, Plenary
Debate: The Draft Budget 2023-24
Diolch, Llywydd. There can be no doubt that the Welsh Government lacks the money it needs to do what is necessary to build the kind of decent society that we want to see. That is more true now than it has ever been, I think. Ultimately, that lack of money…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
But you can go further than that, Minister, can't you, because you do have the ability to raise additional revenue through your tax-varying powers? Now, I understand the Government's position is that you don't want to touch the basic rate, but even if you…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
The offer now of just 1.5 per cent extra as a pay rise on top of your, frankly, derisory original pay offer, has been described by Sharon Graham of Unite as 'a sticking plaster'. For many in the NHS this real-terms cut of more than 4 per cent in their pay…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. When Plaid Cymru suggested in November that you used a combination of the Wales reserve departmental underspends and unallocated funding to fund a better pay offer for NHS staff, the Minister for Health and Social Services told us…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
I agree with you, Counsel General, that the existence and the work of the commission reflect the new enthusiasm that there is in Wales around our national conversation in terms of our constitutional future, and it's also contributing to that momentum. And…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Thank you for that response, Minister. This is an issue that we've discussed on a number of occasions, and has been the subject of correspondence between us too. I must emphasise the gravity of this problem, as thousands of people in the Ammanford area…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
1. What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure sufficient provision of NHS dental services in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr? OQ59048
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Questions to the Minister for Economy
Thank you, Minister. I had the pleasure of visiting the NappiCycle company in Capel Hendre recently, where I was given a very interesting presentation on recycling nappies. Now, I accept that this doesn't sound like an exciting afternoon, but the level of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
9. Will the Minister provide an update on financial support available for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to expand in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr? OQ59053
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Questions to the First Minister
I think the Trefnydd may have misspoken here, because a 1 per cent increase, according to your own figures, in the income tax level at each band would raise £273 million. What you're referring to—the £55 million—is a 1 per cent increase in the NHS pay bill…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
You say that you've taken a different approach to the UK Government, but the remit letter that you've sent mirrors that of the UK Government exactly in emphasising affordability. You also define what affordability means—the amount that you, as a Government…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
The Welsh Government has formally commenced the NHS pay-round process for 2023-24 by sending a remit letter to the NHS pay review body. The Welsh Government's evidence to the pay review body, along with the letter, was sent on the same day, 11 January, that…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Thank you very much, Llywydd. May I, on behalf of the Plaid Cymru group in the Senedd, but also on behalf of the party more broadly, extend our sincerest condolences to the First Minister on his bereavement? It is a blow that's difficult to comprehend, if…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
That is beneath the First Minister, to be honest with you. These are not my words; they're the words of the NHS workforce that we've been speaking to and listening to on the picket lines. We have nurses, doctors and others, through burn-out, who are crying on…
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Questions to the First Minister
Well, words matter because actually admitting that it's a crisis is an important acknowledgement of the scale, the seriousness and the urgency of the challenges that we face. I think the reason that you don't want to use that word is because the crisis has…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, Llywydd. 'So for one week will he stop blaming others, take some responsibility, and just admit that on his watch the NHS is in crisis, isn't it?' I'm quoting the leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, to Rishi Sunak last week at Prime Minister's…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Management of NHS pressures
If the First Minister will allow me to reveal why health isn't included in the co-operation agreement, then I'm quite happy for those minutes of those discussions to be published.
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
But the point is, First Minister, that that agency doesn't have to be within the private sector, does it, it could be within the public sector. Now, could I turn to another matter that has already been referred to, the UK Government's veto over the gender…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
I would urge him to look at that possibility for this financial year as well. One of the other issues that you did bring to the table, which was welcome, was the role of agency staff. Now, we saw the figures from the Royal College of Physicians that show that…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, Llywydd. With the news of the teachers' strike on 1 February and the failure of the talks with the health unions last week, public sector strikes in Wales are widening and deepening. What's the strategy of the Government, First Minister, to prevent…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Can we please have a statement from the Minister for Climate Change to update us on the proposed and long-awaited bypass for Llandeilo? The page summarising the status of the project on the Welsh Government website did pledge that the Government would…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
But the pay review process has led to a decade-long, real-terms cut in the wages of our NHS staff. So, the system is broken, and I make no apology for holding the Government to account and asking them to state what are your broad democratic principles. And we…
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Questions to the First Minister
But the progressive use of income tax in order to defend public services from Tory austerity is a long-standing socialist position that we espouse in this party, and it's something you used to believe in as well. You did recognise, in your comments yesterday…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, Llywydd. On NHS pay, First Minister, we've estimated, based on figures that you've shared with us, that you could afford at least an additional 3 per cent extra pay award in this financial year. Now, I understand the health Minister has said that she…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Nurses' pay
Just to be clear, you're saying—
