12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
Well, I don’t follow the Member’s scaremongering on this when it comes to North sea oil. The current licences are going to be honoured. There’s plenty of work in those for a significant period of time. I just don’t buy the idea that people who want to invest…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
Yes, I'd like us to have a properly joined-up conversation. There are times when, as you say, there are reserved responsibilities, and prisons is a reserved area, but it matters about the knock-on consequences for devolved services. We're in a position…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
I think you can be certain that, when Lesley Griffiths does have a meeting on this, she will definitely talk about Welsh women prisoners; not just about data, but then what that means in outcomes as well. So, you can rest assured that it is an issue that is…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
I think it's a really important question. It really highlights the nexus between reserved and devolved responsibilities. So, there are big challenges around prison capacity and the quality of the prison estate, and the capacity and the quality of the estate…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
Well, there are two points where I simply disagree with the Member. The first is about trying to give a different meaning to what has been said by the business Secretary, in that Tata up to this point had been unmovable. The conversations that are now taking…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
Well, the communication is radically and positively transformed. I've spoken to the Prime Minister about it. I spoke to the then leader of the opposition about it, when it looked possible that both blast furnaces could close in the week of the election. I've…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
Well, I've had the opportunity to discuss this on more than one occasion, not just on Monday, with Keir Starmer and Jonathan Reynolds, and there's a clear understanding that, without a longer transition, there'll be large-scale job loss for the direct…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
I reject that completely. The onus is not on me to prove that. There is a very clear and simple way of looking at this, and it comes down to: can you be clear about where the photograph is taken? And once you are, that is it. Then there is a choice to make.
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
In the response on Wednesday, I made very clear that the photograph could only have come from one Member's phone. I made very clear that, having cross-checked that with other versions of the conversation, it is a real part of that conversation, and you're…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
Let me finish.
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
I think the difficulty is—. The scrutiny and the questions here are going into the weeds of where we are, and they don't get away from the essential facts, and I set this out in the statement yesterday—
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
I think you're getting into weeds here. In terms of what is and isn't a formal group, what you do have is communication between Ministers, and what you do have is Ministers who should be able to trust each other. If you don't have that trust, then that leads…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
I didn't create the group; the group was created and we were all added in. The point is if Ministers are prepared to share information about each other in a way that directly compromises each other and the trust that exists, that does go to collective…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
I was surprised that the topical question was permitted. On the statement that had been made on the Tuesday, we were all told, 'This is a statement and there is no response to it.' We then essentially had a response to it the next day, and a response in a…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Craffu amserol
Wednesday afternoon was very difficult for everyone. I do recognise that. I've been very clear from the outset that asking Hannah to leave the Government was not easy. You know people for years, and then you have to make choices about them. I think a good…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
I think there are opportunities, and part of the challenge is in changing the nature of a service. So, if you’re used to your children going on a service that is only for schoolchildren, some parents will be concerned about having other adults on there. And…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
Yes, we're taking seriously the recommendations and how we take forward the recommendations of the review, and the aim is to improve the consistency of delivery across Wales. So, there is already really good practice across a number of local authorities about…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
Thank you. I think, at present, there's only one proposal to close a school, and that's on Ynys Môn; that's the only rural school proposal that is being taken forward by a council in Wales. We changed the school organisation code, to strengthen it, in 2018…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
And the evidence that underpins the move is that this will allow more of those people to have the right care at the right time to save more lives.
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
Wherever they are in the country, they are the right people.
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
That is what's important: the right people are the people who need the service.
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
—and that is what is important, because—
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
And that underpins the case, Russell, and that's the challenge here. The case is underpinned by reaching more people, more people who can gain a greater benefit—
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
But we come back to the central point, don't we? This isn't about money. This is about what is the appropriate model to make sure that people have the best possible service with greater coverage at a time when that can make a difference. And the evidence that…
12 Gorffennaf 2024 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Cymunedau gwledig
Let me answer the question. That's why we introduced the service in the first place; the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service is there to deliver and to deal with that. And as it started, we've had evidence of how the service has worked, but also…
