That brings the plenary to a close.

Senedd Live returns tomorrow. Take care.

That completes Stage 4 - the final stage - of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill.

There were 32 for, 1 abstained and 18 against.

The Bill provides the statutory basis for the new Curriculum for Wales, which the Welsh Government intends to roll out from September 2022.

In a series of votes on budgets, the Third Supplementary Budget 2020-21, Welsh Government Final Budget 2021-22, Local Government Settlement 2021-22, and The Police Settlement 2021-22 are all approved.

Image source, Getty Images

MSs approve the Welsh rates for all three income tax bands (basic, higher and additional) paid by Welsh taxpayers at 10p for the 2021-22 tax year.

There were 48 for, two abstained and one against.

Abolish The Assembly Party MS Mark Reckless explained that his group abstained because "there shouldn't be Welsh rates of income tax - they shouldn't have been devolved".

Since April 2019, external, the Welsh Parliament has had the power to vary the rates of income tax that Welsh taxpayers pay.

All rates of income tax are reduced by 10 pence and the Welsh rates set by the Welsh Government are then added to this.

The Welsh government proposes its rates for Welsh income tax in its annual draft budget, which are then voted on by the Senedd.

HMRC continues to collect income tax but the revenue from the Welsh rates of Income Tax goes to the Welsh Government.

Setting Welsh income tax rates at 10p puts it as the same rate for the last financial year.

Image source, THE ROYAL MINT

MSs approve draft Equality Act 2010 (Authorities subject to a duty regarding Socio-economic Inequalities) (Wales) Regulations 2021, external.

There were 46 for, 2 abstentions and 3 against

The regulations give Welsh Ministers the power to place a statutory duty on certain public bodies to take into account the need to reduce inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage when making decisions.

The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill sets out in statute the design, adoption and implementation of a new curriculum for 3 – 16 year olds in maintained schools, nursery schools and in funded non-maintained nursery settings, and curriculum provision in other local authority facilities in Wales providing education otherwise than in school.

The bill will see a complete overhaul of how children in Wales are taught from 2022.

Wales' new curriculum does not set out exactly what schools should be teaching but will set subjects out into six "areas of learning and experience":

• Maths and numeracy
• Languages, literacy and communication
• Health and well-being
• Humanities
• Science and technology
• Expressive arts

The final item today is Stage 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill.

There is generally a four-stage process for the consideration of a Public Bill involving:

• Stage 1 – consideration of the general principles of the Bill by a committee, and the agreement of those general principles by the Senedd;
• Stage 2 – detailed consideration by a committee of the Bill and any amendments tabled to that Bill;
• Stage 3 – detailed consideration, by the Senedd, of the Bill and any amendments tabled to that Bill;
• Stage 4 – a vote by the Senedd to pass the final text of the Bill.

Image source, PA Media

MSs now debate the Police Settlement 2021-22, external.

According to Julie James MS, Minister for Housing and Local Government:

"As in previous years, the Home Office has overlaid its needs-based formula with a floor mechanism. This ensures all police forces in England and Wales can expect to receive an increase in funding of 6.3% for 2021-22 when compared on a like-for-like basis with 2020-21.

"Total revenue support for Welsh police forces in 2021-22 is £408 million. Of this, the Welsh Government is providing £143.4 million as un-hypothecated Revenue Support Grant and Non Domestic Rates."

Image source, Getty Images

Ministers now seek approval of the Local Government Settlement 2021-22.

Funding for councils in Wales will go up by 3.8% next year, in what the Welsh Government calls a "stable platform" to deliver "valuable" local services.

The increases range from 2% for Ceredigion to 5.6% for Newport, all well above inflation at 0.5%.

Core funding from the Welsh Government, external covers between two-thirds and three-quarters of each council's budget.

Conservative Mark Isherwood says the Welsh Government has produced a budget that "papered-over the cracks" rather than paving-over the foundations, focusing his arguments on businesses.

He says the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts the Welsh economy is set to recover months after the UK economy so a more "radical change of direction" is required for a recovery.

Plaid Cymru MS Rhun ap Iorwerth welcomes many aspects of the budget such as additional NHS funding- as "we hope to inherit it" in a few months time - but adds it "hasn't been bold enough".

"There is funding left", he argues, "to extend free school meals and freeze council tax - things that truly would make a difference to people."

Finance Minister Rebecca Evans sums up the debate by recognising the challenging context of this budget, stressing the core budget day-to-day spending is 4% lower for 2021/22 than 2010/11.

The offer made to businesses in Wales "goes well beyond what was offered over the border" she replies to Mark Isherwood, and announces an additional £18.7m for business incentives to recruit more apprentices.

We move onto a debate on the Final Budget for 2021-22.

Last week, the Welsh Government published its finalised spending plans, external for the next financial year, based on a budget worth over £17bn.

Welsh ministers plan to spend an extra £1.1bn, which means £224m more for housing, schools and infrastructure, £630m for the NHS and councils and £200m to support businesses.

Wales has also been given additional money from the UK Government to spend on the pandemic, but this is about a sixth of the amount (£5bn) it was given for last year's budget.

Image source, Getty Images

The Senedd Finance Committee Chair Llyr Gruffydd recognises that a third supplementary budget is 'unusual' to have but as part of the Senedd legislative process, the Committee proposes six recommendations in its report, external as part of its scrutiny, focusing on 'full transparency'.

It urges the Welsh Government to "continue to press the UK Government for clear, systematic changes to the funding process in relation to the structure of UK fiscal events" and to ensure a "fair funding settlement for Wales".

Finance Minister Rebecca Evans says she's "minded to accept" all six recommendations..

Ministers seek approval of the Welsh Government's Third Supplementary Budget, external. It proposes changes to the October Supplementary Budget, external and outlines allocations of a further £2.9bn of revenue and capital resources to Welsh Government departments, made up of reserves and funding from the UK Government. This is an increase compared to the Second Supplementary Budget of 13.3% (excluding Annually Managed Expenditure).

Compared to the Final Budget 2020-21, external total allocations (including Annually Managed Expenditure) to Welsh Government departments, or Main Expenditure Groups (‘MEGs’), have increased by one-third this year. Rising from £19.9bn to £26.5bn.

MSs approve the draft The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2021.

This makes amendments to previous primary and secondary legislation, including that they no longer refer to councils, fire and rescue and National Park authorities as “Welsh improvement authorities”.

MSs approve The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021, external.

They allow a household in an Alert Level 4 area which comprises one or more children and no adults (a child being anyone under the age of 18) to form an extended household with another household.

They also have the following temporary effects (until 12 March 2021)- (i) A household in an Alert Level 4 area that comprises one or more children under the age of one may join another household to form an extended household; and

(ii) Premises in which civil marriage ceremonies and the formation of civil partnerships take place may open to the public to the extent required for the purpose of those ceremonies or formations.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative Angela Burns asks about vaccine uptake amongst care home staff and residents.

Ms Burns also raises concerns from members of the public experiencing problems about cancelling and rearranging appointments for their vaccinations in different health boards and asks what Mr Gething plans to do about it.

Mr Gething says he recognises the "persistent vaccine myths that keep reappearing across the country" and says they have a "constant job of persuasion" to battle vaccine hesitancy.

He says whilst there is a high uptake of vaccines in care homes there is "still more to do".

On appointments, he says he would encourage people to persevere, for example, ring again if people are unable to rearrange appointments over the phone, as the NHS 'will leave no one behind'.

Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth wants to know about publicity and public information - both on signposting the online eligibility form for unpaid carers (now added to priority vaccination group six), and advice on how primary care providers prioritise asthma sufferers in allocating vaccine appointments.

Mr Gething says awareness of the online form is being spread through primary care, public bodies as well as carer organisations.

He says he will make arrangement so the advice is published and people can see how primary care providers are guided in putting their lists together.

We move on to a Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services Vaughan Gething, providing an update on Covid-19 vaccinations.

He says one million people across Wales have had at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, meaning almost 40% of the adult population now have a level of protection from COVID-19.

Today’s data shows 1,007,391 people - or 4 in 10 adults - have received at least their first dose.

192,030 have also had their second dose, equating to 1,199,421 doses administered altogether within the first 13 weeks of Wales’ vaccination programme.

Mr Gething congratulates and thanks all those involved in the rollout but admits there is "still a significant task ahead of us".

Image source, PA

Technical issues slow down Senedd members' attempts to ask questions to deputy minister Jane Hutt.

MS Nick Ramsay jokes of "gremlins in the system".

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price asks the first minister to put on record his view on a councillor suspended from Welsh Labour over a "misogynistic" comment about a Plaid Cymru MS.

Neath Port Talbot council leader Rob Jones was suspended from the party last week pending an investigation after being recorded calling Bethan Sayed a "cow" at a meeting in 2019.

Mr Drakeford says he was "concerned" when he read accounts about what Councillor Jones had said and was "sure he did the right thing" stepping aside from the leadership of Neath Port Talbot council, until the ombudsman inquiry is completed.

Mr Jones has said the recording was made without his knowledge and edited to produce "a damning commentary on me", referring himself to the Public Services Ombudsman, whilst Ms Sayed has described the comment as "despicable."

Adam Price says the recording "reveals the sinister way of going about politics" as Councillor Jones "alludes to favouring projects supported by Labour councillors for public funding."

Mr Price adds: "I've written to the Auditor General, first minister, requesting that he not only investigates the remarks made by Councillor Jones in the recording but also ensures robust checks and balances are in place to safeguard against the potential misuse of public funds for party political purposes in Welsh public authorities."

Conservative group leader Andrew RT Davies asks the first minister about the uncertain future facing the UK's third largest steelmaker Liberty Steel.

Liberty Steel has entered crisis talks with unions, after its main financial backer Greensill Captial, went into administration, putting 5,000 jobs at risk at the steel firm and others.

Liberty Steel owns 12 steel plants in the UK including in Newport.

Mr Davies asks what financial support was available or had been requested by Liberty Steel to secure its operations in Wales.

Mr Drakeford says the boss of the steelmaker's parent company GFG Alliance had written to Wales' Finance Minister Ken Skates, but there was no appeal for additional funding. Instead, he said the letter set out the firm's "strong current trading position" and reinforced its commitment to Wales.

The first minister says the Welsh Government would continue to work with the company in order to secure jobs.

Image source, Reuters