Waiting times top priority says new Welsh first minister

Cutting waiting times will be the top priority for the Welsh government, Vaughan Gething said in his mission statement to the Senedd.

Exactly a month since being elected, he said he would focus "on what matters most to people's daily lives".

Conservatives and Plaid Cymru attacked the Welsh government's record on NHS performance, saying too many people were waiting for treatment.

Waiting times shot up after the pandemic, hitting record highs.

Mr Gething defeated his rival Jeremy Miles in the Welsh Labour leadership contest in March.

• Welsh hospital wait times improve for second month

• Gething denies government influence can be bought

In the Senedd, Mr Gething said: "It's clear that the NHS, and reducing waiting times, is a top priority for the people of Wales, and the same is true for us as a government."

He warned about an ongoing budget squeeze and the impact on services, saying the government would not make "impossible commitments without complete answers on how they are to be funded".

It came a day after he defended cuts to Wales' national museums, saying it was a result of putting the NHS first at a time when funding was tight.

His statement to the Senedd did not mention the government's plans to expand the size of the Senedd from 60 to 96 members.

Instead he concentrated on public services, health and education, public transport and jobs.

He said: "We know that it has never been more important to ensure that all of our resources across government are focused on what matters most to people's daily lives."

Vaughan Gething became first minister last month after winning the Welsh Labour leadership contest

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said nearly 25,000 people had waited more than two years for NHS treatment.

"That, surely, has to be a bull's-eye that you want to hit and bring down," he said.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said Labour had failed to come up with an adequate NHS workforce plan.

"For too long, when targets have been set in pursuit of delivery, too many have been changed or dropped altogether, particularly when it comes to the NHS in recent times," he said.