Summary

  • Mark Drakeford faces questions from MSs, in a virtual format due to concerns about the Omicron variant.

  1. Hwyl fawrpublished at 14:46 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    The second FMQs of 2022 comes to a close.

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    Zoom
  2. Emergency financial supportpublished at 14:30 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    On emergency financial support for businesses in Wales impacted by the spread of the Omicron virus, the first minister says, "the help that we announced at the end of last year had a timetable that extended to 14 February, and I've discussed this matter with the economy minister, and despite the fact that businesses will be back trading on level zero terms a fortnight before that help is due to end, we've decided not to withdraw any of the money that was set aside to help businesses.

    "So, businesses will be back trading earlier than we originally anticipated, but we will sustain the full £120 million that we announced originally in order to go on providing the most generous level of help available to businesses anywhere in the United Kingdom."

    Omicron
  3. Should the prime minister resign?published at 14:24 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    Plaid Cymru's Delyth Jewell asks whether Mark Drakeford agrees the prime minister should resign "given how much his own alleged actions will have undermined public trust during a pandemic".

    First Minister Mark Drakeford replies "there is raw anger out there at the way in which those people, regarding themselves as somehow above the law that everybody else was being asked to abide by, acted at the very heart of government. Sir Keir Starmer, on behalf of my party, has set out authoritatively our view on the future of the prime minister, and I don't need to add to that."

    Keir Starmer has called for Boris Johnson to resign, saying he had "degraded the office of prime minister".

    Boris Johnson apologised to MPs last week for "mistakes" made over the May 2020 get-together.Image source, UK PARLIAMENT / JESSICA TAYLOR
    Image caption,

    Boris Johnson apologised to MPs last week for "mistakes" made over the May 2020 get-together.

  4. Energy advicepublished at 14:19 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    The first minister sets out steps the Welsh Government is taking to provide vulnerable households with energy advice, including the Nest scheme which offers a range of free, impartial advice.

    He adds, "additional advice and support is offered to vulnerable households in areas at greater risk of fuel poverty through our energy advice services pilot. These areas include Gwynedd and Ynys Mȏn".

    Mark Drakeford
    Image caption,

    Mark Drakeford

  5. New retail strategy to be publishedpublished at 14:10 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    The first minister says a new retail strategy will be published in March, and priorities will include "a clear commitment to fair work policies and career progression in order to attract the workforce that will be needed in the future. We also focus on the importance of local retail services rooted in those local communities and the foundational economy."

  6. Licence fee freeze 'politically motivated'published at 14:03 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    The first minister agrees with Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price that the UK government's decision to freeze the cost of a TV licence for the next two years is "politically motivated".

    Mr Price says it is "designed to throw red meat to the prime minister's dwindling band of supporters and punish a public service broadcaster for doing too good a job of exposing Boris Johnson to the be the liar that he is".

    The first minister replies "I think that the rushed announcement by Twitter of the fate of the BBC is exactly motivated in the way that the leader of Plaid Cymru has said. It is part of a 'dead meat' strategy that this government has embarked upon. If anybody thinks that there is serious thinking that lies behind what has been announced, then I'm afraid they're going to be very badly disappointed."

    Adam Price adds, "doesn't this reinforce the case, if that were need, for devolving broadcasting to Wales? And isn't now the time that we insist on our own voice in our own nation in broadcasting as in our democracy?"

    The first minister replies, "in the co-operation agreement between ourselves and Plaid Cymru we've already agreed that we should strengthen the case for devolving broadcasting, and for the establishment of an authority to help us and others along that journey. When we see the UK Government doing things such as what they've done, in haste and for solely political reasons, then it does strengthen the case that we've set out already."

    A TV licence currently costs £159, with the BBC receiving £3.7bn a year to fund services like TV, radio, the BBC website, podcasts, iPlayer and apps.

    BBC
    Adam Price
    Image caption,

    Adam Price

  7. Call on the first minister to apologise for the impact of restrictionspublished at 13:56 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, calls on the first minister to apologise for the impact of "restrictions on the businesses that proved to be unviable because of those restrictions, and will you, as a gesture of goodwill, increase the level of funding available to businesses so that they can continue going forward creating employment opportunities and creating dynamic businesses the length and breadth of Wales?"

    "I have absolutely nothing to apologise for," responds the first minister, adding "the Conservative Party in Wales has a great deal to apologise for in the way that it has time after time after time sought to deny people in Wales and businesses in Wales the protections that are needed from a global pandemic."

    On financial support, the first minister says "because of the help that is available from the Welsh Government, a pub that lost £16,000 in Wales, if it can establish that that is indeed the case, could recoup all of that from the help that we have now put on the table through the non-domestic rates element and through the economic resilience fund. In England, £4,000 is the maximum that any such business would receive.

    "And, no, I'm not going to offer a blank cheque in saying that we would go beyond that."

    Andrew RT Davies
    Image caption,

    Andrew RT Davies

  8. 'Welcome' to new councilpublished at 13:43 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    First Minister Mark Drakeford gives a "welcome" to the new agreement setting out how the UK and devolved governments will work together.

    "We now need a UK Government capable of discharging its responsibilities rather than one paralysed by the unfolding crises of a deeply dysfunctional Downing Street," he adds.

    The new system will be a three-tiered structure and will formalise a new council, chaired by the prime minister, made up of the heads of the devolved governments.

    Parliaments
  9. Negative repercussions from the Active Travel Action Plan?published at 13:34 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    Asked by Conservative Joel James "what assessment has the Welsh Government made of any negative repercussions from the implementation of the Active Travel Action Plan for Wales", First Minister Mark Drakeford replies "the positive gains far outweigh any negative repercussions".

    Joel James expresses concerns about safety issues:

    "A particular issue that has been raised is that designated cycle lanes are either being incorporated into the pavement, or are adjacent and at the same level as the pavement. For those with eyesight issues or are registered blind, this can be a terrifying situation, especially for people who use white canes, or use guide dogs to help them."

    The first minister says that is "a very important issue, but an issue very well known to the Welsh Government. Shared use of space on the highway, on the pavement, is a matter that has been raised and discussed in our own engagement with groups representing disabled people, including those with issues of vision."

    The Active Travel Action Plan, external sets out expectations in areas ranging from leadership and infrastructure to skills and training.

    An annual progress report monitors how many more adults and children have been encouraged to take up walking or cycling.

    Cyclists
  10. Croesopublished at 13:06 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2022

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the second session of First Minister's Questions in 2022.

    The meeting is being held via videoconference.