6. How does the Welsh Government plan to support the social care sector in Wales, based upon the First Minister's listening exercise? OQ61582

We have listened to the people of Wales, and they've been clear that better access to social care is a priority for them, and this has reinforced better access to social care as a continued priority for us as a Government. Progress has been made, as I mentioned earlier, but we know there's much further to go.

Thank you, First Minister. The social care sector is under tremendous pressure, which, as you yourself have said on many occasions, is having a direct impact on the NHS. The additional pressure of the changes brought about by the Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill is not welcomed by many involved in the sector. However well intentioned this piece of legislation is, and we all agree that we need to tackle profiteering in social care, it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It will, according to many, divert valuable resources away from the front-line services at a time when they should be increasing. It will also impact the budgets of struggling local authority social services departments. Therefore, First Minister, will you pause the introduction of this Bill and work with the sector to find better ways of tackling those who seek to profiteer from children's care? Thank you.

No, we're not going to pause the Bill. I think it's a really important Bill. And when you hear of the profiteering in a home in Liverpool last week, where, literally, councils were being asked to pay £20,000 a week to support people in care—that is not a situation that is sustainable. And it's absolutely wrong for us to see that kind of profiteering and it makes sense for us to invest in this area for the long-term sustainability. More than anything, children don't want to be seen as mechanisms of making money. It's an awful situation, and I do hope that you think through your objection to this, because you have to think, 'What is the alternative?' Because, keeping on going in the way that we are, we'll finish up, as they were in Liverpool, paying a huge amount, which is, frankly, unsustainable. And every time we're paying for that, that money is being taken away from somewhere else in the council. We have to get serious about this, and I think it makes absolute sense for us to change the model. It's difficult, it's going to be a transition, but it's absolutely the right thing to do.