Item 2 on the agenda is the business statement and announcement and I call on Jane Hutt.

Llywydd, I’ve added an oral statement on the Diamond review of higher education and student finance arrangements in Wales to today’s agenda. The Business Committee has agreed to reduce time allocated to Assembly Commission questions tomorrow. Business for the next three weeks is as shown on the business statement announcement, found among the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Leader of the house, is it possible to have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health, please, in relation to the situation that the accident and emergency department at the University Hospital of Wales found itself in on Sunday? I appreciate these pressures are across the United Kingdom and I appreciate they do spike at certain times of the year, but when you do have a paramedic saying that this particular event has driven him to the edge and

‘I fully intend to seek alternative employment as I am mentally beaten’, that really should cause huge alarm bells to ring in Cathays Park and, indeed, in the Cardiff and Vale health board area, which is responsible for the provision of the A&E department, and obviously the ambulance trust, which had 12 of their vehicles parked up outside the A&E department on Sunday afternoon. I’m not trying to say that this doesn’t happen in other A&E departments, but this is the largest A&E department in Wales, and when you have 12 ambulances and you have paramedics and ambulance staff quoted in the press as saying that they are mentally beaten by the experience that they are going through, this really does call for action from the Welsh Government and, in particular, the Cabinet Secretary to work with the health board to deal with these spikes in demand, so that people do not feel that when they go into work, they find themselves mentally beaten.

As you say, there is significant pressure across the UK in terms of calls on our accident and emergency services, and the impact that that has on ambulance services. But as the Member will be aware, and as Members across the Chamber will be aware, we do have escalation plans. All health boards have escalation plans that are used when there’s rising demand, particularly when there are demands above expected levels. And the health board did respond to this increase in demand using those plans, in line with their level 4 status. They managed, of course, throughout the day in line with the health board’s responsibilities. There were exceptional pressures on Sunday. Importantly, attendances were a third higher on Sunday than the previous day. This did require a broader range of actions to take place to support both patients and front-line staff. In fact, the health board does remain at level 4 status, but once this reduces it de-escalates its status. But I would also, finally, say that despite the pressures, ambulance response rates in the Cardiff area for life-threatening calls were at 80 per cent on Sunday, and this included 20 in one hour in terms of arrivals. We must pay tribute to the staff who, of course, are managing these pressures.

There have been allegations that the Ministry of Defence has conducted a sham competition for a £3 billion contract to supply it with armoured vehicles. It is alleged that the process has been skewed in favour of the German company Rheinmetall, and its Boxer vehicle, which will cost up to 40 per cent more than the Welsh alternative constructed in Gwent. Can we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for the economy or, indeed, the First Minister, to hear what representations have been made by Welsh Government to the MOD regarding this process, and the attempts made by the Welsh Government to secure a level playing field in this particular case?

Steffan Lewis raises an important point in terms of our relationship in terms of powers and responsibilities for procurement with the MOD contract that, of course, we would seek to influence within the responsibilities and powers that we have to make sure that it is indeed a level playing field. But, obviously, this is something that the Cabinet Secretary will take a note of in terms of the point the Member was raising this afternoon.

Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the floods over the weekend, including many in my own constituency in the Llynfi, Garw and Ogmore valleys, and on lower lying areas in Heol-y-Cyw, Pencoed and elsewhere. And our thanks and praise go to all those who’ve helped respond to the emergency and to the clean-up, which is ongoing.

Much of this is as a result of flash flooding, which is a more regular event now, as our weather patterns change due to global warming. It’s affecting areas previously not thought liable to repeat flooding, but I’ve met residents where this is their third flood event in a decade, causing problems with unaffordable insurance, as well as immediate distress and devastation with their homes and belongings wrecked by flood water, mud and mess. Would the business manager seek a statement on flood resilience—and I notice the Cabinet Secretary is here and she’s very aware of this—so we can explore what more can be done at a community level, at a street level and at a household level to build greater resilience to these flood events? And can we include within that statement the need to develop further local flood forums, so that local people are part of the solution to this increasingly regular and increasingly traumatic river and surface-water flood events?

Huw Irranca-Davies raises an important point, and I’d like to add my thanks to the services that came out to support constituents in my area who were flooded, including many volunteers as well, such as the Cardiff and Vale Rescue Association, who played their part as well. The written statement was produced by Lesley Griffiths, the Cabinet Secretary, yesterday, and she will want to give an update on this statement. I think it’s important, if you look at that written statement, to take note of Floodline—I will, for the record, say it’s 0345 9881188—and the fact that further local authority investigations are taking place to confirm the numbers affected, and also to determine the cause of flooding in each location.

In terms of allocation of funding for flood alleviation, of course, we have a good record on this, but I know that the Cabinet Secretary will want to take account of this occurrence, these flooding events over the weekend, on the night of Saturday, 19 November, which has caused devastation, and not just in terms of the devastation to individuals in terms of their homes, which is the worst, but the inconvenience in terms of business, the impact on roads, rail, schools and everything else that has been recorded from yesterday.

Can I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children on the support for a project that previously benefited from the Communities First programme? The Dowlais Engine House is a project open to children and young people of all abilities and provides an inclusive range of sporting activities, dance and drama, reading and homework clubs, and encourages healthy lifestyles. The project supports young people needing to gain independence, confidence and life skills in their deprived communities, but they’re very concerned that it could come to an end, due to the end of the Communities First programme. When will the Welsh Government be in a position to reassure groups such as the Dowlais Engine House that they will continue to get funding from this Government in the future in Wales? Thank you.

The Member does raise an important point about a project in his region, which clearly has beneficial outcomes. You will know that the communities Secretary is seeking views on the impact of the possible phasing out of Communities First, and really seeking views, of course, for communities’ representatives to respond to, so that they can have their say in terms of those areas of investment that are making a beneficial impact.

I said last week in this Chamber that class A drugs were being sold openly within a stone’s throw of this Assembly, and that a 13-year-old girl, in a public meeting, said that she was frightened to go out because of the drug dealers. We’re in a situation where front-line police officers don’t have the resources to do the job properly and the commissioner is invisible. When will the Government make a statement about this and a statement of intent to do something about it?

Secondly, there’s another matter, which came up in the Public Accounts Committee last week, when it was revealed that the instrument landing system at St Athan is not fully operational. You’ve had four years to get it operational fully and it’s still not happened. It was revealed, furthermore, that, as a result of this, a contract with EasyJet worth millions of pounds has been lost. Thirdly, it was confirmed that Cardiff Aviation has paid no rent. Now, without a landing system, I don’t blame them, quite frankly.

There’s also another issue about due diligence and the finance through Finance Wales. So, when will the Government be making a statement about this most important matter, which you’ve had four years to sort out and you still haven’t?

On your first question, you will be aware, of course, I know, of our substance misuse delivery plan and that’s the delivery plan from 2016 to 2018, ‘Working Together to Reduce Harm’, which is precisely why that delivery plan is so important, in terms of answering your question. It does explain what the Welsh Government’s doing over the next two years to improve the outcomes of those affected by substance misuse. Of course, it is important that we look at this in terms of the review of what works, and I responded to this question from the Member last week. We do have to look at new ways of reducing harm to both individuals, as you’re described, and also to communities. So, this isn’t straightforward, but the substance misuse delivery plan is addressing this specifically.

On your second point, I’m interested that this was an issue that’s being considered by the Public Accounts Committee and I think that’s the place for this to be considered. If this is an issue that is of relevance and importance to us as a Government—and I’m sure the MOD comes into it as well as far as St Athan is concerned, and the particular system that you mentioned—this is something that, of course, the Cabinet Secretary would want to respond to. I’m sure he will have an opportunity in questions to the Cabinet Secretary in due course.

I call for a single statement, or even better a debate in Government time, on the changing Welsh Government fuel poverty strategy. A number of small matters I’ll touch on, which are significant for many. In light of the Welsh Government’s review of building regulations, we need to explore Welsh Government’s position in respect of energy performance certificates, which can go up or down solely based on the cost of the fuel, and not on whether the actual efficiency of the home has improved. We need to know whether the Welsh Government believes it should be using cost or carbon savings, or both, as the scoring method for its energy efficiency schemes, particularly if they’re looking to address fuel poverty.

The Welsh Government’s consultation on the future demand-led fuel poverty scheme proposes to introduce age requirements to the eligibility criteria, alongside property characteristics and financial criteria, effectively removing working-age households from eligibility unless a member has certain health conditions. The Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru are concerned that this will deny help to many households who would currently otherwise be eligible, and risk them being caught in fuel poverty. So, we need to know the Welsh Government’s reasoning for so many, potentially, fuel households losing eligibility, and what support will be available to those households to reduce energy costs and have a warm home?

The Welsh Government consultation also proposes to remove the private rented sector from eligibility, arguing that the Welsh Government’s home improvement loan scheme can fill the gap. But the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru are concerned that landlords will not be motivated to take out these loans, leaving private rented tenants without a source of help if they’re in fuel poverty. So, we need to know what data the Welsh Government has on the uptake of home improvement loans by private landlords for energy efficiency measures so far, and an explanation of how it will incentivise landlords to take out such loans in the future.

Ultimately and finally, we need to know where the intervention and prevention agenda fits into this, not only improving lives, but saving money for statutory services. And where are the well-being of future generations indicators that include energy efficiency?

Mark Isherwood does raise a question that, of course, is being considered through consultation. That is the way in which we certainly want to take forward Government policy: as a result of consultation. Particularly consulting and engaging with those who are experts in the field, and of course that’s what the Cabinet Secretary will be doing.

May I ask for a statement by the Cabinet Secretary on the intention of Severn Trent Water to buy Dee Valley Water? There are concerns about the 190 jobs—some of which are to be lost, and others are to be transferred to England. We’ve also heard about the 80 local companies that are part of the supply chain of the Dee Valley Water Company, and I wanted to ask about their future too. This also raises a broader question as to who actually owns one of our most important natural resources as a nation. Severn Trent, of course, is buying a right to a monopoly here in terms of water services and you have to ask where the consumer voice is in all of this. Doesn’t the consumer have a right to say what sort of company or enterprise looks after their water services? And so it’s not just a matter for shareholders, but also a matter for all of the company’s customers.

I have to say that the First Minister’s response to a question from the Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, when he suggested that the Government is going to correspond with the companies on this, was shocking, to say the least, because this has been public since last week. We need an urgent statement, because if that is the pace of the Government’s response to the situation, that’s quite unacceptable.

It does go back to—as the First Minister said in response to a question from the leader of Plaid Cymru—what intervention, what levers and what powers we’ve got. Of course, he did mention the possible prospect of the devolution of those powers. It is obviously of huge significance and importance, and the First Minister did say that in response to the question this afternoon. I’m sure he will want to share with Members the way in which he, and, indeed, the Cabinet Secretary, is able to make our views known, and that’s really all we can do at this stage.

Leader of the house, as Huw Irranca-Davies highlighted in his comments to you earlier, the last few days of heavy rain have seen flooding across the country. They’ve also seen the usual and predictable seasonal flooding of the A4042 at Llanellen bridge in my constituency. This is a major trunk route. The annual flooding causes much inconvenience to commuters and local residents, and it could be avoided if changes were made to drainage of neighbouring fields and, indeed, to the structure of the road itself. It’s an ongoing problem. Could we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for infrastructure and transport on the winter resilience of our trunk road network and, perhaps, a review of trouble spots such as that I’ve outlined on the A4042 at Llanellen bridge so that necessary improvements can be planned for so that our trunk road network is able to meet the winter challenges as best as it possibly can?

Thank you, Nick Ramsay, and I have already, in answer to Huw Irranca-Davies, said that the Cabinet Secretary will make a statement. I think it’s appropriate for her to make a statement following her written statement when some of those investigations have taken place by local authorities and by Natural Resources Wales so that we can respond in terms of what may be in the planning in terms of flood alleviation works. We know that, yesterday, there were a lot of blocked culverts. Also, it’s the nature of the incident, which I think Huw Irranca referred to, that had a particularly devastating impact, not just on homes and households, but on our infrastructure. So, the Cabinet Secretary will come back with a statement following that review of the incidents over the weekend.

I wonder if I could ask for a statement from the health Secretary, or possibly from the Minister for public health, about the provision of publicly accessible defibrillators in Wales. In particular, I’d like know about Wales’s response to the European Restart A Heart Day initiative and what support and advice Welsh Government has been giving to community councils about the options for them to be able to provide defibrillators. The Minister for public health will be familiar with the excellent example set by community councils and other organisations in Gower in my region, as, of course, it’s also her constituency. Could the statement also outline how much training cover is available across Wales? Obviously, this is on offer from a number of organisations, sometimes at no cost, but it would be helpful to know where the geographical gaps are, if you like. Could it also update us on the ambulance trust’s mapping of where defibrillators are currently found?

In connection with this, could I ask for a second statement from the education Secretary about the uptake of voluntary teaching of emergency life-saving skills in schools? Members from all parties were very supportive of my call in the last Assembly to make the age-appropriate teaching of these skills compulsory in schools and I hope that the new Members, as well as the education Secretary, will be as enthusiastic as I still am. Thank you.

Suzy Davies does raise a very important point. There is a vast amount of voluntary activity going on across Wales. There is a strategic approach and, actually, that strategic approach includes the third sector as well as the statutory sector in terms of emergency response. It is prevention, it is about training and, particularly, in terms of life-saving techniques being spread through education, the Cabinet Secretary for Education is already indicating that she would like to respond, so I think it looks as though we could move on a joint statement from Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers on this issue.

I thank the Minister.