The next item will be the business statement, and the Trefnydd, once again, will be presenting this item. Lesley Griffiths.

Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to this week's business. 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.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

Trefnydd, last Friday was Holocaust Memorial Day, and it was my honour to be able to welcome to the Senedd last week, along with many other colleagues, Hedi Argent, who of course is a Holocaust survivor, to the Senedd, who shared her experiences with us. As you may well be aware, the Combat Antisemitism Movement's 2022 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition report has been published, and it looked at 1,116 entities, including 39 countries and 464 regional states and local government bodies. Here in the UK, it recorded that there were 150 reports of antisemitic incidents affecting Jewish students, academics, university staff and student bodies across the UK during 2021 and 2022. So, it's very alarming, Trefnydd, that there are universities here in Wales that are yet to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. Minister, I'd be very grateful for a statement from the Welsh Government Minister responsible for education, to make it absolutely and abundantly clear that no university or other place of education in Wales should receive any further Welsh Government funding, any taxpayer funding whatsoever, unless they adopt the IHRA working definition. Will you confirm that a statement will be forthcoming?

Thank you. I'm sure many of us commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day. I was very fortunate to have the Minister for Social Justice in my constituency, and we attended an event together. On the point you raised, the Welsh Government has adopted the definition of IHRA as a working definition, as you're aware, and it is a matter for each university to then adopt it. I know that the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language has had those discussions with them.

I'd like a statement, please, outlining what urgent conversations have been held between the Welsh and UK Governments about the support available to desperate people who are unable to afford their energy bills. We're living in a time of obscene extremes. Last week, it was reported that oil giants like BP and Shell are making profits of £5,000 a second, at a time when millions are in misery, already unable to heat their homes, because staying alive has become a crisis. The cost of living is almost unmanageable. Climate Cymru warn that 0.5 million Welsh adults spent Christmas in Dickensian conditions, in cold, damp homes, and UK Government support payments are due to end in two months' time. So, can a statement outline how the Welsh Government will put pressure on the Westminster Government to extend support for households, support for businesses, and to urge them to change this dreadful system that rewards rich companies and leaves the poorest people to freeze?

Thank you. The Minister for Social Justice is already doing just that. I know she's written to the UK Government today, to Grant Shapps, making that point. The Minister will share that letter with us, and hopefully when she does get a response she will also share that letter with Members.

Carrying on the energy theme, I'm requesting a Government statement on progress being made by the Welsh Government on ending standing charges on days when no energy is used. When people have their first hot meal for days, which is likely to be a tin of soup, and find they have used up to a quarter of their energy credit, to me this is fundamentally wrong. I would add the word 'cruel' as well. Whilst opposed in principle to standing charges, which hit the poorest hardest, as a first step it is imperative that standing charges are not made on days when no energy is used.

I would also like to ask for a Government statement on the future of papurau bro in Wales. These are Welsh language, local, community newspapers produced by volunteers and generally published monthly. In Swansea, we have Wilia, which is very good, and which has now gone online only. It provides a valuable opportunity to keep up with what is happening in Welsh-medium schools, the local Welsh societies, and Welsh-medium chapels. I'm asking for a Government plan for the continuation of these vital resources.

Thank you. Well, I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that the Minister for Social Justice absolutely agrees with you on the substantive issue you raise. I know she's had several meetings with energy companies and also with Ofgem. I think the last time we met Ofgem was yesterday, where she raised this issue with them. We believe there should be no standing charges for prepayment customers. They're a real injustice for prepayment customers.

With regard to your second question, papurau bro are absolutely unique sources here in Wales for our Welsh language community-based news. We're very grateful for the work of many volunteers who work very hard to ensure that they're published each month. I think it's fair to say that COVID-19 posed a real threat to them. Many did continue to be published and some adapted to being published online, as you referred to. I know the Minister for Education and Welsh Language last week announced a one-off inflationary support for Welsh language grant-funded organisations, and the network of papurau bro will receive an additional £6,000.

Minister, today I'd like to ask for two statements, please. First, can I ask for a statement from the Minister for Health and Social Services about the frequency of inspection and maintenance of electrical equipment in hospitals across Wales? Last Wednesday, as I'm sure you're aware, a fire caused the Royal Gwent Hospital to be evacuated and a number of out-patient appointments to be cancelled, causing much disruption and inconvenience to patients and staff alike. So, can I please have a statement from the Minister about whether the current inspection regime and maintenance of electrical equipment in our hospitals are adequate to try to avoid such events happening in the future?

Secondly, can we have a statement from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change about the introduction of the much-heralded road tolling and congestion charges in Wales? Motorists in Wales were rightly furious when they discovered these plans were set out in the Welsh Government's transport delivery plan, and residents and commuters in Cardiff would have been further dismayed to hear a Labour Senedd Member saying in this Chamber two weeks ago that she was happy that it was increasingly difficult for people to bring their cars into the city centre and then call for a significant rise in the cost of city-centre parking. So, can we have a statement from the Deputy Minister outlining his plans to further punish motorists in an attempt to force them off the roads and to use inconvenient and unreliable public transport, where it exists? Thank you.

Well, I think your second request is an absolute 'no.' Certainly, the Deputy Minister is not going to come and talk about how he punishes car drivers or owners. The most important thing—I'm sure we all recognise this—is that we face up to the climate emergency that's not coming down the track, but is absolutely here now. 

In relation to your first request, all health boards report on estates and facilities management every year. The Minister has the performance data on an annual basis. And I know, for instance, that there has been a backlog, I appreciate that, but that has more or less been caught up now. I'm sure she is aware of the incident you referred to and will ask her officials to ensure that the correct inspection time was adhered to.

If I could continue on what is a national scandal and my campaign to end that national scandal of the forced installation of prepayment meters, Trefnydd, you'll be aware that, out of 500,000 warrants applied for through the courts, just 72 were refused. It seems to me that something is clearly wrong there and is unjust there. Over a week ago now, Grant Shapps recognised that this information was extremely concerning. He wrote to the energy suppliers, but he's yet to do anything meaningful. That's in stark contrast to the Minister for Social Justice, who has shown real leadership on this issue. Could I ask for some more investigative work from the Welsh Government and then a statement on the back of that, firstly on the worrying scale of warrants being issued, particularly in the Swansea courts, where tens of thousands of warrants are seemingly being linked to just one particular debt collection agent engaged by numerous energy suppliers, and then, secondly, on the level of debt that is triggering a warrant application and whether that's becoming lower? This is a real national scandal and we need to put an end to this now. 

Thank you, and I quite agree with you. This is a very important issue, and obviously the Minister for Social Justice, as you said, has shown real leadership in relation to this. I mentioned in an earlier answer that she met with Ofgem just yesterday—I think you've met them several times before—as well as with energy suppliers, to really express her grave concerns surrounding the large volume of court warrants that have been issued from magistrates' courts. The Minister also wrote to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy expressing these concerns. There's a real safety and a social justice risk here to vulnerable households, including those with medical conditions. They're being forced onto prepayment meters against their will, or even their knowledge. The system is currently failing vulnerable people in our society, and I know the Minister has absolutely urged the UK Government to end the abhorrent practice of forced installation of prepayment meters, and strengthen the rules and obligations of suppliers to ensure they support rather than punish their customers. At the Ofgem meeting yesterday, the Minister really questioned whether they have the sufficient powers and interventions to safeguard our householders here in Wales and whether the regulations do go far enough to protect households. I understand Ofgem are proposing to formally review the policy around prepayment meters later this year and will have discussions with consumer groups and industry on proposed amendments. Obviously, the Minister and her officials will continue to engage with them. 

Could I ask for a statement from the Minister for Finance and Local Government this afternoon on the condition of rural roads in Denbighshire? I've been contacted by local people in the county concerned by the increasing amount of potholes and deep crevices causing many headaches for road users and farm traffic, and some being described as being from the third world. In the previous cabinet, they put aside £4 million specifically for improving roads in Denbighshire, and now the current cabinet are saying it's not enough. So, how do we win here, Trefnydd? Can I, therefore, request a statement from the Welsh Government on the advice you can give to Denbighshire leaders on how to reprioritise their spending, or indeed provide additional funding so that my constituents can get around safely?

Once again, the Member asks me for a statement on an area, really, that—. It's not our role to tell Denbighshire council how to repair their potholes or how to reprioritise their budget; that's for them. They answer to the local population, and it absolutely is a matter for them. 

And finally, Jenny Rathbone. 

Thank you. Following the budget scrutiny that took place in the Equality and Social Justice Committee, I wrote to the Minister for Social Justice to ask how much of the capital allocation for the Gypsy and Traveller sites—£3.7 million in this current financial year—had been spent. Unfortunately, the Minister has responded that none of it has been spent, and none is forecast to be spent before 31 March. I wish to raise this because this means that no local authority has seen fit to invest in the much-needed Traveller sites this year, even though the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 now criminalises anyone who stops at an unregistered site. This is completely unacceptable for this vulnerable community, and I want to request a statement on what the Welsh Government plans to do about such a significant issue for a vulnerable and marginalised community.

I understand the Minister for Social Justice is aware of your concerns and shares the view that there is a real need to maximise investment in new sites and improvements to existing sites. I understand the Minister's officials met residents at sites in north Wales at the end of last year, and that engagement is going on right across Wales over the coming months. I think the Minister would be happy to make a written statement setting out the steps being taken to make progress on this issue. I understand it was also discussed with local authority cabinet leads for equality today. 

Thank you, Trefnydd.