09/02/2016 am.pm

Good afternoon. Welcome to the programme and our weekly coverage of

questions to the First Minister. Politicians will be debating the ?15

billion spending plans for next year later on this afternoon. After the

weekly questions session. And our weekly coverage of questions to the

First Minister. Politicians will be debating the ?15 billion spending

plans for next year later on this afternoon. After the weekly

questions session. From the the keep Sunday special campaign. You can

follow all the latest on our Twitter feed. Business in the chamber is

already underway. Let's take a look at the questions to the First

Minister. Good afternoon. The National Assembly of Wales is now in

session. Our first item, questions to the First Minister. What is the

Welsh Government doing to support the keep Sunday special campaign? It

is not a devolved matter and we are awaiting further details on the

proposals from the UK Government. It is hugely important that the

interests of those who work on a Sunday or protected and that the

privileges that they enjoy now continue in the future. It is

disappointing for those who have been campaigning to keep Sunday

special and in relation to the hundred thousand social workers in

Wales who thought that the UK Government had pledged not to tackle

-- tamper with Sunday trading laws. They are now doing it through the

back door by the Enterprise Bill. What can the Welsh Government do to

protect the family life of shop workers in Wales? We take the view

that this is an issue that should be devolved. We have argued for it to

be devolved. We look forward to a response from the UK Government to

that. Should these powers be default we will consult with local

authorities, businesses, shop workers and the public and we will

listen to what they say and act accordingly. Noting what he said,

you will acknowledge that the majority of local authorities would

rather like to have these powers so they can interpret them in the best

locally. Would you support such a move? I believe these powers should

be devolved to the people of Wales and we can decide where these powers

should go as is the case in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Will the First

Minister make a statement on action to reduce waiting times? We have set

up the planned care programme led by clinicians to set up sustainable

services in NHS Wales. We have invested an additional ?45 million

for the financial year to assist health boards in delivering

improvements in between times set out in their medium-term plans. We

know and do your tenure, winning plans have doubled here. In South

Wales Central there is an especial concern around orthopaedic waiting

times and the BBC statistics recently showed considerable wits

for Hoops. 197 debut it as opposed to 75 days in England. What comfort

can you give to my constituents in South Wales Central as to what

action the government will be taking to drive down waiting times so that

when they do present at hospital, a consultant is in a position to give

them a time they can count on to have the procedure? Let's look at

A The number of people spending 12 hours in in the department has

fallen, a 23% drop. That is compared to the previous month. We look for

the number of people reading in England in Indy has doubled to

124,000 people in two years. We know that delayed transfers of care are

increasing in England. Diagnostic waiting times are dropping in bills.

When the people reading is time for operations and we know that unlike

in England we do not have the chaos, Cameron's chaos, of a junior doctors

strike. We know that one of the contributors to reading list is the

impact upon adult social care which the Tories would separate from the

NHS in England. The example is that there has been a 15% cut in spending

on adult social care and a 100% increase in bed blocking, increasing

from 50,000 a month to 100,000 a month. The Tories would decimate

adult social care. Did he agree the position of the Welsh Government of

supporting adult social care as part and parcel of NHS treatment

contribute to better treatment and better outcomes for all? The

tendency of the Tories in England to suggest that somehow there is no

connection between health and social care... Can you count down and

listen to the First Minister reply. That is you in particular, Darren

Millar. Don't cheer. The Tories have a tendency to suggest there is no

connection between health and social care. They have cut social care to

the bone. They have off-loaded responsibility for providing social

care to local authorities to the poorest authorities will have the

greatest problem in providing social care. We in Wales spent more on

health and social services in England does. 7% more and we will

continue to look at those who need care the most. That is an

interesting answer to that question because when Plaid Cymru talks about

integrating health and social care services neighbour accuses us of

wanting to abolish the NHS. Which is a blatant lie. Now, First Minister,

in some parts of south Wales Central obtaining a GP appointment can be a

long and drawn out process. The issue is particularly acute in the

northernmost part of the region where at The Royal College of

General practitioners tell us that half of all GPs are nearing

retirement. For members who are not aware, that region is in South Wales

Central. Access to a GP has not been helped by removal of the out of

hours service. One primary care is weak there is an inevitable knock on

effect on hospitals by increasing the demand on waiting times and

services. First Minister, you have previously admitted that you took

your eye of the ball when it comes to education, do you now admit that

you have taken your eye off the ball with health and Doctor recruitment

as well? The leader of Plaid Cymru things we are into leaderquestions.

Overall GP numbers have increased by ten and a half percent between 2004

and 2015. There are now over 2000 GPs civic communities across Wales.

We note that this is a global market when it comes to attracting doctors

and that is why we launched the targeted campaign called meet your

future part of our future, external wire Wales is a good place to be a

junior doctor. Where our Hammonds, health boards have plans in place

where practices have decided to close their doors, salaried GPs have

been put in place. I do not accuse Plaid Cymru of trying to dismantle

the NHS. I know they want to see an improved public health service, as

we did. We do not agree with the structure they want to impose, but

we are in the same position in that regard. We have 2000 more GPs since

2004 and they are serving our communities well. First Minister,

there is a big discrepancy between the referral to diagnostic testing

times between cancer patients on the urgent route to the non-urgent route

and I wonder what additional support could the Welsh Government put in

place for primary care to make sure that, when it GPs are making this

decision between urgent and nonurgent referrals, that they are

confident they are making both safe and appropriate decisions? I don't

see this as a particular issue in South Wales Central, but

nevertheless, it is right to say more GPs are referring people at an

early stage, quite naturally, if they suspect cancer might be

present. The vast majority that is not the case but the referral is

made anyway. That diagnosis is made within 20 days. Although for some

cancers it can be more difficult to identify what the problem is.

Pancreatic cancer is a particular issue because the symptoms can be

general and can mimic the symptoms of other illnesses. We note that we

outperform England when it comes to 31 day target for urgent cancers and

the 62 date timetable for non-urgent care and -- cancers and we want that

to continue to be the case. First Minister, at the last National

Assembly elections, I party said we would provide more money for schools

by targeting additional monies at pupils who need it most. The budget

today means that the pupil premium will be worth ?1150 per pupil in

April thanks to the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the recent report said

that is making a material difference to those children. To qualify for

this support, parents must register for free school meals. Would work

with the government and take to ensure that every child who needs

this support will receive this help? I am not aware of this being a

particular issue. It is important that schools are able to community

and so parents are aware of the support that is available to them

and we have a responsibility to help them. Some families believe there is

a stigma in making an application for free school meals and they

should be assured that it is not only in their interests, but in the

interests of the children to make that application. It will make a

material difference to the school budget. The budget this afternoon

will also deliver additional funding -- funding for the health service.

That will only be worthwhile if it makes a material difference to the

outcome for people. What impact we expect from patients in Wales and

what fresh and new ideas do you have in each of the additional resources

going into the NHS make a genuine difference to patient experience is

much more can I recognise what she said about free school meals. There

are schools that have pioneered a plastic cards that are preloaded

with the money for some pupils but which can be used without money

preloaded for those on free school meals. No one knows the difference.

When I was in school, those on free school meals had a different

coloured ticket. This will help us remove this stigma. The leader of

the Liberal Democrats is right that the stigma still exist. We want to

see diagnostic times gone down, in the waiting time going down, waiting

times for operations gone down, to see the timetables but in place for

cancer treatments improve and to see ambulance response times improve as

well. It is important that as more money goes in, that people can see

the output delivered at the end. One part of the NHS but does frustrate

people, and a problem you promised action on is accessing their GP when

they wanted. For many people, a three wait for appointment is not

uncommon. When you look at Liberal Democrat plans to invest in a

properly funded access to GPs scheme that would incentivise GPs to

broaden the primary health care team so they can only see people they

need to see and would you accept that spending money on expensive

locum cover to provide support when AGP retires is not an efficient use

of NHS money? First of all, there is a difference between a look and a

salaried GP. Most GPs are looking at the salaried model more favourably

than the contract model. They want the flexibility. They are not

interested in buying into a practice. More GPs want the

flexibility of being salaried. You do not have the bike in as a partner

in order to be seen as a proper GP. In terms of access to GPs, it does

vary, that is true. There are some GP surgeries were appointments can

be made and can be seen that day. There are others who are not as

efficient. There is a challenge there and we have improved on the

situation is regarding being able to access GPs at evenings and weekends,

but there is a challenge for some GP practices to catch up with the best

practice of others. There is no reason why there should be that

level of discrepancy. We are talking about independent contractors but

that will make sure that accessing England's and -- accessing GPs in

evenings will be better. The budget is laid for debate this afternoon

and flung from that debate, the draft local government settlement

has been laid for consideration. I see on the forward outlook that they

did for that to come to the assembly is March the 8th. Are you confident

that the draft settlement that is being made available to local

authorities, the length and breadth of Wales, will be the settlement we

will be voting on here unfortunately it, or do you see that there will be

changes to mitigate for the devastating impact of some of those

cuts to local authorities? Despite the Tory cuts imposed on us, we are

confident that the local government settlement will be fair in that

context. I take it from that that would be the settlement before dawn

on March the 8th and there will be no leveller stabiliser put in for

local authorities such as temperature were Monmouthshire that

devious Draconian cuts in their services come up to 4%? Another

thing you have in your budget First Minister is higher education and 32%

cuts to higher education here in Wales are being made by your

government if this budget passes, that will put a dramatic amount of

pressure on part-time courses on access to higher education and,

above all, research, research in universities. We know there is less

money around, but what will your government be doing to assist

universities making sure that there is access to

There is support for part-time courses, given that you have chosen

to cut 32% out of the support to higher education. The Leader of the

Opposition is trying to pre-judge the Budget Statement. He will have

to wait to see what is announced. I have to say to him that he has

declared that he wishes to see local government cut by 12%, he's declared

it. It's there in writing. In the document, that his party produced as

an alternative draft Budget. And he has not changed his position since

then. When he was asked this question on the radio, he said, "We

haven't crunched the numbers yet." It is not his question session, I

understand that. There will come a time when the people of Wales will

want to know what cuts his party proposes to make to local

government. He can't run from that question forever. At the moment,

it's 12%. That is the cut he wants. That is an equivalent of a 38%

increase in council tax. The second thing he mentions is higher

education. Well, he wants to triple tuition fees for students, to impose

a tax on students along the same lines as England. We have seen the

cuts in higher education in England. We are not going to sell our

students down the river. And we are not going to put our students in a

position where they leave college with enormous levels of debt. That

is exactly what he and his party wants to do. You have offered no

answers whatsoever, First Minister. You referred back to a Budget that

was offered in 2011 - I accept, you won that election, you formed the

Government. We are now in 2016. If our budget had come forward, there

would not have been ?1 billion worth of cuts to the Welsh NHS, that you

are trying to back pedal. Well done to you, First Minister. I

have asked you legitimate questions today on the Budget that will be

before us later and in that Budget you have also got an increase in

your central services budget of ?7.5 million. Yet, you are taking ?32

million out of HE. That is a fact. That is there in black and white.

Why do you need ?7.5 million in the central services budget as an

increase for you being in Government, yet you are prepared to

take 32% out of HE? As I said to him, the Budget Statement will come

later. There will be opportunities to ask questions at the appropriate

time. It wouldn't be right for the statement to be pre-judged. He keeps

on saying that the figures I referred to are old. Fine. Where are

the up-to-date figures? There aren't any. So, again, I remind people, 12%

cut in local government, 30% cut in economy and transport, huge cuts in

housing, huge cuts in central services. He talks about ?1 billion

cuts from the Health Service. That is not true. We spend more on health

than England does per head. That is clearly untrue. He never says where

it would come from. In the cloud cuckoo land that exists over there,

money grows on trees! There is no question of making difficult

decisions. There is no question of having to make cuts to pay for

priorities. Money grows on trees, ?1 billion can be found at the drop of

a hat. The reality is, the people of Wales need to have a prudent and

realistic Government and not one, as the opposition would be, that is

away with the fairies. PRESIDING OFFICER: We move to the

leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood. Diolch, Llywydd. A fortnight ago,

First Minister, I asked you to reverse your plans to make savage

cuts to the funding of our universities. You declined and you

essentially told universities to put up with those cuts. Now, you further

rejected claims that there would be job losses as a result of those cuts

to the university sector. Can you confirm now, this afternoon, that

there won't be a last minute U-turn on university funding when your

Budget is presented later on? That will become clear when the Budget is

presented. Well, that is an interesting answer, First Minister.

I'm not quite sure whether or not this means that you continue to be

in denial about the impact of your proposals, so perhaps some evidence

from Cardiff University might be helpful to you. They said, "In

2015/16, direct funding was proposed to sustain undergraduate dentistry

and medicine." Further erosion or loss of this funding will put at

risk the education of doctors and dentists within Wales for Wales.

These subjects cost more than ?15,000 per student per year and

clearly cannot be delivered from the residual fee of ?6,230. At the time

when the health budget has been increased, reducing investment in

the next generation of doctors and dentists would be contradictory.

Cardiff University, therefore, believes that there will be

far-reaching consequences to your cuts to the higher education sector.

Do you accept that? No. Cardiff University is not the only

university in Wales. It also has ?300 million of the reserves. I

don't think it is unreasonable, when a sector has ?1.3 billion in

reserves in total, that they have to manage what will be small decreases

in their budget. Cardiff has ?300 million. So, yes, it is challenging.

It was challenging for further education last year. It's been

challenging across Government, but it is not asking too much for higher

education, whether income having expanded significantly since 2012 to

be able to manage what is in the context of things quite a small

budget cut. First Minister, Cardiff University is not the only

university in Wales and not all universities have the same levels of

reserves as Cardiff University might have. I reiterate to you today,

First Minister, drop those planned cuts, support Welsh education,

support a secure future for our NHS service. You are consistently

refusing to give us a vision for higher education in this country.

Why? You don't have one, do you? The only thing that we have had

confirmed is that you want to make a ?41 million cut, which is a 32% cut

to Welsh universities. Why are you meeting out Tory cuts to a sector

that this country relies upon for its future prosperity as well as its

future health professionals? Unless the leader of Plaid Cymru has a

crystal ball, she has no way of knowing what is going to be in the

Budget Statement. PRESIDING OFFICER: Order. Order.

Order. Order. First Minister? The shouting in that regard gives it

away. The statement is later, that is when you get the answers, OK? The

statement is later. There will be a debate, you will get a chance to ask

those questions then. There are many in the university sector who

disagree with the tuition fee grant and with your proposals which is to

make sure that people who stay in Wales get their fees paid, which is

what you have always said in the past. It's not. It's not Plaid

Cymru's policy. We will wait to see what... I am accused of not having

vision for universities. We don't know what Plaid Cymru's policy is.

The Budget Statement will make it clear. If you had not ruled

yourselves out of the Budget discussions at the beginning, you

might have had a say in all of this. PRESIDING OFFICER: Thank you,

leaders' questions are now finished. We move back to questions on the

paper. Question three, Lindsay Whittle. What is the current Welsh

Government policy on funding for hospices in Wales? We continue to

support the development of end of life and specialist palliative care

services, including hospices in Wales, that includes ?3 million

worth of funding to support the new St David's Hospice in Newport. Thank

you. Could you please explain why over the past five years Welsh

Government funding for hospices in Wales has fallen from 24% of their

running cost to just 19%? Surely despite any stress on budget - and I

know it is tough - such a vital service provided by hospices surely

must be safeguarded and not threatened. I would urge you to

reconsider that. It would be extremely costly for the NHS if any

of the charities went into liquidation due to lack of funding,

as most of the service delivery would need to be picked up through

our core NHS services. The fact that we are funding the hospices in

Newport is a sign of our commitment. We are the only country in the UK to

provide 24/7 support. An additional ?1 million was announced in 2015/16

to support the delivery of the "end of life" care plan, in addition to

that funding and over ?900,000 of that new money will be used to

expand hospice at home provision across Wales. The remaining money

will be used to fund "end of life" care initiatives. Thank you,

Presiding Officer. On the same day Marie Curie launched the daffodil

appeal, hospices are essential. "End of life" care, the focus of this

care is helping people to live well until they die. We need to ensure

that regardless of where you live in Wales, you will be able to access

hospices' care. Therefore, First Minister, will you ensure that

hospices receive sustainable funding? Yes. Which is why I

referred to the point I made earlier on. We have ensured that funding

remains. We have put extra money into care and we haven't cut funding

for social care as the member's party has done in England. Social

care has been hammered in England. We know that the responsibility has

been passed on to local authorities who are ill-placed to fund that

social care. We will not do that in Wales and we will continue to fund

social care at the level people expect.

PRESIDING OFFICER: Question 4, Gwenda Thomas. Diolch, Llywydd. Will

the First Minister make a statement on the development of businesses

that export? Yes, increasing exports from Wales is a key priority for the

Welsh Government. We offer a range of measures to support Welsh

exporters, including free one-to-one advice, help to find new customers

and help to access overseas markets. Thank you for that, First Minister.

I note that it comes to Wales this

month. If we leave the European Union, trading with this economic

bloc will be made far more difficult? There is no question

about it. We have seen the difficulties the Prime Minister has

had in negotiating a new settlement thus far. I support his position

that he wants us to stay in the EU. No-one else's party seems to. I

support his position. The reality is, that if we don't get access to

the European market, that is tariff free and open, Welsh business will

suffer. The idea that if the UK left the EU, the EU would fall over

itself to put forward a favourable deal for the UK is madness, frankly.

It isn't going to happen. Why on earth would the European Union want

to do that for a UK that had just left the European Union? From my

point of view, certainty is important for business. The Prime

Minister made the point, the Scottish Referendum created

uncertainty in Scotland. It did. The same thing is happening with this

referendum. The fact there is going to be a referendum is creating

uncertainty in the UK, it needs to be resolved, although June is not my

preferred date, nor others in the Chamber either. The reality is, if

you have access to a market of 500 million, if you can sell to those

people, anything you do to interfere with that access is bound to be bad

for manufacturers, for tourism and for farmers.

PRESIDING OFFICER: I had occasion to have a chat with you last week,

Andrew RT Davies, please don't keep muttering. If you want to speak, I

will call you. The latest Welsh Government published figures for

exports to the third quarter of 2015 show that in the year to the third

quarter of 2015 six of the 12 UK Nations and Regions saw an increase

in exports but Wales had the second largest fall at 8.6% rising to 16.8%

trade exports to other EU countries. How do you respond to the statement

in the CBI Business Manifesto that the Welsh Government should develop

enhanced export support for medium-sized businesses? Well, the

reduction is down to petroleum, which is a significant amount of

exports for us. Whenever there is a slowdown in the refineries, it does

affect our expor figures, we have seen that in the past. We have seen

George Osborne get his excuses in already, saying if things go badly,

it's the fault of China and the fault of the world economy. Well,

the reality is this: We export nearly half of what we manufacture

and produce to the European Union. To lose access to that market is a

disaster for business and for our economy. The converse is, that the

European Union only exports 10% of what it produces to the UK. We are

far more reliant on our export market in the EU than the other way

around. And it is important that we remember, as we look to the

referendum that will take place this year, that what is at stake here is

hundreds and thousands of jobs in Wales. And the decision should be

taken based on a dose of economic reality and not on some nationalism.

The First Minister will be aware that I have been: four steps to be

taken to increase the percentage of public contrast in Wales awarded to

Welsh companies and a Plaid Cymru government would legislate to move

in that direction. Would the First Minister agreed that promoting Welsh

companies by ensuring that more public contracts are awarded as a

means of ensuring those companies can grow stronger and develop in

their own ability to export and that the Welsh economy would have a

double benefit in that regard? That has happened, of course. A grip many

companies have had the chance to bid for contracts and a good number of

Welsh companies are able to win those contracts, as opposed to what

happened in the past. What I cannot agree with in that regard is

legislating on this. It is not legal to set legal targets with regard to

how much business should be given to local companies. That is against

European law. What is important is ensuring that we continue to promote

and assist companies so they are in a situation to take advantage of the

contracts when they come up. My region faces potential economic

devastation with the loss of many hundreds of jobs at Tata Steel. The

membership of the European Community is crucial in terms of trying to

regenerate that particular area. Can you confirm Woodward through

government is doing to do to get those losses and develop the export

led industries in the area? We have been in correspondence with European

Commission, people are a few that there needs to be stronger tariff

barriers against imports from outside. We are in the process of

putting together a financial package which will not be enough, it will

need to be supported by a bigger package from the UK Government and

that process is ongoing. What support is the Welsh Government

giving to help pancreatic cancer patients in Wales? As part of the

cancer delivery plan, we are taking forward a number of pieces of work

that will improve the recognition of symptoms for cancers including

pancreatic cancer and once symptoms are identified, to a book rack that

-- rabid active edge rapid access to treatment. Pancreatic cancer has the

worst survival rate of 21 most common cancers in Wales. The

National Institute of care and in excellence has said the cancer

drug... It should not be funded by the NHS in England due to the cost.

With the First Minister pressure hydraulic cancer sufferers in Wales

that this life extending drugs will continue to be available on NHS in

Wales? Yes. It was recently agreed that we would continue discussions

with the manufacturer to explore options regarding continued access

to the drug and it will continue to be available in Wales in the

interim. Will the First Minister make a statement on mental health

services in North Wales? On the 29th of January, the deputy minister

published the improvement framework and that set up our expectations for

improvement in each of the areas identified and a special measures,

including her constituency. Support and access for under 18-year-olds

experiencing severe mental health problems is seen as almost

inaccessible in my own constituency. Young sufferers have too weird for

up to two years to access some services. Such a delay at such a

vulnerable time in the lives of our youngsters is quite unacceptable.

Also, though there has been a recent review, it has not made a difference

to my constituency. It has not been any change. Indeed, the borough

council cannot even access videos of those requiring treatment and

intervention. This is a huge girl on the part of your government and you

are letting our most vulnerable youngsters down at a time when they

are really troubled. What are you doing to address this? We have

provided an 18% increase for mental health services. ?7.6 million at the

service change and development programme is being supported by

Professor Dame Sue Bailey and there will be the recruitment of an

additional 130 members of staff who will improve services and reduce

waiting times. First Minister, someone from outside my constituency

approached me to help them with a case because they knew I had done

work on mental health and this woman had been waiting for years and had

told her GP that she had considered committing suicide and it was only

when I as an Assembly Member raised this with the GB locally that and

nothing actually happened in terms of providing assistance to stop that

could have been a media story where she could have done what no one in

this room would have wanted her to do. What sort of work are you doing

with GPs not to ask them to undertake training but to require

them to take training so there will not be further tragedies in Wales

when people do not actually get the treatment that they need in good

time? Additional funding will be used to ensure that psychological

treatment is available quickly and early intervention with regard to

ensuring that psychosis is dealt with and to fund an emergency

service for children and young people, especially in those

emergency departments in the hospitals. The funding will be

there, but it is also available across Wales. It will ensure that

services are able more quickly than was the case in the past and there

will be more staff available to give that assistance when it is required.

First Minister, you referred to earlier intervention. Your education

minister has acknowledged the importance of educational

psychologists in ensuring that the training in Cardiff will remain in

place and we are moving to wards implementation of new legislation in

terms of SDN. There are problems in North Wales in terms of

inconsistencies between local authorities on the fact that a

quarter is provided to schools in terms of the amount of hours that

educational psychologist can work in every school and there has been no

review since 2004 into this situation in Wales when

responsibility was passed to the local education authorities. Would

you be willing to look at this and reviewed a new so we can consider

this as part of new legislation? I will write to the member with regard

to that. It is an important part is that there should be consistency in

the education system and I will ensure I do write to the member to

set out the stance of the government. We'll be First Minister

make a statement on the progress NHS has made toward the Welsh Government

struggle of a planned? The annual report published last month

demonstrates the progress made. It includes increased awareness

raising, improved interventions, improved hospital care and improved

discharge and rehab services. This has improved survival rates and

improve -- reduced longer term disabilities. The recent

publications of the report shows that there are 1000 fewer people

buying Judah stroke than ten years ago. What does this tell us about

the continued dedication and then his best stuff and the role they

play in delivering this service? It tells us a huge amount. We have an

excellent track record. We have a system of intelligent targets so

that data is readily accessible to clinicians who can make improvements

to stroke services at a local level. Our paramedics, of course, are

highly skilled in the rapid identification of stroke patients

and our nursing staff have been working very hard to make sure that

those who present at hospitals with strokes are offered treatment as

rapidly as possible because we know that has a huge impact on their

ability to survive and to avoid long-term disability. It is very

welcome but there have been improvements in sport -- stroke

outcomes, but we are still at the bottom of the UK league table even

though we have made progress. What additional support you provide to

Welsh health boards so they can get up to the UK average and possibly

beyond that? Working with the voluntary sector particularly, that

is important to help those who have been victims of stroke. Also,

helping to improve early diagnosis. We have what's called the faster

process. That enables call takers and ambulance control to identify

people who may have had a stroke Lisa paramedics can get to them

early and to ensure that they get to clinicians who have used the

information they have received through the audit process. It is

true to say that a multidisciplinary dream have led the way in planning

improvements to services and that is why we see outcomes in prison. I

welcome the fact that progress has been made in Wales generally

speaking on this issue although there has been some retrograde steps

over the past 12 months in my local health board. We all want to see

people surviving and overcoming stroke, but in doing that, of

course, people have greater care needs in the months following a

stroke and much of that burden falls on social services, as much as it

does on the health service. What are you doing to ensure that we have

better reports after six months than we currently have in terms of the

way people did with the impacts of a stroke? The first thing is to ensure

the diagnosis happens quickly, that paramedics can go to the person

quickly and that they are taken to a specialist unit so they receive the

treatment as quickly as possible. Of course, one thing that affect people

following a stroke is bad they change the way they look at their

own lives, their spirit can be affected and it is important that

having that psychological and social help will help them on that path to

recovery. Working with families, working with the third sector, we

talked about that already, to ensure that there is a comprehensive,

holistic, system around the person to allow them to get better.

Treatment is important, but that is a first step in what is important

that we were with the third sector and with families to ensure that

that improvement continues. Will the First Minister provide an update on

the support available to communities affected by the development of the

solar farms? This is a matter for the local planning authority but we

will encourage any developer to consider best practice around

community involvement on supply chain opportunities and benefit

arrangements so that communities can benefit most. Construction work on a

38,000 panel solar farm has started just outside the village in my

constituency. The developer have had minimal discussions with the

community today to discuss committee benefits and have proven extremely

difficult to contact and communicate with. What support is the Welsh

Government able to offer to communities during the negotiation

period for community benefits to ensure they are not short-changed

and receive the full entitlement of benefit they are owed under the

registrar of community and economic benefits? It would be easy for us as

a government to facilitate this if the levy was devolved, it is not.

The difficulty is that section 106 is the current procedure for interim

committee benefits, but it bumps up against other issues and it puts

limits on what we can do to develop community benefits. My view is that

this is a planning levy and should be devolved. That is not the view of

the UK Government. It means we cannot have a copper heads of

approach to developing a process on community benefit to section 106 and

a replacement we would like to put in place. Last summer saw the

opening of the first Welsh local authority owned and run solar farm

in Wrexham. Much of the groundwork was done under the leadership of my

friend and colleague. The farm has nearly 9000 solar panels over 43

acres and has the effect of reducing the carbon footprint by 1300 tonnes

of CO2 per year. As with the not for profit Robin Hood energy company

which has been rolled out in Nottinghamshire, I would argue that

those facilities show the opportunity that renewable energy

offers communities and local authorities working in partnership.

Did you agree with me we should work towards a greater roll-out of such

partnerships between local communities and principal local

authorities and what can the Welsh Government do concretely to

facilitate this? Yes, I do. The member makes it sound

like his colleague is digging holes for the new facility!

LAUGHTER The member is right. We know that

they have great potential, not just to contribute to renewable energy,

not just to contribute to a reduction in our carbon footprint,

but also to put money into our local economy as well. We would have a

full range of options to promote those schemes further.

PRESIDING OFFICER: Thank you. STUDIO:

There we are, that was First Minister's Questions.

If you want more more coverage of the National Assembly,

you can go online to BBC Wales's Senedd Live

But that's it for First Minister's Questions.

Don't forget for all the latest political news, watch Wales Today

later today at 6.30pm on BBC One Wales and Newyddion

As for am.pm, though, from all of us on the programme, goodbye.

We will be back in a fortnight's time. Half-term next week.

Hopefully, see you in a fortnight. Bye-bye.