Hwyl fawrpublished at 14:18 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Eluned Morgan’s twenty-third session as first minister comes to a close.
Image source, Senedd CymruEluned Morgan
Summary
Eluned Morgan is quizzed by opposition party leaders and other MSs during First Minister's Questions
Hwyl fawrpublished at 14:18 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Image source, Senedd CymruImage caption, 'Prospect of mass civil disobedience not seen since Llangyndeyrn'published at 14:13 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Image caption, A three-year battle took place to save Llangyndeyrn from being flooded
Plaid Cymru MS Adam Price asks "what discussions has the first minister had about the issuing of warrants for access onto land in the Tywi valley by GreenGen Cymru">Afon Tywi is designated as a Special Area of Conservation
Digitisation of patient health recordspublished at 14:07 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Conservative Janet Finch-Saunders raises concerns about the digitisation of patient health records in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
She says that in 2020 Cardiff and Vale University Health Board was funded to lead a £4.8 million five-year programme for eyecare. This included the deployment of an electronic patient record for ophthalmology services, working alongside other health boards.
But she says as of June 2023 five health boards in Wales had not yet implemented the system.
She calls for "a detailed review of the progress of this programme... to ensure that Open Eyes has been implemented in every health board in Wales".
The first minister acknowledges "this has been a situation that's been ongoing for a long period of time and I can assure you that the Welsh government is keeping a close eye on this particular situation. There were some issues around Open Eyes and the ability to roll it out across the country. I know that the cabinet cecretary is fully aware of the challenges around this, but we do need to move quicker and further when it comes to digital eye care programmes, but we have to make sure it's with the appropriate programme and project that goes alongside it. But there were some issues, I know, with the Open Eyes project."
Image source, Senedd CymruJanet Finch-Saunders
'Loss of many bank branches a major cause of concern'published at 13:59 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Image source, Senedd CymruHannah Blythyn
Labour's Hannah Blythyn raises concerns about access to high-street banking services in town centres across her Delyn constituency.
She says, "just last week, residents and businesses in Holywell and the surrounding area heard the disappointing news that Santander is now proposing to close its branch in the town. This is the latest in a long line of departures which will leave the people of Holywell without a single bank branch. I'm sure you'll agree my constituency community deserve better than this, and there is rightly an active campaign to try and save the bank."
She adds there is a "clear case for a banking hub in the heart of Holywell".
The first minister replies "the loss of many bank branches has become a major cause of concern".
She also says that this month the Welsh government is convening a second banking in Welsh communities event, "drawing together stakeholders from across the financial sector alongside those with an active interest in banking service provision in our communities".
A raft of High Street bank branches have been closed in recent years, as more people have shifted to accessing banking services online.
Recent figures revealed that cash use in shops rose for a second year in a row in 2023 after a decade of falls, according to retailers.
Notes and coins were used in a fifth of transactions, the British Retail Consortium said, as shoppers found cash helped them to budget better.
Image source, Getty ImagesChild povertypublished at 13:55 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth refers to the policy he announced at his party's spring conference in Llandudno that he would introduce a payment scheme to tackle the "national stain" of child poverty.
BBC Wales understands the party is looking at a £10m pilot scheme, which would see £10 a week for 15,000 children between zero and six whose parents already receive universal credit.
It would be along the lines of a scheme run in Scotland, which was initially piloted at £10 a week and is now £26.70 a week.
The Cynnal payment - Cymraeg for maintain - is part of Plaid Cymru's pitch for the next Senedd election in May 2026.
Rhun ap Iorwerth says, "we haven’t got the powers to introduce a direct child payment in the same way as they’ve been able to do in Scotland, where they have more powers, but we have identified a way of doing this. The Treasury could help, though, by not putting barriers in our way. Will the first minister agree to make the case to the Treasury to help us or, at least, not to hinder us in trying to deliver what could be a transformational anti-poverty measure in government from next year">Rhun ap Iorwerth
Council tax increasespublished at 13:46 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Image source, Senedd CymruDarren Millar
Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, raises the issue of council tax increases in Wales, which vary across different local authorities.
He says "many taxpayers are galled, frankly, by the big increases in their bills, while they see local services cut. Facilities such as libraries, public toilets, leisure facilities and community centres are being closed. Why is it that people in Wales are paying more in council tax but getting less">Image source, Getty Images
'Grave situation of unacceptable waiting lists'published at 13:39 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Plaid Cymru MS Cefin Campbell raises the issue of "unacceptable" NHS waiting lists in mid and west Wales.
He says that e-mails he receives from constituents "contradict the story published by your government last week, stating that the monitoring level for Hywel Dda University Health Board will be downgraded from level 4 to level 3".
He elaborates, "despite the announcement, there was a report hours later that the provision for non-urgent mental health cases in north Ceredigion would be coming to an end. Only 56 per cent of the 147 mental health cases in north Ceredigion have care and treatment plans in place which falls a long way short of the target of 90 per cent that you yourself have set. That's just a microcosm, first minister, of the grave situation in of unacceptable waiting lists in my region."
Eluned Morgan says the fact that Hywel Dda University Health Board has been de-escalated from level four to level three of intervention should be welcomed.
She adds, "I know that there is a unique problem in the Ceredigion area at present, and I am aware of that. Now, the point at present is that there are many vacancies available - they've gone out and they've failed to appoint to the substantive consultant psychiatrist post. So, what they've done is brought a specialist nurse in, over the short term."
Image source, Senedd CymruCefin Campbell
'Waiting in pain and understandably angry'published at 13:34 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Llywydd Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of who may table questions to the first minister.
Conservative Paul Davies says improvements are "desperately needed" to people waiting for diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis - a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the ts - in Pembrokeshire.
He says "a constituent of mine has been informed that the waiting time for an urgent appointment with the rheumatology department at Withybush hospital is 13 months, and 15 months for a non-urgent appointment... it’s not acceptable that people in Pembrokeshire are waiting so much longer than their relatives in other parts of the UK for the same treatment. These people are waiting in pain, and they are understandably angry."
First Minister Eluned Morgan replies "it’s true that our waiting lists were way too high. I’m really pleased to say that they are coming down, and they’ve come down for the second month in a row. And, certainly, in Hywel Dda, they are on course to eliminate the 104-week-long wait. So, that’s two-year waiting lists. So, they’re going to get rid of those by the end of March this year."
The waiting list for hospital treatment in Wales has fallen slightly for the second month in a row.
But the Welsh government's target to reduce the numbers waiting longer than two years – in most specialties – has still not been met.
In January, 613,000 patients were waiting for 796,802 treatments to take place, down from 800,395 treatments in December.
The total number waiting longer than two years is just under 21,100.
The target to eliminate waits this long applies in certain specialities, but even within these areas there are 2,713 people waiting more than two years.
These specialities include Accident and Emergency, Cardiology, Radiology and Midwifery.
Image source, Senedd CymruPaul Davies
Croesopublished at 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time 25 March
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Eluned Morgan’s twenty-third session of First Minister's Questions.
The meeting is held in a hybrid format, with some in the Siambr (Senedd chamber) and others ing by video-conference.
You can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings from 1.30pm.
