1. When does the First Minister intend to discuss UK-wide health considerations with the Prime Minister? OAQ(5)0435(FM)

I have regular discussions with the Prime Minister, but the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport would usually lead any health-related discussions with representatives of the UK Government on health issues.

I thank the First Minister for that response. Two weeks ago, there was cross-party support here in the Assembly for a motion calling on the UK Government to initiate a statutory public inquiry into the scandal of people with haemophilia who were given contaminated blood in the 1970s and the 1980s, which, of course, has resulted in the death of 70 people from Wales, and many more people are still living with HIV, hepatitis C and liver disease. Will the First Minister raise this directly with the Prime Minister, Theresa May, when he meets her next, so that the families of the 70 people who did die in Wales, and all those who were affected, can reach some closure.

Well, I can say that the Cabinet Secretary is leading the discussions on this. He wrote to the Secretary of State for Health on 20 December, supporting the call for a UK-wide public inquiry on behalf of all those who received contaminated blood. He’s also heard at first hand the views of affected individuals and their families, and is now considering the issues and concerns before making a decision on the way forward for those who were affected in Wales.

Good afternoon, First Minister. May I, first of all, reinforce Julie Morgan’s calls for that national public inquiry? I think that’s very important. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently reported on the quality of the UK health services, which recommended the need to establish a set of key health data and quality indicators for all of the UK health systems, so we can benchmark ourselves effectively using agreed common definitions and facilitate quality. I wonder, First Minister, what discussions you or your Cabinet colleagues have had with your counterparts in the other devolved nations, and Westminster, to facilitate this recommendation so that we can really judge ourselves on a peer-to-peer basis.

There are active discussions between officials about this. The indicators for health vary widely, as we know, but, nevertheless, this is something that is in the early stages of exploration.

May I also associate myself with the question and the comments made by the Member for Cardiff North? It might be useful for the First Minister to put health on the agenda in discussions with the UK Government in relation to our exit from the EU. Would the First Minister, in that context, be prepared to raise the issue of the need for Wales to be able to determine the level of visas to be issued to NHS staff from abroad, given our greater dependence currently on NHS staff from other countries? Also, will he seek an assurance that, following the UK leaving the EU, the requirements to get a medicine licensed are not going to be watered down when the lobbyists of the big pharmaceutical companies spot an opportunity?

I think it’s hugely important that safety standards are maintained and that drugs are properly tested before they arrive on the market. There have been several instances over many years of drugs that have not gone through proper appraisal—thalidomide being the one that is most well-known—and it’s hugely important that the current regulations stay in place. I have to say, with regard to the issue of regional work visas, it is an issue that the UK Government has not shut the door on. Therefore, it’s an interesting issue. There are practical issues that would need to be resolved—no question about that—but it is something that we are keen to investigate, certainly, at this stage.

First Minister, one of the biggest challenges facing healthcare in the twenty-first century is the dramatic rise in antimicrobial resistance. There have been a few cases in China where resistance to last-resort antibiotics has been seen. Unless drastic action is taken, we will be living in the world that existed before the discovery of penicillin, where people were dying from the simplest of diseases. The O’Neill review of antimicrobial resistance recommends an overhaul of the antibiotic research and development chain and intervention from the G20. What discussion has your Government had with the Prime Minister about this issue, and will you join me in calling on the UK Government to lead the way in tackling antimicrobial resistance?

Disease control and defence is an international matter that needs the fullest amount of international co-operation. Antimicrobial resistance has been an issue for some years. We’ve seen, for example, the emergence of drug-resistant strains of TB. We also see, for example, some conditions that even so-called last-resort antibiotics, such as vancomycin, haven’t been able to resolve. So, yes, it is a constant battle between humanity and microbes, if I can put it that way, to ensure that we don’t start to move backwards and find that there are no longer effective drugs to treat particular conditions. And, so, international co-operation is hugely important to make sure that we stay ahead of the game.