Vaughan Gething’s eleventh session as first minister comes to a close.
SeneddCopyright: Senedd
Ysbyty Glan Clwyd
The first minister acknowledges that "performance at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd is not where I, the public or the staff would expect it to be. The Welsh government continues to work closely with the health board to drive sustainable improvement that enables patients to access safe and timely health and care services, and we have set clear expectations for improvement."
He was responding to Conservative Darren Millar, who said "Glan Clwyd hospital unfortunately has one of the worst performing emergency departments in the whole of the United Kingdom, with one in four people at the moment waiting more than 12 hours in accident and emergency. Recently I've been contacted by constituents whose family members have spent as long as 48 and even 72 hours waiting for a bed in the hospital. These sorts of times are completely unacceptable, and it seems to be very plain to me that no matter how hard the staff at that hospital work, Glan Clwyd simply does not have the capacity to be able to cope with the needs of the local population."
The first minister says his government "greatly values" the contribution of people from outside Britain working in the NHS and social care sector in Wales.
However, Conservative Altaf Hussain says "as someone born outside Great Britain, who spent their career working in the NHS, I can personally attest to the contributions that overseas doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals and carers make to our health and care system. But, I'm also acutely aware of the downsides of our reliance on overseas workers: namely, we are denying their country of origin of their talent. As a doctor from Kashmir, one of my biggest regrets is the fact that healthcare in my country of birth has continued to decline, with nowhere near enough medics."
Mr Hussain previously worked as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon.
The first minister replies, "we do recruit people from other parts of the world, and we do so in a way that is sustainable and ethical. A good example of that is in Kerala, an Indian state where they deliberately overtrain and oversupply health and care professionals. We have an agreement to recruit 250 nurses and doctors from Kerala because we have an ethical partnership with them, and this is a deliberate choice where people want to work in other parts of the world, where they still have family links to go back, and we're proud of the duality in that."
Plaid Cymru's Mabon ap Gwynfor expresses regret that "the current Conservative government brought in a ban on visas for partners and families of many of these people who come to work in our care sector, which, in turn, causes difficulties not only in the care sector but in the health sector".
SeneddCopyright: Senedd
Altaf HussainImage caption: Altaf Hussain
'Yes or no?'
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap
Iorwerth says his party "says ‘yes’ to HS2 consequentials that could transform transport infrastructure in Wales. We say ‘yes’ to devolving policing and justice to give Wales a more effective justice system. It’s ‘yes’ from us on devolving the Crown Estate to make the most of our natural resources. It’s ‘yes’ on all of these, because we have a can-do attitude, a belief that this is not as good as it gets for Wales, but despite - on all of those issues - even Labour members in Wales in this Parliament agreeing with us, why is Sir Keir Starmer so determined to say ‘no’ to all of them and ‘no’ to Wales in 2024?"
The first minister replies "I think we will have a transformed relationship across the UK if there was a UK labour government clear commitment to ensure that the prime minister doesn’t ignore first ministers across the country, a council of nations and regions".
Mr Gething adds, "it will also see a manifesto to take devolution forward: fairness on Barnett, properly reviewing and updating the fiscal framework, seeing devolution taken forward with the return of our powers and money from former EU funds and the devolution of employment support funding, and, I believe, we will make progress on the devolution of youth justice and probation."
Labour head into the general election hoping to form a government in Westminster for the first time since 2010.
However in Wales the party has been in government since the start of devolution in 1999, responsible for areas including health, education, transport and the environment.
SeneddCopyright: Senedd
Rhun ap IorwerthImage caption: Rhun ap Iorwerth
Starmer 'embarrassed' by Labour Welsh government - Andrew RT Davies
Andrew RT Davies, leader
of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, claims Sir Keir Starmer is "embarrassed" by the record of the Labour Welsh government.
Mr Davies says "there are a record number of people waiting for two years or more to have an operation, 21,600, that has gone up by 1,600 people. We have seen the decline in education standards as marked by PISA, and we have a stagnant economy that pays the lowest wages of any part of the United Kingdom. Is it any wonder Keir Starmer will not highlight what the Welsh government are doing, and that's why he's so embarrassed now in this current campaign about what Welsh Labour have delivered for Wales over the last 25 years?"
First Minister Vaughan Gething replies, "people in Wales have chosen to support Welsh Labour in devolved elections over that period of time because we've never taken them for granted. We now find a situation, after 14 years of the Conservatives, where there is an election. You can have more of the same from the Tories, or you can have change with a UK Labour Party, working in partnership with the Welsh government that I am proud to lead."
On his only visit to Wales during the campaign so far, Sir Keir said he was "proud" of Labour's record in Wales.
Llywydd (presiding officer) Elin Jones says there is a "beautiful symmetry" that Jack Sargeant's first question since the birth of his son Noa is on flooding - specifically on how the Welsh government is working with partners to protect properties in Alyn and Deeside.
The first minister says "the Welsh government works closely with our local authorities across Wales and Natural Resources Wales as lead flood risk management authorities. The 2024-25 flood and coastal erosion risk management programme was published on 19 March, and includes £800,000 for NRW to progress construction work at Sandycroft in Flintshire."
SeneddCopyright: Senedd
Jack SargeantImage caption: Jack Sargeant
Croeso
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of
Vaughan Gething’s eleventh session of First Minister's Questions.
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.
Live Reporting
Alun Jones
All times stated are UK
SeneddCopyright: Senedd 
BBCCopyright: BBC Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan, DenbighshireImage caption: Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire 
SeneddCopyright: Senedd Altaf HussainImage caption: Altaf Hussain 
SeneddCopyright: Senedd Rhun ap IorwerthImage caption: Rhun ap Iorwerth 
SeneddCopyright: Senedd Andrew RT DaviesImage caption: Andrew RT Davies 
SeneddCopyright: Senedd 
SeneddCopyright: Senedd Jack SargeantImage caption: Jack Sargeant
Latest PostHwyl fawr
Vaughan Gething’s eleventh session as first minister comes to a close.
Ysbyty Glan Clwyd
The first minister acknowledges that "performance at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd is not where I, the public or the staff would expect it to be. The Welsh government continues to work closely with the health board to drive sustainable improvement that enables patients to access safe and timely health and care services, and we have set clear expectations for improvement."
He was responding to Conservative Darren Millar, who said "Glan Clwyd hospital unfortunately has one of the worst performing emergency departments in the whole of the United Kingdom, with one in four people at the moment waiting more than 12 hours in accident and emergency. Recently I've been contacted by constituents whose family members have spent as long as 48 and even 72 hours waiting for a bed in the hospital. These sorts of times are completely unacceptable, and it seems to be very plain to me that no matter how hard the staff at that hospital work, Glan Clwyd simply does not have the capacity to be able to cope with the needs of the local population."
NHS and social care
The first minister says his government "greatly values" the contribution of people from outside Britain working in the NHS and social care sector in Wales.
However, Conservative Altaf Hussain says "as someone born outside Great Britain, who spent their career working in the NHS, I can personally attest to the contributions that overseas doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals and carers make to our health and care system. But, I'm also acutely aware of the downsides of our reliance on overseas workers: namely, we are denying their country of origin of their talent. As a doctor from Kashmir, one of my biggest regrets is the fact that healthcare in my country of birth has continued to decline, with nowhere near enough medics."
Mr Hussain previously worked as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon.
The first minister replies, "we do recruit people from other parts of the world, and we do so in a way that is sustainable and ethical. A good example of that is in Kerala, an Indian state where they deliberately overtrain and oversupply health and care professionals. We have an agreement to recruit 250 nurses and doctors from Kerala because we have an ethical partnership with them, and this is a deliberate choice where people want to work in other parts of the world, where they still have family links to go back, and we're proud of the duality in that."
Plaid Cymru's Mabon ap Gwynfor expresses regret that "the current Conservative government brought in a ban on visas for partners and families of many of these people who come to work in our care sector, which, in turn, causes difficulties not only in the care sector but in the health sector".
'Yes or no?'
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth says his party "says ‘yes’ to HS2 consequentials that could transform transport infrastructure in Wales. We say ‘yes’ to devolving policing and justice to give Wales a more effective justice system. It’s ‘yes’ from us on devolving the Crown Estate to make the most of our natural resources. It’s ‘yes’ on all of these, because we have a can-do attitude, a belief that this is not as good as it gets for Wales, but despite - on all of those issues - even Labour members in Wales in this Parliament agreeing with us, why is Sir Keir Starmer so determined to say ‘no’ to all of them and ‘no’ to Wales in 2024?"
The first minister replies "I think we will have a transformed relationship across the UK if there was a UK labour government clear commitment to ensure that the prime minister doesn’t ignore first ministers across the country, a council of nations and regions".
Mr Gething adds, "it will also see a manifesto to take devolution forward: fairness on Barnett, properly reviewing and updating the fiscal framework, seeing devolution taken forward with the return of our powers and money from former EU funds and the devolution of employment support funding, and, I believe, we will make progress on the devolution of youth justice and probation."
Labour head into the general election hoping to form a government in Westminster for the first time since 2010.
However in Wales the party has been in government since the start of devolution in 1999, responsible for areas including health, education, transport and the environment.
Starmer 'embarrassed' by Labour Welsh government - Andrew RT Davies
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, claims Sir Keir Starmer is "embarrassed" by the record of the Labour Welsh government.
Mr Davies says "there are a record number of people waiting for two years or more to have an operation, 21,600, that has gone up by 1,600 people. We have seen the decline in education standards as marked by PISA, and we have a stagnant economy that pays the lowest wages of any part of the United Kingdom. Is it any wonder Keir Starmer will not highlight what the Welsh government are doing, and that's why he's so embarrassed now in this current campaign about what Welsh Labour have delivered for Wales over the last 25 years?"
First Minister Vaughan Gething replies, "people in Wales have chosen to support Welsh Labour in devolved elections over that period of time because we've never taken them for granted. We now find a situation, after 14 years of the Conservatives, where there is an election. You can have more of the same from the Tories, or you can have change with a UK Labour Party, working in partnership with the Welsh government that I am proud to lead."
On his only visit to Wales during the campaign so far, Sir Keir said he was "proud" of Labour's record in Wales.
He has also previously described what Welsh Labour has done as a "blueprint", although he has more recently declined to repeat that word.
'Beautiful symmetry'
Llywydd (presiding officer) Elin Jones says there is a "beautiful symmetry" that Jack Sargeant's first question since the birth of his son Noa is on flooding - specifically on how the Welsh government is working with partners to protect properties in Alyn and Deeside.
The first minister says "the Welsh government works closely with our local authorities across Wales and Natural Resources Wales as lead flood risk management authorities. The 2024-25 flood and coastal erosion risk management programme was published on 19 March, and includes £800,000 for NRW to progress construction work at Sandycroft in Flintshire."
Croeso
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Vaughan Gething’s eleventh session of First Minister's Questions.
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.