Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:58 pm on 8 October 2024.
I thank Natasha for that opening question. If we have learned anything from the pandemic, it is the need to look after the well-being of the workforce. That means giving them the flexibility in order to have a better work-life balance, or to develop their professional skills. According to the nurse retention plan, which the First Minister announced when she was health Minister last year, organisations are expected to respond compassionately to flexible working requests in accordance with the needs of the service. But the Royal College of Nursing tells me that a number of nurses come to them saying that their requests to work flexibly have been rejected. Does the First Minister therefore believe that this policy that she introduced is working, and will she release the data to show the level of success of the measure?