3. Will the First Minister make a statement on community health facilities in mid Wales? OQ55949

I thank Russell George for that question, Llywydd. Local services have made rapid advances in implementing key aspects of the primary care model for Wales. In mid Wales, the Powys health board is progressing the Bro Ddyfi redevelopment in Machynlleth and a new practice in Llanfair Caereinion.

Can I thank the First Minister for his answer? I'm aware of both those proposals. First Minister, I'm aware that Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council have now formally submitted a bid for a new-build health facility in Newtown. The new well-being hub would be, of course, a huge benefit to thousands of people across north Powys. If the Welsh Government approves the proposals, we could see a cutting-edge state-of-the-art facility in Powys, which could offer more services locally and bring the latest technology and training to mid Wales. The new facility would also allow for checks and appointments to be offered locally, rather than people having to travel out of county as they do now. I'm also aware—as you will be—that there's been a real difficulty in recruiting health professionals to mid Wales, particularly GPs, so I do firmly believe as well that the new facility will encourage health professionals to locate to mid Wales. So, would you, First Minister, be able to confirm your support for this health facility to support the people of north Powys?

I thank Russell George for that and thank him, indeed, for his support for the developments at Machynlleth and Llanfair Caereinion, which I know he's on record as doing. I know that from a mid Wales perspective, he will also have welcomed the fact that, in a statement on 16 November, my colleague Vaughan Gething was able to confirm that we've now recruited 200 GP trainees to Wales in the three rounds of recruitment in 2020. That's up from 186 last year, and it's well above the 160 target that we have set. In the same statement, the health Minister announced that we are going to continue to fund the academic fellows scheme for mid and West Wales for a further two years in an effort to respond to the point that Russell George made about the need to attract GPs and other health professionals into that part of Wales.

The Newtown development is part of the three regional rural centres that the local health board have identified. The programme business case for the multidisciplinary campus at Newtown has been submitted to the Welsh Government and is being scrutinised by officials. As Russell George said, Llywydd, it provides for health and social care facilities, but more than that; there's a new primary school as part of the development and there's new housing in the development as well. It's therefore a complicated proposal and funding from different streams will need to be brought together in order to be able to get the funding behind it. But it is a very good example, I think, of the work that that imaginative health board is doing, and I hope that people in Newtown take heart from the fact that they have an imaginative, creative and, I think, effective set of proposals that are now coming to this point in their development.

Question 4 [OQ55953] is withdrawn. Question 5, Rhun ap Iorwerth.