to date. So, that is an ongoing relationship, a two-way relationship.

As regards the question that you asked around rising costs, there's a squeeze, as you said, that is on, with finances becoming constrained and things getting harder. We know, and as I've said, that there are tens of thousands of voluntary organisations and third sector organisations across Wales, supporting the most vulnerable in our society, and as I've spelt out, we understand how crucial they are. We obviously can't provide direct financial help for every single one of them, but our infrastructure is there to support them all. So, the code, for instance, recognises the importance of full cost recovery and the need, as I said previously, to be flexible. Many of the factors that have led to the rising costs and those pressures on funding are beyond the control of the Welsh Government, but that doesn't mean, of course, that we can't do anything. And that's the attitude we're taking. So, other parts of the infrastructure, as well as obviously looking at how we fund, are also about making sure that organisations can access support on safeguarding, how they can get support on encouraging and supporting volunteering, and, of course, that funding through Third Sector Support Wales, which is the WCVA and the 19 county voluntary councils.

Of course, there are other things, and you quite rightly pointed out those sort of hubs, because many organisations depend on places, don't they, in the communities, to be able to do the activities that they do to support people in those communities. So, of course, we have a community facilities programme. That's something else that the Government provides, capital funding, which gives grants for community-led projects, which is to aim to improve and aid, assist and expand those much-needed community facilities. That has provided over £82 million to 673 projects across Wales. Some of them will be funded now by the supplementary budget that we're about to pass, because there is capital funding within that that will help support specifically the community facilities programme.

So, I hope you can see absolutely funding, absolutely partnership are crucial parts of this relationship and the support that the Government must put in place for voluntary organisations and the third sector generally. But there are specific things that we can do also beyond that general funding.

I welcome the opportunity to highlight the vital contribution that the third sector makes to communities across Wales and that the Welsh Government and the Cabinet Minister also recognise its importance. Third sector organisations are at the forefront of tackling inequality, supporting our most vulnerable in society, as well as promoting social justice and cohesive communities, often relieving pressure on our public services. However, many partners are struggling with short-term funding cycles and the uncertainty that comes with that, which ultimately makes it difficult for these organisations to provide quality services and plan for the future. We've seen a real-life example of this with Chwarae Teg in 2023. Firstly, I'd like to know how the Welsh Government will ensure the resilience of the third sector in the face of current financial pressures. I also want to raise another scenario that I really think we need to start preparing for, around the growing use of and reliance on AI technology. We have already seen AI take jobs in the private sector, so I'd like to know how the Welsh Government is mitigating job losses in the third sector in Wales specifically as a result of developments in AI, for example with administration jobs. Will AI be included in the new scheme? 

Diolch yn fawr. Thank you very much for that question. As I've already spelled out, although the Welsh Government can't provide direct financial support for every single organisation—and we do give a lot of direct financial support through many of our grant programmes—what we try and do is provide advice to support the resilience of third sector organisations. There's advice on governance, advice on funding, advice on safeguarding and volunteering. As I said, the things that we are able to do that can help with resilience from a financial point of view are on that funding code, things like promoting full cost recovery, flexibility, and constructive early engagement between funders and the funded body.

Your point about AI is a very interesting one. This is something across Cabinet that we're all considering, I think, in all of our portfolios: the effect, in so many different ways, that this revolution is going to have on ways of doing things, and certainly on workforce. It is something that, across our portfolios, we are actively looking at. So, I can't give you a direct answer on that, but that is something I'm sure will come up in the group that I mentioned that has been established to look at the third sector scheme, and to make sure that it is current and relevant. This is precisely why I think we need a review, because things happen, don't they? Technology and society change. The third sector can't stand still because society doesn't stand still. So, thank you for that really interesting point. Diolch.

Deputy First Minister, community groups across Afan Ogwr Rhondda deserve fair access to funding, and taxpayers deserve to see where it goes. Your programme for government commits to good value for money across the third sector. I agree. But publishing a payment to an intermediary does not show who ultimately received the money or what it achieved. More than £330,000 went through one charity, the Books Council of Wales. In September, the internal review of my Books Council of Wales freedom of information request confirmed that the Welsh Government does not hold a final recipient list, individual payment accounts, or recipient-level reconciliation. Will you publish an annual register of Welsh Government grants to or through third sector bodies showing recipient organisations, amounts, criteria and results, with the first published alongside the next third sector scheme annual report? Diolch. 

Of course, a number of our organisations have charitable status in order to take advantage of different kinds of funding as things get tighter and tighter in terms of the public purse. What I can assure the Member is that we will continue to ensure that there are good outputs and transparency and accountability in terms of the funding that we provide through our relationship and engagement with the third sector partnership council, how we deliver the funding code, and, of course, through schemes that come under that. A review of the third sector scheme, I think, provides an opportunity for us to strengthen transparency and to strengthen accountability.

Finally, Deputy First Minister, Jane Dodds.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you very much for the statement.

I'm pleased to hear the statement. I'm pleased to hear about the code. I have absolutely no doubt about your commitment to the third sector. But there has been a theme across the contributions, about that multi-year funding. Many organisations just cannot continue on the basis of one year of funding. In the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, 55 per cent have seen their income remain static over two years, and around a third are already using their reserves to cover their core costs. I know you would not find that acceptable. We're seeing that impact in many organisations. Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, which helps people across Powys in relation to domestic violence, has seen a £100,000 cut, and that's going to affect their services to children. So, could you just give us a timetable for when you will be able to look at that multi-year funding programme? Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you. We've already committed to that as a Cabinet, as I've said, in terms of our commitment to providing multi-year funding across all the third sector programmes we provide. We have committed, where it's appropriate and possible, that we will do so. So, the Cabinet has agreed to that, and that's why I'm making this statement before the Senedd today. Of course, we will continue to encourage multi-year settlements between anyone that funds and receives funding from funders, including, as I mentioned, other funders—other people who provide funding for the third sector within the public sector—to follow the code of practice and to ensure that they commit to that and implement that in more than just words. The code, as I said, provides clear expectations on the funding that the Welsh Government provides, and we have committed to that fully. We will continue, of course, to work with the third sector to ensure that implementing that is strengthened and to ensure that that is adopted on a wider level. 

We move now to item 5, a statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care. I call on the Cabinet Minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor.

Thank you, Llywydd. When I became Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, I committed to developing a long-term strategy to address the key workforce challenges facing the health service in Wales. Today, I'm pleased to update Members on this work. This is work that's being developed alongside our wider long-term vision for health and care, bringing the process of workforce and service transformation together to realise a coherent vision for the future of NHS Wales.

The issues facing the NHS workforce are complex and sometimes contradictory. The NHS has more staff than ever before, but the fact that there is rising and increasingly complex demand, along with workforce supply pressures and financial constraints, mean that dedicated teams remain under significant pressure. Simply increasing workforce numbers and training numbers is not the simple answer that will solve these challenges. We must improve and stabilise services now, modernise the way that our workforce is planned and deployed and create the conditions for longer term transformation. The workforce strategy will support each part of that journey.

Over the summer, we made significant progress by bringing together workforce, service, quality, operational and financial considerations together. Front-line staff told us what they need in order to empower them to improve services, namely better service design, teamwork, support and deployment, as well as closer alignment between workforce planning, education, training and future needs. This work has crystallised a clear direction for the workforce strategy, based on three connected priorities: developing sustainable services that deploy people, skills, time and public resources effectively; secondly, creating healthy and inclusive workplaces where people are treated fairly and are led well, where they are safe, supported and able to improve the services that they deliver; and thirdly, building the skills and teams needed for the future, aligned with changes in population needs, as well as a focus on prevention and new models of care. This includes strengthening Welsh language skills across our workforce so that people receive the care they need in the language that best meets their needs.

These priorities share one ambition: people across Wales receiving safe, high-quality and joined-up care from well-supported, appropriately skilled teams that can adapt as needs change. They will be underpinned by strong leadership and sustainable services.

The workforce strategy is part of a wider programme of health and care transformation, and we can't deliver it in isolation. The emerging long-term vision for health and care will set the direction for modernising services around prevention, population need and care closer to home. Community by Design and our work on cancer, mental health, women’s health and digital transformation will shape how and where care is provided.

The workforce strategy must support these developments by ensuring Wales has the skills, roles and teams needed for future models of care. Workforce planning must connect with service design, clinical pathways, finance, quality, education, digital capability and the shift towards prevention and community-based care. The strategy will be clinically led, credible and deliverable, and developed with those responsible for putting it into practice. It will help drive generational change for the people of Wales in the way care is planned and delivered.

We're now beginning targeted engagement on the workforce strategy to test and strengthen the approach with NHS staff, trade unions, professional bodies, workforce leaders, education partners and other stakeholders. This will sit alongside the wider period of engagement and collaboration on the future of health and care in Wales that I will set out to system leaders tomorrow.

This Welsh Government is determined to bring renewed energy and pace to the shift towards prevention and care closer to home, creating a more sustainable NHS in which services are planned around the needs of individuals and communities rather than organisational or professional boundaries. As promised in our first 100 days plan, we convened senior NHS leaders at the primary care and Community by Design summit in June to agree practical action. There was strong energy, a shared focus on solutions and agreement on the direction. Our priority now is delivery, supported by practical implementation and clear accountability.

Over the summer, Community by Design developed a national model supporting local action on population health and prevention, co-ordinated care for people with chronic conditions and urgent same-day care. Greater integration across the NHS—from primary care contractors and community teams to hospitals—will provide joined-up support focused on what matters to people.

The workforce strategy will be central to enabling this integration across settings and professional groups. It will support the skills, roles, teams and cultural change needed to deliver care closer to home, help people remain well and reduce avoidable pressure on hospitals.

Health boards are developing plans to increase the proportion of expenditure directed to primary care and community care by 0.5 percentage points each year from 2027-28. I will convene a further summit before Christmas to review progress, maintain momentum and translate our shared commitment into tangible improvements for patients, communities and practices. 

This demonstrates the practical and collaborative approach that will underpin the strategy. We are already learning from front-line services, bringing partners together and acting where immediate challenges require a national response. The strategy will connect this work, with greater emphasis on staff experience and well-being, workforce stability, evidence, sustainable service design and future skills. It will recognise that future care depends on the combined contribution of the NHS, primary care, social care, local government and independent, voluntary and community partners, and that the process of workforce planning must reflect services operating across organisational boundaries.

We continue to maintain a firm focus on outcomes, safer, more consistent care, improved patient experience, healthier workplaces, more stable teams, education aligned with future workforce needs, and a stronger evidence base to guide investment and policy. I intend to provide Members with a final strategy in the new year. This strategy will be firmly aligned with our wider ambitions for health and care and will provide a practical, long-term route towards a sustainable, adaptable and inclusive NHS Wales workforce. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister, for advance notice of the statement today. I'm glad that we are working on a workforce strategy at the moment. I agree with the need for one, especially given the incredibly high number of vacancies throughout our NHS in Wales. It seems to me that a wide variety of organisations and services that I speak to are all coming back to workforce as being one of the central issues that needs resolution. However, there was a lot of stuff in this statement about the shift towards prevention, Community by Design, the change in funding for primary care, but it was surprisingly light on the detail of what is actually going to be in the long-term workforce strategy.

You mentioned the work that was done over the summer that yielded things such as making sure that resources are being used properly, making sure that staff are being treated fairly and making sure that people get the care that meets their needs as priorities for the plan. I'm not sure how long that took to work out, Minister, but a five-minute conversation with us on these benches and you would have yielded the same results. You now say that you're beginning targeted engagement with stakeholders, but how is that different from the programme of engagement that you've just spent months engaging in? How is it different from the work that was done over the summer?

My issue with the statement today is that it spends a lot of time talking about what a good plan might look like, but it doesn't talk about actually developing the plan itself and the process that is going to be in place with regard to it. Lots of conversation about stabilising services, modernising the workforce—these are all politically palatable phrases, but where is the actual action that is being taken to make sure that these outcomes are adhered to with the plan itself?

One other thing that you mentioned that I wanted to pick up on is you said that increasing workforce and training numbers will not solve the challenges that face our NHS now. So, would you be able to confirm for me that you are indeed looking at increasing the workforce and the training numbers at this stage, so that we can meet the gaps that are currently present in our NHS?

Something else that you mentioned within the statement was that this needs to be and will be underpinned by strong leadership. But where is that going to be? It seems to me, in my short tenure in the spokesman's role for health so far, that there's a little bit of ping-pong going on where the health boards will say there's an issue that Government needs to resolve and you as Minister will say that there's an issue that only health boards themselves can resolve. So, when the need for strong leadership arises as a result of this plan, what action are you going to make sure that you take so that it's actually in place?

Coming towards the end of your statement, you said that you intend to provide us with a strategy in the new year, and that raises two pretty obvious questions for me. One is with 'intend'. Is that a firm commitment that we're going to get this strategy in the new year, and if so, at what point in the new year should we expect it? Should we expect it in the springtime, or is it going to be later on than that? Because we're already six months into the Government now, and something that was raised during the last debate is the impact that AI is having on sectors across Wales, and my concern is that if there's a workforce strategy under development now, well, in six months' time, AI may play a completely different role in our economy and in our services than it does at the moment. So, a deadline on the publication of the strategy would be incredibly useful.

And I'd also be interested in a few final points in terms of what timescale is the plan working to. I know Health Education and Improvement Wales published their 10-year workforce plan back in 2020. Is this going to be, as a long-term plan, a 10-year plan, or is it something longer itself? And what's the nature of the plan itself going to be? Is it something that will update over time, or is it a concrete plan that you're going to try and put in place, with hopes that it will survive into the future?

And just finally, something that wasn't touched on during this statement that was touched on by myself, and, indeed, the First Minister in his response to me, prior to recess, was the use of agency staff throughout the NHS at the moment. I can't see any mention of that in today's statement, so what weighting will that be given under the new workforce strategy? Diolch yn fawr.

I thank the Member for those comments. Once again, I appreciate the fact that the Member starts positively in terms of what I said, and is supportive of the need for a better workforce strategy for Wales.

You're quite right in setting out the fact that we are expressing clearly our intention to shift resources into the community. The Community by Design programme that has been mentioned is integral in that, and, of course, if we are to do that, then we need the workforce to match that shift.

You asked about the difference between what we did over the summer and now the consultation going forward. So, over the summer period, we had to identify what were the needs: clearly, across Wales, clinically, what were the clinical demands from people working in the system, from the clinicians, from managers, from commissioners? And now we have to try and match that demand with the staffing structure that we'll require. What will the workforce look like to match that? So, that means talking to the unions, it means talking to the other organisations that represent the workforce, and other bodies as well, making sure that their voices are heard, because this has to be a consultation where they not just feel like they're heard, but their voices are reflected back to them in the final piece of work that we'll have at the end of this process. It has to be something that reflects the need of the workforce and takes into account their voices during this process.

You were talking about the issue around the strong leadership. Absolutely, that's an integral part of what we need when we develop a workforce plan. The workforce needs to be assured that there is leadership there in place to direct them as things change, exactly when it comes to AI or other changes in working practices. That's why we've set up the 'well-led' process within NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, working with Government, and we've got a well-led process in Betsi Cadwaladr at the moment, which looks at leadership, at culture, at governance. So, having a well-led organisation, reviewing how organisations are led and how they are governed, is another integral part of this, hence why we need to make sure that the consultation is broad and takes into account everybody's views on this.

Regarding when the final document will be published, yes, I can confirm that it will be published in the early part of next year, so something for you to look forward to over the Christmas period. I'm trying to think—. I think I covered most of the issues raised there, but if there are other issues, then please keep in contact and we'll keep the dialogue going.

The NHS workforce is the lifeblood of our health service. Workers within the NHS carried Wales through the pandemic, and they continue to face extraordinary pressures and deserve our thanks and the certainty that comes from proper workforce planning.

Minister, we welcome much of your statement today, having ourselves pledged to develop a long-term workforce plan if we were returned to Government. We want to see the new workforce strategy build on the substantial investments already made in expanding medical education, training and workforce capacity under the previous Welsh Labour Government, including, of course, the establishment of the North Wales Medical School. But a strategy is only as good as its implementation. The key questions both staff and patients will have about the new Government's plans are pretty clear. Will the new strategy be backed by sufficient funding to achieve its intended outcomes? Does it contain realistic plans to recruit and retain the staff that we need? Does it have measurable targets linked to training places rather than simply setting out long-term workforce projections? And will it address the workforce pressures facing different professions and specialities across our NHS? Indeed, workforce challenges are not identical across every part of the NHS. A number of royal colleges and professional bodies have long argued not only for a national workforce strategy, but also for workforce planning that reflects the realities of individual professions and specialities. Can you therefore explain how the new strategy will address those specific workforce challenges facing nursing, primary care, mental health services, the allied health professionals and others, rather than treating the NHS workforce as a single uniform group?

Minister, you've also spoken previously about the role that digital innovation and emerging technologies can play in supporting the Welsh NHS. Can you therefore explain how the Government intends to harness artificial intelligence to support workforce planning through the strategy? Used properly, I strongly believe that AI could help identify workforce shortages earlier, improve workforce modelling, support rota planning and reduce administrative burdens on front-line clinicians. So, how do you envisage AI supporting both the delivery of this strategy and the front-line NHS workforce it's designed to support?

Now, the Minister will also know that retention is just as important as recruitment. NHS staff that I speak to regularly tell me about their concerns around workload, burn-out, career progression and flexible working. If these issues are not addressed, workforce shortages will persist regardless of how many training places are created. And while any serious workforce strategy must look to the future, it cannot ignore the issues facing staff today. NHS workers need to feel properly valued.

The decision by this Government to reject the independent pay reviews body's recommendation of an above-inflation pay award for teachers has, understandably, raised concerns amongst public sector workers more widely. Can you therefore provide a clear commitment that NHS staff will continue to receive fair and independent pay settlements? And what message does it send to front-line staff that health visitors in Cwm Taf continue to be involved in an ongoing dispute over recognition of their skills and experience when, in opposition, you promised to end it, but have gone to ground largely since coming to power? Partnership working, fair pay and constructive industrial relations must surely be central to any workforce strategy and, likewise, social partnership.

Finally, given the close relationship between pressures in the NHS and pressures in social care, can you explain how NHS workforce planning will be aligned with workforce planning for social care? Llywydd, we support the principle of long-term workforce planning. Ultimately, the test of this strategy will not be in the quality of the document, it will be whether patients receive better care, whether staff feel properly valued and supported and whether Wales has a workforce needed to meet the challenges of the future. Diolch.

Thank you very much to the Member for the comments and that series of questions. He started by mentioning the debt of gratitude that we all have to pay to NHS staff, and I'd like to endorse those comments, because, of course, it's true to say that the workforce in the health service and the care service often go far beyond what is expected of them. So, I want to have that on the record too.

The Member, at the end there, spoke about what our plans are for social care and, during your contribution, you said that this is a plan for the NHS. As I said in my opening remarks, this is a plan looking at not just the NHS, but the workforce across health and care. So, the care sector is integral in this. We have to consider the impact of the health service on the care sector and vice versa.

You're quite right that any plan is only as good as its implementation, and that's why, in answer to the question earlier about the well-led review, we are also looking at leadership as an integral part of this plan, making sure that we have a structure in place that ensures that health boards and health managers lead well, that they know what the requirements are within their areas and regions. But more importantly, this isn't a plan that looks at the vacancies that we have today. We are starting off with the health needs of Wales of the future and the health needs of today, and then building the workforce around the requirements and the needs of the workforce. Because at the moment, we're at record levels of employment in the NHS—over 100,000 people work there. The levels of employment have increased by nearly 25 per cent over the last seven years. So, we've got a lot of people working in the system, but are those people in the right places doing the right thing? So, we might, for instance, say there might be demands or we might say that we need more nurses in hospitals. We might employ more nurses in hospitals. But is that where they're needed? Because we know that we need nurses in the community. So, it's all well and good to employ more nurses, but where are they placed in order to carry out the required work looking at the outcomes and the health of people? So, that's what this plan is about: making sure that we're looking across Wales at what the demands are for the healthcare requirements of Wales and that we match those demands. Again, if there's anything that I didn't answer, then come back.

Can I thank the Cabinet Minister for his statement this afternoon? Today's publication of a new long-term NHS workforce strategy is indeed welcome. For far too long, our health services have been under considerable strain due to, in part, workforce, frankly, being at its breaking point. Your ambitions are indeed sound: improve workforce planning; strengthen recruitment and retention; greater employment opportunities; expanded capacity; and a bolstered social care workforce to closely work with our health services. This, I'm sure, is something we can all support in this Chamber. However, Cabinet Minister, I'm sure you'll appreciate that the devil is indeed in the detail. Over the years, we've seen successive Labour Governments pitch new plans and strategies every few years to great fanfare, only for delivery to fall flat and for yet another plan to be required soon after, without addressing the fundamental weaknesses in our workforce strategy.

Now Audit Wales, as well as the Senedd's Health and Social Care Committee, have routinely highlighted the critical issues in workforce sustainability, recruitment and retention. They've also made a case for a strong long-term national approach as well. So, can the Cabinet Minister outline, for instance, precisely how the Welsh Government will be working with health boards, Public Health Wales and with Digital Health and Care Wales to modernise and improve data collection across the NHS, as that will prove vital for the necessary workforce planning needed in this strategy, particularly in identifying vacancies and skill shortages?

I also want to push you on your commitments to staff recruitment and retention, Cabinet Minister. As you know, Wales has long suffered a brain drain of some of our best and brightest, including those pursuing careers in health and social care. During the election, my Welsh Conservative colleagues and I sought to address this with a series of policies that will not just draw people to the workforce, but retain them and keep them there as well. Amongst these commitments was a pledge to refund tuition fees for doctors, dentists and nurses who work within our Welsh NHS for at least five years post qualification. This is a policy that was met with great praise by many in the sector, with relevant stakeholders recognising it as a bold and purposeful incentive to recruit and retain talent within the workforce itself.

We also pitched an NHS Wales reserve service, to establish a bank of trained and vetted volunteer staff to support our regular NHS workforce at times of crisis and peak demand, such as acute winter pressures and national health emergencies. Cabinet Minister, I'd like to know what consideration has your Government given to approaches such as these, and what discussions have you had with industry bodies to explore their feasibility?

But, of course, the problem is not just in sourcing talent for roles in our health service, is it, Cabinet Minister? Because, as you know, in many cases, we have indeed actually had overwhelming demand for roles, but, due to funding constraints, have only been able to recruit a small slice of the applicants, letting all that talent and experience fall through the net and go elsewhere to start their careers, or indeed be likely never to return. We saw, for example, first-hand the Welsh ambulance service have to turn down an entire cohort of newly qualified paramedics this financial year due to the trust facing severe financial pressures.

Earlier this year, we also saw hundreds of graduates unable to get entry-level roles across nursing, midwifery and other specialities until a mad scramble ensued between yourself, Minister, and the health boards to find roles for these people wherever you could. This is clearly not a sustainable approach to our workforce going forward. So, Cabinet Minister, how will the Welsh Government ensure that something like this does not happen again across any health and social care discipline?

Presiding Officer, can the Minister assure us here today, on his watch, that we will not again see graduates in Wales faced with no job prospects in our NHS workforce after working so hard to equip themselves with skills that we so desperately need here?

Now, you're in the right frame of mind with the strategy in a way that captures and works right across primary, secondary and social care. Addressing any to the exclusion of the others will not fix the issue at hand. We must have a cohesive strategy and plan in place to ensure that any and all aspects of health and social care services that patients seek to access are well-staffed by qualified professionals that have the training and resources they need to be effective. As part of this, Cabinet Minister, could you please outline for us how you've engaged with the royal colleges and with allied health professionals in the development of the strategy and how their input has informed you in your workforce planning?

I now want to turn to an issue that the Welsh Conservatives have long championed, which is palliative and end-of-life care—I appreciate and I'm conscious of time as well—because it's not just those looking to get better that need well-staffed resources within the workforce; it is also those seeking dignity and comfort in their final months and years. People in Wales deserve excellent care from the cradle to the grave, and that's why my Welsh Conservative colleagues and I continue to call for a considerable funding boost for the sector, to the tune of £10 million each year, every year, for a full Senedd term. With resources of this scale, the dedicated and compassionate workforce that delivers palliative care in Wales would get the support they desperately need. It would also open the door to a comprehensive census of a workforce that, for far too long, has lacked clear and accurate data on staff numbers and distribution.

So, Cabinet Minister, will you today pledge your support to this vital sector with the resources it needs to ensure that we can all look forward to a dignified final chapter in our lives, and can you assure me that it will fully include this new strategy going forward as well? Thank you.

I thank the Member for that series of questions. And, once again, I welcome the fact that she, like the other Members, offered some warm and kind words about this proposed strategy in these early days, and welcomed what I said. So I'm grateful for that.

You mentioned at the top of your contribution the role that data and collecting data will play, and that's integral in identifying where we're at now and the needs of the workforce here. But I'll reiterate what I said earlier, that it isn't about looking at the vacancies that we have today alone. This is about planning for the health needs of Wales today and tomorrow so that we have a workforce that fits the demands of an ageing population, a population that survives more ill health and carries more chronic ill health with it. Part of the issue around data—and I was remiss not to respond to the question by Ken earlier—is around artificial intelligence and the utilisation of digitisation and health, and that's an integral part of this. AI and digital will play a key role in the roll-out of this. We are developing a 10-year strategy on digitisation, which will have to dovetail with this, along with the other strategies that we're developing, such as the cancer strategy, women's health and others, so that we work together, ensuring that we have a workforce plan suitable for those demands.

The Member referenced the need to—. You had the opportunity to repeat the manifesto pledges of the Conservative Party and said that they were welcomed and praised by a number of people. So were ours, to the degree that we're now in Government trying to implement them. So, I will encourage you to continue to try and push your manifesto pledges from the benches. I am now trying to fulfil our manifesto pledges, which is what I'm doing here today in part.

But when you mentioned the ambulance service—. There was one thing that you said, that the Wales ambulance service turned down an entire cohort of paramedics. I'd just like to correct that for the record. They haven't turned down the entire cohort. Most of those have been employed, not necessarily as paramedics as yet, but they will work—[Interruption.] Exactly. They will work through the system. But it's not a situation we should have been in and it's not a situation that was acceptable to anybody here, I'm sure. So, that's why we need a workforce plan, to try and make sure we don't reach that point again. However, we are going through a four-year cycle at the moment, because the issues that were raised this year relate to four years ago and it'll take a number of years for that to go through the system. But may I just remind you as well that, here in Wales, we've got a streamlining process, which isn't in England nor elsewhere, which tries to allocate positions and jobs for those graduates? That should be welcomed, and that's what we have to try and do—make sure that as many of the people that are trained in Wales and graduate from Wales are found positions in Wales. [Interruption.] Ideally, it would be all of them, but it's going to be really difficult moving forward over the next number of years, because they were commissioned based on the information of four years ago and three years ago and so on. But we will certainly work on that. And that's part of why we need a workforce strategy, to work with HEIW and to work with employers and everybody to identify where graduates and others need to go.

You asked about engagement with the bodies. Well, that's what we're doing now, which is what I set out in my statement, over the next number of weeks, through to the new year. And on palliative and end-of-life care, we had a debate on that a couple of weeks ago, but the workforce plan will be looking at the needs of the whole spectrum of the service, from birth until end of life.

We now move to one-minute contributions. And first of all, Gwyn Williams.

Diolch, Lywydd. The NHS is nothing without its workforce. As a declaration of interest, I am part of it. It shocks me how much work needs to be done as a nation to properly plan ahead to protect this precious, limited, but also ferociously expensive resource from being lost to us. Why spend so much time, effort and money training the best healthcare providers around only to lose them because of a criminal lack of planning? I am glad that, due to your efforts, 253 nursing graduates who did not have jobs now have been given them, but we need to address this scandalous history that we have of paramedics, midwives, nurses, highly trained healthcare workers leaving Wales. I can myself personally attest to the fact that, through HEIW, we train the best consultants in the world, who then can't get jobs in Wales and leave—they need a job. But why is this happening? Because health boards release jobs only once a Byzantine job approval process has been completed, unrelated to when the trainees are ready. Workforce planning in Wales is so difficult because we have too many health boards. Will the Minister agree that workforce planning needs to be undertaken outside of the broken health board system, to better protect this most vital resource of ours, which, I have to say, is across the board, including strokes as well? We had a stroke event upstairs. Postcode lotteries in Wales are a big problem, including with this.

Diolch. Well, we agree that our NHS workforce is our most valuable asset, and retaining talented healthcare professionals trained in Wales is a priority. The challenge that the Member raised is exactly why we're developing a long-term workforce strategy that strengthens the link between workforce planning, education, training and the future service needs. The strategy places a much stronger emphasis on workforce intelligence, long-term planning and ensuring education and training are aligned with future models of care. Our workforce planning must be connected to wider service transformation, including prevention, community-based care and multidisciplinary team working, rather than considered separately from these changes.

As a parent myself, I very well remember the stress that's caused when a birth plan has to change. Sometimes, of course, this is necessary for medical reasons, but we know that some parents are sent to different hospitals than the one they'd expected because there aren't enough staff, or, shockingly, that no midwives were available to support a planned home birth. A report issued by the Royal College of Midwives warns that nine in 10 midwives say unsafe staffing levels affect the quality of care for women and babies. Sustainable, safe staffing is essential to ensure every maternity service has enough staff to provide safe, compassionate, personalised neonatal care. Cabinet Minister, in July, you assured me that the Government was working to recruit as many graduate midwives as possible. Can you provide an update on this and commit to publishing transparent workforce plans across the NHS services, particularly in midwifery, so that expectant parents and midwives can see action being taken to address staff shortages?

I thank the Member for those comments, and it's perfectly right to say that there are far too many reports historically by the NHS in Wales that have been critical of the infant services that we have.

And far too often we've seen that there's a lack of midwives in Wales, and that has contributed to some of the problems in the services that we've got here. So, that will be a part of this workforce strategy—that we identify the demands, current and future, where those demands will be, and how we can best mitigate those, or best make sure that we've got the workforce required to carry out the needs, either in the hospital, but also in the community, which is often forgotten. So, I've said before that we will be publishing the strategy in the new year, and it will be transparent, and it will be there for everybody to scrutinise, and we'll have another session in the new year along the same lines as this today.

Diolch, Cabinet Minister, for your statement. Last August, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales found that discharge delays at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital were causing long waits and overcrowding in its emergency departments. The same health board, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, spent around £26.5 million on agency staff in 2025-26 to fill gaps in its workforce. Yet this summer, dozens of midwives trained here in Wales, qualified, and found no NHS postings waiting for them. This is not a shortage of people willing to work in the NHS, it's a failure to plan. Cabinet Minister, how will this strategy match training places and funded posts so that health boards can reduce their reliance on agency staff? Will you publish targets for agency spend and delayed discharges for each health board, so that my constituents can judge whether it's working? Diolch.

Once again, thank you very much for that series of questions. It's entirely right to say that we have seen historically too much expenditure on agency staffing.

The Member might be aware that it was one of our commitments to reduce agency staff, and I'm glad to say that we've seen the spending on agency staff reduce significantly over the last number of years, and we are still trying to drive that down again. We're at a more difficult position now, where we're trying to make sure that we don't spend as much on some of the doctors that we have working who are agency workforce, but we're still driving down on agency staff costs. That will be something that we're working on over the coming months and the coming years, and it'll play a part of the wider strategy that we will be publishing in the new year on how we can shift from depending overly on agency staff through to having home-grown and locally employed staff members. 

I'll declare an interest in my contribution. Minister, through my own lived experience and work in transitional care, I understand how vital support during adolescence and young adulthood is for people living with long-term conditions. Policy has often treated transition as a paediatric issue, yet those growing through our services who I've listened to over decades rarely describe problems within paediatric services. Instead, they describe being lost to follow-up, with support falling off a cliff edge when they leave them. We've worked hard to develop a paediatric workforce that understands children's needs alongside their clinical conditions, but young adults have distinct needs too, particularly as they take greater responsibility to manage those lifelong conditions. As you develop the workforce strategy, how will you ensure that the NHS builds expertise in adolescent and young adult health care, rather than simply trying to manage a transition between services? Diolch yn fawr.

May I thank the Member for those comments and that question? She makes such an important point where the needs of children and young people are different to the needs of adults for a great number of different reasons. And so we need to develop services and, really, around those services, a strategy that meets the needs of that specific cohort of people.

You're quite right in stating that too many young people get lost in that process, when they move from childhood into adulthood, without it being recognised fully and without service continuity. That's why we are developing a children and young people health plan, which will then in time also dovetail with the broader workforce plan, because that cohort of people have their own needs and requirements and they will be considered in both plans, therefore.

I thank the Cabinet Minister.

We will move now to a statement by the Cabinet Minister for Finance: Wales procurement policy statement. I call on the Cabinet Minister for Finance, Elin Jones.

Llywydd, today I'm pleased to announce that a public consultation on the draft Wales procurement policy statement will open in the coming days. It's an opportunity to shape how we use the more than £11 billion of annual public spending to build a stronger Welsh economy. Our programme for government includes an ambition to increase public procurement expenditure with Wales-based suppliers towards 70 per cent. This will see more value retained in Wales so that businesses, workers and communities benefit from public sector investment. The statement will help to create the conditions in which Welsh businesses can compete successfully while protecting fair, open and lawful competition.

I'm determined that every £1 spent should work harder for Wales, strengthening businesses and supply chains, supporting good jobs and skills and delivering fairer, greener and more resilient outcomes. Procurement is one of our most significant levers for delivering our priorities. The draft policy statement therefore sets one clear strategic priority, namely to strengthen the Welsh economy. That does not diminish our ambitions for sustainability, fair work, social value, community well-being, the Welsh language, decarbonisation or cultural outcomes. Those ambitions are integral to the economy we want to build and they're reflected in our wider legislative framework.

Spending alone does not guarantee these benefits. It's not simply by completing a procurement exercise and awarding a contract that we measure success. It must be measured by what those contracts deliver: stronger businesses, good jobs and skills, resilient supply chains, innovation and thriving communities. The ambition in our programme for government is not a quota or a preference for suppliers based on where they're located. Competition must remain fair, open, transparent and legally compliant. But we must enable capable Welsh firms, including small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises, to compete on merit.

The statement will turn that ambition into practical action. It will set out the practical levers we can use to open up opportunities for Welsh businesses and remove unnecessary barriers. In practice, that means clearer procurement pipelines so that businesses have time to prepare, invest or form consortia; earlier market engagement so that public bodies understand what suppliers can offer before requirements are fixed; and appropriately designed contracts, with proportionate evidence requirements and lots where suitable, so that smaller suppliers can compete. It also means prompt payment, outcome-based specifications and stronger contract management so that commitments on jobs, skills, fair work and environmental benefits are delivered—not simply promised.

There must be stronger leadership, capability and collaboration across the Welsh public sector to support delivery. I want to recognise the important work of the Welsh Local Government Association and its national procurement network. Our new procurement leadership board for Wales at official level will provide co-ordination and challenge, while our new community of practice, Cydweithio, will connect professionals across Wales to share expertise and translate policy into practice. A fantastic example of where that is already happening is through the work of the Caerphilly Business Club, which brings businesses together to collaborate and build stronger networks. It reflects the approach that we want to see in Wales: businesses seizing opportunities, and using public money to prosper and share locally.

The new Wales procurement policy statement is a starting point, not an end in itself. In addition to the Wales procurement policy statement, we are also developing complementary legislation to enable Welsh local authorities to reserve lower value contracts for local and UK suppliers, making effective use of flexibilities under the Procurement Act 2023 and bringing more opportunities within reach of local businesses. Our ambition on procurement will also need to be underpinned by a stronger understanding of the value that public spending creates. We are therefore developing a new measure of Welsh economic value to give us a clearer picture of how procurement is strengthening our economy and how much value is being generated and retained in Wales.

Policy alone will not change practice. Success depends on public bodies having the capability to act and suppliers having the opportunity to respond. We will therefore back the statement with leadership, guidance, training, better data and practical support. And Welsh Government must lead by example. Too often, procurement can be considered only once the major policy and delivery decisions have already been taken. I want commercial thinking to happen earlier, when it can help shape policy, understand markets, identify opportunities and secure greater value for Wales.

That is why the consultation matters so much. We want to test whether we are addressing the right barriers, whether our proposals are practical, what support is missing and what would make the greatest difference to businesses seeking to compete for public contracts. So, today I'm asking contracting authorities, businesses, trade unions, social partners, the third sector and communities if they'll respond to the consultation, challenge us and share experiences. Help us to shape a Wales procurement policy statement that turns the power of public spending into lasting value for Wales. I urge Members, therefore, to encourage participation at a local level throughout Wales.

Responses will inform the final Wales procurement policy statement before it is brought before the Senedd for the statutory 40-day period. Once the final statement takes effect, Welsh contracting authorities within scope will have a legal duty for the first time to have regard to it, and I want its principles to be embraced more widely across the Welsh public sector.

We will measure success by outcomes, not activity: whether practice changes, participation widens, smaller suppliers succeed and contracts deliver jobs, skills, community benefits and environmental improvements. The consultation will help us determine what meaningful and proportionate measures should look like before the final approach is agreed. It's a time for a shift in mindset. Procurement needs to be more than merely a transactional process; it needs to be used deliberately as a strategic lever. If we get this right, the prize is significant: a stronger Welsh economy, better jobs and skills and greater opportunities for businesses and communities in every part of Wales. Diolch.

I support the principle behind this statement: Welsh public money should create more opportunities for Welsh businesses. More than £11 billion is spent on public procurement in Wales every year, so getting this right matters. Reform's own manifesto calls for public bodies to buy locally wherever that represents value for money.

However, I have a few points of concern with your statement, Minister. Let me start with the target. The Government wants to raise the share of spending with Wales-based suppliers to 70 per cent. Minister, an ambition is not enough to see change; we need solid details. What is the verified starting point? Will you publish a delivery plan with annual milestones towards 70 per cent, and will individual public bodies be held accountable for their progress? Public procurement must also follow the rules on fair competition and equal treatment. You say the 70 per cent ambition is not a geographical preference, yet you are proposing new powers to reserve lower value contracts for local and UK suppliers. How will those powers operate in practice, and when a local bid costs more, how will you make sure taxpayers still get value for money?

My second point is about what counts as Welsh. My concern is that we could change how success is measured without actually improving outcomes for Welsh businesses. In a written answer last month, the Minister confirmed that the current measure is based on a supplier's invoice address. It does not look at ownership, headquarters, employment or where the work is actually done. Put simply, a Welsh invoice address does not necessarily mean Welsh jobs. You have confirmed that a new measure of Welsh economic value is being developed, but will it replace the current invoice address measure or simply sit alongside it, and when will it be published? And has the Government independently assessed how many extra jobs this policy will create and what evidence supports those figures?

That brings me to my third point: small and medium-sized businesses. Many smaller firms are shut out by large contract packages, expensive accreditations and layers of paperwork. The Minister's colleagues have talked about breaking contracts into smaller lots, but these are tools public bodies can already use. What has been missing is delivery. What will actually change? What will set the measurable expectations for public bodies to make contracts accessible to smaller firms, and what practical support will you provide to help Welsh SMEs bid together rather than continuing to lose out to larger contractors?

And then there is the so-called social value. Whether it's diversity, equity and inclusion targets or climate change red tape, it piles on administration that makes it extremely hard for Welsh SMEs to compete for Government contracts. Big companies have whole departments to deal with this; a family firm does not. We should cut out this nonsense, so that the Welsh small businesses can compete with big players. Minister, will you cut the bureaucracy facing Welsh SMEs?

My fourth point is that you have also announced the procurement leadership boards for Wales and Cydweithio. We already have enough bureaucracy in Wales without adding unnecessary administrative costs. Even Audit Wales recently warned that Wales's public service landscape was crowded and overly complex and called for fewer, clearer structures. How many people will be working in these new initiatives and how much will they cost?

My fifth and final point is prompt payment. The law already generally requires payment within 30 days; the question is whether that works in practice. Take one example: Powys Teaching Health Board's 2025-26 accounts show that 91.8 per cent of non-NHS bills were paid within 30 days when counted by number, but only 80.2 per cent when counted by value. In other words, the bigger bills are the ones more likely to be paid late. And paying the main contractor on time does not guarantee that smaller subcontractors are paid on time. So, will the Government report payment performance by value as well as by number, and will they make sure existing protections are enforced right down the supply chain?

To conclude, the procurement target is not an outcome in itself. The real outcome is more Welsh businesses winning viable contracts and being paid promptly for them. So, will the Minister commit to publishing an annual breakdown of procurement spending by region, sector and business size, alongside evidence of value for money? Without that transparency, this Senedd will have no reliable way of judging whether this policy has delivered for Welsh businesses.

Llywydd, to answer those points, I think the Member has outlined the weaknesses of the current system in place and how we measure against the target that the Government has outlined in our own programme for government, and, for exactly the reasons outlined by the Member, how we measure the real economic benefit to communities and businesses in Wales of public procurement contracts as they are awarded, currently on the basis of where the invoice address is. That's exactly why in this statement and in this work we are going to be looking at ensuring that there is a new Welsh supplier spend methodology to track the move towards the 70 per cent ambition, so that this will provide a consistent and more reliable basis for identifying expenditure with Wales-based suppliers, establishing that baseline—that is important, as the Member says—in order to be able to work towards the 70 per cent of spend and being able to track that change over time. That work is part of what I am announcing today, so that we do have a more reliable ability to clarify what the exact spend within Wales is from procurement contracts that have been awarded, and that we are able to track that, and hold all of us, and the Government especially, accountable for that. That work is part of the process and the progress that we're doing as a result of the statement today.

On smaller lots, you asked about the legislation that I will be bringing forward on lower-value contracts and the ability for local authorities to be able to allow those contracts to be awarded locally for those lower-value projects. There will be measures in place to ensure that value for money is protected in that context, but you will have an opportunity to scrutinise that legislation as it comes forward in the near future.

I agree with you that the economic impact should be very much the way to measure the success of the procurement statement that we will be consulting on. Economic impact is the driving force of what this new procurement statement is going to look at, whilst also recognising that it conforms to all legislation and that architecture that currently exists. But very much as you have outlined, the real benefit to our economy in Wales will come from being able to ensure that more of the £11 billion spend and more that public contracting authorities offer in terms of procurement work is spent meaningfully here in Wales. The work is starting on how we get that meaningful data that we want to ensure, to make sure that when these public contracts are awarded, they are awarded meaningfully in a way that means that the benefit will remain within Wales.

Another consultation, Minister. What's this—the tenth, the fifteenth? I've lost count. I'm not sure. However, I would agree that public procurement is one of the most powerful tools available to the Government. Every year, as has been mentioned, public bodies in Wales do spend over £11 billion on goods and services. And we agree that that expenditure should not just provide value for money. It should also support our broader ambitions—economically, socially and environmentally.

Welsh Labour in Government worked to ensure procurement was about more than simply purchasing at the lowest cost. Through the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023, we embedded socially responsible procurement into law, linked public spending to fair work outcomes, and recognised that how a company treats its workforce matters just as much as the contract it delivers. So, I welcome much of the Minister's statement, as it has the potential to build on previous work in this area. I would like to understand more about the Government's priorities and whether some of the commitments made by Plaid Cymru before the election remain commitments in full. And there's a recurring theme there as well, isn't there? Because in your manifesto, there was a commitment to increasing the spend on Wales-based suppliers from 55 per cent to at least 70 per cent, but in the programme for government now it only talks about aiming to increase spending towards 70 per cent. Can the Minister explain the difference between those two commitments?

Llywydd, supporting Welsh businesses and local supply chains is crucially important. Successive Welsh Labour Governments have made significant progress in terms of increasing the number of Welsh businesses that tender for public contracts and win those tenders. So, we strongly support the aim of building on the progress already made in this area. But what I hope the Minister will be aware of is that we can't create a choice between supporting Welsh companies and supporting fair work. We should be doing both.

The Welsh Government's rhetoric on procurement has focused on where companies are based. There is perhaps less focus on how companies treat their workers. The existing procurement policy statement commits the Welsh public sector to working with stakeholders to promote fair work in Wales. That principle reflects the approach Welsh Labour took in Government through social partnership legislation and socially responsible procurement duties. Will the Minister therefore confirm that fair work will remain a core principle of your procurement policy? And will the updated policy statement continue to promote secure employment, decent pay, collective bargaining and meaningful trade union engagement as key outcomes of procurement decisions? We want to foster good, unionised jobs at accredited real living wage employers. And if the Government is serious about measuring Welsh economic value, surely fair work must be part of that calculation. Welsh economic value cannot simply mean a Welsh postcode; it must also mean decent jobs, fair pay and strong employment standards.

Finally, Llywydd, I do want to turn to the example of Cardiff Council, if I may, because during my time as leader there we developed and implemented a socially responsible procurement strategy that went well beyond simply buying locally. It sought to reduce carbon emissions, enhance biodiversity, embed fair work and ethical employment practices—all those things I heard Cai referencing earlier—and create sustainable employment and skills opportunities. And the results speak for themselves. In 2024-25, £234 million was spent with suppliers based in Cardiff, £363 million with Welsh suppliers. Last year, an incredible 80 per cent of Cardiff's overall spend was with Wales-based organisations. So I do ask again why the Plaid Cymru Government is being so timid with its 'towards 70 per cent' target. The example and experience of Cardiff, and indeed other councils, shows that supporting Welsh businesses, promoting fair work, creating opportunities for local people and delivering environmental benefits are not competing objectives. They can and should go hand in hand, and I hope that this can be reflected when the work is taken forward at the end of the consultation period. Diolch yn fawr.

To start with the first point about consultation, I'm sure if the Government didn't consult on a new policy on procurement, then there would be criticism of the lack of consultation. As it happens, it's a statutory requirement for us to consult because the procurement statement ultimately will be a statutory statement, and there will be a requirement on the contracting authorities in Wales to have regard to that policy statement. There is a statutory process that leads to that statutory statement, so consultation is part of that. So, we're not having a consultation just for the sake of it, we're doing it to comply with the law, but also to maintain that meaningful dialogue with those in the contracting area and those who are businesses and co-operatives who want to be part of the public contracting network in Wales, in whichever sector.

To respond to the point about the target, it is 70 per cent, yes, that's the ambition, but that's not even the limit. So, it's towards 70 per cent and beyond, if I can put it that way. But maybe the most important point in terms of that target of 70 per cent, returning to the comments made by the Reform Member previously, is how to measure that target, what exactly is the value of that target in the first place, in terms of how it's defined at present and the need for us to be creating this new measure for what exactly we are measuring and delivering, so that that bears more fruit in terms of the economy in Wales and for broader issues that we want to try to deliver given this policy change. And just to give the Member confidence that the exact points that he has raised—in terms of ensuring fair employment and fair work and compliance with legislation that already governs procurement in the context of social partnership—are all going to be a mechanism that continues under the new system.

If I could finish by making reference to the point that the Member made about Cardiff Council. When a contracting authority goes about using the money and the procurement policy to achieve an aim that does genuinely deliver what Cardiff Council or any council wants to see, on a local or national level in Wales, when proactive work happens at the council level, what we want to see now is that that is extended across Wales, so that we do move from what I said in the statement—that procurement policy is only seen as some kind of transactional lever and an agreement—so that it's seen as an economic and social lever in its own right, and that the public body can be proactive in terms of how it undertakes that procurement work to mean something a lot more than just the value of the contract itself, and that it delivers so much more for the economy more broadly.

If we could learn from what Cardiff Council has done, and other councils—I mentioned, of course, the work in the Caerphilly area—then what's important in this is that we do now use this to create that procurement architecture across Wales so that the policy permeates all contracting authorities.

Cabinet Minister, thank you for your statement here this afternoon, and also for early sight of the statement, and also just to recognise that you have recognised the challenges faced by small businesses in particular when looking to engage with public sector procurement processes. We may disagree on a lot of things, we may agree on some things, and I hope one of those things we do agree on is that healthy competition in procurement is really important and valuable for ensuring that best value for money takes place for taxpayers here in Wales. If there can be more things taking place to ensure smaller firms can engage with procurement, that is an important thing to see happen.

We heard from the Federation of Small Businesses, Cabinet Minister, that, of the £778 million that the Welsh Government were directly responsible for when it comes to procurement in 2023-24, only 33.5 per cent went to those small and medium enterprises. I wonder, in your ambition to see more small firms engage with procurement, if there's an issue here about leading by example by the Welsh Government itself. You described the £11 billion-worth of procurement in the public purse. The Welsh Government itself is responsible for a significant part of that directly. I wonder if you may want to, in your response, comment on how you think the Welsh Government itself can lead by example when it comes to ensuring that small firms are able to engage in that procurement.

The FSB have also told us that more than a third of SMEs interested in public contracts do not know how to access them. Those are Welsh businesses ready and able to provide goods and services to the Government. Firms who could be contributing in new and innovative ways are being shut out of the procurement pipeline because of the lack of accessible information, stifling that all-important competition, which drives down those prices for the taxpayer. And that's why I do welcome your announcement that the new procurement policy will seek to aim to make it easier for those SMEs to bid for public contracts and that they'll be able to group together to deliver larger orders as well. The detail of how these processes are made easier is all-important, however, and efforts must also be made to make sure barriers continue to be broken down and that new firms in particular are frequently brought to the table. So, I wonder, in your response, if you'll be able to outline how you will ensure that efforts to widen access to Welsh Government procurement contracts continuously seek to engage new and upcoming businesses as well.

As Welsh Conservatives, we support raising the number of Welsh firms given those procurement contracts. We promised in our manifesto to give priority to Welsh firms, particularly small businesses and the all-important food and drink producers who want to compete for Government contracts as well. And we support boosting Welsh businesses by spending more of the Welsh Government's considerable procurement budget here in Wales, creating measurable impacts, like increasing jobs, growth and investment.

Specifically, Cabinet Minister, I welcome the statement's commitment to better supporting our food and drink sector, including our crucial farmers and farming communities. Increasing the proportion of Welsh-origin food into the public sector would be a much-needed boost for our farmers. But I want the Welsh Government to look beyond food when thinking about how to support Welsh producers across all departments and spending areas. So, I wonder if you'll commit today to work with your Cabinet colleagues to look beyond food and drink, at how else public procurement policy can be used to support our farmers and agricultural industry.

I do, Cabinet Minister, have some concerns about Plaid Cymru's emphasis on the Preston model, which you outlined in your party's manifesto in the election. However, the Preston model risks politicising the procurement sector. In your manifesto, you stated that contract bids should be scored on community impact and social value, yet they're two loosely defined categories, and attempting to measure the social value of a firm in particular would always be dependent on some politically charged framework or contentious and time-consuming set of hurdles, just like we've seen with Plaid Cymru's ethical defence review. I would argue that so much of social value—nearly all of social value—is actually found in businesses functioning well, jobs being created and people having dignity in finding work. So, instead of emphasising impossible-to-pin-down metrics, the people of Wales should see an efficient procurement framework that focuses on value for money and delivers a real measurable increase in jobs, investment and direct spending here in Wales. So, I wonder what safeguards you would put in place to ensure that firms are not forced to prioritise ideological posturing over delivering value for money when securing Welsh Government contracts. Diolch, Lywydd.

Thanks for that contribution and those issues that you've raised, and I'll address them as I heard them. It is most important to ensure that we have the best value possible via competition, and competition and conforming to the legislation on competition on public contracts will remain beyond this policy statement and this new direction from the Welsh Government, because ensuring that we have the best value for the public purse is something that is particularly important to me, as this Government's finance Minister.

You made a specific point, and I think it's an important one for me as Minister and for us as a Government to hear, and that is that we need to practise what we are actually talking about here. And you made reference to the spend by Welsh Government itself on public procurement and the FSB's analysis on how much of that is within Wales. So, this relates to something I did say in the statement. We need, as we are developing new policies, putting new policies into practice in Wales, to have an early insight into how that policy would be rolled out and any direct procurement that would be needed as a result of that. It shouldn't be an afterthought to a policy design, it should be there in the mix in terms of how a policy is designed from the start. Also, we need to ensure that we, as a Government, are not merely rolling over contracts from one time period to the next, extending a contract because it is the most straightforward thing to do. We need to ensure that there is continued challenge and opportunity for businesses out there to be bidding for contracts. So, there is certainly an emphasis, from me as the Minister here, to ensure that Government colleagues will be putting into practice what we—. And we will be, as a contracting authority, needing to pay that due regard to this statement once it is finalised.

The point about SMEs—quite often, they don't know how to access public contracts. There is certainly more work that needs to be done to ensure that that ability to understand what contracts are out there, and then how to bid for those contracts, is certainly important. I reference the Caerphilly Business Club, at a local level, that are ensuring that networks of businesses that can learn from each other, even contract together, are part of the work that we need to design and upscale now within Wales.

Also in this work, we will look to be sector-specific in how we introduce the policy. There are some sectors in Wales where there is close to already 100 per cent, within Wales, public procurement contracts. So, the contracts for supply teachers, for example—those contracts are primarily let within Wales. Contracts on pharmaceuticals are very different. That percentage is very low in terms of pharmaceutical contracts that are let in that. So, working out where the sectors that can gain greater advantage and perform better are, and working with those sectors, is important.

You referenced a particular sector, food and drink, but the farming sector is part of that. The food and drink sector and farming within that is an issue that is often discussed when we discuss public procurement contracts, and there is good practice in some parts of Wales, and there is far more that can be done. The food strategy that the Minister next to me is responsible for designing will no doubt feature the work that needs to be improved on food and drink procurement into the public sector contracts in Wales.

There may well be more work. I think you allude to farms being more directly able to compete for public contracts. Again, it's a sector that we could look at to develop more thinking around how those in the farming sector could avail themselves of contracts, as they become available in their local areas or nationally.

I do want to stress, though, in the end, that this is a change in the Government's direction, and it does look very specifically, and it does uplift where we want to be, in terms of the real economic impact of public procurement and that spending in Wales. We really do want to meaningfully be able to measure that and to, ultimately, be able to capture more of that £11 billion or so spend and retain it, and its value, both for the companies and the workers and the communities that they represent throughout Wales.

One-minute contributions now, and first of all, Sera Evans.

Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, I welcome this statement very warmly.

The ambition this Government has for procurement in Wales is absolutely the right one. This is one of the most powerful economic levers we have, and we should be using it in a more deliberate way to ensure that the public pound works harder for the Welsh economy, building Welsh businesses and Welsh SMEs. But it is a function that suffers from a skills deficit, an issue that bleeds into all other aspects of the procurement process. Historically, Welsh Government-led efforts to recruit, train and retain a sufficient number of procurement professionals in Wales have been piecemeal and ad hoc. But there are replicable models to draw from in the form of the transforming procurement through home-grown talent programme, which ran from 2010 to 2015, but for which no successor was ever successfully delivered. I wonder whether the Cabinet Minister, in seeking to upscale our ambitions for procurement in Wales, has made any assessment of whether this programme can be learnt from and built on. How will Government seek to improve procurement capacity and training? Diolch.

Thank you for that comment. That's at the heart of what we're seeking to deliver as a Government with this new procurement statement, which is to ensure that we put that architecture in place that allows people working within this sector to be empowered so that they are more confident in the work that they deliver.

We have too many examples still in Wales where some of the contracting authorities we have are very small—maybe just one person or half a full-time individual responsible for procurement within those organisations. So, we need to ensure that those individuals working in procurement are given the training and are empowered to be as deliberate—it's the word that you used yourself—as they can be in the way in which they deliver that work, develop the work and create that relationship with the economic sectors out there, in order to create contracts that will be attractive to those businesses so that they can compete for those contracts.

So, that training that runs across the whole procurement sector as a professional sector, across our public services—. Ensuring that there is support for the professionals working in that sector is a core part of the work programme that we wish to put in place now.

I ran a small Welsh digital marketing and website design business for 27 years. In that time, we won contracts from London hospitals, English schools, European banks and even the United Nations, yet we were unable to bid for most Welsh public contracts as our turnover was too low. So, I support the principle of using public procurement to strengthen Welsh businesses and local supply chains. But the real question is whether the updated statement will remove the obstacles facing small Welsh firms or simply create an illusion of fairness. Will the Minister set out concrete timelines for the 70 per cent ambition? How will the new measure of Welsh economic value actually work? And will she confirm that the primary focus will be improving practical access for small and medium Welsh firms? Diolch.

Thank you, and congratulations on winning all those contracts. Of course, the test of a policy statement and of a procurement statement of this nature will be on whether firms feel enabled to be able to bid for those contracts. Whether they win them or not, they need to be assured that they are able to compete fairly for contracts in Wales. So, I'm absolutely of the mindset of removing obstacles, and not creating an illusion of that, but doing that in practice.

In terms of ensuring that we have the right measure in place of economic impact, and how we provide the baseline for that measure, and then how all of us are able to track progress against that measure, then that is the test that you rightly set to me as Minister. It is the work that I'm doing at this point in order to be able to establish that measure for us, so that, as this progresses to become a statement that is required to be regarded and is a statutory statement, and as the roll-out of this work continues, we can do it in a meaningful way and that you can scrutinise the progress on it. But we do need to spend some time now to be developing the work in establishing that data set and how it can be measured, then, into the future, and I will make sure that I keep the Senedd and its various committees updated on how we begin the roll-out of this work.

First of all, I'd like to congratulate the Minister. This has probably made me the happiest I could ever imagine. [Laughter.] For today. Just for today. I have dreamed of a Wales—. Wales has been stripped. If you ask why Wales is poor, Wales has been stripped of its base-level economy, and, for the last 10 years, all I've wanted to do is try to push for this.

Now, I've thrown my speech away, so I hope you don't mind me flying and shooting straight. Wales has been stripped. Every time we spend £100, hardly any of that gets spent in Wales. A foundation for a house is important, but it's also important for an economy. It's a prerequisite to any macro-economic development, creating a multiplier effect—Wales probably has the lowest multiplier effect in the whole of northern Europe. It creates social justice, a green economy and sustainable growth.

The one point that hasn't been mentioned to any great extent here today is the very fact that when Labour, over the last few years, have been looking at increasing procurement utilisation for economic growth, the 55 per cent that they've got to is not anywhere near that 55 per cent, because—it's already been mentioned—if you follow the money back, a lot of the business that's gone to Welsh business isn't owned in Wales, it's actually owned away, and therefore it's much lower—probably about 35 per cent to 40 per cent. 

We do appreciate how overjoyed the Member is, but—

I am. I really am.

—would you now put a question, please?

What I would really like to push here is that, with that taken into account, that target that Labour have set is a false target. They've not achieved anywhere near that. The devil is in the detail, and I would very much like to know how we're going to achieve these growths. How are you going to do this sustainably? Please, could you advise?

Well, thank you for the passion. I know, having served in previous Senedds and in this one, that public procurement and how we spend the money available to us as a Senedd, as a Government, as the public sector in Wales, how we do that in a meaningful way, is something that means something to Members across the communities in Wales. So, getting to a better place of being able to spend more money meaningfully in Wales is something most definitely that we are seeking to achieve here. And I think the test is, as you outlined, to follow the money. Where is that money meaningfully being able to be spent?

So, I go back to the answers I've given previously on being able to create this Welsh measure of the economic impact of public procurement, and I can say that we're already in discussion with the ONS, the Office for National Statistics, on how we map the procurement spending data together with the business information that they have as an Office for National Statistics, so that we can, hopefully, with the data sets already available, and how we map those across data sets, be able to provide that baseline from which we can start to follow the money.

I was going to ask for some Fergie time then. Cabinet Minister, thank you for your statement. Recently, you rightly said that Wales must drive further efficiency across the public sector, and nowhere does that matter more than in procurement, which should deliver both value for taxpayers and opportunities for local firms.

In Carmarthenshire, the council's conversion of the former Debenhams store into the Atriwm hub began with a £19.6 million proposal in 2021. That scheme is now forecast to cost £41 million, which includes £9 million from the Welsh Government, and it's already a year behind schedule. More than 800 people in Carmarthenshire have signed a petition questioning how contracts were awarded and why costs more than doubled. And, let's be honest, they shouldn't have to petition for those answers. So, will this procurement statement require councils to publish, for every major project, how the contract was awarded, why work was or wasn't split into lots, and how the final cost and completion date compare with the original plan? And will it make sure that those contracts set out how delays and cost overruns are measured and penalised so that taxpayers aren't left to pick up the bill? Diolch.

The statement, the procurement statement, that we're going to be consulting on in its draft form will ultimately become a statement, a policy, a procurement policy statement, that will have a statutory basis. It will come back to this Senedd and, once passed, all contracting authorities will have to have due regard to the policy statement.

Just generally, and this isn't in specific reference to the Carmarthen project that you outlined, we have seen over the last five years to seven years a huge increase in public sector contract costs. That is happening right across—especially in capital costs, but not just in capital costs. That is an issue that is not just for public sector building projects, but it is also for building projects right across the private sector as well. That is an issue of inflation that hits the public purse, and is one that we're very aware of as a Government.

In this context, then, this is about putting the right policy statement for procurement in place so that contracting authorities need to have that due regard to it. It needs to be transparent, as you've outlined yourself, and it needs to provide the value for money that we all want to see from the Welsh pound. That's what we want to achieve through this statement, and I urge Members to ensure that businesses and all interested parties in their communities engage with any views that they have during this consultation, and any part of the Senedd or groups here who have a view on where it can be improved as part of the consultation, to make sure that, as a Government, we're informed of that. And, ultimately, it will be the Senedd's procurement policy statement that we will have in place in Wales.

Thank you very much, Cabinet Minister.

We'll move now to the statement by the Trefnydd, Chief Whip and Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport on the future of media in Wales—Heledd Fychan.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. The media is not simply another sector of our economy. It's a vital part of the democratic, cultural and civic infrastructure of our nation. It informs us, challenges us, and holds power to account. It enables us to see and hear Wales reflected back to us, carrying Welsh stories, talent and creativity to audiences across the world.

The media's contribution touches many of our priorities as a Government. It supports good jobs and economic growth, shapes our culture, strengthens the Welsh language, promotes Wales internationally, supports education and skills, and sustains informed democratic participation. And it punches well above its weight. We have a vibrant independent production sector, which is uniquely Welsh and Welsh medium in nature, and we are renowned for quality productions. Our creative talent consistently demonstrates that work made in Wales can be both unmistakably Welsh and internationally successful.

But, of course, the sector is not without its challenges. Significant change in how content is distributed and how people discover it and view it is fundamentally reshaping modern society. Digital transition is happening now, and is accelerating, but audiences are not all moving at the same pace. At the same time, broadcasters and publishers face rising costs, constrained budgets, changing advertising markets and intense competition from global platforms with far greater scale. The growth of algorithmically selected news and the spread of misinformation and disinformation present a direct challenge to trust and democratic discussion. While traditional providers remain vital, the way people encounter information is increasingly fragmented and is shaped by platforms over which Wales has little influence.

These pressures are no longer abstract. The latest announcements on BBC and Channel 4 cuts mean long-running programmes are ending, numbers in newsrooms are reducing and workforces are shrinking. The First Minister and I recently wrote to the director general of the BBC to express our deep concern that the impact of these cuts could cause lasting damage to the BBC's role as a national institution. Whilst we appreciate his early response and recognise the financial pressures and the changing media landscape, I remain concerned that the cuts risk weakening Welsh language services and Welsh services, reducing news provision and cultural output and undermining democratic accountability in Wales.

The BBC has a unique responsibility in supporting the Welsh language, public service broadcasting and cultural life. I am supportive of a new permanent BBC royal charter, and my officials are currently engaging with Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials on the review. However, I've been clear that this Government's support is not unconditional. It's essential that we have confidence in the BBC's commitment to Wales and a clear understanding of future plans before decisions about the BBC's long-term future are taken. These decisions also have a fundamental impact on S4C and the budgets available to support Welsh-language programming for our audiences. In the face of these challenges, protecting this sector must be a priority for everyone— Government, politicians, regulators, platforms, public service media, industry and civil society all have their responsibilities.

It is our duty to fight for a future system where people across Wales can continue to access trusted, high-quality and freely available programmes for free—programmes made about them, for them and in their language of choice. That is the basis of this Government's position on the devolution of broadcasting and our commitment to develop a shadow broadcasting and communications authority for Wales, to help us to move beyond one-off consultation responses towards sustained Welsh capacity and accountability. Currently, broadcasting decisions affecting devolved areas every day, from culture and the Welsh language to economic development and community cohesion, remain at Westminster.

Too often, we're left to make our case after priorities have been set, rather than shaping them from the outset. Wales should not have to rely on informal or occasional representation when decisions are being taken that directly impact the people of Wales. And others share our view: Professor Medhurst's report on the devolution of broadcasting is the latest report looking at the need for a strengthened voice for Wales on broadcasting matters. That follows the calls of the expert panel on broadcasting, the Institute of Welsh Affairs, and the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.

Since my written statement in July, I've been carefully considering my next steps. I've heard and I've listened to the differing views of Members and have been speaking with stakeholders and assessing priorities so that I can provide reassurance that my approach is based on the latest available evidence and current needs. I remain confident that our approach is the right one and is an appropriate blend of direct intervention to support immediate sector needs and laying the foundations for a fit-for-purpose framework for the future.

While this has led to a short delay, the recruitment campaign for working group members will be launched this month, and we remain on target to hold the first meeting of the working group early in 2027. Alongside this commitment, we'll continue to support public interest journalism that delivers the greatest value for communities, plurality and democratic engagement. I'll provide an update on these plans soon. In addition, Creative Wales continues to support the wider creative industries, and we are making strong representations to the UK Government, the BBC, Ofcom and others regarding Wales's needs. Our view as a Government is strong. Public service media must remain universal, and they need to be prominent and easy to find on televisions and digital platforms. Any future transition away from digital terrestrial television must be gradual, based on evidence and supported by affordable, reliable and resilient connectivity. And any changes to commissioning, rights, quotas or ownership must be assessed for their impact on Welsh jobs, companies, skills and supply chains.

Members, Wales deserves a strong media rooted in public value and national ambition. The choices made in the next few years will shape not only what we watch, read and hear, but how our democracy functions, how our language thrives and how our nation sees itself and promotes itself internationally. This Government will use every power to protect our public service media and the people and businesses who create it, to develop a lasting Welsh voice and a future media we all deserve.

Thank you for your statement.

I have a few questions about the statement, please—three. The first question: you said that you engage with DCMS on the review of the BBC's royal charter. During those conversations, I'm sure you did mention the plans for a shadow devolved broadcasting authority. Can you tell us their initial response, please? That's my first question.

The second question: on page two, you talk about an appropriate blend of direct intervention to support immediate sector needs. Could I have more information about what that means, 'direct intervention', and the actual figure in pounds and pence as to the level of that intervention? And is this support now, in this financial year, or is this going to be a budget line in next year's, for 2027-28? So, more information about what is direct intervention now.

And then the final question is about the membership of the working group. I appreciate that's been slightly delayed, but are you able to publish the criteria now for the members of that working group before you launch the recruitment campaign later this month so we can be assured that it's a balanced working group? And can I be on it? [Laughter.]

I thank the Member for those questions. If I could start with that final point, clearly there are Members here who are members of the culture scrutiny committee, which will have a scrutiny role in terms of this, but the intention is for this to be an open call for people outwith this Senedd. It is an open, transparent process, so I can give that commitment, but Members of this Senedd do have other ways of scrutinising and holding me to account.

If I could address your first question on DCMS, I have asked for a direct meeting with Lisa Nandy. We haven't had that meeting yet, but I have made it clear in communications with her that our intention is to proceed with this work. Officials are also having those conversations. The First Minister also wrote to the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, talking about broadcasting as a package of broader changes that this Government wants to see. So, certainly, in terms of the demands made by this Government, it is unambiguous that the devolution of broadcasting is important to us and that we are looking to progress this work. What is clear for me as Minister, and what is clear for us as a Government, is that things aren't working for the benefit of Wales at the moment. And this is also reflected in a number of reports, including the most recent one, from Jamie Medhurst, which I referenced in my statement.

In terms of the points you raise on the response to what the sectors need, well, this is the work that the working group will undertake, to ensure that we do provide that support. If you are asking in terms of journalism—because you referred to a page in the statement but not specifically what you wanted me to reply to—if you would like to write to me with specifics, then I'd be happy to respond in writing to those.

I agree that the media is a vital part of the democratic, cultural and civic infrastructure of our nation. It informs us, challenges us, and holds power to account, enables us to see and hear Wales reflected back to us, carrying Welsh stories, talent and creativity to audiences across the world. 

Can I start with television? We used to have only two channels. We now have hundreds, including many dedicated to sport and film. A lot of these channels have substantially more financial strength than the BBC. There is a problem of political balance on both ITV and BBC, which was illustrated at the last Senedd election. In Wales, as well as the BBC and ITV, we have S4C, and local tv channels, such as that now broadcasting as Swansea Bay tv on channel 8 on Freeview in the Swansea region. Can I recommend it? Does the Minister agree that these local tv stations provide a very important service to communities? When asking for the devolution of broadcasting, does that mean that Wales has 5 per cent of the BBC licence fee?

The media is not just television. We have Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and several local radio stations. Swansea has lost Swansea Sound, which was a well-liked local broadcaster, which has been taken over by Greatest Hits Radio. Amongst the programmes lost were the Sunday phone-in, where listeners contacted the local radio station to express views or to quiz politicians on issues of interest to them. Swansea Bay radio station is a new local radio station that has opened. We also have a lot of hyperlocal radio stations. 

The Welsh written media has deteriorated further in the last few years. What remains of Wales's regional commercial English-language press is in a very sad decline. The print circulation of our English-language papers continues to dwindle, and websites struggle to produce revenue. As a subscriber to the South Wales Evening Post, I'm very supportive of local newspapers. Newspaper readership has declined dramatically. As the price of newspapers increases, the number of journalists reduces and sales decrease. 

As written media has declined, social media has grown. The bright spot on the Welsh media scene is Nation.Cymru. To quote from its launch statement, 

'Nation Cymru will not be a 24/7 news network. 

'We won’t be competing against the BBC or ITV to break every story.

'We would rather publish a handful of good stories or opinion pieces every week than thirty stories sourced from press releases, which have also appeared on every other platform.

'We understand that in this day and age people dip into individual stories through social media. They are not dependent on one news source for all their news as they used to be.

'There is no reason for us to waste precious resources creating content that is already being supplied by other sites.'

There's been a huge growth in people using social media. Many people increasingly rely on social media, particularly Facebook groups, to stay informed about what is happening in their area. These groups are often where residents learn about local events, services, council decisions and neighbourhood issues. 

There is serious concern about whether social media can meaningfully replace local journalism, and whether reliance on platforms like Facebook creates risks around misinformation, accountability and democratic engagement. Too often, misinformation is the reason for posts. [Inaudible.]—America, speaking of thrift shops and other American issues. Others are lies, and I say that without any fear of contradiction. Yesterday, I had on my Facebook feed that a number of retailers that no longer exist, such as Debenhams, have banned the wearing of poppies. While local Facebook groups clearly play a significant role in local information ecosystems, they are not a full replacement for professional local journalism. They lack consistent editorial oversight and are vulnerable to platform policy changes, and rely heavily on volunteer moderation and unpaid labour.

On journalism, to quote Andy Burnham, 

'We are putting power and resources back into the hands of communities.'

'But with greater local power must come local accountability. And that is why local journalism matters.'

What I'm asking now of the Welsh Government is to support the book council to continue to provide financial support to Nation.Cymru—while it is not perfect, it provides more balanced coverage than the BBC and ITV—and to use Welsh Government advertising to support local and regional newspapers in Wales. Local and regional newspapers are under severe financial pressure. The Welsh Government has the capacity to support them.

I thank the Member for echoing many of the points made in my statement. Clearly, things are changing, and it's challenging. And that's why we as a Government are clear that we need to make progress with the establishment of the shadow broadcasting authority working group. This goes beyond television, as the Member has already identified. This is about radio and it's about the media more broadly. I referred to digital platforms too in my statement, so I do hope that the Member would agree with me that this is an important step forward, and that this working group is badly needed in Wales. 

As I also said in my statement, in terms of the support for journalism, that is something that I will provide more information on soon.

I will respond in terms of the comment made by the Member on the UK Prime Minister and recent statements made by him on journalism. This is another example of DCMS and the UK Government not working with the Welsh Government. It is extremely frustrating. We have had a local journalism fund here in Wales that has been successful, and what's being done in England now is to duplicate much of that work without learning any lessons from us. That is why we need improved collaboration, particularly in areas where some areas are devolved. So, certainly, if the Member could also support us in terms of encouraging DCMS to work with us rather than making announcements without discussion with us, I'd be very grateful, and I hope all Members would support me in the fact that we should have a voice in those kinds of announcements.

The Member made numerous points on the importance of local channels, local radio, local newspapers, and that is exactly what this Government wants to address. The situation is very fragile. There are numerous cuts. Public service broadcasters, such as the BBC and Channel 4 and S4C, have played an exceptionally important role and have also sought to address some of the gaps that have been created as we see a reduction in the number of local newspapers. Perhaps, through that work, we haven't really seen how vulnerable the situation is.

I want to emphasise how serious the BBC cuts are in relation to Wales and that we should all be extremely concerned. So, I very much hope that I will have the support of this whole Senedd when I do meet with the BBC director general later this month, so that I can be unambiguous in relation to the fact that we need to continue to have that assurance from this Senedd if our support for the BBC is to continue.

I thank the Cabinet Minister for her statement this afternoon. Now, I welcome the opportunity for us to discuss the future of media in Wales. As today's statement recognises, the way in which we all consume information and media is quickly changing. There are huge opportunities and indeed challenges facing the media sector. As has already been said, social media platforms are increasingly becoming the primary means by which many people, particularly younger audiences, access news and current affairs. The Cabinet Minister is right to say that the way people encounter information is increasingly fragmented and shaped by platforms, over which Wales has little influence. But very little information on what the Government is doing to develop, influence and monitor the impact of social media in Wales is actually available. Therefore, I'd be grateful if she could tell us what assessment has been made of the impact of social media on news consumption habits in Wales, what data has been collected, and what implications this has for news quality, trust, and democratic engagement.

Now, today's statement also refers to the ongoing review of the BBC charter, which, of course, presents one of the most significant opportunities in a generation to shape the future role, funding and governance of the BBC. The process is currently considering how the BBC can continue to serve audiences across all parts of the United Kingdom while adapting to major technological and market changes, and it's essential that Welsh interests are fully represented during the charter review process. Further to what has already been said, can the Cabinet Minister provide an update on the latest discussions that her officials have had specifically with the BBC, and what assurances she has had that Wales's voice is being heard around that table?

Of course, a thriving media landscape is not only about national broadcasters, but local media output too, and I'm disappointed that today's statement doesn't tell us more about the role that it will have in the future. Hyperlocal media also plays a crucial role in so many of our communities, reflecting local identities. And I know, in my own constituency, local newspapers, community radio stations, and grass-roots media organisations continue to provide an important community service to residents. However, those businesses are struggling, and so perhaps the Cabinet Minister could tell us what more can the Welsh Government do to help hyperlocal media businesses not just survive, but actually become sustainable. Does she agree with me that a strong local media sector supports community cohesion, creates employment opportunities and develops creative talent while also strengthening democratic engagement by giving people a meaningful stake in the stories and issues affecting their communities?

Today's statement refers to the shadow broadcasting and communications authority, and it will come as no shock to the Cabinet Minister that we on these benches are against this because we believe that taxpayers' money would be better spent expanding proven initiatives rather than developing this new body. In my view, strong inter-governmental relations are essential if Wales's media sector is to thrive in the future, as Welsh businesses in the sector must continue benefiting from UK-wide investment programmes. Therefore, perhaps the Cabinet Minister could provide an update on her latest discussions with the UK Government about future funding streams and what that inter-governmental working looks like going forward.

And finally, Cabinet Minister, Welsh language media remains one of the most important pillars of our national culture and identity. Welsh language broadcasting supports language use and ensures that Welsh stories continue to be told, and today's statement rightly recognises that Welsh language services are at risk of cuts that would diminish our cultural output. Therefore, as audiences increasingly move towards on-demand and digital services, questions around discoverability and prominence become evermore important. Welsh language broadcasters have highlighted the need to ensure Welsh content remains easy to find and accessible within an increasingly crowded digital landscape. So, can the Cabinet Minister set out how the Welsh Government is working with partners to safeguard Welsh language media for the future, and in particular, what progress is being made on securing digital prominence for Welsh language content, so that future generations can continue to access, engage with and benefit from Welsh language broadcasting and journalism?

Dirprwy Lywydd, if we are serious about the future of media in Wales, we must focus less on creating new institutions where we have no powers, and more on supporting what works: strengthening partnerships, backing innovation and ensuring that home-grown media can thrive in the digital age.

I thank the Member. There are a number of things in that contribution where we have common ground. I think you mentioned—. You were asking me to agree with you in terms of local media and their importance; yes, I do, for all the reasons that you mentioned. You mentioned in terms of the economy, in terms of community cohesion, and, of course, I completely agree with you. And that is why we believe that the current situation isn't happening, and those are some of the challenges that I'm trying to address as a Minister now.

Things are changing so quickly also, and it's important that we as a Government are responding to those changes. There are a number of recommendations that have been made to the Government in the latest report that we've received and, certainly, that mentions the importance of us looking at the range in terms of that. We've seen, in terms of Facebook and the concerns you were raising there, that the UK Government is moving very slowly in terms of having those conversations. So, what we have to do is ask the UK Government to have those conversations rather than having direct conversations.

You asked about the BBC's charter, and only yesterday the First Minister and I had the response from the director general, Matt Brittin. As I mentioned in my earlier response, we will be meeting him later this month in order to make those calls directly, about the role we want to play too in terms of the charter and the importance of the BBC to Wales. In opposition, we responded to the Green Paper, and as a Government now, we want to ensure that there is a much clearer role in terms of the Government and this Senedd in terms of those kinds of discussions, because a lot of the discussions so far have been quite ad hoc.

I'm very keen, as I said, to develop a good relationship with DCMS. Officials are in discussion. I'm yet to meet Lisa Nandy; I've asked for a meeting and I very much hope that we will be meeting soon, and, of course, I will be updating the Senedd as we have those conversations. It's extremely important that that happens and it's a matter of frustration then when announcements are made that don't respect either that we have a Government here and that there are issues that are important to us here and for this Senedd.

I know that we disagree in terms of a shadow broadcasting and communications authority, and that's why I reflected on the comments that I've received, and want that assurance that I can tell the Senedd and stand here and say that I believe that establishing an advisory group is the correct step going forward. I've looked at the range of evidence, I've looked at the advice and the recommendations and the proposed aims for the authority, and the functions needed to deliver those aims. The Member has challenged me in the past in terms of possible costs, and that's something I'm very keen that the advisory group looks at as well. We have to ensure value for money. This has to be of value and that we see benefits coming from it, so that is going to be part of the work, also, as we move that work forward.

I'm very pleased that you mentioned specifically the Welsh language. This is a great concern. I know a number of people are very concerned about the cuts to Radio Cymru, the concerns now in terms of S4C. We have seen cuts in terms of publications through the medium of Welsh and so forth. We have to look in all seriousness as a Senedd if we want to reach that target of 1 million Welsh speakers and doubling the use of the language, then there is a vital role for the media, and a wide range of media, in this.

You will be aware, although a number of these areas have not been devolved to us, that we, through Creative Wales, do fund productions through the medium of Welsh and so on, because of the importance of these industries. So, by having the shadow broadcasting and communications authority, and the advisory group, we'll be able to move these policy areas forward. There are great challenges facing us. Ensuring that we respond to those challenges with the powers that we have is challenging, but it's something that I am determined to address. 

The Cabinet Minister's statement about strengthening the media landscape in Wales and the announcement that has been made on the establishment of a working group on a shadow broadcasting and communications authority is good news. This was a central recommendation in the report by the expert panel in 2023.

It's vital that Wales has an influence on decisions that affect Welsh audiences and how sustainable unbiased journalism is for the benefit of the public in Wales. The provision of content for children and young people and the visibility of Welsh sport and public life are essential to the future of broadcasting in Wales.

Although we need a framework that strengthens the way that our communities, our democracy, our culture and our language are portrayed, harm is being done now. Around 58 jobs have already been lost at BBC Cymru Wales this year, and S4C has agreed to reduce some of its 10 hours a week of Welsh programming in order to ensure prominence on iPlayer. This also threatens the future of Clic, which is S4C's own platform.

With the White Paper on the BBC charter due to be published before the end of the year, could you outline what Wales is asking for, including guarantees on Welsh language programmes, funding and oversight arrangements, in order to ensure that Wales has a voice before the charter is signed? Thank you.

I thank the Member for those points, and I should have said in my response to Paul Davies too, the point that you raised in relation to how prominent S4C is on these platforms, that this is something that I have raised directly with Ofcom too. I know that in the previous Senedd, in the scrutiny role that I had at that time, that the culture committee at that time had done work in this area, and I am taking that work and those recommendations forward as a Minister now.

I think, in terms of the response that there has been, I mentioned that the previous Welsh Government formally responded to the BBC charter review Green Paper. Plaid Cymru did so as an opposition party, and now as a Government, we have been clear that the new charter must deliver for the people of Wales and reflect our specific needs as a nation that has its own languages and its own culture, because the fact that we have BBC Wales is extremely important too. So, I am concerned about content through the medium of Welsh and English and what that means, but certainly, in terms of the Welsh language, it's entirely unique to us here in Wales. That's why we want to ensure that the BBC does consider the impact of these cuts specifically on Wales.

When you think also about the BBC orchestra, for example, that plays a key role in the culture of Wales—it's not just another orchestra. In terms of the workforce, that is crucial if we want to see musicians being able to live and make a living here in Wales, and musicians of international renown. So, this is about far more than just a radio station or a television channel; this is about our broader culture, and the language and so on. That's why the First Minister and I wrote to the BBC, and copied in the Secretary of State to that correspondence. We wanted to ensure that the views of this Government, the fact that we do want to be part of the charter renewal process, and that we want to ensure that they understand that it's crucial that Wales has a clear and meaningful voice in decisions impacting broadcasters, the creative economy and audiences here in Wales—. We will be taking those discussions further, and I would be happy to update the Senedd once those have happened.

When discussing the media landscape in Wales, we need to protect its independence and public trust. Nobody is asking journalists to spare Reform, and, to much surprise and delight, they don't. Public funding has supported projects at Nation.Cymru, including the Creative Wales journalism scheme and cultural publishing through a Books Council of Wales grant. In Reform's opinion, Nation.Cymru is a biased publication. One example is its associate editor Martin Shipton accusing Reform's Caerphilly campaign of stirring racial hatred. [Interruption.] They didn't. Those are his unfounded opinions, masquerading as news, and, crucially, they are supported by public money.

What safeguards ensure that any grants are awarded independent of a publication's political stance and that any public money goes to each side of the debate? A sustainable future for Welsh media depends on diversity of opinion. And saying that awarding bodies are at arm's length does not stop questions on whether public money is reaching outlets whose commentary has a uniquely favourable framing regarding Plaid and is openly hostile to 30 per cent of the voting public who support Reform. Thank you.

I thank the Member for raising those points. You will therefore agree that we do need to look at Government in terms of the plurality of news and democracy, which are the very things that I have emphasised today that are so important. You will also be aware that we as a Government—I have received a number of questions from Reform and have responded to them on this point—expect that all media organisations receiving funding from the Welsh Government keep to the principle that politically neutral media are crucial to operational democracy. So, I have responded to those questions, and I will restate that here today.

I thank the Cabinet Minister for her statement. I share the Minister's concern about the impact the latest BBC cuts will have on the provision of programmes and services through the medium of Welsh, as well as the effect that any cuts will have on jobs, especially at the BBC centre in Bangor. The BBC centre in Bangor has already faced financial challenges and a reduction in its resources over the past few years, and there are real concerns about the implications of any further cuts for its future and sustainability.

I welcome that the First Minister and the Cabinet Minister have written to the director general and have emphasised that the Welsh Government's support is not unconditional. But as concerns continue to grow, what further discussions does the Government intend to have with the UK Government and the BBC to protect jobs in Wales and Welsh-language services alike?

I thank the Member. I do share your concerns about the impact that the latest BBC proposals could have on Welsh language services and jobs in Wales, including the BBC's operation at Bangor. We did emphasise, the First Minister and I, in writing to the director general of the BBC, the importance of protecting high-quality Welsh broadcasting and maintaining a strong BBC presence in Wales, and that means across Wales. We did appreciate the response to that letter, where he emphasised the BBC's ongoing commitment to Wales. As I said in previous responses, we'll continue to urge the UK Government to show how its broadcasting policies and funding decisions support the sustainability of public service broadcasting in Wales at a time when trust in the public service media is more important than ever. Decisions that reduce services in Wales or undermine the presence of the BBC in our communities are very concerning indeed. I will give assurance to the Member that we will continue to engage with the BBC in order to raise concerns at all appropriate times, including in upcoming discussions.

And finally, Cabinet Minister, Catherine Cullen. 

Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. Thank you for your statement today. I agree that the media should be democratic and should hold power to account and give Wales a platform. We already do this, so why are we trying to devolve it any further? You mentioned the spread of misinformation and disinformation presenting a challenge to trust and democratic debate. Who is going to decide what's misinformation and disinformation? Within your shadow broadcasting and communications authority remit for Wales, I note that Professor Medhurst works on projects for—guess who—Labour, Plaid and the SNP on decentralisation of media. Do you really support public interest journalism that delivers great value for all communities, plurality and democratic engagement? This statement predicts the oversight of Welsh media, ultimately, under Government control. There are constituents, some of whom put us in these seats, who may not agree with Plaid's choice of media. Based on what we've seen on the Senedd estate, the default is that if it doesn't agree with you, then it's banned. You want media to become devolved. Can you commit to a fair and democratic voice for all the people of Wales? Diolch.

I'm not sure if the Member listened to the statement, but the plurality of the media was central to what I said. And also, I don't know if the Member has taken the time to read the evidence on which this work is based, which shows that the media is not working for Wales. It is not working for our communities, it is not working for democracy, and what we have currently is under threat.

I would also like to remind the Member that the decision taken around GB News in the previous Senedd was made based on misogyny. It was made based on a misogynistic comment made at the time. The Government played no role in that. It is right that the Government plays no role in that.

As a Government that believes in democracy and plurality of the media, we are addressing a democratic deficit. We are addressing what we are seeing as disinformation and dangerous misinformation currently, which is unchecked here in Wales, and in which we have no control or say. It is not for Government to decide what people watch or what is published or not. There are regulators. That is their job. But I believe that the media landscape in Wales is currently under threat. It is not just my view. It is one supported by academics such as Professor Medhurst, an academic who works in Aberystwyth University, but also not the sole academic here.

If you also look at what's happening across the world when it comes to media and democracy, we are not unique in the challenges we face. We are not unique as a Government in the challenges we are trying to address. I would hope that every Member in this Chamber shares our concern around the media landscape here in Wales and how fragile it is, shares our concern about the cuts that are facing the BBC, shares our concerns around the impact this will have on Welsh culture, Welsh language and plurality. These are important traits within any democracy. They have been important in terms of the development of democracy here in Wales. We are standing here wanting to ensure plurality of media, to ensure Wales has a voice. If Members here do not support that, then you are not representing your constituents.

Thank you very much, Cabinet Minister.

We'll move now to item 8, the non-domestic rating, description and value of differential multipliers—. There are long words here, so I'll start again. We'll move on to item 8, the Non-Domestic Rating (Description and Value of Differential Multipliers) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026. I call on the Cabinet Minister for Finance to move the motion—Elin Jones.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I move the motion this afternoon to approve the Non-Domestic Rating (Description and Value of Differential Multipliers) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026. On 15 September, I announced changes that the Welsh Government will make to non-domestic rates, reflecting the commitment in our programme for government to rebalance the system to better support high-street businesses in hospitality, leisure and retail. These regulations provide for those changes with effect from 1 April 2027.

From next year onwards, therefore, the lower multiplier, which is currently applied to retail shops in Wales, will also be applied to selected small to medium-sized properties in the food and drink hospitality, visitor accommodation and leisure sectors. This will provide a permanent 30 per cent reduction in the non-domestic rates bills of eligible properties, funded by a marginal increase to the higher multiplier that is applicable to the highest value properties in the tax base. The higher multiplier will be set at 4.2 per cent above the standard multiplier. This is 1.6 percentage points more than the current 2.6 per cent difference. I believe that this is a relatively small increase and a fair way to rebalance the rate system so that we can better support the businesses at the heart of our high streets and town centres.

The regulations provide clarity on the properties that will be subject to the lower multiplier. They also amend the value used to calculate the level of the higher multiplier relative to the standard multiplier. I am bringing the regulations forward now to provide local authorities with sufficient time to implement this change and to provide businesses with time to plan ahead. The values of all the multipliers for 2027-28 will be determined later this year as part of our budget preparations. I am grateful, in closing, to the Legislation Committee for its consideration of these regulations, and I ask Members to approve the regulations today.

Whilst I want to open on a good note that, yes, we do agree with the Government that small businesses do need more support—hospitality and retail are suffering right now—we want to see not just a 30 per cent reduction; we on these benches think that a lot more needs to happen to help with the Welsh economy.

The problem with what the Government has put here—the Minister said a 'fair deal' for other businesses—is that, with this proposal, more than 500 hospitality venues would actually pay more business rates. There's also an additional 734 receiving no support from this at all. The problem is, Minister, you can't rob Peter to pay Paul. The problem here is that Peter is also an employer. These businesses are mass employers that are responsible for jobs and income, and they are feeling the pinch just like every small business out there as well. Those businesses right now are facing higher energy costs and they are feeling the cost-of living-crisis, which means footfall is less. The same burden is on them. Right now, this 30 per cent reduction in business rates doesn't actually support them.

You don't have to take my word for it. One group you think would support this is UKHospitality Cymru. They say that the budget measures do not go far enough to significantly reduce the tax burden the sector faces. They go further and say that many businesses will be driven further to job losses and business closures. Minister, whilst we support what you are doing for a large number of the businesses in Wales, we ask you to think again and look at the additional businesses that will not receive the benefit from this. Hospitality is a large sector here in Wales.

The other problem this faces is, whilst you've got the value of £100,000 there, what happens to location? A business and a property price here in Cardiff could be at a higher level but still a small business. You could be in a different area of Wales. This proposal that you're putting is a postcode lottery on businesses. Location should be a factor in the calculations that you're doing.

Today in this Siambr we've heard a lot about local pharmacies as well. The First Minister talked about the important work they're doing as clinics. I was disappointed, in this business rates reduction, that the Government is not considering pharmacies. On these benches, we think pharmacies, for the work they are doing, should now face a 100 per cent reduction, just like GP practices and dental practices. Words from the First Minister in this Chamber are not enough. What we expect is action, and that's what we would like to call on the Government to do here today.

In closing, Minister, we ask you to think again about what you're doing. Think of those larger businesses that are facing hardship right now in footfall. Think of the pharmacists that are doing great work on the front line, that are receiving nothing from this package today. Please, Minister, we're urging you, join with us and let's support the actual employers of Wales, not just the little virtue signalling in what's here today.

As I said in response to the Minister's statement back in September, we welcome the Government plans to extend the lower multiplier to hospitality and leisure premises of a medium size and to offer a 30 per cent reduction in business rates. This builds on steps taken by the UK Government and previous Labour Governments in Wales, which reduced rates for pubs, live music venues and restaurants. I assume that the cost of around £12 million will relate to doubling that support and extending it to leisure businesses, something that we, as I said, would welcome. However, I am concerned that the proposal to ask larger businesses to pay these costs will mean two things: an increased cost for those businesses without any transitional support, and creating a more dangerous cliff edge for those businesses that cross the threshold into a value slightly over £51,000 rather than being slightly below that sum.

The assessment provided by the Minister today states that there are 150 businesses facing an increase of over £10,000, with almost 3,000 businesses facing additional bills of over £1,000. Can I remind the Minister that, in making business rates fairer through regular revaluations and additional support for small and medium businesses, the previous Government also provided transitional relief to all businesses whose liability increased by more than £300. In effect, the increase was phased over three years: a third in year 1, two thirds in year 2, and the full increase in the final year.

However, by my reading of the Business Wales website, there will be no further transitional relief arising from increases to the multiplier as applied now. Can you confirm that's the case, Minister, and explain why? Because I do think it's odd that, when it came to the council tax revaluation, the Minister was so concerned about the need for transitional relief for households that she's proposing to scrap those revaluations completely, but isn't implementing, in this case, any transitional relief for businesses, as I understand it. Her scheme is balancing between winners and losers. Could she not have considered that same approach for the transitional implementation of the council tax revaluation?

Finally, in response to the oral statement in September, I asked if the Minister could also set out how the Government intends to avoid a cliff edge for businesses whose rateable value is just above £51,000. I do not believe that point has been addressed at all. In view of the sum of those issues, as we say, we welcome the intention, but we will be abstaining on these proposals. Thank you.

Thank you, Cabinet Minister, for presenting the regulations to us here today. Deputy Presiding Officer, we may be in a cost-of-living crisis, but we're also in a cost-of-doing-business crisis, with firms struggling under high energy costs, increasing employment costs, more red tape suffocating that growth, and, of course, their business rate bills as well. And like others who have spoken so far, we welcome the core reasoning behind these regulations, as well as the implied acknowledgement that business rate bills are too high for our small businesses. Unfortunately, the regulations tabled today are not enough to alleviate the pressures firms are under.

We want to see more work done to support small businesses and our high streets, and ensure that everyone benefits from healthier high streets as well. We will therefore abstain on regulations that do not do enough to relieve the tax burden weighing on our high streets and small businesses. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

I call on the Cabinet Minister to reply to the debate.

Okay, and there was me thinking that everybody would support a 30 per cent reduction in the business rates for the hospitality sector on our high streets. Using the mechanism of the multiplier differential is replicating the mechanism of the multiplier differential to introduce the initial 30 per cent reduction of business rates for the retail sector on the high streets, as introduced by the previous Government, and it is a deliberate decision by this Government, as it was by the previous Government, to provide greater support for those businesses on the high street.

I continually hear in this Chamber, as we've heard before, about the real pressure on our high streets, about how, as communities, we want to support those high streets. Those high streets can be in rural towns, they can be in Valleys towns, and they can be in different parts of city areas. This 30 per cent reduction in hospitality to match 30 per cent reduction in business rates for retail is about the very specific and deliberate policy of supporting businesses on our high streets. And just to confirm: pharmacies are already eligible for the 30 per cent reduction, although I did hear that your call is to fund 100 per cent reduction, but just to confirm the 30 per cent eligibility for pharmacies already in place.

The reality of voting against these regulations today is that anybody who does vote against the regulations will be voting against our ability to introduce that 30 per cent reduction for hospitality in business rates for our pubs and clubs and restaurants on our high streets, and make it permanent—not just a transitional relief, but make it permanent from April of next year. So, I do urge Members to allow these regulations to pass today in order to ensure that businesses are able to receive that 30 per cent reduction.

And just to say, there are issues that have been raised again about how we ensure that there are other aspects of our business rates system that could be changed, that could be made more favourable to businesses, small and large, and those are issues that we will look at again. As I've said previously, we've discussed the issue around the cliff edge for some of those businesses that find themselves at the wrong side of the thresholds that we have.

And therefore, those conversations will continue to be had as part of our discussions around the annual budget, I'm sure, and as we move to support more businesses in the very important work that they do on our high streets and in our economy more widely. But for today, I urge Members to support the regulations as they've been laid.

Thank you, Cabinet Minister. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] I will defer voting under this item until voting time.

Item 9, the Representation of the People (Electoral Registration without Applications) (Electoral Reform) (Wales) Regulations 2026. I call on the Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning to move the motion—Siân Gwenllian.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. To say at the outset, this Government wants to improve people's engagement with our democracy. We want to build people's confidence in our elections and reduce barriers to participation. Automatic voter registration will help to achieve that, and we are leading the way here in Wales.

I am pleased, therefore, to introduce the Representation of the People (Electoral Registration without Applications) (Electoral Reform) (Wales) Regulations 2026 before you today. And I'd like to thank both of the committees for their consideration of these regulations. This was my first appearance before the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, and I'm grateful that the majority of the Members on that committee agreed to endorse the regulations.

These regulations address the Electoral Commission's recommendations in their evaluation of last year's encouraging pilot schemes. They put automatic registration on a permanent statutory footing here in Wales. We are reducing the notification period for electors to be informed that they will be registered automatically from 60 days to 28 days. This shorter period preserves electors' opportunity to opt out or to apply for anonymous registration, while avoiding unnecessary delays and potential confusion. We are also giving electoral administrators greater flexibility by reducing the requirement to undertake automatic registration from four times to once a calendar year.

The system builds on existing electoral registration processes, rather than creating an entirely new function. Electoral teams are already experienced in using local data to build and maintain the register. Automatic voter registration applies that existing expertise to capture eligible electors who may not have been identified otherwise. And I would like to thank the election teams across Wales for their ongoing commitment.

Automatic voter registration will help Wales to lead the way in the UK and contribute to reducing the estimated 400,000 unregistered electors in Wales. This should particularly tackle under-registration among particular groups likely to be missed under traditional processes.

We do take concerns about personal safety seriously. We have abolished the open local government register to protect electors' details from third-party disclosure, and to help provide reassurance to those who may have previously avoided registration. No-one will be added to the register without first being notified. No-one should be prevented from participating in democracy out of fear for their own safety. We will continue to work with support agencies and civil society to raise awareness of anonymous registration for those who need it, and ensure that the opt-out option is also clear. At the moment, registration for UK parliamentary elections will still need to be done separately, and this will also be made clear to electors.

It is now likely that the UK Government will follow Wales's lead by introducing a system of registration without application for reserved elections. Our approach keeps open the possibility of future alignment. It enables us to make progress now in Wales, without having to wait—progress immediately while retaining a level of flexibility to respond to UK Government developments as they become clearer.

I am proud that Wales is leading the way by introducing automatic voter registration through these regulations today, and I look forward to hearing Members' views in the Senedd. Thank you.

Thank you. I call on the Chair of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, Carmelo Colasanto.

Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. I'm contributing to this debate in my capacity as Chair of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. These regulations are the first to be brought forward under section 19 of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024, which specifies that a committee can recommend an extended 60-day scrutiny period for regulations such as these, which make electoral reforms following a pilot. As a committee, we agreed that, given the importance of these regulations, such a recommendation was appropriate. This gave us more time to gather views from stakeholders, and we are grateful to everyone who gave evidence to inform us in our work.

Overall, the majority of committee members recognise that the system being introduced for electoral registration without application, otherwise known as AVR, is a mechanism that can increase democratic participation in elections, and therefore support these regulations. However, we believe that regular evaluation should be undertaken following AVR exercises, and the first of these should take place within 12 months. One of our main concerns is that the time frame for opting out of being automatically registered has been reduced to 28 days, which is a significant reduction on the 60-day original period when AVR was piloted last year. In particular, we are concerned that this does not give vulnerable people enough time to opt out. Safeguarding concerns were raised by our predecessor committee during its scrutiny of the Bill in 2024, and it's disappointing that the Welsh Government didn't undertake any formal consultation with organisations representing vulnerable groups on these specific regulations.

We were able to reach out to some groups, including Women's Equality Network Wales and Welsh Women's Aid, with the latter emphasising the need to ensure that survivors of domestic abuse fully understand the new process. The greater the engagement and time that's available for this, the more chance they will have to access relevant information and support and complete the process of opting out of the register or registering anonymously if that is, indeed, their wish. The Cabinet Minister told us during scrutiny that she will continue to engage with vulnerable groups, and we hope that this is now happening and will continue over the coming months as the new system is rolled out in preparation for the local government elections in May 2027.

Our other concerns relate to the frequency of AVR exercises, the availability and quality of the data and the costs of implementation. These are set out in our report, and I would urge the Welsh Government to accept and act on our recommendations. Diolch.

Thank you. I call on the Chair of the Legislation Committee, Cristiana Emsley.

Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. The Legislation Committee considered these draft regulations during its meeting on 13 July. Our report raised two technical reporting points, seeking further explanation about the preamble and clarity on the Electoral Commission’s recommendations following the pilot, which were addressed by the Welsh Government in its response to our report.

These regulations are the first to be laid under section 19 of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024. They are subject to an enhanced security procedure, whereby a committee charged with reporting on the draft regulations may, within 30 days, recommend that an extended scrutiny window of 60 days applies to the regulations. If that recommendation is not rejected by the Senedd, that extended scrutiny window begins. 

The first two merits points in our report focus on this enhanced scrutiny procedure. The first notes that the Welsh Government did not notify the Business Committee of the arrival of these novel regulations, as is anticipated in Standing Orders for subordinate legislation with specific scrutiny timings set out in the enabling Act. The second states that the committee would expect to see more information about the enhanced scrutiny procedure in the explanatory memorandum to these regulations. The committee concluded that the Welsh Government had not anticipated the proper scrutiny procedure for these critically important regulations. It is the committee’s view that the Welsh Government should have notified the Business Committee of the arrival of these regulations, so that the Business Committee could refer them to the appropriate policy committee for scrutiny. It also appears that the Welsh Government did not take into account the potential for an extended scrutiny timetable when planning for the making of these regulations, because we understand it originally wanted to hold the relevant debate at the end of September.

The committee acknowledges that this is the first time that this enhanced scrutiny procedure has been used. I am grateful for the Welsh Government’s response to our report, which assured us that future regulations made under section 19(12) will be highlighted to the Business Committee. I am also grateful for the work of my colleagues on the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee for their valuable and robust policy scrutiny work, as set out in their report laid on 16 October. Fundamentally, the committee’s view is that the draft regulations should have been laid in good enough time to accommodate an extended scrutiny window, as set out in the enabling Act, if the Senedd considered it appropriate to trigger it. We therefore support the point made in the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee’s report, which sets out very similar views, and which states clearly that

'subordinate legislation and implementation timetables are planned with sufficient time for the full Senedd scrutiny procedure to be carried out.'

Irrespective of the outcome of today’s debate, I am sure that Members will join me in welcoming the enhanced scrutiny carried out by the Senedd in relation to these critically important draft regulations. Diolch. 

The Government wants to register people to vote automatically, instead of them choosing to register for themselves. But, having sat on the Senedd's Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and listened to the evidence, and having had time to review and reflect, I have significant concerns about how this would work in practice and the speed it is being rushed through with, and ask Members to listen to the people who would actually have to do this work.

The Association of Electoral Administrators told our committee that the legislation will not be in place until early November—which is now—at the earliest, and that they are expected to go and administer the process the very next day. They said it was 'an unusual situation to be in'. Now, the Cabinet Minister told us the timetable is tight, but within the limit, and, in her words, 'all is good'. I have to say that that isn't language that inspires much confidence. This process has been rushed through from start to finish.

There are three practical problems that should all be considered before voting on these regulations. The first is money. When these regulations were laid in June, the Welsh Government estimated the first year costs at around £2.6 million. On 29 September, nine days before the committee reported, that estimate was increased to £4.4 million. And if my maths serves me correctly, that's about a 70 per cent increase, which was discovered part way through our scrutiny, after our first evidence session had already concluded. Worse, only the first year is funded by a specific grant. After that, it goes into the revenue support grant and it isn't ring-fenced, which 22 councils may have to pick up the bill for.

The second problem is data. The committee's report says that having to rely on data sources is clearly a weakness in the system. Powys, one of the pilot councils, told us that:

'Data matching relies on good-quality and standardised data',

and added,

'none of which is what we have in local authorities.'

The AEA told us that some councils spend up to eight weeks cleansing data and running checks by hand. So, that's eight weeks in a year when the same teams are already preparing for elections in every council of Wales. And if that work is rushed through, the AEA were also clear about the consequences: people get added to the register incorrectly, because the checks have not been done properly. That damages the integrity of the process, and I would have thought that the integrity of our registers is something every party would want to protect.

The third problem is the one I find hardest to let go. These regulations cut the opt-out window for people who don't want to be registered from 60 days to 28 days. That 60-day period was put there by the Senedd to give vulnerable people time to respond, and now that is being cut by more than half. Welsh Women's Aid told our committee that the longer the timeframe given to survivors, the more chance they have of understanding the process and keeping their details private. They also reminded us that many different people can access the register—campaigners, elected politicians and political parties. The system isn't immune to access from perpetrators themselves, or from people being manipulated into sharing information.

Here's what worries me: the electoral administrators told us why 28 days is on the table. Their evidence said that if this is to be rolled out before next year's elections you have to have a 28-day period, because otherwise you will have run out of time to have the 60. So, the safeguard is being cut because of the Government's deadline. Remove the deadline and we could still have a safeguard in place. We have to question the wisdom of trying to run a brand-new, untested registration system through 22 councils on software that's still being written in the middle of the biggest year for elections that we have in Wales. Instead of rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline, the Government should plan this carefully and think about the implications, keep the 60 days, and, if they do want to register people automatically, put proper safeguards in place. If the Government gets this wrong, the unintended consequences could be severe. Diolch.

Welsh Labour support this motion. These regulations are a continuation of proposals initially brought in by the last Welsh Labour Government. We are proud to have led the way on automatic voter registration in Government through the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024. In a democracy, making it easier for people to vote is important. I, and I'm sure others, have met constituents who have turned up to vote only to be turned away because they were not registered. This is something we should all be working to prevent. The four pilots that Welsh Labour launched in Government—in Carmarthenshire, Gwynedd, Newport and Powys—showed how we can expand the strengths of our democracy. These pilots added 14,500 new electors to the register. That was a significant achievement that can now be built on across all local authorities in Wales. So, we are pleased to see the work that we started in Government being taken forward by the new Plaid Cymru Ministers.

The Minister will agree that it's essential that local authorities have the resources and support they need for implementing automatic voter registration. What assurances can she give that local authorities will be properly supported to deliver on these changes?

Can I thank the committee, which I'm part of, for the work that we did on that, and the chairman for the way he articulated the concerns? And, as you can see, there were underlying concerns from both committees. But we all want to see eligible electors able to participate in our democracy and we all want electoral registers that are as complete and accurate as possible.

Throughout scrutiny of the legislation and these regulations, concerns were raised about the practical operation of electoral registration without application, and many of those concerns still exist today. In particular, there remain questions about the readiness of local authorities and electoral registration officers to deliver these changes successfully ahead of the 2027 local government elections. Evidence from the pilot scheme showed that implementation was not without its challenges. The success of any electoral reform depends not only on the policy itself but on whether those responsible for administering it have the means to do so effectively. The Conservatives are yet to be convinced that all authorities will have the resources necessary to deliver these arrangements consistently and confidently within the proposed time frame and, overall, we have great concerns about the escalating projected costs of the proposals.

We have concerns also as to whether individuals would be given adequate time and opportunity to understand that they had been added to the register and if they wish to exercise their right not to remain on it. This is an important safeguard and one that should not be overlooked, but has been diluted. More broadly, the committee's scrutiny identified several areas where further assurance was required about the operation of the system, the demands it would place on administrators, and the practical implications for those affected. Those concerns deserve careful consideration, particularly when the Welsh Government intends these changes to be operational in time for the 2027 elections.

For the reasons, Dirprwy Lywydd, that I pointed out, we will not be supporting this proposal.

I welcome the discussion on these regulations, which seek to increase the number of eligible voters, something that I hope everyone in this Chamber would want to see. As a member of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, we have scrutinised these regulations in detail, including holding evidence sessions with the Cabinet Minister and other stakeholders.

We recognise that, although the time lines are challenging, it would be a missed opportunity if automatic voter registration wasn’t introduced before next year's local government elections. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff who work so hard in the democratic services departments of our local authorities and who will be working to implement these changes. I agree that continuous monitoring and future evaluation are essential, and I look forward to seeing the results of these regulations. Thank you.

I call on the Cabinet Minister to reply to the debate.

Thank you very much, and thank you to Members for participating in today's debate, and particularly to the Chairs of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and the Legislation Committee for your work. I will first of all mention the Legislation Committee. I think that we as a Government have responded to the technical points raised, and I accept some of the points that you make on the scrutiny process and that we do need to create a space for that when legislative changes of this kind are introduced.

The Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee raised concerns about vulnerable groups—women, for example, who perhaps are worried that they might be identified when they are trying to avoid being identified because of issues around domestic abuse and those kinds of problems. And certainly, engagement is ongoing with representatives such as Welsh Women's Aid, and there are particular communication materials that will be available for some of the vulnerable groups that you have identified. Everyone who is identified as being eligible to be on the list will receive a letter. They will have an opportunity to opt out if they don't want to be included on the register and if they don't want to vote indeed. Or they also have the right—. In the letter, there will be the option of anonymity whilst retaining the right to vote. That will be set out clearly in the letters issued to those who have been identified.

Now, in terms of the point on costs, the revised regulatory impact assessment in the explanatory memorandum does reflect the financial presumptions and the cost estimates have been updated. And to respond to the point on local government getting sufficient resources to deal with this, a grant letter will be issued this evening, hopefully, if you pass these regulations, providing the funding for the first year, and the intention is to do the same for the second year of the introduction of these regulations. Yes, the timetable is tight, but I think that Beca stated clearly that not introducing these regulations would be a missed opportunity and failing to introduce the changes would be a missed opportunity. So, I'm extremely grateful to the local authorities, the Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators for their help in shaping these regulations. And, of course, we are happy to support electoral registration officers and other partners as we continue to promote fair and accessible elections here in Wales.

Thank you very much to the previous administration, led by Jayne Bryant, for commencing this process around four years ago now. I am pleased to have been able to take this work forward as a Minister since May, moving quickly but in good time for the local elections in May. Therefore, agreement today is crucial so that we can take action before those important local elections in May and get a register that is as complete as possible. I would remind you that there are 400,000 people who are eligible to vote who are not registered, and we have all seen people arriving at polling stations and finding that they are unable to vote for the simple reason that they haven't been registered. Well, this will provide a very real opportunity for far more people in Wales to use their democratic right to vote in elections in Wales. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Cabinet Minister. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] I will defer voting under this item until voting time. 

We move now to item 10, statutory instrument consent motion, Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Display of Tobacco Products) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026. I call on the Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health to move the motion—Nerys Evans.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to explain the background to the statutory instrument consent motion on the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Display of Tobacco Products) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026.

The statutory instrument consent memorandum I laid before the Senedd on 15 September explains these regulations and their purpose. As they amend primary legislation that is within the Senedd’s legislative competence, the regulations engage Standing Order 30A. The statutory instrument consent memorandum, therefore, also sets out my reasoning on why I consider it appropriate to make these changes through the UK Government's statutory instrument.

I am grateful to the Legislation Committee for its scrutiny and their report, published on 20 October. The report contains three recommendations relating to the statutory instrument consent memorandum process and my interactions with the UK Government on these regulations. I issued my response to the Legislation Committee on 2 November, in which I accepted the committee’s recommendations and reiterated the Welsh Government’s recognition of the importance of the Standing Order 30A and its process.

My agreement to the UK Government to make draft regulations was separate from, and did not replace or pre-empt, the Senedd’s consideration. In providing that agreement, I made it clear that the Senedd’s agreement would be sought and I would promptly communicate the outcome of this motion debate to the UK Government. I am pleased that the report of the Legislation Committee did not highlight any issues with the substance or effect of the regulations, which are required to implement the smoke-free generation policy.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 creates a smoke-free generation by prohibiting the sale of tobacco products, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. This takes effect from 1 January 2027 and will support this Government’s commitment to preventing ill health and disease and to protecting the children and young people of Wales. Prior to being passed as an Act, the Bill, and its smoke-free generation provisions, received the support of the Senedd on 9 December 2025. Existing tobacco legislation reflects the current age restriction on the sale of tobacco products, which is that products can only be sold to those over the age of 18. From 1 January 2027, existing requirements must therefore align with the new age of sale, to ensure the legislation operates coherently.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 restricts the display of tobacco products offered for sale. Section 7A makes it an offence for a person, in the course of a business, to display or cause tobacco products to be displayed. Section 7B provides that no offence is committed where a requested display is made to an individual aged 18 or over, and provides a defence in certain situations where the person believed the individual was 18 or over. These regulations amend section 7B to replace the reference to individuals being 'aged 18 or over' or 'aged under 18' with references to those born before, on or after 1 January 2009, as appropriate. References to 'age' are also replaced with 'date of birth'.

If passed, the regulations will apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Although it is the Welsh Government’s general principle that law on devolved matters should be made in Wales, our principle recognises there are circumstances where UK legislation may be appropriate. In this case, the provisions are minor, technical and non-contentious, and, as set out in the memorandum, I consider this mechanism to be the most practicable and proportionate approach to making these very limited changes. It also provides consistency across the UK and supports implementation of the smoke-free requirements on 1 January 2027. Members will be aware that these regulations are part of the wider secondary legislation programme required to implement the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. Welsh Government officials continue to co-ordinate that programme with the UK Government and other devolved Governments, while ensuring that decisions for Welsh Ministers and the Senedd follow the appropriate processes. On that basis, I ask the Senedd to approve the statutory instrument consent motion, and I move the motion.

Thank you, Deputy Minister. I call on the Chair of the Legislation Committee, Cristiana Emsley.

Diolch. It is the first time this Welsh Government has laid a statutory instrument consent memorandum, and it is the first time the Legislation Committee has considered and reported on this type of memorandum. This is also the first time the seventh Senedd is being invited to vote on a statutory instrument consent motion for draft regulations being considered in Westminster that amend primary legislation in a devolved area. The Deputy Minister only sent her response to us yesterday afternoon, and the committee will need to give it proper consideration at its meeting next week.

Deputy Llywydd, through our Standing Orders, the Senedd has set out its clear expectation that its consent should be sought by the Welsh Government in relation to certain statutory instruments that may be made by UK Ministers via the UK Parliament. In laying the statutory instrument consent memorandum, the Deputy Minister has acknowledged the role the Senedd has in making these draft regulations, and further confirmed by the motion she has brought to the Chamber this afternoon. The UK Government itself, in the explanatory memorandum to the draft regulations, sets out that it is our Standing Order 30A that is engaged by the laying of the instrument. Nonetheless, three days after laying the statutory instrument consent memorandum, the Deputy Minister gave her consent to the UK Government to make the draft regulations. We wrote to the Deputy Minister to give her an opportunity to explain to us how political commitments between the Welsh and UK Governments interact with the requirements of Standing Order 30A. The Deputy Minister says it was necessary to communicate the Welsh Ministers' agreement to the UK Government prior to the draft regulations being laid in the UK Parliament.

We are unclear what requirement the Deputy Minister is fulfilling, given she acknowledges that no statutory requirement to seek ministerial consent underpins the exercise of this delegated power. We questioned why the Deputy Minister did not caveat any non-statutory ministerial consent given to the UK Government to make it clear that her consent is subject to the will of the Senedd. The Deputy Minister told us that neither the notification of the Welsh Ministers' agreement nor the agreement itself replaced or pre-empted the separate Standing Order 30A process. She also said that the Senedd's consideration of the statutory instrument consent memorandum would provide the Senedd with a meaningful opportunity to express a view on the instrument. The committee considers it is questionable whether or not the Senedd's scrutiny process can be meaningful if the Welsh Government gives the go-ahead to the UK Government to make draft regulations before the parliamentary consent process has even really got started.

I note that, in the response we received yesterday afternoon, the Deputy Minister says her agreement to the draft regulations being made was given on the clear understanding that the statutory instrument consent memorandum process would still be completed and that the Senedd would have the opportunity to reach its own view. The Deputy Minister also says that, should the Senedd withhold its agreement, the Welsh Government would ensure that this is communicated promptly to the UK Government. The Deputy Minister also highlights in her response that the sequencing of informal ministerial consent and the Senedd's parliamentary consent is not without precedent, and she cites the Plant Varieties Act (Amendment) Regulations 2026, which were subject to the statutory instrument consent process in the sixth Senedd.

In my opening remarks, I said that the late response from the Deputy Minister means the committee will have to consider it fully next week, which is unfortunate given the timing of today's debate. But I will highlight that those regulations were subject to the negative procedure and were already made by the UK Government before they were laid in the UK Parliament and before the relevant statutory instrument consent memorandum was laid in the Senedd. These are draft regulations and the situations are therefore different. The committee concluded that the handling of these draft regulations and the statutory instrument consent memorandum call into question the purpose of the process set out in Standing Order 30A. We have written to the Business Committee to highlight our concerns. Diolch.

Tobacco is, of course, one of the leading causes of preventable and premature death in Wales, and protecting children and young people from addiction is completely legitimate. I support targeted measures that achieve that goal without placing unnecessary restrictions on the freedom of adults. Extending the sales ban of vaping and nicotine products to children is a logical decision. Children should not have these products sold or marketed to them. Vaping has been proven as a tool that can help existing smokers give up cigarettes, but it is not a risk-free alternative that should be promoted to non-smokers or children.

The generational tobacco age-of-sale rule, however, is different. In my view, it risks creating a two-tiered system in which some adults can legally purchase cigarettes whilst other adults cannot. In 10 years' time, for example, a 27-year-old will be prohibited from purchasing a product that a 28-year-old is legally entitled to do. This will create serious headaches from an enforcement perspective and creates a risk of the expansion of the black market here in Wales. That could have serious consequences for people's health and it could see money that would usually be earned by legitimate businesses instead falling into the pockets of criminals selling back-alley cigarettes.

In my view, the generational ban is a stark example of state overreach. There are more effective and proportionate ways to reduce the uptake of nicotine habits without legislating that a generation of adults may never be sold a product that remains perfectly legal for other people in society. To reiterate, I support the elements of this legislation that protect children from marketing and sales tactics related to nicotine, but I do not support a lifelong prohibition that treats adults as if they are perfectly or permanently incapable of making informed choices. Diolch yn fawr.

We welcome these regulations, which support the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act delivered by the UK Labour Government, and which build on a cross-party commitment to create a smoke-free generation. We know that smoking is a major cause of preventable illness and premature death, and places immense pressure on our NHS. It's right that we support measures to protect future generations from the damage that tobacco can cause.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 is an important step in achieving that objective, and while these regulations are technical, they are necessary to help deliver the ambition of a smoke-free generation. So, we welcome the Welsh Government's continued co-operation with other devolved Governments and the UK Labour Government on this issue. As ever, Deputy Minister, implementation is key, and I would be grateful if you could outline how the implementation of these regulations will be monitored in Wales. Welsh Labour will be supporting the motion today, and it would be good to know what steps the Government is taking to ensure that retailers in Wales are fully aware of those changes. Diolch.

These regulations are a technical change to ensure that the display of tobacco matches the new age of sale, but they represent something so much bigger. They are a step change in preventing the biggest preventable cause of death and ill health. The regulations illustrate the power of the generational smoking ban, which has come to rightfully shape every part of our law, from restrictions on purchasing tobacco to what can be displayed in a shop.

We have known for decades the danger tobacco represents and its role in driving 15 different types of cancer rates, including seven in 10 lung cancers. It kills up to two thirds of long-term users. That is simply staggering. It causes around 75,000 deaths across the UK. Behind every one of those statistics are real people, and they're not merely numbers—from the parent that didn't see their children grow up to a grandparent who didn't meet their grandchildren. I have experience of that, growing up in a foster family whose foster nan smoked hugely when I was younger. So, I know the dangers that tobacco can represent.

It is one of the biggest drivers in the gap in healthy life expectancy between our richest and our poorest communities. But people who smoke should never be stigmatised or blamed for their addiction. Almost nobody chooses it as an adult; it is an addiction set in the teenage years. Most people start before they are fully able to understand the long-term ramifications of the choice that they have taken. But the impact of the addiction to smoking goes far beyond health. It's economic, it's social. Someone smoking 20 a day can spend several thousands of pounds a year on cigarettes. That's money that's taken out of essentials, out of food. And, actually, there's a correlation between foodbank use and cigarette smoking. Evidence presented by ASH found a clear economic impact. Those who smoke are nearly three times as likely to attend a foodbank as those who never started. So, smoking can truly affect every part of someone's life.

But the positive is that Wales has a proud record here. We were the first nation in the UK to make school grounds, hospital grounds and public playgrounds smoke free. These regulations matter so much as, without these changes, from January, there would be a growing group of young adults who could be shown cigarettes in a shop but not sold them. That makes no sense for customers and would leave retailers even more confused. This is about regularity and consistency.

On the point that this is an example of state overreach, I believe that, contrary to that, it's stopping a whole generation of people becoming addicted to one of the most powerful and addictive substances on this planet. Every child in Wales deserves a chance to grow up free of an addiction that could cut their lives painfully short. This isn't about restricting people's rights, but enabling individuals to live healthy lives. These regulations are right. And on the point that a 27-year-old won't be able to smoke, but a 28-year-old could, you have to start somewhere. It's not for the absence of trying. I want this generation to be the first in Wales that never starts smoking, so I'm glad to speak in support of these regulations.

I call on the Deputy Minister to reply to the debate.

Diolch. As I set out in my opening remarks, these are limited, technical and purely consequential amendments. They ensure that the provisions governing the exclusions and the defence of prohibition of tobacco displays in the Tobacco Advertising and Promotions Act 2002 continue to operate coherently when the smoke-free generation and age of sale requirements come into force on 1 January 2027.

You mentioned the Plant Varieties Act that I cite in response to the committee. That previous example, referred to in my response, was subject to the negative rather than the affirmative procedure. However, the distinction does not materially affect the comparison I was making. UK Ministers routinely seek Welsh Ministers' agreement before laying instruments making devolved provisions that Welsh Ministers could otherwise make, and the plant varieties regulations provide a recent example. That inter-governmental agreement is separate from the Senedd's scrutiny process under Standing Order 30A. Standing Order 30A makes provision for both statutory instruments and draft statutory instruments without distinguishing between them on the basis of whether they are subject to the negative or affirmative procedure. So, I remain satisfied that the earlier example remains a valid comparison in relation to the political consent and the statutory instrument consent memorandum process. As agreed in the Business Committee this morning, our officials will liaise further with Senedd Commission officials on our respective approaches to the process.

Welsh Ministers' agreement to the UK Government exercising its regulation powers and the Senedd Standing Order 30A process are separate and distinct. As part of the usual inter-government engagement on UK legislation affecting devolved areas, which is a well-established process, I agreed to the regulations being made so that they could be laid before the UK Parliament. Once laid, the regulations engage the Standing Order 30A process, and I laid the statutory instrument consent memorandum as required. My agreement does not pre-empt the Senedd's consideration on this matter. The Senedd is now being asked to express its view through this motion, and the UK Government has been told that UK parliamentary sequencing must allow for that view to be known and taken into account.

Sarah, thank you for the comments on the approach that we're taking. You're right to point out the devastating impact of tobacco and the uptake in vaping. We know that tobacco affects around 3,800 deaths per year, costing an estimated £1.56 billion here in Wales, and the health inequalities and the impact on our deprived communities, of course, are much worse.

Jayne, you mentioned making retailers aware that this is part of a wider package of work—making sure that they are aware of the changes that are coming. Indeed, these regulations are part of a wider piece of work that we're doing on how we tackle tobacco, and specifically vaping. Vaping is meant to be a tool to stop people from smoking, but the increasing level of young people taking up vaping in the first instance is really worrying and something that the Government is looking at. 

Deputy Minister, if you could possibly—.

Using the UK Government instrument is the most practical and proportionate approach. It avoids duplication of legislative processes and supports consistency and timely implementation. It is my view that there would be no material benefit to legislating separately here in Wales to make these consequential amendments to primary legislation. I therefore ask Members to support the motion.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] There is objection. I will therefore defer voting under this item until voting time.

We will now move to item 11, the legislative consent motion on the Sporting Events Bill. I call on the Trefnydd, Chief Whip and Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport to move the motion—Heledd Fychan.

Thank you, Llywydd. I move the motion and welcome the opportunity to open this debate today. The Sporting Events Bill establishes a flexible legislative framework to support the successful delivery of sporting events, including those hosted here in Wales. It is designed to provide greater certainty when bidding for and hosting future events. It will allow commonly required legislative protections to be applied without the need to bring forward new primary legislation for individual events. The framework includes provisions to tackle ticket touting and manage the advertising and trading around sporting events. Welsh Ministers will be able to apply these provisions to sporting events in Wales through secondary legislation.

Wales has a proud track record of successfully hosting sporting events that bring significant economic, social and cultural benefits and create lasting legacies for our communities. The framework will build on that success, strengthening our ability to compete for and deliver future events and creating new opportunities for Wales.

We have worked closely and constructively with the UK Government and the other devolved Governments throughout the Bill’s passage. Following that engagement, amendments were agreed to confer appropriate consequential powers on the Welsh Ministers and to provide a Schedule 7B carve-out to the Government of Wales Act 2006. These safeguards are important to ensure that Welsh Ministers have appropriate powers in devolved areas and that the Senedd’s legislative competence is protected in line with the Welsh Government’s principles on UK legislation in devolved areas.

I am grateful to both the Legislation Committee and the Culture, Communications, Cymraeg and Sport Committee for their scrutiny of the legislative consent memoranda and I welcome their conclusion that the relevant provisions of the Bill require the consent of the Senedd. I also recognise the Legislation Committee's emphasis on transparency and clarity in the legislative consent process, and have responded to its conclusions and recommendations accordingly. I share the culture committee's view that Welsh priorities, including our language, culture and communities, should be properly reflected when the framework is applied in Wales.

Llywydd, I believe that the Bill provides an appropriate and flexible framework to support the successful delivery of sporting events in Wales, and therefore my recommendation is that the Senedd supports the motion.

Thank you, Cabinet Minister. I call on the Chair of the Culture, Communications, Cymraeg and Sport Committee, Mair Rowlands.

Thank you, Llywydd. I'm pleased to contribute to this debate as Chair of the Culture, Communications, Cymraeg and Sport Committee. This was the committee’s first legislative consent memorandum. We considered it before the summer recess, which allowed time to consult with the public and key stakeholders. We were grateful for the insights provided. Since then, two other legislative consent memoranda have been laid before the committee, and we have also considered those.

As we've heard from the Minister, the Bill establishes a sporting events framework that will allow restrictions relating to ticket touting, advertising and trading, transport and unauthorised associations to be applied to specific major sporting events through secondary legislation. The Bill will also confer powers on Welsh Ministers to make regulations applying aspects of that framework in Wales.

As we eagerly look forward to welcoming the Tour de France to Wales in 2027 and to the Euros in 2028, it's important that this Senedd considers carefully the legislative framework proposed for such events. The Bill establishes a framework so that many important policy decisions, including which events are designated as major events, would be made through future regulations rather than on the face of the Bill itself. It's important to note that the Senedd will be able to scrutinise the regulations made by Welsh Ministers.

Our consultation showed there to be broad support for the principles of the Bill. Many stakeholders could see the potential of attracting major sporting events to Wales, and the value in creating a consistent and effective framework for such events. There were reservations, however. 

Stakeholders highlighted to the committee the fact that the framework seems to be aimed at major sporting events such as international football tournaments, and they questioned whether the legislation was flexible enough to support different types and scales of events, such as the six nations or one-day international cricket.

Sport Wales was unclear as to whether the Bill would impact the major events strategy of the Welsh Government. Respondents highlighted areas pertaining specifically to Wales that would need careful consideration by Ministers in setting regulations. For example, this is what the Football Association of Wales urged:

'events taking place in Wales should be delivered in a way that allows Welsh cultural, linguistic and community priorities to be appropriately considered.'

Or as the Welsh Sports Association put it:

'An event taking place in Wales should feel like an event taking place in Wales.'

In our report on the first and second memoranda, we concluded that the Bill requires the consent of the Senedd in accordance with Standing Order 29. The committee noted that amendments had broadened the scope of the legislation, allowing the sporting events framework to be applied to an event likely to be of significant national interest, if the event organiser requests it, which is an issue that was raised with us by stakeholders.

The committee also noted that the Welsh Government, when making regulations, will engage with stakeholders to inform its policy and will carry out a number of impact assessments. Those supporting documents would also be available to this Senedd for scrutiny. We are of the view that it is essential that any regulations passed under this legislation consider adequately Welsh priorities, for example, local or cultural considerations and those relating to the Welsh language. Our report on the third memorandum considers the most recent amendments and notes that the Welsh Government has confirmed its support.

We are of the view that the Bill supports Wales's ability to compete for and host major sporting events, and takes into account the cross-border planning and delivery associated with such sporting events. The committee concluded that the legislation, used correctly, could enable the Welsh Government to strengthen Wales's approach to major sporting events. We look forward to scrutinising any such proposals under this framework in the future. We see no reason as to why the Senedd should not grant its consent to the inclusion of devolved provision in the Bill as amended. Thank you.

Thank you. I call on the Chair of the Legislation Committee, Cristiana Emsley.

Diolch, Lywydd. The Legislation Committee considered the memoranda in relation to this Bill on 13 July, 14 September, and in relation to the third memorandum, yesterday. We have considered our two reports relating to this Bill across four separate committee meetings. The first was finally signed off on 5 October. The second was signed off yesterday, and I will return to this matter in a moment.

The Legislation Committee agrees with the Minister's assessment of the provisions in the Bill as introduced and as amended that require the Senedd's consent. Unfortunately, not all of our scrutiny was that simple. This is one of the eight memoranda laid by the Welsh Government at the start of the Senedd that did not contain a recommendation on consent due to the Welsh Government's analysis of the wider impact of the UK legislative programme. The committee hopes that future waves of legislative consent memoranda do not withhold recommendations for similar reasons.

Unfortunately, the lack of a consent recommendation in memoranda caused us additional issues with this particular Bill. We needed to consider last-minute changes to a report in recognition of a late letter from the Cabinet Minister with her recommendation of consent. Unfortunately, that letter was not particularly helpful, as it gave the committee very little detail about why and how her concerns about the Bill had been alleviated. I welcome the Counsel General's positive engagement with the committee about improving the legislative consent process. I ask him to note this Bill as yet another example of where the Welsh Government's approach to consent recommendations has had significant scrutiny implications.

Writing letters with recommendations of consent is far from ideal, not least because, as Members will see from the motion text itself, it is the memoranda documents that are specified in the motion as containing the relevant detail. Even if the relevant Welsh Minister feels unable to include a recommendation in the first memorandum laid on a Bill, a change in position regarding legislative consent should be communicated to the Senedd via the memoranda process. The committee will be considering this matter as part of the review we are undertaking of Standing Order 29, as requested by the Business Committee.

It would be remiss of me, however, not to welcome the approach taken by the Cabinet Minister in her memoranda on this Bill in relation to certain matters. We welcome that she directly referred to the Welsh Government's principles on UK legislation in devolved areas in her assessment of the Bill. We are a young committee, and we do not yet have a firm view on the principles themselves. However, at this stage, we welcome the principles being used consistently and transparently as a framework to assess the UK legislation that comes before the Senedd. We encourage other Government Ministers to follow the Cabinet Minister's approach in this regard.

In memorandum No. 3, the Cabinet Minister confirms that she was able to secure from the UK Government amendments to the Bill so that the Senedd can modify or remove the concurrent powers in the Bill without constraint. She states that this brings the Bill in line with the Welsh Government's principles. These are significant amendments indeed, because, fundamentally, this Bill creates one very broad delegated power: to reproduce, via secondary legislation, a framework for sporting events that has, until now, only existed via event-specific primary legislation.

Llywydd, it would appear that the volume of UK legislation that makes provision in devolved areas shows little sign of abating. If the Welsh Government is able to apply its principles meaningfully and consistently, it will need the positive and constructive engagement that the Cabinet Minister has experienced with this Bill to be a common feature of its inter-governmental relations. Diolch.

There's been a very high interest in these several regulations this evening, which is commendable, but it does mean we're running a little bit behind. We're in the hands now of the final two speakers on this regulation.

First, Louise Emery.

You'll be very glad that I'm going to keep this short and sweet. We in Reform will be supporting today's LCM on the UK Government's Sporting Events Bill. Good night.

Commendably brief. Diolch yn fawr. Mike Hedges, no pressure.

I won't be quite as quick as that. Welsh Labour support this motion and we welcome the Sporting Events Bill being taken forward by the UK Labour Government. We have a proud sporting history here in Wales and we want to see more major events coming to Wales.

Wales is about to host the Joshua-Fury fight, which is one of the most major events taking place in the world. We are also going to host the opening match of Euro 2028, a great opportunity to showcase Wales on the international stage. This legislation will help us make the most of that opportunity, as well as other events that we will host in the future. That means maximising the economic benefit that comes to Wales, supporting our local businesses, and ensuring that supporters are protected from ticket touts.

I am pleased there has been constructive engagement with Ministers in the Welsh and UK Governments on this. I look forward to the Minister giving further updates on this legislation. As I say, I'm very pleased to support this.

I call on the Cabinet Minister to reply to the debate.

Thank you, Llywydd, and I thank Members for their contributions. This Bill will strengthen Wales's ability to attract and successfully deliver future sporting events and to take advantage of the opportunities they bring. I therefore ask Members to support the motion. Thank you.

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

Item 12 now, a debate on the second supplementary budget for 2026-27. I call on the Cabinet Minister for Finance to move the motion—Elin Jones.

Llywydd, I'm pleased to open this debate on the Welsh Government's second supplementary budget for 2026-27. The budget before Members today allocates £354 million of additional funding, comprising £224 million revenue funding and £130 million of capital funding. It includes the package of measures first published in June, alongside an additional £60 million of revenue funding for additional learning needs.

I want to begin by recognising the constructive discussions that have taken place in recent weeks with the Labour group. Members across the political spectrum have consistently highlighted the challenges facing learners with additional learning needs, their families, schools and local authorities. While there have been differing views on how best to respond, there has been broad recognition that these pressures are real and require action. That shared understanding has enabled agreement to be reached, and an agreement to spend an additional £60 million on additional learning needs this year is more important than continuing to disagree and not spending any. This is what can be achieved when parties across the Senedd work for the benefit of Wales. This agreement reflects a willingness to engage constructively, listen carefully and focus on practical solutions rather than political division.

Llywydd, the majority of this supplementary budget reflects allocations and commitments that were originally published in June. Those allocations remain focused on this Government's priorities. The allocations include £145 million for the NHS, £100 million to reduce waiting times and £45 million of capital funding to begin the delivery of new surgical and diagnostic hubs and to address maintenance backlogs across the NHS. They also include £55 million to help families with childcare costs, £15 million to support the roll-out of free school meals in secondary schools and £40 million to address the backlog of capital maintenance in schools. A further £2 million is allocated for school swimming and £2 million for the Cynnal child payment. The transport allocations include £8 million to support the young person's bus fare and £2 million for a new north-south bus service. The allocations also include £20 million to increase the supply of affordable housing. These allocations reflect the priorities set out in June.

I'll turn now to the additional investment in additional learning needs that is new in this second supplementary budget. We recognise the significant pressures facing children and young people with additional learning needs, their families, schools and colleges and local authorities. We know that needs are becoming increasingly complex, we know that demand for support continues to grow, and we know that education settings across Wales are working hard to meet those demands, often in challenging financial circumstances.

Throughout discussions on this budget, there has been a strong and consistent message from schools, local government, trade unions, practitioners and families. We've listened carefully to those concerns and they were articulated to us directly by the Labour group in the Senedd. As a result, therefore, of discussions and agreement with the Welsh Labour group, this supplementary budget includes the additional £60 million of funding for additional learning needs in this financial year. This funding will provide £56 million to local authorities, with the vast majority of that funding flowing directly to schools and education settings. A further £2.5 million will support further education institutions and £1.5 million will support the development of a long-term sustainability plan.

This additional funding will provide meaningful support this year, but I also want to be clear that it is not and cannot be the complete answer. As we've said previously, addressing these challenges requires a strategic and sustainable response alongside immediate financial support. That is why this investment sits alongside our continuing commitment to work with local authorities, schools, trade unions and wider stakeholders to develop a long-term approach that supports learners whilst ensuring the system remains sustainable for the future.

Llywydd, I also want to address an issue that generated some debate within the Senedd when we first considered the first supplementary budget earlier this year. A number of Members expressed concern about the level of funding being held centrally and not yet allocated to individual portfolios. I do understand those concerns. Transparency is vital, and Members are right to seek reassurance that available resources are being used effectively and responsibly. The Finance Committee, in its scrutiny of this second budget, has reinforced this issue in its recommendation to the Welsh Government during that scrutiny.

However, it's important that unallocated figures are understood in their proper context. The Welsh Government continues to face a very challenging financial position this year. We inherited a difficult budgetary situation, facing significant unfunded in-year pressures of over £300 million reported by the health service and elsewhere. Those pressures arise from increasing demand for public services, ongoing inflationary pressures, and the wider financial challenges facing organisations across Wales. 

In that context, retaining a degree of central flexibility is not an indication that resources are surplus to requirements or available for new spending commitments. Quite the opposite. It is a deliberate and prudent approach to financial management within the year.

The additional allocation for additional learning needs does create additional budgetary pressures, and will require us to manage our in-year position prudently. The pressures are real. The financial position remains challenging, but I'm confident that the arrangements we have in place are allowing those pressures to be managed responsibly. 

Llywydd, at its heart, this supplementary budget is about delivering on our commitments, strengthening public services and ensuring resources are directed to the areas where they are needed most. It maintains the package of investment first proposed in June. It provides additional support for learners with additional learning needs. It demonstrates the value of constructive cross-party engagement, and it continues our commitment to managing the public finances responsibly during a challenging financial period. I therefore commend the second supplementary budget to the Senedd, and urge Members to support it. 

I now call on the Chair of the Finance Committee, Sam Rowlands. 

Diolch, Lywydd. I'm grateful to able to speak on this item as Chair of the Finance Committee. It is, of course, as the Cabinet Minister outlined, the second supplementary budget, and the committee's views today build on the report that we published in July on the first supplementary budget, which included 22 recommendations, which I know Members will have read and digested, I'm sure, and has already been debated before the summer.

I want to thank the Cabinet Minister for joining the committee on 22 October for our scrutiny of the second supplementary budget. I've written to the Cabinet Minister with a short letter from the committee, summarising our thoughts, and making three further recommendations on top of the 22—the three that I will speak to today. 

Firstly, in regard to ALN, this second supplementary budget builds on the first, with the difference being an extra £60 million to the additional learning needs provision from the unallocated fiscal resource. During our scrutiny, Members questioned the fairness of the allocation formula being used to direct money to schools. Officials told the committee that the money was being allocated based on school population numbers rather than specific need, because, and I quote, 

'the data that we have on ALN numbers is not fantastically robust'.

We are concerned, therefore, to note this lack of robust, detailed data in an area of such importance. We note that £1.5 million has been allocated to develop a long-term sustainability plan for ALN funding. The committee is of the view that data gathering and verification needs to be part of that work, to ensure there is a robust data set. This will require close working with local authorities, the Welsh Local Government Association and teaching unions, to establish that robust database. I hope the Minister will take this forward. Decisions on future funding requirements must be underpinned by reliable data. Given the importance of establishing an adequate long-term funding settlement in this area, confidence in the evidence base is absolutely essential. 

Secondly, Llywydd, in regard to unallocated funding—we've already heard the Cabinet Minister's comments this evening on that—the committee heard that there are three main pressures that may require additional funds from the reserve later in the financial year, these being the NHS, education and transport. We note that the Minister is working with budget holders across their areas of responsibility to manage spending pressures, and that the next supplementary budget is expected to provide greater detail on where additional funding requirements lie. Once again, we emphasise the importance of ensuring that decisions are informed by robust and reliable evidence and data. 

The committee notes that, in response to questioning, the Cabinet Minister was able to identify the main pressures the unallocated fiscal reserve is expected to meet over the remainder of the year. However, this information is not set out in the supplementary budget documentation. Without an indication of what the reserve is currently expected to fund, the committee is unable to assess the impact of drawing on it to meet new or unforeseen pressures, such as the additional £60 million for ALN. We've asked for more clarity on this as it emerges.

Finally, Llywydd, in regards to teachers' pay, we understand that negotiations around teachers' pay were being taken forward on the basis of a 3.5 per cent increase, whereas budgeting was based on a 3.2 per cent increase. NAHT union leaders are balloting on industrial action after the Welsh Government decided to offer less than the 4.25 per cent increase recommended by the independent Welsh pay review body. It is an area of concern for the Finance Committee and we note it will require further attention as negotiations continue. The committee notes that further funding regarding any other pay rewards may also need to be addressed in a third supplementary budget later in the financial year. Diolch, Lywydd.

Thank you, Minister, for your presentation of the second supplementary budget, delivered in your ever-consistent style. Anyone who knows me well will know I have a passion for finance. It's why I decided to study financial economics after school, it's why I decided to work partly in the banking industry, and it's why I feel so privileged to have been asked to serve as shadow finance Minister for, in my opinion, the best political party in Wales.

I am afraid that that same admiration doesn't come to the subject of today's debate. I have three real concerns with the supplementary budget and, together, they show that this budget should absolutely not have the approval of this Senedd. The first is how little has actually changed since the last supplementary budget, in July, which this Senedd historically rejected. The only difference, after taking into account the previous offer to Labour, is an additional £20 million for ALN from the unallocated funding pot. Make no mistake, we welcome additional support for ALN provision. Schools and families desperately need it, and Reform has been leading the charge in the Senedd on calling for greater investment in this area. But the vast majority of the budget spending priorities remain unchanged and yet this budget will most likely pass through the Senedd. Why is that? This is where I look over to the Labour seats. You voted against the previous budget and not only for the lack of ALN funding. Your finance spokesperson, Huw Thomas, spoke passionately on the issue of inadequate pay for teachers. During the debate on the first supplementary budget, he said,

'how has it come to this...where...well-respected unions are having to ask for the intervention of an independent conciliation body to mediate its dealing with Welsh Government? It's unprecedented. It's a failure of social partnership, and it says very clearly that the supplementary budget, as proposed, isn't good enough.'

Since that speech, the dispute between the Welsh Government and the national association of teachers has worsened, and yet Labour is somehow backing this budget. Why? The only possible theory I can give is that the Members sitting on those Labour seats are not in charge of Welsh Labour. Mark Drakeford, on the BBC, said that you might have made the wrong decision in rejecting the first budget and, soon after, you cut a cheap deal to support the budget. Ken, who is really pulling the strings in Welsh Labour?

My second point is that the loss to the unallocated funding pot is a loss in dealing with the upcoming financial pressures of our NHS. Don't take my word for it. The finance Minister, defending the original supplementary budget to the Finance Committee earlier this year, made it clear where the bulk of the unallocated funding was planning to go. She said,

'£246.5 million of resource is unallocated, and that is mainly to allow us to manage the budget within the financial year',

'The most significant one by a long way is the NHS and health. We have already reported that there is more than £300 million of pressures...in the NHS, at present...it is prudent therefore for us to retain an amount of £246.5 million unallocated.'

By your own words, Minister, by removing a significant chunk of the unallocated pot—25 per cent of it—you and your Government are not prudent. The Cambridge dictionary—the best dictionary, in my view—notes the following words as the opposite of prudent: thoughtless, reckless and unwise. Why, Minister, have you unwisely decided the NHS should lose out rather than other parts of this budget?

And that leads me to my final point, that there are far more lines in this budget that should have been cut before our health service, and none—none—as blatantly obvious as the budget line for international development. The Telegraph today have published some of the utter waste-of-money projects going on in this budget line. Let me list just a few: £25,000 for disability-inclusive beekeeping in Ghana and Uganda; £19,000 for radio phone-ins for farmers in Wales and Uganda to meet and discuss climate change; £21,000 for financial literacy for LGBTQI+ people in Uganda; and £4,000 for soap-making workshops in Kenya and Uganda. I can't help picturing the look on a disability-inclusive beekeeper in Ghana when someone asks who funds you, and they respond, 'The Welsh Government.' Let me be crystal clear: Welsh taxpayers' money should be spent in Wales.

There is no way that Reform Wales can support this budget, and I urge the Conservatives, the Labour Members without strings attached to them, and the independently minded Plaid Cymru backbenchers to vote down this woeful budget. Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd.

Well, how do you follow that? I mean, I won't pretend to have the financial know-how of our banker over there, but I think it's probably an understatement to say that the process of agreeing this supplementary budget has been more difficult than it should have been. I think that's fair, right? The reality is that no minority Government can simply assume support for its budget. The people of Wales elected a Senedd in which no party has a majority, and that means that engagement, compromise and negotiations are not optional. There are obligations on the Government party; there are also obligations on the opposition parties as well.

But that's why it was so disappointing that concerns raised by schools, local authorities, parents and trade unions about the pressures in additional learning needs provision were initially dismissed by the Welsh Government rather than addressed. The good news is that lessons, as the First Minister has said, seem to have been learned. Through negotiations, there's been meaningful movement from the Welsh Government,

and I am grateful to the Cabinet Minister and her officials for the constructive discussion that we've had over recent months.

The supplementary budget motion is being moved today because, through that constructive engagement, Welsh Labour have secured an additional £60 million package this year in support of ALN—50 per cent more than Plaid had originally put on the table this summer. Let's be absolutely clear: before Welsh Labour's intervention, not a penny of additional funding in the additional supplementary budget had been earmarked to provide additional support for ALN learners. This, despite the incoming Government having over £300 million extra available due to the UK Government addressing accumulated deficits in English councils as a result of special educational needs and disabilities pressures there. Not a penny.

So, I'm proud that Welsh Labour successfully pressed the Plaid Cymru Government to recognise the scale and the urgency of the challenge that this additional funding is now made available for. We know that it will make a genuine difference to ALN pupils and their families, and to schools, across Wales. Securing the funding is only the first step, though. The challenge for the Welsh Government now is to ensure that this money reaches schools and local authorities as quickly as possible, and to ensure that it is targeted at the pupils who need that help the most. Schools cannot afford lengthy delays or bureaucratic obstacles. Headteachers and support staff need clarity, they need resources, and they need the confidence that this funding will translate quickly into improved support in classrooms. And, again, that urgency is one of the reasons why we are moving forward with the supplementary budget today.

Llywydd, this is also a moment for the Government to recognise that supporting learners with additional learning needs is not an optional extra to be funded if money happens to be available. It is a core and pressing responsibility of Government and a vital part of delivering educational opportunity for every child.

And let us be clear: the £60 million secured through this agreement is an important step forward, but it does not resolve all of the pressures facing schools and councils around this issue. Tomorrow, the petition by teaching unions demanding further ALN funding will be debated. I sincerely hope the Government will be listening. Let us see the funding secured today as a down payment on further support to our schools. Members will note that this supplementary budget retains £186 million of unallocated funds. We recognise that there are pressures in the health department and the transport department, so I welcome the commitment from the Minister to transparency on these figures, but the job of Ministers is to manage within their budgets, and we will certainly be scrutinising these areas closely in the coming months, so that the unallocated funding could be available to commit further to schools. This Government has talked warmly about focusing spend on prevention. Here is an early opportunity to put words into action.

Turning to the main budget to come, we have demonstrated through negotiations that constructive opposition can deliver meaningful results. The alternative, and I direct these remarks to Reform and Tory Members, would result in eventually starving our public services of the funding that they need, and perhaps that is what they want.

We will approach on these benches the main budget in exactly the same constructive spirit, working to secure resources that public services in Wales need, our priorities informed by our Labour values of fairness and social justice, fighting for the best possible deal for working people in every corner of Wales. But, as for tonight, Welsh Labour will support this second supplementary budget today because of the extra funding we have managed to secure, and I look forward to holding the Welsh Government to account in its delivery. Diolch yn fawr.

After 27 years of Labour, Wales still faces long NHS waiting lists, struggling schools, weak economic growth and an immense pressure on local public services. The question is whether this budget demonstrates a genuine break from that record, or whether Plaid has simply become the latest custodian of Labour's failure. It certainly seems to be the season for weak budgets that do not deliver, and today, as we've just heard—after 27 years of seeing Labour propped up by Plaid, we've just heard it—that Plaid will be propped up by Labour for the rest of this term.

Look, across Wales, it's clear. Schools continue to tell us that additional learning needs demand is rising rapidly, and we know that councils are facing significant pressures in social care, education, transport, housing, and the situation is getting more acute every year. In this Chamber, we have raised concerns about local government funding settlements for years. This supplementary budget provided another opportunity to address those concerns, yet many councils will feel that those long-standing issues remain unresolved.

We talk a lot in this place about the importance of public services and know how crucial they are, but we have to start providing the tools that are needed to sustain those key services. We were told that a Plaid Cymru Government would be different. We were told it would challenge the old way of doing things. The people of Wales voted with a promise from Plaid of change, yet the budget just seems to be business as usual wrapped in different colours. Whether it is NHS waiting times, educational targets, economic growth or support for local services, Wales needs delivery, not simply announcements from this Government that would cover the next 100 days.

We on these benches want to see every pound focused on outcomes, reducing waiting lists, support for education, improving key transport infrastructure and ensuring local authorities receive a fair settlement. All the promises made in the election campaign and all the promises made during the first 100 days should be the standard by which this Plaid Cymru Government should now be judged. And on that measure, there is still a great deal more work to do. As such, we will be voting against this supplementary budget. Diolch.

Thank you. I'm going to try and call a couple of other speakers. I will not be able to call everybody; there's a list of people down for this debate. We'll go first to, and we're in your hands, Sarah Rees.

Llywydd, throughout much of my career in the third sector, there's one phrase I heard time and again: 'follow the money'. Because budgets reveal the clearest indication of Government priorities. When around half of the Welsh Government's budget is spent on health and social care, every pound of the remaining budget matters, and that's why we should not play political games with funding that communities across Wales desperately need. And this is a responsibility that we all hold. Families, schools, hospitals, local authorities have all been waiting for certainty since July. They need decisions, not delay.

In my constituency, schools and local authorities have been clear about additional learning needs provision. The additional funding that was on offer in June was welcome, and it was needed months ago. Plaid Cymru recognise that ALN is not simply an education issue. It affects health, social care and family support. And the challenge is not only one of funding levels, but of funding fairness. Schools serving the most disadvantaged communities often face the greatest levels of need, yet funding does not always reflect those pressures. And that's why we must continue to hold constructive policy as well as funding conversations. As well as ALN and NHS funding, there's also the £55 million that has been lent to expanding childcare, a policy that is powering ahead on putting money back into the pockets of parents, which in turn improves the lives of children in deep poverty.

We've also said that Plaid Cymru are investing in tackling the housing crisis, expanding free school meals, supporting cheaper bus travel, and these are all practical measures that tackle the structural inequalities facing citizens across Wales. And they matter, because the cost of failing to act is far greater. Too many children in Wales are growing up experiencing poverty, which limits opportunities, harms life chances and carries a significant cost for our society and our economy. Life is, shamefully, too hard for far too many families across Wales. And for too long, the previous Welsh Labour Government lacked the focus needed to ensure that families saw and felt real change.

We cannot tackle poverty at a glacial pace, and we cannot confuse good intention with meaningful outcomes, because it's our citizens who suffer. Plaid Cymru has delivered swift progress on expanding childcare, and that is what shows how this Government is prioritising the people of Wales in its actions. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the UK Labour Government, who shortchanged Wales in last week's budget. If we're serious about tackling poverty and creating opportunity, Wales cannot continue to be an afterthought when decisions are made in Westminster. The people here in Wales voted for change. They voted for politicians willing to work together to deliver it. They need action, they need delivery, not delay, and today this Senedd has an opportunity for us all to provide it.

I just want to start by expressing my disappointment that this Parliament has been allocated just 30 minutes to debate the allocation of hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer money. And I appreciate that that is a 15-minute improvement on the previous debates that we've had here, but, frankly, I don't think that's something we should be celebrating. We are talking about huge amounts of public money, yet this Parliament is given less time to scrutinise these decisions than many community councils have to discuss dog fouling. And I think that says a great deal about how seriously this Government takes financial scrutiny and accountability.

Now, let me be clear: additional funding for our public services—[Interruption.] Do you want to make an intervention, Cabinet Minister? You have time at the end, but I'll take one now if you want. [Interruption.] Let me be clear that additional funding for our public services is always welcome. The £60 million for ALN is welcome, but let's be clear: I sat in local government, I know how much of that is going to be top-sliced in county halls. We need to see any additional money going to our schools directly, not being held up in county halls and not being top-sliced by county officers.

Our NHS needs investment, our schools need investment and our local authorities are under huge financial pressure. But I cannot just accept the continual belief that simply throwing more money at a problem is somehow going to substitute for fixing it. This budget provides funding, but where are the structural reforms? Where are the efficiencies? And where are the serious attempts to tackle wasteful spending across Government? They're just not there. Take the NHS—you've committed more money for waiting lists, but let's look at what Audit Wales have said about this: £547 million was provided for waiting lists between 2022 and 2025, and yet, this year, 185,000 patient pathways were still waiting longer than 36 weeks for treatment. So, £0.5 billion-worth of investment has delivered probably next to nothing.

So, I do not accept the Government's argument all the time that we need more money, more money, when, actually, structural reform would be a huge way of addressing some of these problems. But we don't see any efficiency savings. The Welsh Government likes to spend money on non-devolved areas, perhaps tree planting and overseas projects, and overseas offices as well—money that could be redirected, money that the First Minister has called small change. Well, I'm sure if some of those millions arrived in hard-working people's pockets across the country, they wouldn't call it small change.

But I want to go to another point, and it's something that really does annoy me from this Government, because we hear almost every single week that Westminster must provide us more money. And I do not dispute that there are legitimate arguments about funding owed to Wales, and, where money is owed, it should be paid. But what I will not accept is the suggestion that every failure of public service in Wales has got something to do with underfunding from the UK Government. You cannot demand more from Westminster while refusing to properly challenge how you spend that money or the reforms that are needed to actually drive the savings. And if your plan for the next four years is simply to blame Westminster for everything that goes on here in Wales, then God help the people of this country who voted for change—and they desperately want to see those improvements—because we're not going to see it.

I will not be supporting this supplementary budget today. I don't think there's anything you could do to convince me otherwise. [Interruption.] If you want to make an intervention, I'll very happily take one. [Interruption.] No. Righty-o. So there we go. I always think the success of every Government should be measured not by its press releases, but how it's investing taxpayer money. This supplementary budget falls short. We're seeing Labour now propping up Plaid, something that we predicted long before the election result ever was called. I'm sorry to say to the people of Wales that, if you put your trust in this Government, I'm afraid to say that they're already misleading you. The only way you will get change here in Wales is voting this supplementary budget down so we can go back to the polls and elect a Government that actually cares about Wales.

And finally—and if the Member could help with a short contribution—Sera Evans.

Diolch, Lywydd. It's very welcome to see the Welsh Government reaffirming its commitment to the priorities that matter most to our communities. Vitally important investment in our NHS, childcare and free school meals will all make a tangible and meaningful difference to people's everyday lives.

I am particularly pleased to see the additional £60 million allocated to ALN. We know that the demand for ALN provision is significant and that local authorities and schools need this investment, which should provide the sector with a degree of stability over the coming year. But we must also recognise, as the Ministers have, of course, that ALN provision requires a long-term commitment, evidenced through the funding allocated to local authority partners, to undertake more work on planning to assess the long-term provision that they need within their schools and colleges.

That work is crucial if we are to fully understand the level of unmet need and how we can most effectively support all learners. So, it's an extremely welcome development, and I certainly look forward to seeing how funding allocations for future years will be reflected as part of the draft budget process for 2027-28. I think that that process, which will be here in no time at all, comes with an undeniably challenging backdrop for budget setting. It is precisely because of this that it's good to see a clear-eyed recognition from the Welsh Government that maximising the benefit Wales gets from the public pound is an imperative.

Today is, of course, a welcome step forward, Llywydd, and an important one for laying the groundwork for the longer term investments the people of Wales need. Diolch.

Thank you. I now call on the Cabinet Minister to reply to the debate. 

Diolch, Lywydd. Thank you first of all to the Finance Committee for undertaking its scrutiny of this second supplementary budget at somewhat short notice. And thank you for the recommendations that you've provided today in response to that scrutiny. I've already addressed the issues around unallocated funding within the budget, but also, perhaps just to refer to the points that Sam Rowlands, the Chair, made in the contribution around the data improvement that we need to see on additional learning needs, as we look to develop a sustainable funding model into the future for additional learning needs, then we certainly need to reflect on that recommendation and consider how we can improve the data available to us as a Government and shared across local authorities and schools. Thank you to the Reform spokesperson for sharing his cv with us tonight. Just for the avoidance of doubt, for clarity, I can confirm that this £60 million allocation for additional learning needs is affordable within this budget. And why is that different to what was an assessment back in June? Well, just to say it is November now, it is far later in the financial year than in June, and my assessment as finance Minister of what is now affordable, given the financial control mechanisms we've put in place as a Government, within Government, in November, is very different to June. A financial year works throughout the year and changes throughout that financial year, and that is something that this economics graduate learned a long time ago.

This level of additional learning needs funding, then, of £60 million, which is new in this second supplementary budget, is both affordable and deliverable. I hope tonight that this supplementary budget can command a majority across this Senedd, because those people who live and who work with those with additional learning needs need to know that there are people in this Senedd who have been elected to serve them and to back them, and that there is a majority in this Senedd that wants to do this and wants to do more as well in the future to help those in need in Wales.

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Yes, there are objections. I will therefore defer voting under this item until voting time.

We will move to item 13, voting time. Unless five Members wish for the bell to be rung, I will proceed directly to voting time.

The first vote this evening is on item 8. I call for a vote on the motion, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan. Open the vote. Close the vote. The result of the vote is as follows: in favour 45, 48 abstentions, none against. Therefore, the motion is agreed.

We will now move to item 9. I call for a vote on the motion, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan. Open the vote. Close the vote. The result of the vote is as follows: in favour 53, no abstentions, 40 against. Therefore, the motion is agreed.

We will now move to item 10. I call for vote on the motion, tabled in the name of Nerys Evans. Open the vote. Close the vote. The result of the vote is as follows: in favour 53, two abstentions and 38 against. Therefore, the motion is agreed.

I'll now move to the next item, item 12. I call for a vote on the motion, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan. Open the vote. Close the vote. The result of the vote is as follows: in favour 54, no abstentions and 39 against. Therefore, the motion is agreed.

Thank you, all, very much. That brings today's proceedings to a close.