The twenty-third FMQs of 2022 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

The first minister confirms that the Welsh Government continues to oppose fracking.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has backed fracking as a way to help boost the UK's domestic gas supplies.

The first minister says, "we will not solve the energy crisis by reverting to ways of supplying energy that have done so much damage to our planet. And it is particularly frustrating to see time, energy and money being diverted in that direction when there is so much that could be done, and done more quickly and done with better effect by investing that time, energy and money in the production of renewable forms of energy generation in which Wales has such potential."

Fracking involves drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at a rock layer in order to release the gas inside.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister says "no opportunity to meet the new prime minister has as yet been forthcoming".

However, he says he has had "several productive conversations" with the Secretary of State for Wales, Sir Robert Buckland.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative Russell George conveys "frustration and anger" among communities in mid Wales about plans by the Wales Air Ambulance Charity regarding the reconfiguration of base locations in Wales.

The first minister replies, "it has long been the position of the Wales Air Ambulance charity that they do not wish to receive direct funding from the Welsh Government, and they do that for very good reasons to do with their own model. They are fiercely independent in that way. I know that they have provided public assurances that none of this is about cost cutting. It is simply about optimising the service that they provide."

Wales Air Ambulance has announced plans to leave its mid Wales base in Welshpool and move crews north.

The charity claimed doing this would allow it to attend more than 500 extra emergencies each year.

Wales Air Ambulance also has bases in Cardiff, Caernarfon and Llanelli.

The first minister criticises "ideological attacks" by the UK government on public service broadcasting.

He cites plans to privatise Channel Four and "the failure to find a proper basis for ensuring that funding of the BBC can be guaranteed into the future".

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price lists schemes in several European countries which reduce transport fares.

He says, "Spain has announced free rail journeys from September until the end of the year. In Germany we’ve had the highly successful €9 a month ticket trialled over the summer, which will now become a €49 a month scheme for the whole of next year, following agreement with the Länder regional governments yesterday. In Austria, we’ve had the climate ticket, which works out at €3, and the Republic of Ireland cut fares by 20 per cent in May."

He calls for similar action in Wales.

The first minister replies, "I’m absolutely aware of the schemes, I see their merits, they do not come cost free, and the Welsh Government’s budget today is worth more than £600 million less in purchasing power than it was in November of last year, when the comprehensive spending review set it.

"So, while I see the merits, I’d need to understand better where the leader of Plaid Cymru thinks the funding for such schemes is to be found within the Welsh Government budget."

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, highlights pressures facing the Welsh NHS.

"There is a cost-of-pain crisis within our NHS. Many people, sadly, in orthopaedics are waiting for procedures for a considerable amount of time; some as long as two years and more," says Mr Davies.

The first minister replies "very long waits in the Welsh NHS continue to fall. Activity in our NHS continues to recover. In the last month for which figures are available, we are back to 97 per cent of all out-patient activity, compared to the month before the pandemic began."

He adds that the "context remains a challenging one" because "1,000 staff in the NHS in Wales are not in work today either because they have Covid themselves or they've been in direct contact with somebody who has."

"Coronavirus has not gone away," warns the first minister, adding that "we saw, earlier this summer, record numbers of people falling ill with the omicron wave".

He stresses that people should accept the invitation to receive the vaccine.

All adults over the age of 50 in Wales will be offered a Covid booster vaccine by the end of November.

The Llywydd Elin Jones begins by paying tribute to former member of the Assembly, Mick Bates, who has died aged 74.

A former teacher and farmer, he was a county councillor in Powys before becoming Assembly Member for Maldwyn between 1999 and 2011.

The Llywydd says "many of us I'm sure will remember Mick who was with us for the first three terms of this Senedd, and he made an important and prominent contribution on issues around sustainability during that period.

"And I'm sure that we would all wish to extend our full sympathies to the family and friends of Mick Bates during this difficult time."

Image source, WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

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

First Minister Mark Drakeford faces questions from MSs for the first time since the summer recess.

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