:00:31. > :00:36.Good afternoon. Welcome to the programme and our weekly coverage of
:00:37. > :00:41.questions to the First Minister. Politicians will be debating the ?15
:00:42. > :00:45.billion spending plans for next year later on this afternoon. After the
:00:46. > :00:47.weekly questions session. And our weekly coverage of questions to the
:00:48. > :00:50.First Minister. Politicians will be debating the ?15 billion spending
:00:51. > :00:54.plans for next year later on this afternoon. After the weekly
:00:55. > :00:57.questions session. From the the keep Sunday special campaign. You can
:00:58. > :01:04.follow all the latest on our Twitter feed. Business in the chamber is
:01:05. > :01:11.already underway. Let's take a look at the questions to the First
:01:12. > :01:15.Minister. Good afternoon. The National Assembly of Wales is now in
:01:16. > :01:22.session. Our first item, questions to the First Minister. What is the
:01:23. > :01:29.Welsh Government doing to support the keep Sunday special campaign? It
:01:30. > :01:33.is not a devolved matter and we are awaiting further details on the
:01:34. > :01:36.proposals from the UK Government. It is hugely important that the
:01:37. > :01:42.interests of those who work on a Sunday or protected and that the
:01:43. > :01:49.privileges that they enjoy now continue in the future. It is
:01:50. > :01:53.disappointing for those who have been campaigning to keep Sunday
:01:54. > :01:57.special and in relation to the hundred thousand social workers in
:01:58. > :02:04.Wales who thought that the UK Government had pledged not to tackle
:02:05. > :02:07.-- tamper with Sunday trading laws. They are now doing it through the
:02:08. > :02:11.back door by the Enterprise Bill. What can the Welsh Government do to
:02:12. > :02:17.protect the family life of shop workers in Wales? We take the view
:02:18. > :02:21.that this is an issue that should be devolved. We have argued for it to
:02:22. > :02:26.be devolved. We look forward to a response from the UK Government to
:02:27. > :02:29.that. Should these powers be default we will consult with local
:02:30. > :02:32.authorities, businesses, shop workers and the public and we will
:02:33. > :02:39.listen to what they say and act accordingly. Noting what he said,
:02:40. > :02:43.you will acknowledge that the majority of local authorities would
:02:44. > :02:46.rather like to have these powers so they can interpret them in the best
:02:47. > :02:51.locally. Would you support such a move? I believe these powers should
:02:52. > :02:56.be devolved to the people of Wales and we can decide where these powers
:02:57. > :03:07.should go as is the case in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Will the First
:03:08. > :03:13.Minister make a statement on action to reduce waiting times? We have set
:03:14. > :03:19.up the planned care programme led by clinicians to set up sustainable
:03:20. > :03:23.services in NHS Wales. We have invested an additional ?45 million
:03:24. > :03:25.for the financial year to assist health boards in delivering
:03:26. > :03:34.improvements in between times set out in their medium-term plans. We
:03:35. > :03:38.know and do your tenure, winning plans have doubled here. In South
:03:39. > :03:42.Wales Central there is an especial concern around orthopaedic waiting
:03:43. > :03:48.times and the BBC statistics recently showed considerable wits
:03:49. > :03:52.for Hoops. 197 debut it as opposed to 75 days in England. What comfort
:03:53. > :03:56.can you give to my constituents in South Wales Central as to what
:03:57. > :04:00.action the government will be taking to drive down waiting times so that
:04:01. > :04:03.when they do present at hospital, a consultant is in a position to give
:04:04. > :04:09.them a time they can count on to have the procedure? Let's look at
:04:10. > :04:16.A The number of people spending 12 hours in in the department has
:04:17. > :04:19.fallen, a 23% drop. That is compared to the previous month. We look for
:04:20. > :04:27.the number of people reading in England in Indy has doubled to
:04:28. > :04:32.124,000 people in two years. We know that delayed transfers of care are
:04:33. > :04:37.increasing in England. Diagnostic waiting times are dropping in bills.
:04:38. > :04:43.When the people reading is time for operations and we know that unlike
:04:44. > :04:49.in England we do not have the chaos, Cameron's chaos, of a junior doctors
:04:50. > :04:53.strike. We know that one of the contributors to reading list is the
:04:54. > :04:58.impact upon adult social care which the Tories would separate from the
:04:59. > :05:05.NHS in England. The example is that there has been a 15% cut in spending
:05:06. > :05:10.on adult social care and a 100% increase in bed blocking, increasing
:05:11. > :05:14.from 50,000 a month to 100,000 a month. The Tories would decimate
:05:15. > :05:19.adult social care. Did he agree the position of the Welsh Government of
:05:20. > :05:22.supporting adult social care as part and parcel of NHS treatment
:05:23. > :05:29.contribute to better treatment and better outcomes for all? The
:05:30. > :05:33.tendency of the Tories in England to suggest that somehow there is no
:05:34. > :05:39.connection between health and social care... Can you count down and
:05:40. > :05:45.listen to the First Minister reply. That is you in particular, Darren
:05:46. > :05:50.Millar. Don't cheer. The Tories have a tendency to suggest there is no
:05:51. > :05:54.connection between health and social care. They have cut social care to
:05:55. > :05:56.the bone. They have off-loaded responsibility for providing social
:05:57. > :06:00.care to local authorities to the poorest authorities will have the
:06:01. > :06:05.greatest problem in providing social care. We in Wales spent more on
:06:06. > :06:09.health and social services in England does. 7% more and we will
:06:10. > :06:14.continue to look at those who need care the most. That is an
:06:15. > :06:19.interesting answer to that question because when Plaid Cymru talks about
:06:20. > :06:24.integrating health and social care services neighbour accuses us of
:06:25. > :06:35.wanting to abolish the NHS. Which is a blatant lie. Now, First Minister,
:06:36. > :06:40.in some parts of south Wales Central obtaining a GP appointment can be a
:06:41. > :06:43.long and drawn out process. The issue is particularly acute in the
:06:44. > :06:48.northernmost part of the region where at The Royal College of
:06:49. > :06:54.General practitioners tell us that half of all GPs are nearing
:06:55. > :06:59.retirement. For members who are not aware, that region is in South Wales
:07:00. > :07:07.Central. Access to a GP has not been helped by removal of the out of
:07:08. > :07:10.hours service. One primary care is weak there is an inevitable knock on
:07:11. > :07:17.effect on hospitals by increasing the demand on waiting times and
:07:18. > :07:21.services. First Minister, you have previously admitted that you took
:07:22. > :07:25.your eye of the ball when it comes to education, do you now admit that
:07:26. > :07:31.you have taken your eye off the ball with health and Doctor recruitment
:07:32. > :07:37.as well? The leader of Plaid Cymru things we are into leaderquestions.
:07:38. > :07:42.Overall GP numbers have increased by ten and a half percent between 2004
:07:43. > :07:47.and 2015. There are now over 2000 GPs civic communities across Wales.
:07:48. > :07:51.We note that this is a global market when it comes to attracting doctors
:07:52. > :07:55.and that is why we launched the targeted campaign called meet your
:07:56. > :07:59.future part of our future, external wire Wales is a good place to be a
:08:00. > :08:06.junior doctor. Where our Hammonds, health boards have plans in place
:08:07. > :08:13.where practices have decided to close their doors, salaried GPs have
:08:14. > :08:19.been put in place. I do not accuse Plaid Cymru of trying to dismantle
:08:20. > :08:22.the NHS. I know they want to see an improved public health service, as
:08:23. > :08:26.we did. We do not agree with the structure they want to impose, but
:08:27. > :08:32.we are in the same position in that regard. We have 2000 more GPs since
:08:33. > :08:37.2004 and they are serving our communities well. First Minister,
:08:38. > :08:46.there is a big discrepancy between the referral to diagnostic testing
:08:47. > :08:50.times between cancer patients on the urgent route to the non-urgent route
:08:51. > :08:53.and I wonder what additional support could the Welsh Government put in
:08:54. > :08:59.place for primary care to make sure that, when it GPs are making this
:09:00. > :09:01.decision between urgent and nonurgent referrals, that they are
:09:02. > :09:08.confident they are making both safe and appropriate decisions? I don't
:09:09. > :09:11.see this as a particular issue in South Wales Central, but
:09:12. > :09:15.nevertheless, it is right to say more GPs are referring people at an
:09:16. > :09:18.early stage, quite naturally, if they suspect cancer might be
:09:19. > :09:24.present. The vast majority that is not the case but the referral is
:09:25. > :09:28.made anyway. That diagnosis is made within 20 days. Although for some
:09:29. > :09:32.cancers it can be more difficult to identify what the problem is.
:09:33. > :09:37.Pancreatic cancer is a particular issue because the symptoms can be
:09:38. > :09:42.general and can mimic the symptoms of other illnesses. We note that we
:09:43. > :09:52.outperform England when it comes to 31 day target for urgent cancers and
:09:53. > :10:03.the 62 date timetable for non-urgent care and -- cancers and we want that
:10:04. > :10:06.to continue to be the case. First Minister, at the last National
:10:07. > :10:10.Assembly elections, I party said we would provide more money for schools
:10:11. > :10:15.by targeting additional monies at pupils who need it most. The budget
:10:16. > :10:20.today means that the pupil premium will be worth ?1150 per pupil in
:10:21. > :10:23.April thanks to the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the recent report said
:10:24. > :10:29.that is making a material difference to those children. To qualify for
:10:30. > :10:32.this support, parents must register for free school meals. Would work
:10:33. > :10:38.with the government and take to ensure that every child who needs
:10:39. > :10:42.this support will receive this help? I am not aware of this being a
:10:43. > :10:47.particular issue. It is important that schools are able to community
:10:48. > :10:51.and so parents are aware of the support that is available to them
:10:52. > :10:56.and we have a responsibility to help them. Some families believe there is
:10:57. > :11:00.a stigma in making an application for free school meals and they
:11:01. > :11:03.should be assured that it is not only in their interests, but in the
:11:04. > :11:07.interests of the children to make that application. It will make a
:11:08. > :11:11.material difference to the school budget. The budget this afternoon
:11:12. > :11:15.will also deliver additional funding -- funding for the health service.
:11:16. > :11:19.That will only be worthwhile if it makes a material difference to the
:11:20. > :11:28.outcome for people. What impact we expect from patients in Wales and
:11:29. > :11:30.what fresh and new ideas do you have in each of the additional resources
:11:31. > :11:34.going into the NHS make a genuine difference to patient experience is
:11:35. > :11:41.much more can I recognise what she said about free school meals. There
:11:42. > :11:47.are schools that have pioneered a plastic cards that are preloaded
:11:48. > :11:50.with the money for some pupils but which can be used without money
:11:51. > :11:58.preloaded for those on free school meals. No one knows the difference.
:11:59. > :12:03.When I was in school, those on free school meals had a different
:12:04. > :12:06.coloured ticket. This will help us remove this stigma. The leader of
:12:07. > :12:11.the Liberal Democrats is right that the stigma still exist. We want to
:12:12. > :12:14.see diagnostic times gone down, in the waiting time going down, waiting
:12:15. > :12:19.times for operations gone down, to see the timetables but in place for
:12:20. > :12:23.cancer treatments improve and to see ambulance response times improve as
:12:24. > :12:30.well. It is important that as more money goes in, that people can see
:12:31. > :12:36.the output delivered at the end. One part of the NHS but does frustrate
:12:37. > :12:40.people, and a problem you promised action on is accessing their GP when
:12:41. > :12:47.they wanted. For many people, a three wait for appointment is not
:12:48. > :12:52.uncommon. When you look at Liberal Democrat plans to invest in a
:12:53. > :12:56.properly funded access to GPs scheme that would incentivise GPs to
:12:57. > :13:01.broaden the primary health care team so they can only see people they
:13:02. > :13:06.need to see and would you accept that spending money on expensive
:13:07. > :13:12.locum cover to provide support when AGP retires is not an efficient use
:13:13. > :13:17.of NHS money? First of all, there is a difference between a look and a
:13:18. > :13:22.salaried GP. Most GPs are looking at the salaried model more favourably
:13:23. > :13:26.than the contract model. They want the flexibility. They are not
:13:27. > :13:31.interested in buying into a practice. More GPs want the
:13:32. > :13:37.flexibility of being salaried. You do not have the bike in as a partner
:13:38. > :13:43.in order to be seen as a proper GP. In terms of access to GPs, it does
:13:44. > :13:47.vary, that is true. There are some GP surgeries were appointments can
:13:48. > :13:51.be made and can be seen that day. There are others who are not as
:13:52. > :13:55.efficient. There is a challenge there and we have improved on the
:13:56. > :14:00.situation is regarding being able to access GPs at evenings and weekends,
:14:01. > :14:03.but there is a challenge for some GP practices to catch up with the best
:14:04. > :14:08.practice of others. There is no reason why there should be that
:14:09. > :14:13.level of discrepancy. We are talking about independent contractors but
:14:14. > :14:25.that will make sure that accessing England's and -- accessing GPs in
:14:26. > :14:27.evenings will be better. The budget is laid for debate this afternoon
:14:28. > :14:31.and flung from that debate, the draft local government settlement
:14:32. > :14:34.has been laid for consideration. I see on the forward outlook that they
:14:35. > :14:39.did for that to come to the assembly is March the 8th. Are you confident
:14:40. > :14:42.that the draft settlement that is being made available to local
:14:43. > :14:46.authorities, the length and breadth of Wales, will be the settlement we
:14:47. > :14:50.will be voting on here unfortunately it, or do you see that there will be
:14:51. > :14:54.changes to mitigate for the devastating impact of some of those
:14:55. > :14:59.cuts to local authorities? Despite the Tory cuts imposed on us, we are
:15:00. > :15:05.confident that the local government settlement will be fair in that
:15:06. > :15:10.context. I take it from that that would be the settlement before dawn
:15:11. > :15:14.on March the 8th and there will be no leveller stabiliser put in for
:15:15. > :15:19.local authorities such as temperature were Monmouthshire that
:15:20. > :15:24.devious Draconian cuts in their services come up to 4%? Another
:15:25. > :15:28.thing you have in your budget First Minister is higher education and 32%
:15:29. > :15:33.cuts to higher education here in Wales are being made by your
:15:34. > :15:38.government if this budget passes, that will put a dramatic amount of
:15:39. > :15:43.pressure on part-time courses on access to higher education and,
:15:44. > :15:48.above all, research, research in universities. We know there is less
:15:49. > :15:54.money around, but what will your government be doing to assist
:15:55. > :16:00.universities making sure that there is access to
:16:01. > :16:07.There is support for part-time courses, given that you have chosen
:16:08. > :16:12.to cut 32% out of the support to higher education. The Leader of the
:16:13. > :16:15.Opposition is trying to pre-judge the Budget Statement. He will have
:16:16. > :16:22.to wait to see what is announced. I have to say to him that he has
:16:23. > :16:27.declared that he wishes to see local government cut by 12%, he's declared
:16:28. > :16:33.it. It's there in writing. In the document, that his party produced as
:16:34. > :16:36.an alternative draft Budget. And he has not changed his position since
:16:37. > :16:40.then. When he was asked this question on the radio, he said, "We
:16:41. > :16:44.haven't crunched the numbers yet." It is not his question session, I
:16:45. > :16:47.understand that. There will come a time when the people of Wales will
:16:48. > :16:50.want to know what cuts his party proposes to make to local
:16:51. > :16:54.government. He can't run from that question forever. At the moment,
:16:55. > :17:00.it's 12%. That is the cut he wants. That is an equivalent of a 38%
:17:01. > :17:05.increase in council tax. The second thing he mentions is higher
:17:06. > :17:10.education. Well, he wants to triple tuition fees for students, to impose
:17:11. > :17:13.a tax on students along the same lines as England. We have seen the
:17:14. > :17:17.cuts in higher education in England. We are not going to sell our
:17:18. > :17:20.students down the river. And we are not going to put our students in a
:17:21. > :17:28.position where they leave college with enormous levels of debt. That
:17:29. > :17:31.is exactly what he and his party wants to do. You have offered no
:17:32. > :17:37.answers whatsoever, First Minister. You referred back to a Budget that
:17:38. > :17:41.was offered in 2011 - I accept, you won that election, you formed the
:17:42. > :17:44.Government. We are now in 2016. If our budget had come forward, there
:17:45. > :17:53.would not have been ?1 billion worth of cuts to the Welsh NHS, that you
:17:54. > :17:57.are trying to back pedal. Well done to you, First Minister. I
:17:58. > :18:03.have asked you legitimate questions today on the Budget that will be
:18:04. > :18:08.before us later and in that Budget you have also got an increase in
:18:09. > :18:14.your central services budget of ?7.5 million. Yet, you are taking ?32
:18:15. > :18:19.million out of HE. That is a fact. That is there in black and white.
:18:20. > :18:22.Why do you need ?7.5 million in the central services budget as an
:18:23. > :18:34.increase for you being in Government, yet you are prepared to
:18:35. > :18:37.take 32% out of HE? As I said to him, the Budget Statement will come
:18:38. > :18:41.later. There will be opportunities to ask questions at the appropriate
:18:42. > :18:46.time. It wouldn't be right for the statement to be pre-judged. He keeps
:18:47. > :18:50.on saying that the figures I referred to are old. Fine. Where are
:18:51. > :18:57.the up-to-date figures? There aren't any. So, again, I remind people, 12%
:18:58. > :19:00.cut in local government, 30% cut in economy and transport, huge cuts in
:19:01. > :19:04.housing, huge cuts in central services. He talks about ?1 billion
:19:05. > :19:08.cuts from the Health Service. That is not true. We spend more on health
:19:09. > :19:15.than England does per head. That is clearly untrue. He never says where
:19:16. > :19:19.it would come from. In the cloud cuckoo land that exists over there,
:19:20. > :19:21.money grows on trees! There is no question of making difficult
:19:22. > :19:26.decisions. There is no question of having to make cuts to pay for
:19:27. > :19:32.priorities. Money grows on trees, ?1 billion can be found at the drop of
:19:33. > :19:38.a hat. The reality is, the people of Wales need to have a prudent and
:19:39. > :19:41.realistic Government and not one, as the opposition would be, that is
:19:42. > :19:46.away with the fairies. PRESIDING OFFICER: We move to the
:19:47. > :19:50.leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood. Diolch, Llywydd. A fortnight ago,
:19:51. > :19:54.First Minister, I asked you to reverse your plans to make savage
:19:55. > :19:59.cuts to the funding of our universities. You declined and you
:20:00. > :20:03.essentially told universities to put up with those cuts. Now, you further
:20:04. > :20:09.rejected claims that there would be job losses as a result of those cuts
:20:10. > :20:15.to the university sector. Can you confirm now, this afternoon, that
:20:16. > :20:21.there won't be a last minute U-turn on university funding when your
:20:22. > :20:25.Budget is presented later on? That will become clear when the Budget is
:20:26. > :20:29.presented. Well, that is an interesting answer, First Minister.
:20:30. > :20:34.I'm not quite sure whether or not this means that you continue to be
:20:35. > :20:38.in denial about the impact of your proposals, so perhaps some evidence
:20:39. > :20:52.from Cardiff University might be helpful to you. They said, "In
:20:53. > :20:58.2015/16, direct funding was proposed to sustain undergraduate dentistry
:20:59. > :21:04.and medicine." Further erosion or loss of this funding will put at
:21:05. > :21:09.risk the education of doctors and dentists within Wales for Wales.
:21:10. > :21:16.These subjects cost more than ?15,000 per student per year and
:21:17. > :21:20.clearly cannot be delivered from the residual fee of ?6,230. At the time
:21:21. > :21:25.when the health budget has been increased, reducing investment in
:21:26. > :21:28.the next generation of doctors and dentists would be contradictory.
:21:29. > :21:32.Cardiff University, therefore, believes that there will be
:21:33. > :21:37.far-reaching consequences to your cuts to the higher education sector.
:21:38. > :21:41.Do you accept that? No. Cardiff University is not the only
:21:42. > :21:46.university in Wales. It also has ?300 million of the reserves. I
:21:47. > :21:51.don't think it is unreasonable, when a sector has ?1.3 billion in
:21:52. > :21:56.reserves in total, that they have to manage what will be small decreases
:21:57. > :22:00.in their budget. Cardiff has ?300 million. So, yes, it is challenging.
:22:01. > :22:03.It was challenging for further education last year. It's been
:22:04. > :22:08.challenging across Government, but it is not asking too much for higher
:22:09. > :22:12.education, whether income having expanded significantly since 2012 to
:22:13. > :22:16.be able to manage what is in the context of things quite a small
:22:17. > :22:21.budget cut. First Minister, Cardiff University is not the only
:22:22. > :22:24.university in Wales and not all universities have the same levels of
:22:25. > :22:30.reserves as Cardiff University might have. I reiterate to you today,
:22:31. > :22:34.First Minister, drop those planned cuts, support Welsh education,
:22:35. > :22:40.support a secure future for our NHS service. You are consistently
:22:41. > :22:45.refusing to give us a vision for higher education in this country.
:22:46. > :22:49.Why? You don't have one, do you? The only thing that we have had
:22:50. > :22:56.confirmed is that you want to make a ?41 million cut, which is a 32% cut
:22:57. > :23:02.to Welsh universities. Why are you meeting out Tory cuts to a sector
:23:03. > :23:07.that this country relies upon for its future prosperity as well as its
:23:08. > :23:10.future health professionals? Unless the leader of Plaid Cymru has a
:23:11. > :23:13.crystal ball, she has no way of knowing what is going to be in the
:23:14. > :23:27.Budget Statement. PRESIDING OFFICER: Order. Order.
:23:28. > :23:31.Order. Order. First Minister? The shouting in that regard gives it
:23:32. > :23:37.away. The statement is later, that is when you get the answers, OK? The
:23:38. > :23:40.statement is later. There will be a debate, you will get a chance to ask
:23:41. > :23:44.those questions then. There are many in the university sector who
:23:45. > :23:47.disagree with the tuition fee grant and with your proposals which is to
:23:48. > :23:50.make sure that people who stay in Wales get their fees paid, which is
:23:51. > :23:55.what you have always said in the past. It's not. It's not Plaid
:23:56. > :24:00.Cymru's policy. We will wait to see what... I am accused of not having
:24:01. > :24:04.vision for universities. We don't know what Plaid Cymru's policy is.
:24:05. > :24:08.The Budget Statement will make it clear. If you had not ruled
:24:09. > :24:12.yourselves out of the Budget discussions at the beginning, you
:24:13. > :24:15.might have had a say in all of this. PRESIDING OFFICER: Thank you,
:24:16. > :24:20.leaders' questions are now finished. We move back to questions on the
:24:21. > :24:24.paper. Question three, Lindsay Whittle. What is the current Welsh
:24:25. > :24:30.Government policy on funding for hospices in Wales? We continue to
:24:31. > :24:34.support the development of end of life and specialist palliative care
:24:35. > :24:37.services, including hospices in Wales, that includes ?3 million
:24:38. > :24:42.worth of funding to support the new St David's Hospice in Newport. Thank
:24:43. > :24:46.you. Could you please explain why over the past five years Welsh
:24:47. > :24:52.Government funding for hospices in Wales has fallen from 24% of their
:24:53. > :24:57.running cost to just 19%? Surely despite any stress on budget - and I
:24:58. > :25:01.know it is tough - such a vital service provided by hospices surely
:25:02. > :25:05.must be safeguarded and not threatened. I would urge you to
:25:06. > :25:09.reconsider that. It would be extremely costly for the NHS if any
:25:10. > :25:13.of the charities went into liquidation due to lack of funding,
:25:14. > :25:18.as most of the service delivery would need to be picked up through
:25:19. > :25:23.our core NHS services. The fact that we are funding the hospices in
:25:24. > :25:37.Newport is a sign of our commitment. We are the only country in the UK to
:25:38. > :25:41.provide 24/7 support. An additional ?1 million was announced in 2015/16
:25:42. > :25:46.to support the delivery of the "end of life" care plan, in addition to
:25:47. > :25:49.that funding and over ?900,000 of that new money will be used to
:25:50. > :25:55.expand hospice at home provision across Wales. The remaining money
:25:56. > :26:12.will be used to fund "end of life" care initiatives. Thank you,
:26:13. > :26:16.Presiding Officer. On the same day Marie Curie launched the daffodil
:26:17. > :26:24.appeal, hospices are essential. "End of life" care, the focus of this
:26:25. > :26:28.care is helping people to live well until they die. We need to ensure
:26:29. > :26:33.that regardless of where you live in Wales, you will be able to access
:26:34. > :26:38.hospices' care. Therefore, First Minister, will you ensure that
:26:39. > :26:42.hospices receive sustainable funding? Yes. Which is why I
:26:43. > :26:47.referred to the point I made earlier on. We have ensured that funding
:26:48. > :26:52.remains. We have put extra money into care and we haven't cut funding
:26:53. > :26:56.for social care as the member's party has done in England. Social
:26:57. > :27:00.care has been hammered in England. We know that the responsibility has
:27:01. > :27:04.been passed on to local authorities who are ill-placed to fund that
:27:05. > :27:09.social care. We will not do that in Wales and we will continue to fund
:27:10. > :27:11.social care at the level people expect.
:27:12. > :27:15.PRESIDING OFFICER: Question 4, Gwenda Thomas. Diolch, Llywydd. Will
:27:16. > :27:19.the First Minister make a statement on the development of businesses
:27:20. > :27:22.that export? Yes, increasing exports from Wales is a key priority for the
:27:23. > :27:28.Welsh Government. We offer a range of measures to support Welsh
:27:29. > :27:33.exporters, including free one-to-one advice, help to find new customers
:27:34. > :27:36.and help to access overseas markets. Thank you for that, First Minister.
:27:37. > :27:50.I note that it comes to Wales this
:27:51. > :27:54.month. If we leave the European Union, trading with this economic
:27:55. > :27:57.bloc will be made far more difficult? There is no question
:27:58. > :28:00.about it. We have seen the difficulties the Prime Minister has
:28:01. > :28:05.had in negotiating a new settlement thus far. I support his position
:28:06. > :28:09.that he wants us to stay in the EU. No-one else's party seems to. I
:28:10. > :28:17.support his position. The reality is, that if we don't get access to
:28:18. > :28:22.the European market, that is tariff free and open, Welsh business will
:28:23. > :28:27.suffer. The idea that if the UK left the EU, the EU would fall over
:28:28. > :28:31.itself to put forward a favourable deal for the UK is madness, frankly.
:28:32. > :28:36.It isn't going to happen. Why on earth would the European Union want
:28:37. > :28:39.to do that for a UK that had just left the European Union? From my
:28:40. > :28:42.point of view, certainty is important for business. The Prime
:28:43. > :28:44.Minister made the point, the Scottish Referendum created
:28:45. > :28:47.uncertainty in Scotland. It did. The same thing is happening with this
:28:48. > :28:51.referendum. The fact there is going to be a referendum is creating
:28:52. > :28:55.uncertainty in the UK, it needs to be resolved, although June is not my
:28:56. > :29:00.preferred date, nor others in the Chamber either. The reality is, if
:29:01. > :29:05.you have access to a market of 500 million, if you can sell to those
:29:06. > :29:10.people, anything you do to interfere with that access is bound to be bad
:29:11. > :29:15.for manufacturers, for tourism and for farmers.
:29:16. > :29:18.PRESIDING OFFICER: I had occasion to have a chat with you last week,
:29:19. > :29:27.Andrew RT Davies, please don't keep muttering. If you want to speak, I
:29:28. > :29:30.will call you. The latest Welsh Government published figures for
:29:31. > :29:36.exports to the third quarter of 2015 show that in the year to the third
:29:37. > :29:41.quarter of 2015 six of the 12 UK Nations and Regions saw an increase
:29:42. > :29:49.in exports but Wales had the second largest fall at 8.6% rising to 16.8%
:29:50. > :29:55.trade exports to other EU countries. How do you respond to the statement
:29:56. > :29:58.in the CBI Business Manifesto that the Welsh Government should develop
:29:59. > :30:02.enhanced export support for medium-sized businesses? Well, the
:30:03. > :30:07.reduction is down to petroleum, which is a significant amount of
:30:08. > :30:14.exports for us. Whenever there is a slowdown in the refineries, it does
:30:15. > :30:18.affect our expor figures, we have seen that in the past. We have seen
:30:19. > :30:21.George Osborne get his excuses in already, saying if things go badly,
:30:22. > :30:27.it's the fault of China and the fault of the world economy. Well,
:30:28. > :30:32.the reality is this: We export nearly half of what we manufacture
:30:33. > :30:36.and produce to the European Union. To lose access to that market is a
:30:37. > :30:42.disaster for business and for our economy. The converse is, that the
:30:43. > :30:46.European Union only exports 10% of what it produces to the UK. We are
:30:47. > :30:50.far more reliant on our export market in the EU than the other way
:30:51. > :30:53.around. And it is important that we remember, as we look to the
:30:54. > :30:58.referendum that will take place this year, that what is at stake here is
:30:59. > :31:02.hundreds and thousands of jobs in Wales. And the decision should be
:31:03. > :31:17.taken based on a dose of economic reality and not on some nationalism.
:31:18. > :31:25.The First Minister will be aware that I have been: four steps to be
:31:26. > :31:30.taken to increase the percentage of public contrast in Wales awarded to
:31:31. > :31:34.Welsh companies and a Plaid Cymru government would legislate to move
:31:35. > :31:38.in that direction. Would the First Minister agreed that promoting Welsh
:31:39. > :31:40.companies by ensuring that more public contracts are awarded as a
:31:41. > :31:45.means of ensuring those companies can grow stronger and develop in
:31:46. > :31:53.their own ability to export and that the Welsh economy would have a
:31:54. > :31:57.double benefit in that regard? That has happened, of course. A grip many
:31:58. > :32:00.companies have had the chance to bid for contracts and a good number of
:32:01. > :32:04.Welsh companies are able to win those contracts, as opposed to what
:32:05. > :32:10.happened in the past. What I cannot agree with in that regard is
:32:11. > :32:15.legislating on this. It is not legal to set legal targets with regard to
:32:16. > :32:20.how much business should be given to local companies. That is against
:32:21. > :32:25.European law. What is important is ensuring that we continue to promote
:32:26. > :32:32.and assist companies so they are in a situation to take advantage of the
:32:33. > :32:36.contracts when they come up. My region faces potential economic
:32:37. > :32:40.devastation with the loss of many hundreds of jobs at Tata Steel. The
:32:41. > :32:45.membership of the European Community is crucial in terms of trying to
:32:46. > :32:49.regenerate that particular area. Can you confirm Woodward through
:32:50. > :32:55.government is doing to do to get those losses and develop the export
:32:56. > :32:58.led industries in the area? We have been in correspondence with European
:32:59. > :33:02.Commission, people are a few that there needs to be stronger tariff
:33:03. > :33:06.barriers against imports from outside. We are in the process of
:33:07. > :33:09.putting together a financial package which will not be enough, it will
:33:10. > :33:16.need to be supported by a bigger package from the UK Government and
:33:17. > :33:21.that process is ongoing. What support is the Welsh Government
:33:22. > :33:25.giving to help pancreatic cancer patients in Wales? As part of the
:33:26. > :33:30.cancer delivery plan, we are taking forward a number of pieces of work
:33:31. > :33:35.that will improve the recognition of symptoms for cancers including
:33:36. > :33:39.pancreatic cancer and once symptoms are identified, to a book rack that
:33:40. > :33:45.-- rabid active edge rapid access to treatment. Pancreatic cancer has the
:33:46. > :33:49.worst survival rate of 21 most common cancers in Wales. The
:33:50. > :33:55.National Institute of care and in excellence has said the cancer
:33:56. > :34:01.drug... It should not be funded by the NHS in England due to the cost.
:34:02. > :34:05.With the First Minister pressure hydraulic cancer sufferers in Wales
:34:06. > :34:10.that this life extending drugs will continue to be available on NHS in
:34:11. > :34:18.Wales? Yes. It was recently agreed that we would continue discussions
:34:19. > :34:21.with the manufacturer to explore options regarding continued access
:34:22. > :34:27.to the drug and it will continue to be available in Wales in the
:34:28. > :34:32.interim. Will the First Minister make a statement on mental health
:34:33. > :34:37.services in North Wales? On the 29th of January, the deputy minister
:34:38. > :34:41.published the improvement framework and that set up our expectations for
:34:42. > :34:46.improvement in each of the areas identified and a special measures,
:34:47. > :34:52.including her constituency. Support and access for under 18-year-olds
:34:53. > :34:56.experiencing severe mental health problems is seen as almost
:34:57. > :35:03.inaccessible in my own constituency. Young sufferers have too weird for
:35:04. > :35:08.up to two years to access some services. Such a delay at such a
:35:09. > :35:12.vulnerable time in the lives of our youngsters is quite unacceptable.
:35:13. > :35:19.Also, though there has been a recent review, it has not made a difference
:35:20. > :35:23.to my constituency. It has not been any change. Indeed, the borough
:35:24. > :35:28.council cannot even access videos of those requiring treatment and
:35:29. > :35:32.intervention. This is a huge girl on the part of your government and you
:35:33. > :35:37.are letting our most vulnerable youngsters down at a time when they
:35:38. > :35:43.are really troubled. What are you doing to address this? We have
:35:44. > :35:49.provided an 18% increase for mental health services. ?7.6 million at the
:35:50. > :35:52.service change and development programme is being supported by
:35:53. > :35:56.Professor Dame Sue Bailey and there will be the recruitment of an
:35:57. > :36:06.additional 130 members of staff who will improve services and reduce
:36:07. > :36:10.waiting times. First Minister, someone from outside my constituency
:36:11. > :36:14.approached me to help them with a case because they knew I had done
:36:15. > :36:20.work on mental health and this woman had been waiting for years and had
:36:21. > :36:24.told her GP that she had considered committing suicide and it was only
:36:25. > :36:27.when I as an Assembly Member raised this with the GB locally that and
:36:28. > :36:31.nothing actually happened in terms of providing assistance to stop that
:36:32. > :36:37.could have been a media story where she could have done what no one in
:36:38. > :36:41.this room would have wanted her to do. What sort of work are you doing
:36:42. > :36:45.with GPs not to ask them to undertake training but to require
:36:46. > :36:48.them to take training so there will not be further tragedies in Wales
:36:49. > :36:55.when people do not actually get the treatment that they need in good
:36:56. > :37:00.time? Additional funding will be used to ensure that psychological
:37:01. > :37:07.treatment is available quickly and early intervention with regard to
:37:08. > :37:15.ensuring that psychosis is dealt with and to fund an emergency
:37:16. > :37:18.service for children and young people, especially in those
:37:19. > :37:25.emergency departments in the hospitals. The funding will be
:37:26. > :37:30.there, but it is also available across Wales. It will ensure that
:37:31. > :37:36.services are able more quickly than was the case in the past and there
:37:37. > :37:41.will be more staff available to give that assistance when it is required.
:37:42. > :37:49.First Minister, you referred to earlier intervention. Your education
:37:50. > :37:53.minister has acknowledged the importance of educational
:37:54. > :37:59.psychologists in ensuring that the training in Cardiff will remain in
:38:00. > :38:08.place and we are moving to wards implementation of new legislation in
:38:09. > :38:10.terms of SDN. There are problems in North Wales in terms of
:38:11. > :38:14.inconsistencies between local authorities on the fact that a
:38:15. > :38:19.quarter is provided to schools in terms of the amount of hours that
:38:20. > :38:23.educational psychologist can work in every school and there has been no
:38:24. > :38:28.review since 2004 into this situation in Wales when
:38:29. > :38:31.responsibility was passed to the local education authorities. Would
:38:32. > :38:36.you be willing to look at this and reviewed a new so we can consider
:38:37. > :38:41.this as part of new legislation? I will write to the member with regard
:38:42. > :38:45.to that. It is an important part is that there should be consistency in
:38:46. > :38:48.the education system and I will ensure I do write to the member to
:38:49. > :38:54.set out the stance of the government. We'll be First Minister
:38:55. > :38:59.make a statement on the progress NHS has made toward the Welsh Government
:39:00. > :39:04.struggle of a planned? The annual report published last month
:39:05. > :39:07.demonstrates the progress made. It includes increased awareness
:39:08. > :39:14.raising, improved interventions, improved hospital care and improved
:39:15. > :39:18.discharge and rehab services. This has improved survival rates and
:39:19. > :39:23.improve -- reduced longer term disabilities. The recent
:39:24. > :39:28.publications of the report shows that there are 1000 fewer people
:39:29. > :39:32.buying Judah stroke than ten years ago. What does this tell us about
:39:33. > :39:35.the continued dedication and then his best stuff and the role they
:39:36. > :39:45.play in delivering this service? It tells us a huge amount. We have an
:39:46. > :39:49.excellent track record. We have a system of intelligent targets so
:39:50. > :39:54.that data is readily accessible to clinicians who can make improvements
:39:55. > :39:58.to stroke services at a local level. Our paramedics, of course, are
:39:59. > :40:01.highly skilled in the rapid identification of stroke patients
:40:02. > :40:08.and our nursing staff have been working very hard to make sure that
:40:09. > :40:11.those who present at hospitals with strokes are offered treatment as
:40:12. > :40:16.rapidly as possible because we know that has a huge impact on their
:40:17. > :40:22.ability to survive and to avoid long-term disability. It is very
:40:23. > :40:26.welcome but there have been improvements in sport -- stroke
:40:27. > :40:30.outcomes, but we are still at the bottom of the UK league table even
:40:31. > :40:34.though we have made progress. What additional support you provide to
:40:35. > :40:40.Welsh health boards so they can get up to the UK average and possibly
:40:41. > :40:46.beyond that? Working with the voluntary sector particularly, that
:40:47. > :40:53.is important to help those who have been victims of stroke. Also,
:40:54. > :40:59.helping to improve early diagnosis. We have what's called the faster
:41:00. > :41:03.process. That enables call takers and ambulance control to identify
:41:04. > :41:09.people who may have had a stroke Lisa paramedics can get to them
:41:10. > :41:12.early and to ensure that they get to clinicians who have used the
:41:13. > :41:18.information they have received through the audit process. It is
:41:19. > :41:22.true to say that a multidisciplinary dream have led the way in planning
:41:23. > :41:29.improvements to services and that is why we see outcomes in prison. I
:41:30. > :41:33.welcome the fact that progress has been made in Wales generally
:41:34. > :41:40.speaking on this issue although there has been some retrograde steps
:41:41. > :41:44.over the past 12 months in my local health board. We all want to see
:41:45. > :41:47.people surviving and overcoming stroke, but in doing that, of
:41:48. > :41:53.course, people have greater care needs in the months following a
:41:54. > :41:58.stroke and much of that burden falls on social services, as much as it
:41:59. > :42:02.does on the health service. What are you doing to ensure that we have
:42:03. > :42:06.better reports after six months than we currently have in terms of the
:42:07. > :42:12.way people did with the impacts of a stroke? The first thing is to ensure
:42:13. > :42:15.the diagnosis happens quickly, that paramedics can go to the person
:42:16. > :42:25.quickly and that they are taken to a specialist unit so they receive the
:42:26. > :42:30.treatment as quickly as possible. Of course, one thing that affect people
:42:31. > :42:33.following a stroke is bad they change the way they look at their
:42:34. > :42:39.own lives, their spirit can be affected and it is important that
:42:40. > :42:44.having that psychological and social help will help them on that path to
:42:45. > :42:51.recovery. Working with families, working with the third sector, we
:42:52. > :42:55.talked about that already, to ensure that there is a comprehensive,
:42:56. > :43:00.holistic, system around the person to allow them to get better.
:43:01. > :43:04.Treatment is important, but that is a first step in what is important
:43:05. > :43:12.that we were with the third sector and with families to ensure that
:43:13. > :43:15.that improvement continues. Will the First Minister provide an update on
:43:16. > :43:19.the support available to communities affected by the development of the
:43:20. > :43:23.solar farms? This is a matter for the local planning authority but we
:43:24. > :43:26.will encourage any developer to consider best practice around
:43:27. > :43:31.community involvement on supply chain opportunities and benefit
:43:32. > :43:40.arrangements so that communities can benefit most. Construction work on a
:43:41. > :43:44.38,000 panel solar farm has started just outside the village in my
:43:45. > :43:48.constituency. The developer have had minimal discussions with the
:43:49. > :43:51.community today to discuss committee benefits and have proven extremely
:43:52. > :43:55.difficult to contact and communicate with. What support is the Welsh
:43:56. > :43:59.Government able to offer to communities during the negotiation
:44:00. > :44:02.period for community benefits to ensure they are not short-changed
:44:03. > :44:05.and receive the full entitlement of benefit they are owed under the
:44:06. > :44:12.registrar of community and economic benefits? It would be easy for us as
:44:13. > :44:17.a government to facilitate this if the levy was devolved, it is not.
:44:18. > :44:24.The difficulty is that section 106 is the current procedure for interim
:44:25. > :44:28.committee benefits, but it bumps up against other issues and it puts
:44:29. > :44:33.limits on what we can do to develop community benefits. My view is that
:44:34. > :44:36.this is a planning levy and should be devolved. That is not the view of
:44:37. > :44:40.the UK Government. It means we cannot have a copper heads of
:44:41. > :44:44.approach to developing a process on community benefit to section 106 and
:44:45. > :44:51.a replacement we would like to put in place. Last summer saw the
:44:52. > :44:55.opening of the first Welsh local authority owned and run solar farm
:44:56. > :45:00.in Wrexham. Much of the groundwork was done under the leadership of my
:45:01. > :45:05.friend and colleague. The farm has nearly 9000 solar panels over 43
:45:06. > :45:11.acres and has the effect of reducing the carbon footprint by 1300 tonnes
:45:12. > :45:15.of CO2 per year. As with the not for profit Robin Hood energy company
:45:16. > :45:19.which has been rolled out in Nottinghamshire, I would argue that
:45:20. > :45:23.those facilities show the opportunity that renewable energy
:45:24. > :45:26.offers communities and local authorities working in partnership.
:45:27. > :45:31.Did you agree with me we should work towards a greater roll-out of such
:45:32. > :45:35.partnerships between local communities and principal local
:45:36. > :45:36.authorities and what can the Welsh Government do concretely to
:45:37. > :45:44.facilitate this? Yes, I do. The member makes it sound
:45:45. > :45:49.like his colleague is digging holes for the new facility!
:45:50. > :45:59.LAUGHTER The member is right. We know that
:46:00. > :46:02.they have great potential, not just to contribute to renewable energy,
:46:03. > :46:09.not just to contribute to a reduction in our carbon footprint,
:46:10. > :46:15.but also to put money into our local economy as well. We would have a
:46:16. > :46:19.full range of options to promote those schemes further.
:46:20. > :46:22.PRESIDING OFFICER: Thank you. STUDIO:
:46:23. > :46:23.There we are, that was First Minister's Questions.
:46:24. > :46:24.If you want more more coverage of the National Assembly,
:46:25. > :46:26.you can go online to BBC Wales's Senedd Live
:46:27. > :46:36.But that's it for First Minister's Questions.
:46:37. > :46:38.Don't forget for all the latest political news, watch Wales Today
:46:39. > :46:42.later today at 6.30pm on BBC One Wales and Newyddion
:46:43. > :46:53.As for am.pm, though, from all of us on the programme, goodbye.
:46:54. > :46:58.We will be back in a fortnight's time. Half-term next week.
:46:59. > :47:00.Hopefully, see you in a fortnight. Bye-bye.