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The twenty-sixth FMQs of 2022 comes to a close.

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The Senedd will once again be lit tonight in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and its people.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Conservative Tom Giffard says "morale is at an all-time low" in the tourism sector, "because of a succession of policies from this Welsh Labour Government. They’re worried about the huge impact of a tourism tax on their businesses and their communities, they’re worried about changes to self-catering holiday properties, which will reduce the amount of holiday accommodation in their areas, and they’re worried that they have a Welsh Government that is doing very little to support them, and which they feel is hampering them instead".

The first minister says "the real problem that the tourism industry in Wales faced over this summer, and some of the fantastic weather, was that it was unable to recruit the staff it needed in order to be able to open to the extent that it wanted to, and to make the money that it might have made", partly as a result of Brexit he claims.

He says a tourism levy would "raise money to invest in the tourism industry, and to make sure that the conditions that make Wales an attractive place to visit today will go on being attractive places into the future".

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative Natasha Asghar says a rent freeze would impact the supply of private properties to rent. She says that 38 per cent of private landlords have told the NRLA [National Residential Landlord Association] that they plan to cut the number of properties that they rent out. She adds that "the NRLA is concerned that the potential development of rent controls in Wales in response to the cost-of-living crisis would make it more difficult for tenants to access the homes that they desperately need".

The first minister replies "the market is in danger of collapsing, because people can no longer afford to borrow money".

He illustrates the reason why he thinks "people are under the pressure they are in in that sector. The mortgage rate in December 2021, you could borrow money at 2.34 per cent. On the day that the latest Chancellor announced his so-called mini budget, the mortgage rate had risen to 4.74 per cent. Today, it's 6.43 per cent, as a result of the reckless announcements made by the Chancellor with his unfunded borrowing. That adds anything around £500 a month to the cost of borrowing for a private landlord seeking to increase the number of houses available to rent."

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price calls for pay rises that at least keep pace with inflation in the public sector.

The first minister replies "it is a policy this government dearly wish that we were in a position to implement", but he asks where the money could come from.

He says his government's budget next year is "already cut by a billion pounds".

The first minister tells Adam Price that if he wants to see better pay in the public sector he needs more than "pious aspirations and accusations that somehow other people are not as holy as he is".

Adam Price replies: "Awful politics in Westminster are not an excuse for poor politics in Wales."

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, reminds the first minister that accusations of insensitivity were levelled at him for saying campaigners for a Wales-only Covid inquiry had moved on.

Mr Drakeford refers to a press release by the campaign Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru.

That release said Mr Drakeford was unconvinced by the need for a Wales-only inquiry and the group "have therefore shifted their focus to ensuring that Wales is fully scrutinised in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry".

Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru has about 500 members and met Mr Drakeford a number of times during the pandemic, repeatedly calling for a specific Welsh inquiry.

Mr Davies then raises the experience of a constituent's grandmother in the A&E department in the Heath hospital Cardiff, and a Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report on that department.

The first minister replies, "It's important to emphasise, isn't it, that the report found that the majority of patients reported being treated with dignity and respect and that they were receiving good emergency care".

But he adds, "it is absolutely unacceptable to me to read a report that says that an emergency department is dirty, that an emergency department doesn't have enough chairs for people to sit on, that an emergency department is unable to provide access to water forpeople who are waiting."

The first minister says the lives of people on benefits will be "even less bearable" if they are not raised in line with inflation.

He criticises the "actions of a government that will have chosen its priorities—as we know, lifting the cap on bankers' bonuses while being prepared to cut the benefits of the least well off".

Prime Minister Liz Truss's reluctance to raise benefits to match the rising cost of living is causing a rift within the Conservative Party. Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt says it "makes sense" to increase them in line with inflation.

Asked what discussions he has had with the UK prime minister regarding the cost-of-living crisis facing residents, Mr Drakeford replies that he has not had an invitation to talk to Liz Truss.

Image source, Getty Images

The Llywydd (presiding officer) Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of members who may table questions to the first minister and Welsh ministers. Each member may enter their name into a ballot.

Labour's Alun Davies asks about "the potential impact of the UK government’s economic policies on public services in Blaenau Gwent".

First Minister Mark Drakeford replies "the UK government’s policy of unfunded tax cuts for the rich will be paid for by people in Blaenau Gwent. They will be asked to cover the debts this reckless government will rank up. Cuts to other essential public services will be the deliberate consequence of this economic catastrophe."

He refers to estimate by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) this morning of a 15 per cent cut in departmental budgets.

He says a "15 per cent cut to the Welsh Government budget would be something unheard of in the deepest days of austerity, and I just want to say as seriously as I can today that if we face cuts on that scale, we are talking about thousands and thousands of people losing their jobs in public services across Wales".

The Welsh Government announced that "a 16-year-old girl from Barry has become First Minister of Wales for the day as girls across the world take over to mark the UN’s International Day of the Girl. Jaime has stepped into First Minister Mark Drakeford’s shoes to celebrate the power of girls and to call for action to tear down the barriers they continue to face in today’s world."

However, Jaime will be watching First Minister’s Questions, before taking part in an event to celebrate Wales’ participation in the World Cup, ahead of the tournament next month.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the twenty-sixth session of First Minister's Questions in 2022.

The meeting is held in a hybrid format, with some members in the Siambr (Senedd chamber) and others joining by video-conference.