Questions now from the party leaders. The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew R.T. Davies. 

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Twelve months ago, First Minister, a BBC programme highlighted the issues in Welsh rugby, and I think many people were taken aback and shocked at the evidence that was within that programme. Thankfully, 12 months on, we're in a far better place. And we've seen a report land in our inboxes, as Members, that has shown the action points that the Welsh Rugby Union has taken, and will have to continue to take in the coming months and years, to, obviously, get to a place where everyone will feel inclusive and enjoying the national sport. What is your take as a Government, and, in particular, your view as First Minister, on the actions that the Welsh Rugby Union have taken? And how are you holding them to account as a Government, with a significant investment in the rugby fraternity here in Wales, on the promises that they've made?

Well, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for that question, Llywydd. He is quite right—that original report was a report that uncovered a culture within the Welsh Rugby Union of which it itself has expressed its shame, and it was a shocking report. I think the Welsh Rugby Union has moved a great deal in the last 12 months. I think the appointment of a new chair, the appointment of a new chief executive, the very direct commitment that was made on behalf of the WRU to implement the recommendations of the independent report that they had commissioned is, I think, a very good sign, but there is a long way to go. If you wanted my assessment, it's that I think a very good start has been made, but there's a lot of work that will still need to be carried out to make sure that those thoroughgoing cultural issues, which we know are deeply embedded in organisations—we've seen it in other organisations in recent times, haven't we, in the fire and rescue service, for example, in south Wales—. Those cultures take hold and they are hard to shift. I think the WRU has made a good start.

And, from my point of view, what I want to do, and what the Welsh Government wants to do, is to support those individuals within the organisation who want to take a lead in bringing about change. So, while we will, obviously, be in constant dialogue with the WRU—there's a large sum of money that has been loaned to the union and there's regular contact ministerially, and between officials and the WRU itself—while we see progress being made, I want that relationship to be a supportive one, but we will continue to assess the progress that is being made.

First Minister, we are on the eve of the new six nations championship, and we are in a better place than where Welsh rugby was this time last year, and the new team at the top of the WRU do deserve that support and breathing space. And one thing that happened quite clearly when this news hit the headlines was a flight of sponsorship capital from the WRU and other challenges. The Welsh Government, as you alluded, highlighted the financial commitment that it's made to the game here in Wales. Last week, before the culture committee here in the Senedd, the chairman of the WRU highlighted the burden that that loan is placing on the finances of the union. Two million pounds a year is paid in servicing and capital repayments, and other unions across the United Kingdom have a far lower, as I understand it, interest rate on loans that have been made available to them. So, will the Welsh Government respond to the request from the WRU to work with them to try and restructure that loan, so that there isn't that burden placed on the grass-roots game within Wales, should the WRU have to make cutbacks in what we all want to see, which is a growing participation level in Wales and a growing and vibrant professional level, with the regions able to compete at all levels? And it will be up to the Government and the union to work to try and do that via the mechanisms that have been put in place previously. So, are you able to confirm today that the Welsh Government are engaging with the WRU and will be able to help in the restructuring of this loan so that that money can stay within the game and help it flourish here in Wales?

Let me just respond to begin with, Llywydd, to a point the Leader of the Opposition made in introducing his second question, the importance of a breathing space for an organisation to rebuild. I agree with him there. Organisations that come under the spotlight in the way the Welsh Rugby Union did will have suffered damage as a result. And while we see progress being made, it is important to allow them the space to demonstrate that that progress can be sustained and carried forward. 

As far as the loan is concerned, I think it is important just to be clear about some of the history of all of this. This loan originated during the COVID period, when the WRU took one of the UK Government's coronavirus large business interruption loans. They weren't able to sustain the repayments under that loan and came to the Welsh Government. We stepped in as the lender of last resort, but we inherited the terms on which that original loan had been made. And when you are dealing with public money, even when you are dealing with organisations that are as important in Welsh life as Welsh rugby is, you still have a duty to make sure that those are being made on properly commercial terms. And that's the basis of the loan, a loan entered into by the WRU. They were free agents in taking up that loan. And while we are always prepared and have been prepared to talk to the union about whether the loan can be restructured, whether there are other ways in which we can assist, in the end, this was a commercially determined loan, with conditions inherited from the UK coronavirus assistance, and entered into freely by the WRU itself.

I accept that, and the WRU wouldn't retreat from it, but there is this pressure point now that is building that obviously will have to have—. I think the words that the chairman, before the committee, used were 'a plan B', yet to be determined. But invariably we'll see pulling back from features of the game that we want to see grow here, such as the expansion of grass roots and such as the ability for our professional teams, our regions, to be able to be competitive.

That transfer over to the Welsh Government loan book, as I understand it, led to a higher rate of interest being charged on the loan as opposed to staying with the COVID loan that was agreed during the COVID crisis. I understand that that was willingly entered into at the time and there were difficulties then in servicing the loan, but we have a new team now at the helm of the WRU, coming out of a difficult period. Nothing would give greater confidence to the game here in Wales than a willingness from the Welsh Government to obviously engage and support in restructuring—not writing off, because I understand that is not an option available under any legislation because of the competitive rules that exist. But the ability to engage and restructure would be a benefit to all aspects of the game here in Wales.

So, are you able to confirm, First Minister, that the Welsh Government are engaging and are looking sympathetically at this particular request from the WRU that was made via the evidence to the culture committee? And will you confirm today if the Government will be voting for our motion tomorrow that will keep six nations rugby on free-to-air tv? Because a greater ability for the public to view the game in all its glory in that pinnacle of the game in the northern hemisphere will undoubtedly bring the generation of tomorrow forward to fill the rugby fields and rugby clubs of this great country of ours.

I agree with what the Leader of the Opposition has said about the importance of investment in the grass roots of the game, in women's rugby, in disabled rugby and in the regions as well. I'm happy to say that of course we're always willing to engage with the WRU to see if there's anything that can be done. I think the terms on which the money is provided by the Welsh Government would not be available to the Welsh Rugby Union in the commercial marketplace, so they're already at an advantage in that way, but that does not mean that we are not willing to talk to them and see if there's anything else that can be done.

Of course, I'm very happy to confirm the Welsh Government's support for free-to-air coverage of rugby here in Wales. It's what we argued for in the evidence we gave to the recent House of Commons inquiry into that matter. It would be an irony, wouldn't it, Llywydd, that people in Wales would be able to watch Wimbledon and the Derby on their televisions for free, but couldn't see Wales play rugby. That would hardly align with what we know to be the sporting preferences of people who live in Wales. 

Leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth. 

Thank you, Llywydd. I want to draw the First Minister's attention to reports that the air ambulance centres in Welshpool and Caernarfon are facing closure. I believe those clinicians who fear that that will put mid and north-west Wales under a disadvantage and indeed will put lives at risk. I've co-submitted a statement of opinion on the issue earlier today. 

The review of air ambulance provision is being conducted by the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee, which is a joint committee between the seven health boards. So, the Welsh Government has an ability to influence and to intervene. Is the First Minister willing to recognise the real concerns and to take the necessary steps to safeguard both sites so that the Wales air ambulance does serve all parts of this country equally?

Of course I recognise the concerns of local people about the future of the service, but this happens wherever there is reorganisation. And that's what's happened here. The people who are responsible for the service have been out to consult with local people and have spoken to people the length and breadth of Wales, because what they are suggesting is that nobody loses out on the service that they currently receive, but that there's an opportunity for far more people to receive the service who can't currently receive it. That was the principle that underlined the work of the people who are responsible for the service, and they were clear about that from the very outset. 

The principles they set out in the beginning, Llywydd, were that the service must not be worse for anybody and the service must advantage new people. Two to three people every single day who currently don't receive this service could receive the service under the new arrangements—500 more flights to people who need it a year. I don't think that's something that we can easily turn our backs on. 

I'm entirely convinced that placing an additional team on the ground in the north-east would provide that additional care and that removing the helicopters from these two centres will mean a poorer service. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service, of course, provide the air ambulance care, but it's not the loss of the air ambulance that's the only concern about EMRTS services in north Wales at the moment. I've received confirmation from the Betsi Cadwaladr health board that the EMRTS emergency service to transfer patients from Ysbyty Gwynedd to other locations if they need critical care has already been reduced to daytime hours only. That causes real concern. 

The emergency patient transfer service is what transfers patients from Ysbyty Gwynedd to Liverpool or Stoke, say, perhaps after serious trauma in an accident or if they require other specialist care. Now it has been withdrawn during the night. But medical emergencies don't discriminate based on time of day. The very essence of emergency care is that it's available to you when you need it, where you need it. 

The health board says short-term mitigation measures are being put in place whilst a more permanent plan is being formulated, but the worry is—a clear worry—that this will not include a 24-hour service. Quite simply, we need this 24 hours a day and clinicians are desperately worried. Is the First Minister ready to engage on this issue so that we can try to get this service restored 24 hours a day with urgency?

The air ambulance service does exist 24 hours a day and part of the reason why reform is proposed is that it can be more available across Wales. It's difficult for me to fully understand the points the leader of Plaid Cymru is making. He wants to criticise moves to make a service more widely available and then he's anxious when a service isn't available enough. I wonder whether he thinks there's any contradiction in those two positions that he's advanced so far this afternoon. The detail on the ground will be a matter for the health board itself to establish, to explain, and, of course, they will do that in dialogue with the Welsh Government and with the Minister in her very regular oversight of the way in which the board operates.

Of course, we are talking about one service, the air ambulance, that might be changed in the future. This has already been introduced in terms of the emergency patient transfer at Ysbyty Gwynedd. So, it's not one being taken away because something else is coming in instead of it. This is the loss of a service. 

One element that is frustrating clinicians is their understanding that the transfer service may be being enhanced in other parts of Wales. I am certainly not, as the First Minister knows, in the business of pitching one part of Wales against the other, but I do firmly believe that the Government has to show explicitly, at all times, that it treats all parts of Wales equally.

I'm afraid that the threat to the air ambulances bases, coupled with, already, the withdrawal of emergency transfers, will only reinforce a sense of grievance felt by patients in mid or north Wales. Will the First Minister take that message on board too, in deciding how to intervene on both the air ambulance and the emergency transfer service?

Of course I recognise that when change happens, you have to be sure that you try to take your local population with you on that journey. The health service has changed from the very first day on which it was inaugurated in 1948, and it will go on changing. We know that people in Wales are fiercely attached to the service that they see and they know, and that changing those things on the ground is always something that you have to do through a process of sharing information, answering people's questions, hoping to be able to address the concerns that will be raised. That's what we would expect all of our health boards to do, and I'm sure that in any discussions that the Minister will have—. And it's very good news that the Minister has been able to confirm that the new chair of the health board is now in permanent position, and I think has already demonstrated, with the new chief executive, a very real determination always to listen, always to be available to people on the ground where there are those concerns. I would certainly expect to see that continue.