 Wel bod yda, croeso i'r cynhadleth awasg. Welcome to this week's Welsh Government Press Conference. Today's press conference, the first to cover the cooperation agreement, the Welsh Government signed with Plaid Cymru in December last year. The agreement, as you know, commits us to work together over three years on a range of important policy commitments. So joining me here, today is the leader of Plaid Cymru Adam Price, and Adam is going to open the conference. Wel yda, diolch a bwre dda i chi gyd. Diolch am ymuno anu heddiw. Mae'n braf iawn gen i allu adrodd ar ddatblygiadau pwysig sy'n deillio o'r cytundeb cydwythio, Blyngar, rŵn Plaid Cymru a'r Llywodraeth heddiw. Rŵn falch a'n bod ni eiso swyddi cetino i fydd sodd i ddaig gan miliwn o bynnoedd dros y taib yna nesaf i sicrhau bod prydde ysgol am ddim i bob plentyn cyndradd. Mae hyn er mwyn cyrraedd nod y rydyn ni gyd yn i ran i, ni ddyleu'n rŵn plentyn bod yn ffugled yn yr ysgol. Heddiw, ar y rydyn ni'n falch o gyhoeddi 25 miliwn o bynnoedd o arian cyfalaf er mwyn cynna'r ffoio cynhore i gyflawni ar yr rhwrn roi, ar yr wrngod pwysig hwn. Byddwch chi'n dwyliadol, rydyn ni'n fawr, rydyn ni'n dwyliadol i'r bwysig sy'n fawr o'r cymorth i'r rhan o gyllidiau sy'n rhan o'r neisio, rhywbeth yw mae'n cyllid yw, rydyn ni'n edrych yn ei rhan o'r perthynas gyngor o'r rhan o gyhoeddi. Felly rydyn ni'n gweithio'r ddweud o'r holl bwysig sy'n mewn hollol o'r cyflodau o'r rhan o'r bynnoedd rydyn. Gweithio gyda'n gweithio gyda'r ffordd yn bwysig yn bwysig o'r cyfnodau'r hwnnw, ac mae'r ddweud yn cael ei wneud gyda'r wneud o'r cyfnodau'r cymdeil. Rwy'n weithio gyda'n gilydd, rydym yn gneud gwahaniaeth dros Gymru, achem yn edy a'r hyd y lled o lad. Mae yn raglen polisi ar y cyd yn un sy'n blaen o ryeithu'r bobol a chemyn edy mwyaf bregys. Rydym ni eisios wedi cyhoeddi'r bydd swddiad mwyaf erioed i le hi'n perygledd llifolgydd, perygl llifogydd, cyfan sum o dros 2,12 miliwn dros tair blynedd. Gallwn i gyhoeddi hefyddiw, bod yr athro elwen evans eich ev, wedi cytino i arwein yr adyl ygiad o'r llifogydd, rydyn wedi ymrwymoedd gynnal, yn y modol ar gythindeb ta'r fanol ar y cilch gorgwyl am serlen cyflawni a chyfnogeth ysgryfyneddiaeth y caiff i gyhoeddi yn fian. Mae'r datblygiadau hyn yn talol elu'r ffaith, a'n bod ni fel cymbaithas eich os yn wynebu effeithiau cynnyddol newid hyn syl dyn ar argyfwng sy'n yn wynebu fel gwlad ac fel planet, ac mae rhaid i ni fel democratiaeth a phleidiau yn y Senedd, wythio gyda'n gilydd er mwyn torri a'n halariadau carbon cyn gynted ac y gallwn. Mi fydd y prif wedi dog yn adrodd ar rai o gyflomniadau eich hangach a'i'n cytundeb cydwythio, ond hoffwn i dynnu selwad ambellu beth fy hun. Rydyn ni wedi sefydlu panel arbennigol ar ofal i ddychrau ar y daith o greu gwasanaeth gofal cenedlaethol i Gymru, er mwyn gwerthu yn eich helgais i ddarparu gofal am ddim pryd a llebynag y boi angen. Rydyn ni hefyd wedi cyhoedd i'r cam cyntaf, yn y gwaith o'i hangi gofal plant o anseld i'ch hel i bob plentyn doioed yn hymry. Y First Minister will report an important progress we've made on other key areas of our co-operation agreement, but let me briefly refer to a couple of policies myself. We have already established an expert panel starting us on the journey to create a national care service for Wales to realise our ambition of care for our most vulnerable free at the point of need. We've also announced the first step in the work of expanding free, high quality childcare to every two-year-old in Wales over the next three years. Mae'r cydweithio rŵn pleidiau yn gyffredin a draws europ ac a draws y byd. O thresw mae'n dod ai heriau, mae'n broses o gydrawod er mwyn cyradd consensus rŵn ddweiblid. Mae hefyd yn broses gredigol achad yn hawl. Un rŵn gyfeithio sy'n dod yn glir sy'n gwneud gwahaniaeth ar lawr gwlad er lesa'n pob o angymunedau. Diolch yn fawr, yn ôl at y chymag. Rhaiddem, a diolch yn fawr. Over the course of the last 10 years, Welsh Governments have worked hard to ensure children have access to good quality food, both in school and during the school holidays. We do this because we know how important that is to the child's own development and that child's ability to learn. With the pressure on household budgets rising because of the current cost of living crisis, this is another way in which we can help families faced with that terrible choice between heating and eating. It's almost 20 years ago now, in 2004, that we started to introduce free breakfasts in our primary schools. Wales was the first part of the United Kingdom to do that. Since then, more than 10 million breakfasts have been provided in primary schools across Wales. We were also the first part of the UK to make funding available during the pandemic to maintain free school meals through the school holidays. Working together, we have also been able to confirm further funding to extend that free school meal provision through the Easter, Witson and Summer holidays this year. We are also continuing to invest in our national schemes to tackle holiday hunger, the only part of the United Kingdom to have that genuinely national approach. So it's against that background that I'm pleased that today we've been able to provide further details about our plans to progress or shared commitment to extend free school meals to all primary school age pupils. We'll do that over the course of the three years of the cooperation agreement benefiting an additional 180,000 children and leaving that money in the pockets of hard pressed families. Universal provision of free school meals helps to remove the stigma associated with free school meals. It ensures that all children can benefit from the educational and the health benefits a nutritious meal can help deliver. So from September of this year, some children, youngest children in the primary school age will begin receiving free school meals in the first phase of the rollout. Byr eich lawson oeddwn i wedi darianni 10,000 o'r cyllid revenue i awdurdodau lleol cyflewn i'r ymrhyw miad dros atar blynedd nesaf, ac mae 5 miliwn ar i gyn obynnoedd o'r cyllid cyfalaf a'n cael ei ddarianni i awdurdurdodau lleol i ddachraibydd sawddi mewn cyginnau ac ystafff fel llwydd bwyta ysgolion. We've asked local authorities to carry out an audit of their schools, so we know where to target this investment so that we can begin that rollout of free school meals in primary schools from September. We want to reach as many children as quickly as we can but the quality of food on offer matters very much and we've learned painfully in the past in Wales that food safety has to be at the front of our minds as well and hence the capital investment to go alongside the revenue needed to deliver on this part of our agreement. The campaign for free school meals began here in Cardiff over a century ago with the launch of a Fabian pamphlet in Cardiff City Hall with that wonderful title and they shall have flowers on the table. It was a campaign against hunger of course but it was also a campaign for the strengthening of the bonds between us all when we invest as we will be doing in the future of our children. Diolch o galon i chi gyd. We'll now take questions from journalists and our answers will be broadcast on our social media. I'll go first of all today to Adrian Masters of ITV Wales and Adrian if you want to direct your questions to either one of us or both of us please just let us know. Thank you, this is to both of you actually because you both describe yourself as socialists and yet once this policy has been rolled out it will be available to all. So rather than putting more money back into the pockets of hard press families are you worried that you might be putting more money back into the pocket of well off families? Well to me this is a socialist policy because as with the NHS which is not means tested provided free for all, why? Because only that universal provision with certain things which are fundamental they create the base for a decent society. It is absolutely essential that they are provided on an universal basis and we would like to see that extended to other aspects as well which I mentioned in my opening remarks in terms of the national care service in terms of provision of free high quality childcare and when we look around the world for example many of those Scandinavian countries where socialism and social democracy been the heart of their politics when we speak to the Finns for example they would say that the universal provision of free school meals has been an absolutely essential bedrock element within their ability to provide educational excellence for everyone in the society by removing the threshold beyond which there's always the risk that those children in need will not be covered and that's why we're moving now to provision of free school meals for primary school children. Adrian universal services where we can provide them provide the glue that binds together a complex modern society. It means that everybody has an interest in making that service the best it can be the well resourced and the well informed on the articulate as well as those who struggle to get their voices heard. That's why from my perspective a universal service of this sort helps to strengthen those social bonds a demonstration of the fact that in Wales the fate of any one of us is bound up in the fate of us all and for me that is the essence of a socialist message. And you know we were we talked today we're announcing today the capital investment in order to help realise this policy but in a deeper sense as the First Minister is just alluded to this is one of the best investments that we can make in the human and social capital of Wales not only will the 180,000 children be direct beneficiaries of this policy we all gain when we create a society where we invest in the well-being of everyone. Thank you and could I ask both of you again on the wider issue of this agreement I can understand why it is politically helpful for both of your parties to work together and I can understand what you think you would get from it but is there a danger that the voters will be confused by seeing a set of policies not all of Welsh Government policies but some policies being delivered by the two parties those voters who will think well Labour won this election and Labour can be lost why are they working together? I think voters are a bit more sophisticated than that Adrian I think they like to see political parties working together where we have common ground and they understand that there will be other issues on which we continue to have different views I think the public response to the cooperation agreement was a very positive one and as I say I think people understanding that where you can work together you should but that doesn't mean that you don't continue to have different views on other important matters I think that's something that people in other parts of Europe as Adam said people are very used to and people in Wales are increasingly used to it as well Yes as the First Minister has just referred to political cooperative politics is the norm in most of the parts of Europe and it's only I think the UK which has been brought up with a sort of Westminster adversarial already sterile adversarialism that somehow sees that as odd and yeah the people that I've spoken to I've seen it as refreshing that yes we can have honest and respectful disagreement in some areas as we do but that doesn't mean that we can't actually work together on those really important things the big things that we've been talking about today where there is common ground because ultimately what is the purpose of politics not just to be competitive just for the sake of it it's actually to try and improve the lives of the people of Wales and sometimes the best way of doing that is putting aside the party difference and prioritising the common good of the people of Wales and I think that has resonance with many, many of the citizens out there Adrian thank you very much Drawee Dan Davis BBC Wales Welch brybwn ni dog, cwestiwn i chi yn gynta We're running an interview today with the medical director of the Nadine Bevan Health Board he's apologising for overcrowding at the Grange Hospital he says that the standard of care is high when people get it but their experience of care is very poor because of the overcrowding and you can see that reflected on social media today and the responses to an urgent message from the health board asking people to stay away from the Grange unless they have a life-threatening or serious injury given that this is a new hospital comparatively what is the Welsh Government doing about the situation there other than asking people to stay away from A&E unless it's really serious because we've heard that message in one form or another for years now Dan, the health service is under a very significant strain the numbers of people falling ill with coronavirus have risen very rapidly over the last couple of weeks and we've gone from having 700 people in a hospital bed in Wales because or with coronavirus to a position today where that's over 1400 and in those circumstances and the strains are very real the approach of the Welsh Government has always been this and that is to ask people to use the right part of the system to get the help that they need the Grange Hospital was designed to be a specialist hospital providing those, the most serious forms of intervention that are needed there are other ways in which people are able to get help from the health service their community pharmacy right through primary care using the 111 service that's now available in every part of Wales the appeal of the A&E Health Board is the appeal that the Government here echoes if you need help from the health service it is there but try and use the part of the health service that is best aligned to your needs and that won't always be making your way to the most specialist end of what is available Would you mind summarising that in Welsh, please? Of course Mae'r grwsanaeth iechyd yma yng Nghymru dan straen wrth gwrs mae bobl nifer o bobl sy'n cwmpondos gyda coronavirus yn cynnyddu ac mae hwnna'n creu a straen yn y system ac angor gorau i bobl eu i defnyddio'r popeth sydd ar gael yn yr NHS yng Nghymru ac i fynd at i fynd at y gwasanaeth sy'n adas i'r pethau sy'n digwydd yn eich bywyd chi ac ydy'i hwnna ddim yn golygu bob tro i fynd at y rhan o'r system sy'n jyst yn fwy arbenig i defnyddio'r pethau yn gofal sylfaenol a popeth i'r allu ddargarlau D boundaries you're committed in the agreement to work towards a bigger a borders have recently confirmed that can say, this will happen in this term in other words, what are the chances that the next election will be an election where 1890 – however many – more than 60 members? Well, Dan, as I said in my conference speech, it is absolutely essential in our view that it does happen in time for the 2026 election. Wales cannot afford to wait another nine years or so. Why? Because this for us is about our ability to deliver for the people of Wales. That's the purpose of this Senate reform. It's actually about the kind of things that we're talking about today. The bread and butter issues in terms of transforming public services and the economy in Wales and all those other important questions that are heart of our democracy. We were given, of course, in two referendae, the instructions by the people of Wales to deliver on these promises and ambitions. But at the moment we don't have the Senate, the tools, if you like, that is necessary in our view for that task. And that's why it is absolutely essential that we reform the Senate to ensure that we do have those tools following the 2026 election. So Dan, the Welsh Government approaches this on the basis of wanting to see reform for 2026, recognising that there are a series of practical issues that have to be addressed in order to make that happen. There is a committee of the Senate chaired by Hugh Arancadavis. It has members from other parties. It represents by Cymru. On it, the Llywydd is involved in that committee. We await its report. It will help us to set out a path to 2026. But our starting point is that's when we would like reform to happen. Diolch yn fawr, Dan, over to Ruth Mwazolski at Wales Online. Thank you both. Whoever wants to answer this can. Can you give us some more detail on the free school meals rollout? So you've said there, First Minister, the youngest children will get it this September. But I think it's until 2024 you expect all children to get it. So how will it happen in terms of which schools will get it when, what age of children? Can you give us as much detail as you know, please? So the idea is to start at the bottom age of the age range and then to build that up over the three years. That's why it will be the youngest children who will start to benefit in September. It is a complex picture because schools are very different. Buildings are very different. We have a fantastic 21st century schools programme here in Wales. But there are still schools being used that were built in the 19th century. And therefore capacity, which is why we've been asked the capital funding today, we want to do this as quickly as possible. The quicker we can do it, the more impact we will have on those families facing the cost of living crisis. But as I said in my opening remarks, there are two things we've got to attend to and will attend to carefully alongside speed. One is the quality of the provision. We want to make sure that young people in Wales get the best possible meal, sourced locally with all the other things that we'd like to achieve in that way. But also there are food safety issues. Some people in this conference will remember the very sad case of a young man, Mason Jones, who lost his life in Wales in an Ecoli outbreak during the second Senedd term. And we learnt some serious lessons from that about the way in which food safety issues have to be front and centre of the way that we make provision. So starting with the youngest, moving as fast as we can, but making sure that alongside speed we attend to those other necessary and important issues. And of course the reason that we're starting with the youngest of course is that the evidence is quite strong that that's where you can have the greatest benefit. So you start with the youngest for that reason, but then of course you move through the age range as quickly as you can. And in reference Mark to those other aims as well, of course I know that the cross party group on school food is meeting later today and they're looking at this very question because with every policy we're keen to maximise the benefit in all areas. And so there's great work. I know there's been going on funded by the Welsh Government's Foundation Economy programme in Comadinshire as a trial looking at this very question about how we can actually in the rollout of the universal free school meal policy make sure that there is opportunities there in terms of local food procurement and also making sure that in every case of course we're talking about food of the highest nutrition as well. So these things are going on in parallel and that will continue. But obviously we're focusing at the start at the very youngest because that's where we'll have the greatest benefit. Thank you. Can I just clarify ahead of a second question? Can I just clarify there when you've said it will be rolled out? Will it have to be each September or are you hoping that, you know, will it be September 22, 23, 24? Are you hoping it will be between the year? And then if I can ask my second question as well, the same basically about the free childcare announcement that you've said that you're working towards, which is free childcare for two and three year olds. What details do you know about that? When would you expect that to come in? And will that be phased as well? And from when? Thank you. Shall I just attend to the first, the final part of the first question? I'll go to Adam on the second. So I don't think we will want artificially to hold things back just because there is a school year date. We will do the most we can in September of this year if it's possible to bring more children in the system over the 12 months ahead. We won't hold that back artificially until September of the following year. In relation to the free childcare offer, I think further details will be released in due course. I think the initial plan is to focus on the existing flying starter areas and build out that provision further. But again, as with the free school meals policy, it will develop and extend during the course of the cooperation agreement. And just again, finally, the issues that have to be addressed are, there's a range of them. There's the physical capacity of childcare settings, but there's workforce issues as well. The Welsh Government has committed the funding as part of the agreement, but it's not just a simple matter turning on the top of money. You've got to find the people to do the jobs, the skilled people, make sure we've got them. We're very committed to expanding Welsh medium childcare provision and you've got to find people who are capable and competent of doing that part of the job as well. So that's why, as the leader of Black Humry says, there'll be further details on how we are addressing these practical challenges, but the money to help solve them has been found as part of the agreement. And again, we will want to see maximisation of opportunities to address a number of aims of government policy that we share and some of them set out, of course, in the committee's report which the Government has responded to positively, I think, in most cases about the extension of childcare. So, again, there are some issues that need to be worked through, but there's a strong start and strong early momentum and then we'll be building on that over the next few months. Thanks, Ruth, over to Dan Bevan at LBC. Thank you, First Minister. Boredar to the both of you. Firstly, to yourself, First Minister, would you support extending free school meals to secondary school pupils across Wales as Plaid Cymru have promised to do in the council areas that they control? And for yourself, Mr Price, is that something that you'd like to try and achieve within this cooperation agreement? Well, Dan, the cooperation agreement is an agreement, as it says, and that commits us to free school meals in primary schools. And you've heard already that there are challenges there that we have to work through and will be working on together over the three years of the agreement. That is the extent of this Government's commitment. The rest of it is a matter for the forthcoming election rather than for the agreement or the Government, and I'm sure the leader, Plaid Cymru, will be able to explain to you what he will be saying in that context. Yes, I mean, the first thing to emphasise, Dan, of course, is it's so great, isn't it, to see this policy now, which is going to be implemented over the next three years, which is achieved through the cooperation agreement. It's fantastic news. We've heard from the First Minister that the ambition to ensure that we root out child hunger through using the free school meal policy has deep roots in Wales, and I think it reflects those shared Welsh values, and that's why it's at the heart of the cooperation agreement between two distinct political parties. We've always had an ambition as a party to go further in relation to free school meals, so yes, that's still our policy to extend it to secondary. I think the logic, in our view, is that yes, we want to get on to that as soon as possible, and that's for another day in terms of the cooperation agreement. We, of course, are focusing on delivering that, and yes, within the local authorities, within our ability to be able to do that, depending on local circumstances as we've set out, we will be setting that as a goal locally. We'd, of course, like to see that adopted at a national level, and I'm sure that there'll be plenty of opportunity to have that discussion in the future. Thank you, and First Minister, you've previously told us at LBC that you'd like to house a Ukrainian refugee, but we're trying to work out the practicalities. I wonder if you've managed to work out those practicalities, and if you think it would be possible, and for yourself, Mr Price, is housing a Ukrainian refugee something that you're considering? So, in my own circumstances, Dan, yes, we've made some progress in that. As I've explained before, we are in the very fortunate position in my own household that we are able to offer help to somebody coming from Ukraine, but there are issues, essentially issues of that person's security living at an address that is known to others and has attracted his own bit of attention over the last couple of years. So I've had to have discussions with others on that front. I think the issues that are there look like they are solvable, and now it's a matter of just making sure that those practical things can be put in place. Yes, Dan, we as a family do have the physical capacity to accept Ukrainian refugees, and we've had a direct, a specific direct approach to which we've responded positively, but we're still at the very early stage of those discussions. Thank you, Dan. So next, it's good morning to Lily Hewitson at GB News. Good morning to you both, a question for you both. How confident are you that every child in Wales will have access to free school meals in three years' time? It's a very big claim to make which parents and guardians will obviously now be holding on to. Well, just to say, of course, it's primary age children that we are talking about. Of course, we would not have put it into our agreement if we weren't confident that this was capable of being delivered. A great deal of work went into reaching the agreement and the achievability of the things that we've committed to do was very much part of that discussion. We've set out this morning some of the practical things that you've got to be able to overcome in order to do this. We've a team of people working very hard on it, and that's why we've been able to say today that we will make a practical start on it in September of this year and then with a very clear commitment to achieving it all over the three years of the agreement itself. The cooperation agreement is an alliance of policy. It's an alignment along certain objectives, but I suppose it's also a combination of enthusiasm and experience. We wouldn't have put anything in that cooperation agreement that we weren't absolutely sure that we could deliver. There's already been, of course, the provision of 200 million to deliver on our objective of seeing universal free school meals for all primary school aged children. There's already been some initial investment in the preparatory work and, of course, we've announced the additional capital investment today to demonstrate really that we've, from the very beginning actually, there's been huge momentum right across the 46 different areas. We're keen to get on to deliver all this and certainly that is well reflected in the progress that we've made nationally and also, I have to say, in the great enthusiasm for people working within the sector, local authorities and their staff, inspired by what this represents for them and are keen to be part of this incredible policy which is going to make such a difference to so many children's and family's lives. Billy, we've lost you briefly on the screen here, so I'm going to go back just to check you're still hearing us. Yes, I can hear you, can you hear me okay? Thank you, yes. Good. A second question for you both as well. Why did you decide to go from the youngest children up with this rollout? Was it because it was easier just because a child is younger? It doesn't necessarily mean the child or the family is more vulnerable and because the cost of living crisis is happening now, does it not make more sense to target the most vulnerable first? Yes, as I already referenced, Katie, in my earlier remarks, actually the evidence shows that you will have the greatest positive impact by focusing on those younger children, so that's the reason, that's the answer to your question really, that it's the most beneficial approach in terms of impact on children's welfare and wellbeing is by actually focusing on those younger children. Others will have heard recently reports from some schools about children because of a pandemic arriving at the school gate without some of the social skills and abilities that they may normally have acquired, so you start with the youngest because you get the greatest range of benefits. Of course you get the educational benefits, the health benefits, but you get the socialising benefits as well of children sitting down together and eating a meal together in that way and doing that for the youngest children lays down those routes at the earliest possible moment and of course just to say for the most vulnerable children they are already entitled to free school meals throughout the primary school age range, so it's not a choice between starting at the youngest age range and vulnerable children, children throughout the primary school and secondary school who are entitled to free school meals will go on getting them and then we'll build up the universal system over the three-year period. Lily, thank you very much. We're going to go to Katie Hasseldine at That's TV. Thank you, First Minister. Just one on the free school meals again. How do you hope that this funding will help to contribute tackling the dependency on food banks for families particularly in areas that we cover it's extremely high in some of those places? Well, we would hope certainly that we'll have a massively beneficial impact upon families that are struggling and in food poverty at the moment. One of the reasons for having the universal free school meals policy is that we know that in many cases there are families that are in genuine need that are just above the threshold in terms of eligibility. There are also some stigma around free school meals. I was on free school meals myself as a child for a period at school and I know from my own experience the strength of that stigma as you experience it as a child. So there are a whole host of reasons why those that need this support aren't currently able to access it. This policy then takes that away and it at least ensures that every child will have a nutritious meal at school and it's one way that we can most directly affect the struggle that so many families are facing. Of course in terms of the bigger picture then there are so many other things that we need to do in terms of addressing the broader problem of child hunger and child poverty. But this is one way that we can have a massively direct impact on tens and tens and tens of thousands of children. Given the cost of living crisis I'm afraid that food banks are going to go on being part of the landscape here in Wales the food bank movement that has its own ambition to see itself out of business. Use of food banks in Wales has declined over the last 12 months and the reasons for that are complex but amongst them will be the fact that we've been able to provide free school meals during the holiday periods here in Wales and the other schemes the SHEP scheme, the school holiday enrichment programme that we've been able to extend to other parts of Wales over that 12 months as well. So what we are announcing today will have an impact in that way but in the broader context that Adam just outlined I'm afraid that there will be families in all parts of Wales who will find themselves still needing to use the service that food banks provide. Thank you for that and just a second one from me. Do we have any details on how the Government will divide this funding between local authorities? It'll be a formula, a formula that is well established as part of the local government funding formula and the formula for this is essentially just driven by pupil numbers. So the more children you have in primary schools the greater share of the funding you will get from the Welsh Government and it's done, as I say, on a formula driven basis. Katie, thank you very much indeed. Finally, for this morning to Tom Magner at Carersworld Live. Sorry, technical problem, apologies for that. Good morning to both of you and thank you, First Minister. I'd like to saw some other aspects of the cooperation agreement if I may. My first question concerns the UK COVID public inquiry. I've looked into the draft terms of reference as they currently stand and there doesn't appear to be any sign of unpaid carers. So to you, First Minister, given that unpaid carers provide over 96% of care across Wales, how satisfied are you that scrutiny of government and public services is going to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when it appears only to be focusing on 4% of care provided? And to you, Mr Price, having had no substantive replies to our interview bids to your party over the past few months, our audience is really eager to hear your thoughts too on this fundamental question. So Tom, I'm very glad you've had a chance to look at the terms of reference. You will know that they are out to public consultation. So there is an opportunity to go on shaping them to make sure that, as in the case you've said, that the role of unpaid carers is drawn to the surface of those terms of reference. I have undertaken, in my meetings with bereaved families, to respond to the consultation. The Welsh Government has already had one opportunity prior to the publication of the draft, but I've undertaken that we will respond a second time. And to make points on behalf of people in Wales who feel that the terms of reference need to be further refined or developed. And we'd be very happy to talk to you and to carers organisations about whether points that we might make to ensure that the part played by unpaid carers is firmly there within the remit of the inquiry. I absolutely agree that the massive contribution to unpaid carers, not just during the pandemic, but all the time, you know, every day, every hour of every day, throughout Wales and indeed throughout the rest of the UK, has to be surely at the heart of the inquiry. Because, you know, it shouldn't have come, we shouldn't have needed this, but this was the wake-up call surely in terms of how we provide care. Now we're addressing that in the co-operation agreement in part through the creation of a national care service. But in relation to the unpaid carers, then I think there's a lot more that we need to do. You know, I would love to come on. Sorry, I wasn't aware of the request. I'd love to come on and speak to you. But I've got one request. Can I bring my mother? She'll do most of the talking. She normally does. And she can draw upon her own experience. I've talked about this, you know, my 85-year-old father with dementia. You know, my mother kept him alive and healthy throughout the entire pandemic and has done, you know, the last 10 years since his diagnosis. And it has, you know, at times it's come very close to breaking her. I can tell you, and he's, you know, finally we had to reach the point as a family where he had to go into a care home, which was a tremendously difficult moment for us all, as you can expect, you can understand at least my mother. So I'd love to come on, Tom, and bring, but I want to bring my mother too, because her voice and the voice of all unpaid carers needs to be heard. Thank you, Mr Price. I'm sure we will take up your kind offer, and also your mother is very welcome as well to come and have her say. Just turning to another aspect, I know that the Welsh Government announced in January that £4.5 million was to be allocated to investigating hospital-acquired COVID infections. Doesn't appear to have been any word on that since. So first Minister, be grateful for an update. And to you, Mr Price, are unpaid carers part of your thoughts for the National Care Service? Perhaps you could expand a little bit on that aspect if you first reply. Yeah, I ideally would love to have a conversation about the role of unpaid care and unpaid carers in our concept of a National Care Service in Wales. And we've set up the expert panel, which we'll be reporting soon. But yes, there are interesting models, aren't there? We're looking at Germany, et cetera, where this question of the role, the proper role for unpaid carers and how that needs to be reviewed and revised, because it's such an essential core element of the way that we provide care. So, yeah, I think we are very, very open to progressive, positive ideas that put unpaid care where it deserves to be at the heart of our thinking about how we're going to care in a decent society in the future. So let's have that conversation. Now is the time to put those ideas on the agenda. So it's been part of the COVID experience that some people have fallen ill with the virus, having acquired the virus while they were in hospital for other reasons. And understandably families in that position often have questions that they want to put to the health boards as to how that happened and what the response of the health board had been to it. The sheer volume of cases that the health boards have dealt with over the last two years means that their normal resources for responding to patient and family requests has been stretched beyond their ability to provide the service that would normally be there. So that's where the £4.5 million comes from. It's an announcement by Elinid Morgan and it's there to do two things. It's there to accelerate the rate of response so that people get more timely answers to their questions and it's there to make sure that there is a greater consistency between health boards in the way in which they've gone about responding to those requests for information. So the bulk of the money is going directly to health boards to reinforce their teams and to give people those faster answers. There's a smaller part of the money which is for a national tier to make sure, as I say, that there's consistency of approach and that people get answers in one part of Wales which would be the sorts of answers they would get elsewhere. That money is being put to work, Tom, as we are talking and the health minister will report further on the difference that it is making. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr. Thank you all very much for today. Thank you all.