The fourth FMQs of 2022 comes to a close.

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On support for refugees arriving in Wales, the first minister claims the nation of sanctuary programme "has led the world in many ways in making sure that we say that people who need help, and who need help by coming to Wales, will find us a welcoming nation, understanding of the traumas that they have experienced and determined to do what we can to help them set their lives on a new path, and by doing that, to make their contribution to Wales."

The first minister reiterates his call for the devolution of powers "for us here to have the opportunity to legislate to have a bank holiday on St David's Day."

He explains, "I think it's in the hands of the Senedd that would be the best place to make those decisions, and they are with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland already, and it's only in Wales that we can't make the decisions for ourselves on that subject.

"And I want to do it that way because I want to see a bank holiday for everyone here in Wales, not just people who work for councils or people working in the public sector, but all of us having an opportunity to celebrate St David's Day".

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister does not miss the opportunity to mention that payments to help people on Universal Credit and other working-age benefits to pay fuel bills will be doubled by the Welsh Government.

Handouts from the Winter Fuel Support Scheme will rise from £100 to £200.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister says there has been a "profound" change in the jobs market during the devolution era.

He explains, "for a long time what we thought the task was was to find jobs for young people to do. And, in future, I think the challenge is going to be to find young people to do the jobs, because we have fewer young people in Wales, we have more people of retirement age.

"You see the skill shortages that there are already in the Welsh economy, and employers are going to have to work harder to attract young people to come into the jobs that they need to be done."

Image source, Getty Images

Plaid Cymru's Mabon ap Gwynfor calls for an inquiry into the "shameful" condition of vascular services in north Wales.

Services were centralised from Ysbyty Gwynedd to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd - about 30 miles away - in April 2019.

First Minister Mark Drakeford says "specialist services have been developed at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, while other vascular services remain at Ysbyty Gwynedd and Wrexham Maelor Hospital."

He says "I don't myself believe that the model, as originally proposed and supported by the board and not opposed by the community health council, was the wrong one. I know there are people who don't agree with that."

He adds, "I distinguish myself between the model, which I think was the right one, and the implementation issues, which have to be put right."

An independent report, by the Royal College of Surgeons, highlights bed shortages and confusion over staffing levels.

In the report, commissioned by Betsi Cadwaladr health board after patients and staff raised fears about the new service, the Royal College of Surgeons makes nine "urgent recommendations to address patient safety risks".

First Minister Mark Drakeford agrees to Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price's request to establish to what extent investors outside Wales are buying farmland to plant trees to offset their carbon footprint.

Mr Price says, "once the agricultural land is lost, it will never come back. Once the carbon credits, so vital in our own journey to net zero, are extracted from Wales, they will never return.

"Will you examine urgently the proposal, again in a Welsh Government-commissioned report from 2014, of a Welsh carbon-credit market, which would mean that credits generated by Welsh forestry could only ever be utilised by entities based in Wales?"

The first minister replies that an expert group has recently "provided recommendations to the Welsh Government, and it has a series of proposals that Ministers were discussing only last week: to reduce payment rates in the new woodland creation scheme for non-farmers, for example, to make sure that the money goes to people who are active farmers on the land here in Wales; the option of reducing payments in the new woodland creation scheme for people getting carbon credits, to deal with the point that the Member raised; and work to define less productive woodland so that there is a future for Welsh farming in which it makes its contribution, through tree planting, to dealing with climate change but does not intrude on land that could be used for productive, commercially saleable food production as well."

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, says the Welsh Government could have made coal-tip safety a priority.

Mr Davies says "there's an awful lot of politics being played by your government in particular when it comes to funding and safety of coal tips, first minister, but the responsibility is devolved.

"It was actually your party in the original devolution settlement that devolved this responsibility, albeit I do accept that there are issues around legacy. Nevertheless, this could be funded and resolved by now.

"The funding for the airport, for example, could have been used on coal tips, some £200 million plus. That is money that you chose to put into another project which could have been used to make coal tips safe in the Valleys."

First Minister Mark Drakeford replies, "the truth of the matter as far as coal tip safety in Wales is concerned is this, that the standards that were required in the 1980s and 1990s are no longer suitable to an era of climate change. We've seen over the last two winters the effect of extreme weather events in valley communities.

"The UK government has a responsibility to put right the legacy that we have seen here in Wales and they have refused to provide a single penny piece. That is the truth of the matter.

"No nonsense about airport money being spent of coal tip remediation will disguise the fact that the responsibility for putting right the legacy that we see in Wales with all the history that we have here in Wales, with all the fear that that engenders in valley communities—it relies on a UK Conservative government, and the answer they give is, 'There's not a penny piece to help.'

The first minister criticises the UK government for its "shameful neglect" of rail infrastructure in Wales.

He says that just 22 miles of the railway in Wales is electrified.

"It is pathetic, and it is the direct result of broken promises" by the Conservatives, he adds.

The UK government's own analysis estimated HS2 would have an overall negative impact on Wales.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it would bring more frequent trains.

HS2 is a high-speed rail line planned to link London with Birmingham, with not a single inch of track laid in Wales.

The Llywydd (presiding officer) 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.

The first question today comes from Buffy Williams, Labour MS for the Rhondda, who asks what support is available to children who have suffered sexual abuse and exploitation.

First Minister Mark Drakeford refers to "the Welsh sexual assault service is led by the NHS, working with the police, social services and specialist third sector organisations. Together they aim to prevent sexual abuse and exploitation of children, to protect child victims and to support abused children into recovery."

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has said authorities were failing to collect data which would help identify paedophiles.

It found signs of abuse in six areas but police were often unable to provide evidence on the extent of the problem.

In its 18th report, IICSA examined abuse in St Helens, Tower Hamlets in London, Swansea, Durham, Bristol and Warwickshire.

Image source, IICSA

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

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