4. What targets has the Welsh Government set for reducing NHS waiting lists? OQ61566

Our priority for iechyd da, a healthier Wales, is to cut waiting times for NHS services. We've made clear to health boards what our expectations for reductions in waiting times are, and they're set out in the planned care recovery plan. And we're working with health boards to achieve these.

Thank you for your answer, First Minister. As we’ve already heard in the Chamber here this afternoon, many of us are surprised about what we’re hearing coming from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in recent days, and let’s remind ourselves that the First Minister in Wales and Welsh Labour are taking Conservative ideas, stating their intent to work with the UK Government on cutting waiting lists and using other sectors to ease the burden on the NHS. And whilst we welcome this change of approach, magically, in recent times, there must be a worry on your own benches, First Minister, that you're perhaps becoming the first Conservative First Minister of Wales, and it’s essential that any plan that you put in place working with UK Government has robust targets and consequences if those targets are not met. So, First Minister, as you described a few moments ago a serious offer that you now have on the table, can you outline to us what will happen if those important targets are not being met, and are you looking here for another organisation to blame like you did with the health boards last week?

Well, thanks very much. You’re quite right, the NHS in Wales is challenged. We all know that. The demand is unbelievable. I mean, the fact that there were more than 1.5 million referrals into hospitals in a year, more than half the population of Wales. It’s quite, quite extraordinary, and lots of the people I know don’t go to hospital, so they must be the same people going over and over again. There is a huge demand on the service, and I think we've got to recognise that when you've had austerity for as long as we've had, then that is going to be a challenge. But let's not pretend that the Tories have a great record in England. You've got over 7 million people on waiting lists in England, and I think it is, therefore, appropriate for us to look at where the opportunities are for us to work together. The longest waiting times in Wales have fallen by 66 per cent from their peak in March 2022, and the average wait for those 1.5 million people is 21 weeks.

First Minister, the lifeblood of the national health service created by the Attlee Labour Government is its dedicated workforce. One of the very first acts under your administration, First Minister, was accepting in full the recommendations of independent pay bodies, meaning nurses and national health staff will get that 5.5 per cent, and junior doctors have voted to accept an additional 7.4 per cent, a total uplift of 12.4 per cent for the 2023-24 financial year. These are solid actions, and they clearly demonstrate that the Welsh Labour Government understands the importance of the workers at the heart of our health service. First Minister, what opportunities lie ahead for reducing NHS waiting times in Wales with a Welsh Labour Government working closely with NHS staff, alongside a UK Labour Government that understands the fundamental importance of the NHS to our people and our nation?

Thanks very much, Rhianon. You're quite right, the fact that we were able to make that offer was because we now have a Labour Government in Westminster. That was a priority, and because they awarded it in England in full, complying with the recommendations of the independent pay review body, that meant we were able to do the same. That demonstrates that the NHS is a priority for the Labour Government, and it's absolutely right that NHS staff are rewarded, particularly when you see the kind of pressure that they're under.

I think it's probably also worth emphasising that many of the people who use the NHS are, in fact, elderly. You're quite right, there's an issue about making decisions, but this is a decision that is actually helping the elderly to get the support that they need. We all have to make those difficult decisions. We know that the winter fuel cut is going to be difficult for people, but they also want support in the NHS, and that's what this pay reward is delivering.