The business statement and announcement is next, and I call on the Trefnydd to make that statement—Rebecca Evans.

Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to today's agenda. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Darren Millar. Darren's unusually quiet. [Laughter.] Darren? Darren Millar, can you—?

Pardon me. Diolch, Llywydd. Can I call for two statements today, please, Trefnydd? Can I have a statement from the Minister responsible for the armed forces on the future of the armed forces liaison officers that we have in Wales? The Minister will be aware of the good work that these officers have done since they were appointed in terms of trying to ensure that the armed forces covenant is implemented at all levels across Wales, but the funding for these posts comes to an end in March of next year, and I'm very keen to make sure that they are retained for the future. So, I would be grateful if you could arrange for a statement on that matter as soon as possible.

In addition, can I call for a statement as soon as possible on land transaction tax? It's widely anticipated that there's going to be a holiday for stamp duty payments in Wales—in England rather, up to the value of £500,000. We need to get the property market moving again here in Wales as soon as possible. It's a good indicator of economic health. And I would be grateful to know whether the Welsh Government plans to also introduce a holiday for land transaction tax in order to support the property market here, if such a measure is announced in England. Thank you.

I thank Darren Millar for raising both of those issues, and, yes, I do recognise the good work of the armed forces liaison officers. As Darren says, the funding is there for them until the end of this Assembly term, or certainly until the end of this financial year, and that particular service, alongside all others, will be part of the discussions that we have leading up to our setting of the budget for the next financial year. And, of course, we have the opportunity to debate this in some depth in the debate that the Finance Committee has brought forward for next week's Plenary session. 

On the matter of land transaction tax, I'm very keen to hear what the Chancellor has to say in his summer economic update just shortly this afternoon. Obviously, there are things that I'm very keen to hear him talk about, in terms of support for the economy, for young people and so forth. I will release a statement by the end of the day setting out my overall response to his statement. Then, in terms of any detailed decisions that I am then to take on the wide range of issues, I will do so in due course, but, clearly, I would want to make early statements on all things of importance.

I'd like to request two statements from the Trefnydd today. I'd be grateful if time could be found for a statement from the health Minister on the question of political accountability and answerability. I'd like to hear his views on his own role in determining which vital services are available in which parts of Wales, particularly in relation to the recent news that the 24-hour consultant-led accident and emergency service at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital is to be retained. Did he play a part in that decision? What role does he now have in the recruitment of consultants, which is a key issue for the plan to work? What is the status of the south Wales programme, which was a key driver in the decision to, previously, close the A&E department? And also, what was his role in the decision to pay a six-figure sum to the former chief executive of Cwm Taf health board after she resigned in the aftermath of the maternity services scandal? I'm sure Members will agree that these issues of accountability deserve our scrutiny, and that the people who've been affected by these decisions deserve political accountability too.

I'd also like to raise the matter of flooding. In England—

You're out of time, Leanne Wood. I'm going to ask the Trefnydd to respond.

Those are detailed questions, which I know the Member will want to raise directly with the health Minister. Of course, the health Minister does have oral questions this afternoon, which might be an opportunity to begin to discuss some of those questions.

Would the Minister make a statement on the decision of Ineos to locate the manufacturing of the new model in France, rather than its initial announcement of Bridgend, given that this announcement is a devastating blow both to Bridgend and Wales? I understand that Ineos has entered talks with Mercedes-Benz for the acquisition of a site in Moselle in France. As the Ineos project was secured with a significant financial package from both the Welsh Government and the UK Government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, could the Minister outline the possible options now open to the Welsh Government, either to reinstate the earlier situation or to recover the funds invested thus far?

We were shocked and very disappointed by the way in which the news was relayed to officials following all of the hard work and the relationship, I think, that has been built up over a number of years. Welsh Government and our contractors have worked tirelessly to ensure that the site was ready, in line with Ineos's tight timescales, despite both the flood and COVID-19. There'll be an opportunity to pursue these issues in more depth in the topical question, which has been accepted by the Llywydd, from Carwyn Jones. He will be asking that this afternoon to the Minister for economy.

Minister, you will have seen press reports today that free NHS parking introduced in England at the start of the coronavirus emergency by the UK Government is going to be withdrawn. Can the Minister confirm today, in order to avoid the need for a statement, that the Welsh Government has no intention of changing its long-standing commitment to providing free parking for staff, patients and visitors in Welsh NHS locations?

I'm very happy to provide that reassurance that we have no plans whatsoever to change our approach to free parking for staff, visitors and patients at hospitals here in Wales, which was, of course, a policy that we introduced back in 2008. We're very keen to see that policy continue.

Leader of the house, could I seek two statements, please? Yesterday, the health Minister wrote off the deficits of the health boards. I am amazed, unless it has come in the last hour, that we, as Members, haven't had a statement on this—it was announced in the press conference yesterday. That surely cannot be right. I make no judgment call on the write-down, but £0.5 billion-worth of debt was written off yesterday. It is our role to probe that and test it, and also wonder whether the Government is going to write deficits off in local authorities—[Inaudible.]—or other public bodies. But, in the absence of any form of statement other than the press statement yesterday, we are unable to do that. So, could I implore you to seek that statement? I shouldn't have to implore you, but could I ask you to make that statement available to Members so we can understand exactly the implications for it?

And secondly, could I also, via your role as finance Minister, seek a statement from your good self as to the use of the furlough scheme by public bodies in Wales? Obviously, public bodies have had cost pressures. The furlough scheme has protected many jobs across all sectors, but many of the public bodies would have already received money in the budget settlements for this year to cover those jobs, instead of having two draw-downs of public money and using the furlough scheme as well. I'm led to believe some local authorities have put as many as 500 workers on the furlough scheme whilst receiving that money in their settlement from you as finance Minister, part of the Welsh Government. So, could I have a statement to elaborate on your understanding of the use of the furlough scheme in the public sector?

I thank Andrew R.T. Davies for raising both of those issues. Again, as I mentioned previously, the health Minister does have questions today, so there'll be opportunities to discuss your particular question regarding the write-off of the deficits of the health boards. But, again, I'll have the opportunity to speak to the health Minister myself and relay that request for the statement on that particular matter.FootnoteLink

And then, on the furlough scheme, there is guidance from the UK Government in terms of in what circumstances furlough should be used by public sector bodies. It should only be used in relatively few circumstances in Wales, and I think that has been genuinely the case. So, for example, local authorities who haven't been able to redeploy staff into other roles have been able to use it, but it has been used on a relatively small number of occasions. But I'm happy to write to you with some further detail on that.

Information further to Plenary

May I ask for a statement from the Deputy Minister for children and social services on child play schemes for children over the summer months? Whilst welcoming the fact that there will be provision for vulnerable children, it's very disappointing that there won't be spaces available for the children of key workers. The work of these children's parents is still central to the efforts to put the health service back on its feet, and it's unfortunate, to say the least, that these children aren't included in the cohort of children that will have that summertime provision. So, I would like a statement to the end that this cohort will be included. We're not talking about huge sums of money here. 

I know that there was a statement issued earlier on this week that set out some of the parameters for the childcare and play provision that will be provided over the summer, but I will make sure that today I do have the opportunity to speak to the Deputy Minister and ensure that she is aware of that request for a statement specifically regarding the children of key workers over the summer.

Business Minister, by September, our children will have had no more than three days in school in six months. Not only is their education suffering but their mental and physical health too. Vulnerable children are falling behind in key skills, and, if our children don't go back fully in September, then potentially parents might lose some of their jobs too, because they won't be able to go back to work. Schools now just have days before the end of the summer term to plan for the autumn term. We've been in the dark too long here in Wales. So, therefore, can the education Minister please bring forward a clear statement as soon as possible setting out what schooling will look like in September?

I take this opportunity to welcome Laura Anne to the Senedd—or, back to the Senedd, I should say—and look forward to your contributions in the business statement. 

I know that the Minister has been working really hard with the education sector, local authorities, trade unions and so forth to plot out the way forward in terms of returning to schools. Of course, Wales is the only part of the UK that has ensured that every child will have the opportunity to return to the classroom for at least some time before the summer holidays, which I think is important in terms of reconnecting and re-establishing those relationships. The Minister has questions next this afternoon, and I know that she is keen to keep colleagues as informed as possible about plans for September.

I'd like a statement from the Minister for children. I had a meeting recently, the other day, on Zoom with a number of mothers, with a grandmother and one father, and all the children were in care. The common issue is that the reports that are put before courts to enable children to be taken into care are inaccurate, time after time after time. I've seen the inaccuracies; they're not picked up in the system, children are taken into care, which explains, to my mind, the big difference between the amount of children in care in Wales and those in England. So, my question and the purpose of the statement is: what can be done in terms of policy by the Minister to ensure that these reports, which have a huge effect on people's lives—? I was talking to mothers absolutely destroyed the other day online. What can be done to ensure that inaccuracies are corrected before the children are taken into care?

Well, the matter that Neil McEvoy raises is clearly very serious in terms of ensuring that accurate information is presented in these extremely important cases. So, can I invite him to write to the Minister with some more detail about his experiences and the discussions that he had in his call with mothers and with grandparents in order to better understand the issues that he describes?

David Melding.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'm very grateful that you've been able to call me. Business Minister, can I call for a debate in Government time on the Cumberlege review, which is published today under the title 'First Do No Harm'? I just remind Members that it's about the use of various medical treatments and implants, such as mesh implants. And, although commissioned by the UK Government, it did have the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government as stakeholders and there was a patient event held in Cardiff. It has revealed many things that require, I think, full debate, especially the whole issue of the equal access that women have to health services that are fit for purpose, and one of the report's main conclusions is that we need a patient safety commissioner. These are hugely important issues. I'm sure that I'm not the only Member who has already received correspondence from constituents asking for this report's recommendations to be thoroughly examined by Welsh Government and by us here in the Senedd. So, could we have a debate, please, in Government time, as soon as possible?

This is indeed a really serious report, with some important conclusions. I know that the health Minister has welcomed the review team's report, which, as David Melding says, is primarily relating to England, but it will certainly have implications for clinical practice here in Wales. I know that the Minister intends to carefully assess the recommendations and the conclusions in relation to current practice here in Wales, and then he will consider whether they should be adopted by the NHS in Wales before he will issue his response. But he is very familiar with the report and he welcomes the work behind it.

I thank the Trefnydd.