The next item on the agenda is the business statement and announcement, and I call on Jane Hutt.

Diolch yn fawr. I’ve made several changes to this week’s business. The First Minister will make a statement, shortly, on our priorities for Government. This will be followed by a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children on the child practice review on the death of Dylan Seabridge. The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport will then make a statement on the new treatment fund. And, to allow time for these statements to be made, the statement on Wales’s compound semiconductor cluster will be issued as a written statement.

Turning to tomorrow, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure will make a statement on the Circuit of Wales, immediately after oral Assembly questions. Business for the first three weeks of the autumn term is as shown on the business statement and announcement, found among the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

I thank the business manager for her statement of business. I’m particularly grateful for the changes to business today to allow an oral statement on the death of Dylan Seabridge, one of my constituents, and an issue on which I raised an urgent question some time ago, asking for such a statement. I’m glad that we have the review and are able to look at it later on.

Can I ask the Minister to look at two recent events that I think deserve a response from the Welsh Government? The first is today’s publication by the Committee on Climate Change—a risk assessment evidence report on adaptation for climate change. It shows very clearly that the United Kingdom as a whole, but Wales in particular, risks considerable economic damage due to the fact that we have poor quality infrastructure. Professor Krebs, who is the chairman of the Adaptation Sub-Committee, and is well known, of course, to us in Wales states that Wales is one part of the country with a lot of poor housing stock, and we need to look at how we make those homes more resilient. On the other hand, he also says that the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 gives us a good framework to work on this. But, taken together, I wonder if we could have a statement from the Government about how the Government intends to respond to the Committee on Climate Change’s report as the Westminster Government is obliged to respond formally and to take it on board. I think it would be appropriate if the Welsh Government were to respond in a similar fashion to take it, if you like, as a statutory kind of report and to respond in those ways, and for that to be, perhaps, part of the work that the Government takes forward by means of statement, but then by means of committee work, as committees develop their work and their response in this Assembly.

The second issue I’d like a further statement from the Government on is the issue of overspend by two of our health boards—Hywel Dda Local Health Board and Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board: some £50 million now in the past financial year. We’ve had a statement of fact by the Cabinet Secretary. That’s fair enough, but I’d like a statement of what’s going to be done. If I can remind the Government of what was said in the Finance Committee at the time of review of the National Health Service Finance (Wales) Act 2014, which I remember being taken through this Assembly, when the then Minister, Mark Drakeford, said in response to questioning from the Finance Committee:

‘I am reluctant to open the Pandora’s box of unplanned surpluses and deficits. Planned surpluses and deficits are what this regime is about. It’s about agreeing with health boards when they need to overspend in year 1 to make sensible investment decisions that then release revenue in years 2 and 3 or, sometimes, underspend in year 1 because there’s a big project that they want to be able to take forward in year 2. Planned deficits, I think, are firmly within the sight of three-year plans. I wouldn’t want the idea to get around in the health service that you can rack up unplanned surpluses or deficits—’.

Well, that idea is certainly well around the health service, certainly in two of the health boards, which I understand are still not fit enough to be put on the three-year finance framework, which the NHS finance Act foresaw. Now, considering that that Act was fast-tracked through the Assembly, without Stage 1 scrutiny, it is very remiss of the Government if it hasn’t been able to deliver on the ambitions of that Act to ensure that all our health boards are now on three-year planning, and are delivering on that three-year planning, and are not overspending in the way that they are.

So, as well as that statement of fact that we’ve already had, can we have a more thorough statement and perhaps a debate by the Government on the issues of these two health boards, and why the NHS finance Act is not working to put NHS finance in Wales on a more sustainable footing?

Well, I thank Simon Thomas for his two questions on the business statement. I’m looking at the first question. The Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs will be very keen to respond to this all-important report that was published today on climate change. It’s welcome that they recognise the position of Wales in that report. Of course, she will be responding to that. Of course, in terms of the adaptation and the way we’ve responded, for example, to flooding, which was a key message from that report, she will be able to provide a full response on the ways in which we’re already meeting some of those recommendations. It is welcome that the well-being of future generations legislation is recognised in that report. So, she will issue a written statement at this stage, as we move into recess, and I’m sure it will become a matter for further consideration at committee and, in the future, in the autumn term Assembly.

On your point about the two health boards that you alluded to in terms of their cash situation, again, whether I can build on the factual points that the Minister for health, well-being and sport has made—. But, again, just to clarify: cash assistance of £23.9 million was provided to Hywel Dda UHB in 2015-16 to enable them to meet ongoing cash commitments such as payroll and payments to HMRC. It’s not additional funding. It will be repayable in the future. No additional cash assistance was provided to Betsi Cadwaladr in 2015-16. Of course, the Member will be aware that the overspend in the two health boards was managed by holding back on central Welsh Government expenditure so that the total Welsh Government health and social services budget was able to break even in 2015-16.

Leader of the house, I was going to ask you if it was possible to have an update on Welsh language standards, but I see that the relevant Minister has had the power of telepathy and beaten me to it. However, I have read his written statement that was issued at lunchtime today, and it does not contain a timetable for bringing forward the necessary secondary legislation. I think that, as Members, we do need some decent notice of this. I’m sure the Welsh Government realises that we need time to scrutinise these essential regulations to avoid the situation we found ourselves in, I think, just before the Easter recess of the last Assembly. I note that, in the Minister’s written statement, he hopes to bring those particular regulations back to the Assembly by the end of this year. Actually, I think we were expecting them before the end of this term. So, if a revised statement is possible, that would be very welcome. And, if such a revised statement would be forthcoming, perhaps it could include an explanation as to why those regulations weren’t before us before recess.

Well, of course, you have got the opportunity this afternoon, Suzy Davies, to question Alun Davies on his statement on Welsh language policy priorities.

I’m sure you will join me in congratulating Professor Maria Hinfelaar on being installed as the vice-chancellor of Wrexham Glyndŵr University last Thursday, and on their achieving above the UK average for full-time first degree leavers achieving graduate-level employment. If call for two statements—first, on educational provision for young adults with autistic spectrum conditions and learning difficulties. I learned at the weekend that colleges making provision for vocational pathways in education for these young students had received a letter from the Welsh Government stating that funding for courses would be reduced from three years to two, unlike the referrals they receive from England, which are still three years, and despite concern among such colleges that this will severely impact on the outcomes for the students concerned.

Secondly, and finally, I call for a statement on epilepsy. At lunchtime, I hosted an Epilepsy Aware event, celebrating the fact that the charity has been providing services for families and carers for 30 years. But we heard that, although potentially 70 per cent of people with epilepsy can have their seizures controlled with optimal treatment, advice and support, only 52 per cent currently have such control, with great costs, both human and financial; that over 40 per cent of deaths and 59 per cent of child deaths could be avoided with better management; that there are unequal opportunities in health, education, leisure and employment; that there is inequality of provision across Wales; and that there is a need for a public campaign on what to do if someone has a seizure, educating people on how simple actions can save lives. There is, as I know—or there has been in previous Assemblies—a Welsh Government epilepsy strategy. But these problems have been highlighted in 2016, and this community, I think, deserves a statement from the Welsh Government, accordingly.

Well, Mark Isherwood, you do raise two important points. The first one, of course, we will be—. The Minister has issued a written statement on the additional learning needs Bill and, of course, has incorporated as well how we are going to take forward and handle issues relating to the all-important issue of education and young adults with additional learning needs, and also in particular in relation to autism.

Now, on your second point, on epilepsy, of course, it is important, when we have events that Members attend, that we are updated on issues, but we have a strong, well-monitored epilepsy strategy, which of course the Minister for health, well-being and sport will be updating.

Business Minister, I would like to request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs on the Welsh Government support for farmers under the Glastir agri-environment scheme. Now, over the past month, I’ve been alerted to a large number of businesses having received letters from Welsh Government demanding the repayment of thousands of pounds based upon accusations that they have failed to undertake work as part of the terms of their Glastir contracts. Now, I would say, even the very best-run businesses in the world—and I should say I do believe farmers are excellent business people—cannot operate to their full potential when the Government department responsible appears to want to attack, deride and fine businesses the maximum amount of money at every possible opportunity for making minor errors on highly complex forms. Errors are made when dealing with complex forms, as has been demonstrated perfectly by Welsh Government this year. Almost 90 per cent of appeals against Welsh Government mapping errors have been successful or partially successful. So, in other words, in these cases, the Welsh Government error rate was 90 per cent. So, I would be grateful if you could ask the Cabinet Secretary to bring forward a statement at the earliest opportunity on the Glastir scheme. I appreciate that next week we have the Royal Welsh Show, so this would be an opportunity to provide that statement, which will commit to supporting Welsh farm businesses by adopting a proportionate approach in which leniency is applied where minor errors are made, incorrectly.

I’m sure that Russell George will agree that all publicly funded schemes, such as Glastir, do require that rigorous monitoring before payment can be made.

Thank you, Minister.