We now move to questions from the party leaders, and I first call the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew R.T. Davies.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, with all the politics that are going on in the country at the moment, with changing leaderships in other legislatures, and the fallout from the Brexit referendum, some of the bread-and-butter issues do tend to get looked over. And I’d like to draw your attention to the Bliss report that was brought forward last week, by the charity, which I think is a vital document that I hope your Government will study with care, because it does offer a real route-map to developing neonatal services here in Wales. One of the findings in that report showed that only 20 per cent of neonatal units had enough nurses to staff the cots according to national standards. Now, there have been improvements over time to neonatal units in Wales, but they are considerable—2008, 2010, and 2011, the report points to. Can you commit, in this Assembly session, to addressing the staffing problems that this report clearly identifies: that only 20 per cent of units have enough staff to man the cots according to national standards?

Well, the neonatal network works with health boards to provide flexible, responsive staffing to meet the fluctuating needs for specialised neonatal services and to address any shortcomings in staffing levels. To support the development of our workforce, we have announced an £85 million-package of investment in the education and training of healthcare professionals in Wales, including neonatal staff. And, of course, the findings of the Bliss report will be used by the neonatal network to help all units to reflect on, and plan for, any changes for the future.

I appreciate that detailed answer, and it is a road map of sorts. But I think one thing that would be really appreciated is knowing how, in this Assembly, we will measure your success—going from 20 per cent to 50 per cent of units having enough staff, or, indeed 100 per cent of units having enough staff. Because what is key here is identifying the road to success, in getting the numbers up in the neonatal units. So, can you give us a timeline when the script that you read there is actually acted on and when we will see more staff in the neonatal units providing that vital service?

Well, I expect those numbers to grow over the course of the next five years, and I expect every neonatal unit to be properly staffed in that time. It is true to say that recruitment has been a challenge; it will continue to be a challenge in the light of the vote of a fortnight ago. But we will continue to say to those who want to come to work in Wales that they are welcome, as well as, of course, looking to train new specialists ourselves.

One of the issues that was identified in the report is the retention of staff. I mean, very often, we do focus on attracting new staff into the health service, but, in particular on neonatal units, it is the ability to retain staff once you’ve attracted them into the unit. In particular, 40 per cent of mothers will suffer postnatal depression and who will have an episode on these units. Ultimately, only five of the units can actually offer support for postnatal depression. Now, when you look at those numbers—40 per cent of expectant mothers will suffer an episode of postnatal depression and only five units can offer that support—that’s a clear area that really does need detailed work undertaken on behalf of your Government and the health boards. What assurances can you give the Assembly today, and Bliss in particular as a charity that has a special interest in this field, that this area will be given the attention it deserves and we will see progress so that that support can be offered in all units, wherever those units exist in Wales?

Well, I can say that the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee are working with local services in order to look to provide the services that people would expect. We did announce last year that new perinatal mental health services would be set up across Wales. They are developing well, with 30 new specialist staff being recruited, backed by £1.5 million of new investment.

The leader of the UKIP group, Neil Hamilton.

Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. A yw'r Prif Weinidog wedi gweld bod cydgwmni mwyaf Ewrop, Siemens, yn cyfarfod heddiw, neu’r penwythnos yma, yn y Cotswolds i lunio ei strategaeth ôl-Brexit, ac y bydd Joe Kaesar, prif weithredwr Siemens yno? Mae wedi dweud bod Siemens wedi ymrwymo'n llawn i'r DU, beth bynnag fydd yn digwydd. Mae'n dweud,

Rydym ni yma ar gyfer yr hirdymor...gan fod y DU yn lle da i gyflawni busnes.

Mae hefyd yn dweud ei fod wedi galw am i synnwyr cyffredin gario'r dydd o ran tariffau. Dyna fyrdwn yr ydym ni’n ei glywed bob dydd gan ffederasiwn diwydiant yr Almaen. A wnaiff ef ymuno â mi i groesawu'r ffaith ei bod yn ymddangos bod prosiect ofn wedi newid yn brosiect gobaith erbyn hyn?

I saw the report, but, in common with a number of businesses that I’ve met over the course of the past week and beyond, access to the single market is now crucial for them. They are reassured that the position is stabilising within the UK, as they see it, but the next big question for them will be: will there be free access to the single market without tariffs?

I wholly agree with the First Minister on that. Free trade is obviously very sensible for both sides, because we have a massive trade deficit with Germany and it’s very much in their interests that there should be free trade within the EU. Trade is mutually beneficial to both sides, whether you have a surplus or a deficit. But in a spirit of constructive co-operation, will the First Minister agree with me that we need, in Wales, to beef up our relationship with Germany and to put more resource into our connections through the German industry federation, the German Länder and with the federal Government to encourage further trade with Germany and also to take advantage of the political clout that Germany is clearly going to have in the EU in the years to come? A German commitment to free trade in the EU is the best way that we can get what we both want.

The leader of UKIP seems to be saying that, with the UK out of the EU, we need to get Germany to do the work for us in the EU, which is a curious scenario, may I say? The only model that exists that offers free access to the single market is the European economic area model. There is no other model. That has with it, of course, connotations in terms of the free movement of people, but there’s nothing else on the table at the moment. For me, access to the single market is an absolute red line as far as Wales is concerned. He asked a question about our relationship with Germany. Germany is a major investor in the Welsh economy, we have good relationships with German commercial organisations, and one of the issues that I am examining now is how we beef up our offices overseas, whether we should look to increase staffing in the existing offices, or whether we should open new offices. It’s a difficult balance to strike. We have had work done by the Public Policy Institute for Wales on that and we’ve listened to Ireland. They have a similar dilemma to us because of their limited resources and their size as well. But we will look to increase the Welsh presence now, as we have done over the past few years, in markets that are important to us.

Well, I welcome that response. But turning to a different matter, after today, the First Minister will be unique in the United Kingdom, because we will have a woman Prime Minister in the UK, and we have a woman First Minister in Scotland and a woman First Minister in Northern Ireland. Does he look forward to the day when he can make way for a woman to replace him in this Assembly?

What I can say to the leader of UKIP is that ‘The Guardian’—I’m not sure that’s a paper that he reads often—a few days ago said that it would be the case that women would now be heads of Government across the UK. I have to say that that was corrected by ‘The Guardian’, saving me, hopefully, from radical surgery. [Laughter.]

The leader of the opposition, Leanne Wood.

Diolch, Lywydd. I very much look forward to the day when Wales is presided over by a woman First Minister. First Minister, tomorrow there will be a new Prime Minister, who says she intends to implement the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. Now, Plaid Cymru’s view is that the next Prime Minister must implement the pledges that were made to people in Wales by the ‘leave’ campaign, even if she comes from the other side of the debate. We want to see an official Welsh negotiating position to be agreed by this Assembly and on her desk as soon as is possible. First Minister, when I asked you last week, you failed to commit to publishing a formal position or to having it debated and formally approved by this Assembly. Whilst I would accept that the new Prime Minister is coming into office much sooner than expected, can you confirm that you will aim to come to an agreed official negotiating position and that you will press the new Prime Minister for Wales to have a direct role in negotiations as was offered by David Cameron?

Yes, I can. I expect that promise to be honoured. We will of course have a twin-track approach. We’ll have our own negotiating team based in Brussels to see what we can achieve via that route as well. It’s complementary to the UK route. There are two issues that are red lines for us: firstly, free access to the single market—that cannot be compromised on—and, secondly, that every penny that has been lost through European funding should be made up by the UK Government in accordance with that promise given, not, it’s right to say, by the future Prime Minister, but by many in her party.

Thank you, First Minister. You’ll recall last week, when we discussed this, that I suggested that you needed to have a word with your Westminster Members of Parliament, and that you needed to tell them to get a grip and get on with their jobs. Last night the amendments to the Wales Bill were again debated in the House of Commons, and your MPs—the ones, at least, who turned up—abstained again on Welsh Government policy, this time in relation to the devolution of policing. They did exactly the same last week, abstaining on Welsh Labour Government policy to create a legal jurisdiction. How come your Labour MPs have no problem supporting policing powers for greater Manchester but can’t bring themselves to support the devolution of policing to Wales? Why are your MPs letting the Tories off the hook in this way, and how can you defend their behaviour, First Minister?

Well, it’s a matter of timing rather than principle, but our position is very, very clear. The situation that we will face in years to come is that there may be very different sets of criminal law in Wales compared to England. It will be possible, for example, for somebody to be arrested in Wales for an offence that’s not an offence in Wales but is an offence in England. It will be possible for somebody to serve a sentence for a crime committed in Wales that isn’t a crime in England, potentially. That’s nonsensical as far as the jurisdiction is concerned. It is also not sustainable to be in a situation where it would be a matter for the people of Wales to decide what offences they wish to create, but to have no say at all on how those offences are policed and enforced, and that remains the position of this Government.

That’s not an issue of timing, First Minister. There is an issue of principle here.

Okay, so, the Wales Bill is a matter that may not be of overriding priority for your MPs, but the future of the steel industry is critical. Wales without a steel industry is not a Wales that I am prepared to contemplate. The suspension of Tata Steel’s sale process is of significant concern. Now, the proposed joint venture could lead to cost-cutting measures and a reduction in UK steel capacity. That’s according to the analysis by the investment bank, Jefferies. If that merger proceeds we need a cast-iron guarantee that there is a future for steel making in Port Talbot and the other Welsh sites. How will you secure such a guarantee? And can you explain why there’s no statement on this week’s agenda on the suspension of the sales process? Will you also confirm that you’ll continue to provide support to the employment and management buy-out bid, and that you’ll press on Tata the importance of retaining the secondment arrangement for senior managers to work on that bid?

Well, two things: the Secretary is meeting with the management buy-out team today and, of course, he has an urgent question that we were content to accept, of course, in relation to the events of the weekend. I did have a senior official on Friday—[Interruption.] I had a senior official on Friday based in Mumbai who has reported back to me. The issue now for Tata is this: we have put a financial package on the table. We expect there to be a quid pro quo, and that does mean that we need to see conditions in terms of guarantees of future jobs and guarantees in terms of a commitment for a specified period of time, for several years. We do, however, need to see further progress on the pensions issue, over which we have no control, and indeed the issue of energy prices. So, we have a package on the table that we believe Tata would be content with. We need to make sure that we can demonstrate to the people of Wales that that package will achieve what they would expect, but we do need to see progress now, particularly on the pensions issue.