1. Will the First Minister outline what steps the Welsh Government is taking to improve child health in Wales? OAQ(5)0555(FM)

Yes. We’re committed to continuing to improve child health in Wales. ‘Taking Wales Forward’ included a commitment to implement our Healthy Child Wales programme, which was launched last October. That programme includes a range of preventative and early intervention measures to help parents and children make healthy lifestyle choices.

Thank you, First Minister. Recent reports by the Chief Medical Officer for Wales and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health had very hard-hitting messages about the impact of poverty and inequality on child health. Will the First Minister outline what steps the Welsh Government is taking to improve outcomes for children from poorer backgrounds in Wales, and what assurances can you give that tackling the impact of poverty on child health will be a top priority for this Government?

Absolutely, it’s a priority for us. In terms of closing the attainment gap we’ve seen, that gap has been closing. We’ve seen, of course, the pupil deprivation grant and the way that has worked for the benefit of so many young people. We’ve seen the foundation phase and the benefits that gives to children in terms of developing skills early that will stand them in good stead for the future. Of course, we always look to see how we can improve outcomes for children in the future, and that is being considered across the Government at the moment as part of our commitment to prosperity for all.

May I also refer to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in Wales? There are 39 recommendations contained here, and the First Minister would do well to consider the report and to reflect on the recommendations as an agenda to tackle the issue of child and adolescent health in Wales. Among the recommendations on one key area in this context, of course, is the additional risk to a child’s health when someone smokes during pregnancy. We know of the impact that that has, in a number of ways, on the development and growth of a child, the risk of stillbirth and the risk of low birth weight, and so on. There are data on the numbers that smoke during pregnancy in England and Scotland, but, for Wales, the data aren’t perhaps as robust as they should be, because we rely on self-reporting from pregnant mothers when it comes to gathering the data. Can I ask you, therefore, what intention the Government has to look at the need to gather more robust data in that area, because how can we know what needs to be done unless we can be sure of the scale of the problem?

Well, we are developing a new child health plan at the moment, and that will look at the priorities that we should pursue and those that the health service should also follow. As part of that, we must ensure that the data that we have are robust, and this will be considered during the development of that plan.

First Minister, will you agree with me that one of the ways to improve child health is to ensure proper access to school nurses across Wales? Will he congratulate the school nursing workforce that we have here in Wales that do an excellent job in terms of immunisation and public health messages in our schools, and, in particular, the unique Judith Jerwood in your own constituency, who serves in Bryntirion Comprehensive School, where they have a unique model of school nursing, which, I believe, we ought to see more frequently in high schools across Wales? You’ll be aware that the school nursing service there is one that is employed by the school itself, and one that gives advice on all range of subjects, not just to the pupils, but also to the staff and, indeed, their families.

It’s a very good example of good practice. I can almost see the school from where I live; it’s very, very close to me. We know that the school nurses do an excellent job. We know, for example—the Member mentions immunisation—that our childhood immunisation rates remain at the top of international benchmarks. We know that, in 2016-17, the childhood flu immunisation programme was extended as well to include all children aged two to seven years of age. It’s an excellent model that’s in place in Bryntirion and one that I would encourage other schools to look at.

First Minister, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s 2017 report, ‘State of Child Health’, highlighted the need for safe places for children to play in order to tackle the quarter of the child population in Wales who start primary school obese. What is your Government doing to ensure that young people have access to open spaces and play areas, and what actions are you taking to ensure that every new development provides safe areas for children to play?

In new housing developments, we would expect local authorities to provide those open areas—and I’ve seen them, not just in my own part of the world, but across Wales. Where new houses are built, there is space for children to play, there are often facilities for children to play on as well, and cycle paths, which are increasingly included as part of developments, as they should be. The Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 is part of the process of ensuring that cycling is seen as something completely normal in terms of the provision of cycling facilities in new developments in the future. That is certainly much in advance of the situation that previously existed, where housing developments were built and no provision was made at all for either open spaces or, indeed, for facilities for children to play.