91�ȱ�

The thirty-fourth – and penultimate - FMQs of 2023 comes to a close.

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Because of the Israel-Gaza crisis, the lights in the Senedd continue to be dimmed each evening.

Llywydd Elin Jones says it is “to reflect the sentiment that such attacks represent another dark moment for humanity in the Middle East.

"It is a source of great sorrow for a democratic institution such as ours.

"As well as reflecting the sorrow, the darkness will also represent a statement of solidarity with all those suffering as a result of the attacks.”

The first minister says Conservatives have a "total denial of responsibility" for child poverty.

"Here in Wales, every single day, we do things to protect children in Wales from the policies of your party," he says.

He was responding to Conservative Natasha Asghar, who said "latest figures have shown that 28 per cent of all children in Wales are living in relative income poverty, the equivalent of around eight children in a class of thirty.

"The Senedd's Equality and Social Justice Committee released a damning report recently saying that the Welsh government has no clear plan or ambition to tackle child poverty. Now, Labour has been directly responsible for tackling poverty for around about more than two decades, yet it's clear that successive Labour governments have sadly failed."

Some 28% of children in Wales are living in relative poverty - more than Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A target to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020 was scrapped in 2016.

According to figures quoted by the Senedd committee, 28% of children living in Wales lived in homes where the income of their household was less than 70% of the UK average between 2019 and 2022.

The first minister describes the UK government's autumn statement as "a disaster for public services upon which residents of the whole of Wales depend".

In response, Conservative James Evans points out that among the plans announced by UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, National Insurance paid by employees will be cut from 12% to 10%, taking effect from 6 January, and the National Living Wage would rise from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour from April next year.

Image source, Getty Images

Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan seeks an assurance that “every person in Wales who receives a diagnosis of autism or ADHD receives standard information about sources of support, the impact of the diagnosis, and their rights in terms of services and benefits”.

The first minister replies that the Welsh government is "undertaking an evaluation of the autism code of practice, which the latest report notes areas of good practice, but also suggests that we need to standardise information and improve access to that information pre and post diagnosis".

He also says the Welsh government has established a three year neurodivergence services improvement programme.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth expresses concerns about the impact of the UK government's measures which it promised would deliver the biggest ever cut in net migration.

Mr Drakeford replies that he shares the concerns about recruiting to vital public services.

Rhun ap Iorwerth asks "does the first minister support Plaid Cymru’s calls for Wales to be able to set its own immigration policy, and will he advocate for that with his own party leader, or should the fate of the Welsh NHS be left at the mercy of the Tories migration policy, or even Labour ministers who like the idea?"

The first minister replies, "this is a complex idea, and there are many downsides to it as well as advantages—and there are advantages to it, and I know that because I was involved in very detailed discussions alongside Scottish counterparts during the Brexit negotiations where there was at one time a serious possibility that Wales and Scotland would have been allocated a set of visas that we would have been able to use on our own terms, and that idea was very thoroughly explored.

"In the end, it was rejected, and I think from memory that it was rejected by our Scottish colleagues as well, on the terms that it was offered, because you would then end up competing with other parts of the United Kingdom who also have visas and are able to use them in a way that outcompetes places inside the same country."

The changes announced yesterday by 91�ȱ� Secretary James Cleverly included hiking the minimum salary needed for skilled overseas workers from £26,200 to £38,700.

Mr Cleverly has claimed 300,000 people who were eligible to come to the UK last year would not be able to in future.

The minimum income for family visas has also risen to £38,700.

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, refers to the fact that Wales' performance has fallen to its lowest level ever in maths, reading and science tests taken by 15-year olds.

In the first international Pisa assessments since Covid, Welsh scores were the lowest of all UK nations and the results gap has widened.

First Minister Mark Drakeford replies that the results were "disappointing" but “no surprise”.

Mr Drakeford said there was “nothing in these results that should be a reflection" on the pupils that took part "or indeed, on their schools”.

But he said the results were “important”, adding “I don't think it does young people, all those teachers who work so hard with them, justice, to pretend that somehow Wales is an outlier in them.

“We share the same pattern as 71 of the 81 countries that entered the Pisa regime.”

He adds: "Pisa is not a surprise given what we have already learned about the impact of Covid in our schools.

“The Welsh government already has in place a literacy plan, a numeracy plan, a plan to bring education leaders around the table together in January to reflect on this set of results. and then to make sure that the path of improvement that we were on the last time Pisa results were published is a path that we return to for the future.”

Mr Davies says "I have not heard from you today about anything substantive that you and your government have considered in light of this steep decline in performance.

"So, will you at the very least apologise to those learners and teachers and those with the best interests of education at heart here in Wales about the Welsh government's lamentable performance in education over 25 years and will you redouble your efforts to make sure that when a child goes into a Welsh school, they will get the best education possible?"

The first minister replies, "we will take them seriously and they are food for thought. I agree with what the OECD has said about that. But, I also think it's important to have a rounded understanding of what our young people achieve here in Wales, of the huge efforts that the education system makes to make sure that they make the very best of their abilities."

Conservative Peter Fox calls for better emotional support services for the children of convicted sex offenders.

The first minister says the Welsh government "jointly chairs the Wales family connect group, together with HM Prison and Probation Service. That group brings together leads across the justice system around the same table, to improve the support available to children of people in the prison estate".

Mr Fox says "I know you would agree with me that the victims of sex offenders should be given all the support they need as they go through an incredibly abhorrent situation. However, that one group of victims that tends to get overlooked are the children of the offenders themselves. This came to my attention through some recent casework. And, often, these children are left feeling unsafe, ostracised, and shamed by the actions, which had nothing to do with them at all."

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 Hefin David asks what is the Welsh government's position on the UK government's Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.

The UK government has said the new bill would ban the sale of new leasehold houses in England and Wales.

First Minister Mark Drakeford replies, "while housing responsibilities are devolved, property law is a reserved matter. Leasehold reform depends on both aspects, and the Welsh government will lay a legislative consent recommendation which supports the Bill, which will improve the rights of home owners in Wales."

A leasehold is a type of property contract that allows the owner to live in a property - usually a flat - for a fixed term.

Under this system, leaseholders often have to pay ground rent and expensive maintenance charges to freeholders, who own buildings and the land on which they are built.

The bill includes measures to increase the standard lease extension from 90 years to 990, and make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to take over the management of their properties.

Hefin David calls on the Welsh government to "introduce a compulsory resident estate management company liaison committee, so that the management committees are accountable to residents without making residents accountable for the upkeep of their estates, and, also, put a duty on local authorities so that estate management charges are the very last option of last resort."

Image source, PA Media

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the penultimate 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 from 1.30pm.