Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:44 pm on 3 December 2019.
So, just for the benefit of the record, Llywydd, the Minister for Education wasn't suggesting that she shouldn't or the Welsh Government shouldn't be making a statement on this issue; she was making the point, really, that neither Welsh Ministers nor the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales can play any kind of formal role in what are UK-wide negotiations. Of course, higher education institutions are autonomous bodies responsible for employment matters, including pensions, and those responsibilities lie with those institutions themselves. That said, officials are continuing to monitor the situation and any future negotiations that may occur, and officials are also working with HEFCW and Universities Wales to monitor the impact on both staff and students. I think the greatest concern, really, is the impact on students, and we would certainly encourage all parties in their efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement.
On the issue of winter resilience, our focus really has been unrelenting in supporting improvement and planning for the winter period, and we haven't stopped the process of reviewing the previous winter nor planning for the forthcoming period. Health board-level plans for winter have now been received and targeted feedback has been provided to those organisations and they've been asked to provide refined plans alongside a plan on a page outlining actions in extremis and an assessment of bed capacity for the winter period to be returned to Welsh Government this week
Regional partnership boards' plans have also been received and feedback has been provided to them. And on 1 October, the Minister announced a package of £30 million to support the delivery of health and social care services over the remainder of 2019-20, with £17 million allocated to regional partnership boards, £10 million to local health boards and the remaining £3 million retained for nationally agreed priorities over the winter period. And, of course, again, we have got the Choose Well campaign, which we'll be delivering at key times during those winter months, to remind the public that it's even more important than ever to use our health service responsibly, and that campaign will help to signpost people to the correct service for their needs, and, again, this is something that I'm sure that Assembly Members will want to promote locally to their constituents.