'All strike action ends in the end in negotiation', but how about trying to end the strike action through negotiation? Even UK Government has negotiated, to no avail, but why on earth will the Labour Welsh health Minister not bring everyone back around the table through the Welsh partnership forum that's there for this exact purpose? I pointed out last week that Welsh Government hadn't even responded to the correspondence sent by the Royal College of Nursing on 25 October, asking for those negotiations to take place. As if by magic, the Minister has responded in the last few minutes, I understand—the first correspondence since that strike ballot result. But yet, there is no commitment to meet for new pay negotiations. What I'm seeing is a Government preparing for the nurses' strike action, when we should have a Government trying to avert that strike action in the first place. 

It's not all about pay—it's important to remember that. Nurses also want to know that they're being supported, given time for professional development and training, that staffing levels aren't putting them or their patients in danger, that there's a workforce plan aimed at bringing down the 3,000 or so nursing vacancies in Wales. But pay is a key part of being able to show nurses that they are valued. For too long, pay has been squeezed. For too long, the UK Tory Government has given us cuts, cuts and cuts; their economic incompetence compounding what was already a public spending crisis. But for too long, Welsh Government has used that as a reason to shy away from its responsibilities. Whatever the context, governing is always about prioritising. I’ll be told again today, as will my colleagues, ‘Where would you find the money?’ And I and colleagues have been open. We've urged you to look at how you can use all the levers at your disposal—taxation, reserves, reallocation. But I’m not in Government. Governing is a privilege. It’s a huge responsibility. And in this case, it’s the responsibility to avert an even deeper crisis in the NHS than the one that we already face.