First Minister's Questions: As it happened on 12 September

1. Mark Drakeford takes questions from MSs, for the first time since the summer recess.

Hwyl fawr

The twenty-third FMQs of 2023 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.

Senedd Cymru

RAAC in Welsh buildings

The first minister says "officials are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of all buildings on the Welsh government estate, as well as the wider public domain, to establish whether RAAC is present or likely to be present. Plans are being developed to remediate risk where necessary, and the returns received to date indicate only isolated instances of RAAC identified so far in Wales".

He says the UK government should pay for repair bills because "liabilities that are incurred because of decisions made prior to devolution remain the responsibility of the UK government".

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Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi and Ysgol David Hughes were closed over RAAC concerns

Conwy's Surf Snowdonia

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Mark Drakeford

Conservative Janet Finch-Saunders asks "what discussions has the first minister had regarding the closure of Adventure Parc Snowdonia?"

The world's first inland surf lagoon closed earlier this month. It opened in 2015 with £4m of Welsh government funding.

The first minister replies he has had no formal discussions but his officials "will work with others to secure an alternative future for this outstanding site".

Janet Finch-Saunders says "as part of your co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, there's a real feeling between the industry that there is now a real sense of an anti-tourism agenda. Recent reports show that there are 30 per cent less visitors into Wales, and there's a real threat that more businesses will follow unless you and Plaid Cymru wake up to the fact that the tourism tax could be the final nail in the coffin to our much-valued industry".

The first minister replies, "the most recent figures show a significant increase in visitors to Wales: a 13 per cent increase between April and December 2021 and April and December 2022, and a 35 per cent increase in spend for tourists coming into Wales".

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Adventure Parc Snowdonia announced it was closing with immediate effect

Ffos y Frân mine

Plaid Cymru’s Delyth Jewell raises the issue of the “ongoing coal mining at Ffos y Frân” and expresses concerns about a shortfall of money to do restoration work.

Mr Drakeford says "a planning enforcement notice was served on the site operator by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. The company has submitted an appeal against the notice to the Welsh Ministers. In addition, Coal Action Network have ongoing legal proceedings, and discussion with the courts is currently taking place."

He adds there "is a genuine danger, given the history, that the site might simply be abandoned. If that happens, there are a series of immediate perils that we will have to be alert to. There is the whole potential for flooding, if pumps that currently are on the site are removed or switched off. There is ground stability to be thought of, if machinery that is currently used at the site is removed from it. There are old workings on the site that will need to be attended to. There will be no security on the site if it is simply abandoned."

The UK's biggest opencast coalmine will close on 30 November this year, its operator Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, has said.

It comes after its planning permission ran out in September 2022 and its appeal for more time was refused by the local council. All site employees, of which there are about 180, will be made redundant.

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Coal extraction at Merthyr Tydfil's Ffos-y-Frân mine began in 2007 on a 15-year licence

Newport Wafer Fab

A proposed loss of 100 jobs at the UK's largest chip plant has been blamed on the UK government by the first minister.

He says, "having issued a divestment instruction, the UK government has simply walked away. Now, let us assume for a moment that they had good reason for that decision; what they cannot possibly have thought of as reasonable is to put all those jobs at risk and then to act as though their decision had had nothing to do with what has happened since. And that is how they have acted. They have simply left the mess behind, and that is now being felt in those 100 jobs that will be lost at the site."

Chinese-owned Nexperia was ordered by UK ministers to sell its 86% stake in the Newport site due to national security concerns.

Semiconductors made at Newport Wafer Fab are used in millions of electronic products, from smartphones to household equipment and cars.

The UK government has said it is committed to a new site owner being found.

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What would a UK Labour government do for Wales?

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth points out that the Welsh government says it has £900m less than it was banking on to pay for public services.

He asks what a UK Labour government would do to address the situation. "I think the people of Wales will be looking for assurances that a Labour government would be restoring funding... can the first minister now pledge that, on HS2 and on public sector pay, Keir Starmer will now deliver on his wishes as the leader of the Labour Party in Wales?"

Mr Drakeford replies "the leader of Plaid Cymru knows perfectly well that those are not pledges for me to make".

But he says that a Labour UK government would seek to strengthen the Senedd and would bring "very different prospects for the future" for the people of Wales.

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Rhun ap Iorwerth

30mph to 20mph in Wales

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Andrew RT Davies

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, continues to express concern over the new law coming into force on Sunday that speed limits in built-up areas will be reduced from 30mph to 20mph in Wales.

He refers to "concerns expressed by those in the emergency services" and says "this could have a knock-on effect on economic activity of £8.9 billion."

"Why are you continuing to pursue the policy when it is quite clearly not accepted by the large majority of the people of Wales?" he asks.

The first minister replies "we will continue with the policy, because the policy was voted for by people in Wales in an election, and I can tell you that any change - any change - in this area is often opposed by people before the change comes about. I am quite old enough to remember the introduction of the breathalyser, when people felt that it was perfectly okay for them so spend the day in the pub and then drive home in the car when they were quite unfit to do so."

He says that around 10 lives per year will be saved, as well as saving NHS resources.

Most roads in Wales that are currently 30mph (50km/h) will become 20mph (32kmh), although councils have been able to impose exemptions and have done so.

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Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board's finances

Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd seeks a statement on the financial situation at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

First Minister Mark Drakeford replies "after more than a decade of austerity, the impact of rampant inflation has reduced the value of the budget available to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, as with all other public bodies in Wales. In this financial year, the board predicts a gap of £134 million between the available resources and anticipated expenditure."

Last week, Audit Wales said “while Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board reported that it achieved its duty to break even over a three-year period, there remains uncertainty on the reported outturn arising from the residual impact of the qualifications and uncorrected errors in the 2021-22 accounts. Consequently, the Auditor General was unable to conclude in all material respects that expenditure in 2022-23 was fairly stated and qualified the ‘true and fair’ opinion for the Health Board in 2022-23. He also qualified his ‘regularity’ opinion as the Health Board incurred irregular expenditure and breached its standing financial instructions in making payments to a former interim executive member of the Board.”

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Minimum unit pricing for alcohol

The 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.

Conservative Russell George questions the benefits of minimum unit pricing for alcohol.

First Minister Mark Drakeford replies that "last year, the British Liver Trust, drawing on authoritative advice from the World Health Organisation, concluded that minimum unit pricing is amongst the most effective measures which can be taken to reduce alcohol-induced harm. As the policy is embedded in Wales, we should expect to see increase benefits from its adoption."

Mr George points to data that suggests "people are drinking more frequently, and twice as many people are binge drinking" compared to before minimum pricing was introduced.

The law introducing a minimum alcohol price in Wales came into force in March 2020, forcing retailers to use a formula for working out minimum pricing.

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of First Minister's Questions, the first of the new Senedd term.

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.