Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:41 pm on 19 June 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 1:41, 19 June 2018

Those improvements are desperately needed. As I said, Bowel Cancer UK says it is a national crisis that one in four people are waiting eight weeks or more for that screening process to be undertaken. But what we do know from the weekend's announcement that the UK Government made is that there will be a considerable uplift in the spend available to the Welsh Government to spend on health and social care here in Wales—[Interruption.] These screening—. Well, I can hear the chuntering from the Labour backbenchers, but the reality is that money is coming over to the Welsh Government.

Now, it is perfectly right, under the devolved settlement, that you choose where to spend that money. From these benches, we believe that that money should be spent in the fields of health and social care to make those improvements in prostate, bowel and other treatments available to patients here in Wales. Now, will you commit today to making sure that any money that is made available to the Welsh Government is spent on those key areas, so that we can see the improvements that we desperately need in diagnostic tests, waiting times and staff recruitment, which other parts of the UK that are committed to delivering it in the health and social care budgets will see? We need that commitment, First Minister. Will you make it?