91Èȱ¬

The nineteenth FMQs of 2023 comes to a close.

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The Senedd will once again be lit tonight in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and its people.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative Natasha Asghar refers to the UK government's deadline of June 2024 for most UK airports to install new high-tech 3D scanners, that show more detailed images of baggage.

The changes will see the 100ml liquid rule increased to two litres and mean passengers won't need to remove electrical items from bags at security.

Natasha Asghar asks "are you confident Cardiff Airport will meet the 2024 deadline, and have you worked out the total bill for these works, as I'm sure taxpayers across Wales will be keen to know what that's going to cost them?"

The first minister replies, "I'm aware of the fact that it is the single most outstanding example of the unfairness of the UK government's policies towards airports, not just here in Wales, but across the United Kingdom, because, having imposed these new obligations on airports, they refuse to fund any regional airport to meet those new standards. And that means, while there are obligations on Cardiff Airport, there's no funding at all from those who imposed those obligations in the first place. That is not true of big airports like Heathrow."

Labour MS Vikki Howells says "the Citizens Advice report 'Left in the cold' found that one in four private renters feel unable to heat their home to a comfortable temperature, seven in 10 have experienced excessive cold, damp or mould, and one in five didn't complain because they were worried about eviction. This reflects casework that I am picking with private renters waiting years, sometimes, to have heating fixed, having rooms badly affected by damp, and being threatened with eviction if they complain".

The first minister replies that since 1 December 2022, Part 4 of the Renting 91Èȱ¬s (Wales) Act 2016 sets outs the obligations placed on a landlord with regard to the condition of a dwelling, including ensuring a dwelling is both in repair and fit for human habitation.

On tackling health and mortality inequalities, the first minister says "we still have nearly 700 community pharmacists here in Wales. The numbers in Wales are not falling as they are elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and that is partly, I believe, because of the partnership we have had with that profession and the investment that we are making in it".

In his first session of First Minister’s Questions as Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth says "I want to see more from this government when it comes to seeking the powers to forge our own future."

He refers to a that "whilst the Welsh Government has called for the devolution of justice and policing to Wales, it has not made a formal request for the powers to be transferred".

Rhun ap Iorwerth says "if you don't ask, you don't get: how will the first minister make sure that Wales is heard?"

Mr Drakeford says "it's absolute nonsense for any Conservative minister to claim that we have not asked formally for those powers. We have been in painful discussions with the UK Government over the Thomas commission report ever since it was published."

The UK Labour party’s commission on the future of the UK - led by ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown – only recommended devolving youth justice and probation to ministers in Cardiff, but the first minister points out that Mr Brown's report said there was no "constitutional reason why matters which are devolved in Scotland... could not also be devolved in Wales".

On the subject of MPs delivering their verdict on Boris Johnson on Monday night, endorsing a report that found he deliberately misled Parliament over Partygate, the first minister says it was an "astonishing act of political cowardice" that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not vote.

He was responding to Rhun ap Iorwerth's comment that Welsh Conservatives that did not vote "effectively sided with Boris Johnson".

"You'd have thought that that was the least they could have done to try to get some redemption," said Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, points to figures showing Wales has seen the largest increase in unemployment in the UK since last year.

Estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said unemployment in Wales was 4.8% between February and April, the joint-highest across the UK.

This figure was 1.3 percentage points higher than the same time in 2022.

Mr Drakeford says "the background to them is a serious one for the whole of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party has crashed the economy, and we now see that working out in the pressures we see in the workplace as well".

Mr Davies says, "the UK economy was the fastest-growing economy for the last two years in the G7. Germany is in recession; despite all your backbenchers and your government wishing this country to be in recession, this country is not in recession. Last week’s figures clearly showed that unemployment was going up in this part of the United Kingdom, but going down in other parts of the United Kingdom."

The Llywydd Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of members who may table questions to the first minister and Welsh ministers. Each member may enter their name into a ballot.

Labour MS for Mid and West Wales, Joyce Watson asks what the Welsh government is doing to encourage girls into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education and careers.

The first minister replies that the Welsh government is determined to increase the number of women working in STEM because it’s good for our society and for our economy.

He cites the Engineering Education Scheme Wales as an example of a programme with the aim of increasing the number of girls from secondary schools engaging with STEM industries.

Joyce Watson says, "there are good initiatives out there, as you say, like the Engineering Education Scheme Wales programme, but in the workplace, it remains the case that 73 per cent of the STEM workforce are men, women make up only 14.5 per cent of engineers, and only 20 per cent of women science graduates go on to work in STEM careers, compared with 44 per cent of men."

Image source, GEORGIJEVIC / GETTY IMAGES

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the nineteenth session of First Minister's Questions in 2023.

The meeting is held in a hybrid format, with some members in the Siambr (Senedd chamber) and others joining by video-conference.

You can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings.