Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:47 pm on 23 January 2018.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 1:47, 23 January 2018

First of all, I'm aware of the pressures there have been on emergency staff, and I thank them for what they have done. It has been very difficult, given intense spikes in demand—unpredicatble spikes in demand at certain days in the course of the holiday period. We would be delighted—delighted—to spend more on health and social care if the brakes were taken off by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance only last week outlined that we could be up to £4 billion better off if previous trends had been followed. That is a significant investment we could make in the health service. 

So, yes, we agree with the consultants that we want to spend more money on health and social care. Where are we going to take it from? Schools? Because that's the only place we can go. Put the council tax up? Because that's what will happen if we take money away from local government. We need to make sure the UK Government—. Boris Johnson today, saying there should be £100 million a week available for the NHS in England. That would mean £300 million more available in Wales. On that, if nothing else, I support Boris Johnson.