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

Diolch, Llywydd. I have three changes to this week's business. Firstly, the statement on economic reconstruction has been withdrawn. Secondly, the debate on the legislative consent motion on the United Kingdom internal market Bill has been postponed until next Tuesday, 8 December. And, finally, the First Minister will make a statement on coronavirus December restrictions as the last item of business today. 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.

Trefnydd, can I say how disappointed I am that we don't have a debate taking place this week prior to the very restrictive regulations that are going to come into play across the whole of Wales on Friday? You've had the opportunity. You could have tabled a 'take note' debate this afternoon for this Chamber to discuss the Welsh Government's proposals and to give an indication of its view on them. You and I both know that these restrictions are going to have a significant impact on the hospitality and indoor entertainment industries. Many of those businesses that will be affected are already on their knees, with tens of thousands of jobs hanging by a thread, and your restrictions are going to cause even more pain for those businesses. 

Many people regard these proposals as being completely disproportionate to the level of risk in those establishments, which, of course, are already regulated and COVID-safe environments on the whole. And, of course, your restrictions pay absolutely no regard to the fact that the virus is circulating at very different rates in different parts of the country. In north Wales, it's much less, for example, than in some parts of the south. Can you explain to the Senedd today why on earth the Welsh Government hasn't provided an opportunity to have a vote on these regulations prior to this Friday?

Well, Llywydd, the Senedd will have the opportunity to vote on the regulations fully within the timescale set out by the Standing Orders of this Senedd. And also it gives the legislation—the LGC, the legislation and—the constitutional affairs committee the opportunity to undertake its work. So, all of this will be done fully within the timescale set out in the Senedd Standing Orders, and, of course, we have a statement from the First Minister this afternoon, at the earliest opportunity for the First Minister to come forward with a statement for Members of the Senedd to scrutinise him on the regulations. 

I have, in the last month or so, repeatedly raised concerns about the need to make schools safer places for teachers and pupils. Most parents in Wales will now have had direct experience of their child being off due to a positive case in class, or they will know someone else whose child has been off as a result of the pandemic. The prevalence of COVID in schools has had fatal consequences for staff in England, and I understand that the Government here is reviewing arrangements to manage infection and transmission in education settings. And I would urge the Government to consider more means, like mass and regular testing, like additional childcare and financial support, and protecting those people who need shielding. 

I'd also like a statement on emergency department capacity across the south of this country. My local hospital, the Royal Glamorgan, has seen some grave pressures recently. And I understand that problems in other accident and emergency departments are adding to that pressure. So, I'd be grateful if the Government could look into this matter and report back to Members as a matter of urgency. Diolch yn fawr. 

Thank you to Leanne Wood for raising both of those issues. On the first, I will make a point of speaking to the education Minister, because your request for a statement did cover quite a wide range of aspects, including testing in schools, support for people who are shielding, and also financial support for those parents who have to also take time off when their children are required to be out of school. So, I will make a point of having that conversation with the Minister to explore how best to update, and keep updated, Members of the Senedd on those issues. And, again, we have questions to the health Minister tomorrow, so there may be opportunities to discuss in some further detail the question about pressures on hospital sites across Wales. So, that might be the earliest opportunity to have those discussions. 

Can I ask the Trefnydd to consider a report to this Chamber on the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales's investigation into boundaries in local authorities in Wales? I've got a particular issue facing those people in Forge Mill in Ystrad Mynach, whereby they've been moved from one community council area, which they associate strongly with—Gelligaer Community Council—to another community council area, which they don't associate with, which is Llanbradach community council. I've never had so many people complain to me about local government boundaries before—528 electors are affected, and it will effectively move them from Ystrad Mynach to Llanbradach, and Ystrad Mynach is the community that they are most closely associated with. And indeed, living nearby, I can understand those feelings. There is also an issue whereby Bargoed and Aberbargoed are being linked together. Well, Aberbargoed is in the Islwyn constituency, and Bargoed is in the Caerphilly constituency, and the only thing those two towns have got in common is they've both got 'bargoed' in their name, and that's it.

I've raised those concerns directly with the Minister last week, and she has to act in a quasi-judicial capacity, therefore she's unable to make a statement on it prior to her determination. But what I would like is a report to this Chamber about that determination. And also can I have a timescale for how long it will take for that determination to be made? It will be six weeks after the deposit of the paper, which is 5 November, but, during these difficult times, it's difficult to say when exactly that will be—so, some form of timescale about how that decision will be made. People, particularly in Forge Mill, have made very strong representations about this.

Thank you to Hefin David for raising this important issue on behalf of his constituents. And I know that he's had the opportunity to make some very strong and direct representations to the Minister for Housing and Local Government personally as well, so that they could hear directly from him about the concerns of his constituents. As Hefin says, there'll be a six-week period, and the Minister will be considering all of the representations received, including those from Hefin David. But I'll be sure to provide the Member with some more detail on the timescale—I'm not sure of that myself today, but I will certainly find that out for him, and obviously also convey that request for the more detailed report to the Senedd.FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary 

Minister, I wonder if you could help me on three matters, please. The first is whether Welsh Government would be prepared to make a clear statement of advice or guidance to employers of employees who are single parents whose children are sent home to self-isolate from school. It's currently an offence for children to be left alone if they're at risk—there's no particular age limit set on that, but I think there may be some confusion for employers about when they should agree to the requests made by employees who worry about leaving children over the age of 12 alone at home.

Secondly, I wonder if we could have a statement from Welsh Government about the conversations they've been having most recently with supermarkets. I understand that Asda, because of the reappearance of priority delivery passes, are only prioritising addresses in England. I'm sure we don't want to be revisiting this again as we're heading towards Christmas. Welsh addresses should be treated with the same respect as English addresses.

And then finally, if we could have a statement from the economy Minister about the progress on the Brocastle site, which was, you may remember, abandoned by Ineos, thereby dampening the economic hopes of many, many of my constituents, as well as taking up £1.4 million of public money. I'd like some reassurance that all that money has been reclaimed now, and that there is still some hope on the horizon for those Ford workers, in particular, who were looking forward to opportunities for them at the Ineos plant. Thank you very much.

Thank you to Suzy Davies for raising all of those issues. Certainly, we would hope that employers would do the right thing by their employees who are parents of children who are sent home from school, but I'll certainly discuss with the Minister for economy and transport how best we can provide advice to those employers. And again, on the matter of supermarkets, I'm very disappointed to learn, if that's the case, that Asda are prioritising addresses in England. I know that the Minister with responsibility for this area will be keen to have conversations with the supermarkets in that regard, and again I'll ensure that you're updated on that. And I will further seek an update on the latest regarding the Brocastle site as well.

The Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs has regularly emphasised over many months now that it is her intention to publish a White Paper on sustainable farming before the end of this year. Now, I'm looking at the business statement published, and there is no oral statement related to that White Paper scheduled at the moment. That brings me to the conclusion either that she won't make that announcement before the end of the year, or, of course, that it's the Government's intention to publish or announce that White Paper not to the Senedd first of all, via an oral statement, but via a written statement.

Now, you will understand as well as I do how significant this White Paper will be, because it does make recommendations on a once in a generation change to the way agriculture is supported in Wales. It's also contentious, and I would very much hope that it's not the Government's intention to release this White Paper, let's say, as I've heard suggested, on the last day of term, on 16 December, which would allow Ministers, then, to run away and hide under a stone until the new year, in the hope that the fuss will have died down a little by the time Members have an opportunity to discuss the White Paper in the Chamber. So, can I ask for an oral statement to correspond with the release of that White Paper?

And may I also ask for a statement from Government in response to the spending review by the Chancellor of the UK Government? You, as well as anybody, will be aware of the implications of that for budgets here in Wales. I'm thinking specifically here, of course, of the cut, which is what it is, in the financial support for agriculture in Wales—many of us are deeply concerned about this. You, as a Government, are clearly aware that it is a cut, the Scottish Government describe it in the same way, the Executive in Northern Ireland and the agricultural unions—the message is clear. Many of us have warned on underspend within the rural development plan, and I know that we have additional years to spend that money, but it is now clear that we are being penalised as a result of that. 

So, I would like to hear, either from the agriculture Minister what implications this cut will have for the sector in Wales, or from you, more broadly, not only on this issue, but also on the implications in terms of the change in the way of expenditure on transport in England for Wales, and other issues around the spending review, because they will be very far-reaching indeed. 

Thank you to Llyr for raising both of those really important issues. I will convey that request to the Minister with regard to an oral statement pertaining to the White Paper. I'm afraid I don't have a date on the papers in front of me, so I'll ensure that I do have that conversation to establish the intentions there and to convey your particular request.

On the spending review, I was able to provide the Senedd with a written statement immediately following the spending review last week, which was disappointing for us in Wales on a number of levels, but particularly so regarding the issues facing farm funding and what has been a complete, I think, betrayal of rural Wales, with £137 million less next year to invest in that particular area. I am currently, in my role as finance Minister, working with colleagues across Government now to fashion our draft budget in response to that, which I will be laying before Christmas. But, obviously, I'd be keen to look for further opportunities to update colleagues on the spending review and the implications for us, and I'm aware that I've had an invitation to Finance Committee, so that might be another opportunity to have those discussions. 

First, I wondered if we can have a statement to clarify the international policy of the Welsh Government, as to whether it covers the deforestation of countries across the world, particularly the poorest countries, so to ensure that we are developing a sustainable agriculture in Wales that doesn't rely on importing food stuffs to feed our livestock that is grown in areas of the world where people are cutting down trees in order to grow soya and corn. 

Secondly, I wondered if we could have a debate in Government time on the excellent report by Lord Burns and other experts, which was published last week, to make transport connections within south-east Wales fit for the twenty-first century, as well as the climate emergency that affects us all. I particularly am encouraged by the central role given to the four rail lines between Cardiff and Newport and beyond, which I've long advocated could be better used to tackle the unnecessary congestion on the M4. I hope that the debate can start now as to how we can achieve the ambition in this report, despite all the challenges that are faced in the transport sector from COVID.

Well, on Jenny Rathbone's second request, I'm really pleased to be able to respond positively and confirm that there will be a statement next week in the Senedd, on 8 December, by the Minister on the Burns recommendations and the next steps pertaining to that. So, I think that that will be a very welcome statement on a very important issue of concern to all of us.

And then, on the matter of to what extent Welsh Government considers the international implications of its procurement from overseas and so forth, I'll ask the Minister previously with responsibility for international relations to write on the subject of the international strategy and to what extent we're factoring those important aspects into the requirement that we have under the future generations Act to be a globally responsible Wales, and ensuring that our commitment to sustainability isn't just something that we practise at home, but actually something that we ensure that we do when we're looking to make our investments overseas as well.

Organiser, can I seek two statements, please? One in relation to the cancer plan that comes to an end at the end of this month, 31 December. To date, the Welsh Government haven't tabled a successor document despite this date of termination well known to Government. I appreciate that the function of Government has been focused on COVID, but this isn't something that's just appeared on the dashboard. And one thing we've learned through COVID, regrettably, is that, obviously, the demise of cancer services in the early part of COVID has led to many people now, regrettably, as Macmillan have identified, walking around Wales with unidentified cancer—they estimate nearly 3,000 people—and regrettably nearly 2,000 people, in their estimations, will die prematurely from a cancer because, obviously, they weren't able to access the services that they would, in normal circumstances, have been able to access if COVID hadn't hit the health service. I think it is of vital importance that this document is brought forward as a matter of urgency from the Welsh Government so that there is a successor plan in place when we go into the new year, because this is a critical pinch point within the NHS in Wales, and I'd hope that the Welsh Government has been working to develop that plan. So, could we have a statement from the Minister for health as to how he's going to bring forward the new plan and, importantly, how that plan has been tested with professionals in the cancer field to make sure that it is robust enough?

The second statement I'd seek, off the health Minister again, is around ambulance services. I wouldn't ask you to respond directly to the case I'll highlight to you, but this week, in Cardiff, I was alerted to a case where an ambulance was called at midday on Saturday for an industrial injury, where a gentleman had fallen from a lorry and cracked his head on concrete. He was left for eight hours waiting for an ambulance to arrive to the southern part of Cardiff, in a city where its A&E department, as the crow flies, would've been about a mile and a half or two miles from that incident. The ambulance finally turned up at close to 8 o'clock in the evening. I have the pictures on my phone; they are too graphic to show in any meaningful way without being the cause of upset. I wouldn't expect you to respond to that specific incident, but the evidence that we've taken in the health committee has indicated that there is growing pressure on the ambulance service, for perfectly understandable reasons in some instances—the use of PPE and disinfecting and cleansing of ambulances after each use—and this is a growing pressure point as we go further into the winter. I cannot recall a statement recently from the health Minister around ambulance services, and it is important that we understand how the Minister is engaging with the trust to make sure that, where possible, such delays as I've outlined this afternoon are not experienced by people who require an ambulance to attend as a matter of urgency.

Thank you to Andrew R.T. Davies for raising both of those important issues, and I'm as concerned as he is to learn of the particular case that he's described this afternoon. I will ask the health Minister to write to you with some more information on the latest engagement with the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust in terms of response times and so forth, so that you have the very latest picture on that. 

I'll also seek further information on the intentions regarding the successor to the cancer delivery plan, because, as Andrew R.T. Davies has set out, there are very many harms related to COVID, one of which is about people who aren't coming forward to receive treatment or diagnosis for other conditions as well, and that's obviously of real concern to us.FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary

Minister, I'd like a statement, please, that will provide some reassurance to my business owners and which justifies how you've taken those decisions to restrict the sale of alcohol and actually close pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants and hospitality businesses from 6 o'clock on Friday. I want some explanation why, and what evidence you've used to decide that, but also how you're going to fund this terrific loss of business that many of our businesses are going to incur. The economic resilience fund lifeline you are offering is simply not good enough and, according to Business Wales, some payments will not even start to reach businesses until January. So, your Government's actions will see hospitality businesses lose even more money. Businesses have now to make an online application to their respective local authority for the discretionary elements. Like last time, is there a likelihood that this money will run out? Applications are still going to be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis. We saw what happened last time—it crashed after just a day. I've still got people who've not had any funding yet from phase 3, so what confidence can I have that, as a Government, you're going to take some responsibility for these lockdowns that you've forced on our businesses?

Will you please provide a statement on that and how you will ensure that all applications are appraised, whether an appeals process is likely to be made available and, finally, whether commercial galleries that sell art—I have a very good gallery in my constituency that sells art—will have to close? If they do, how is it, therefore, fair that shops can sell art to the public? There are so many questions that we have, Minister, and I think, as finance Minister, you should really be putting some more information out there that we can explain to our businesses, and I'd like it on record that I'm absolutely appalled by the decision made by you, your Government and the First Minister.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ann Jones) took the Chair.

Well, of course, the First Minister answered several of those questions during First Minister's questions this afternoon, in relation to those questions posed by the leader of the Conservative Party here in Wales. Also this afternoon, the First Minister will be taking questions for at least 45 minutes from Members across the Chamber, so that will be the perfect opportunity, I think, to raise these particular concerns. I would also draw colleagues' attention to the statement that the Minister for economy and transport has published this afternoon, which sets out more details about the considerable funding package that the Welsh Government has put in place to support businesses, which is by far the most generous package of support available anywhere in the UK.

Thank you very much, Trefnydd.