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The twelfth FMQs of 2023 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

Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds says there is a "shortage of dentists within our NHS services, and that's across Wales", and expresses concerns about access to NHS dentistry.

The first minister stresses the need for "diversifying" the profession, which he says has been "slow" in embracing that agenda.

He says, "dentists themselves are the most highly skilled and most expensive resource we have in that field. No dentist should be routinely spending their time carrying out activity that somebody else in that liberalised profession could do equally clinically successfully."

New NHS contracts issued by the Welsh Government include a requirement to see new patients but the British Dental Association claims this to the detriment of those already registered at practices.

Asked by his Labour colleague Jenny Rathbone for the Welsh Government's assessment of Ofgem's latest proposal to allow energy companies to resume forcing households onto prepayment meters, the first minister replies that the proposals are voluntary "and do not go far enough".

He says the forced installation of prepayment meters should be banned completely.

Better productivity is the key to increasing the Welsh gross value added, says the first minister.

He elaborates. "Why is it that it takes a worker five days to produce what a worker in France can produce in four? It's not because the people are different, and I don't think it is, on the whole, because skill levels are different. I think it is that people elsewhere have at their disposal a more modern set of equipment, of machinery, of investment by industry, and that is what would allow productivity growth to be resumed inside the UK economy."

The topic was raised by his Labour colleague Mike Hedges, who said, "while most economies in Europe, Asia and North America have tourism, agriculture and the foundation economy as part of their economy, the successful ones—the ones we hope to emulate—have a higher proportion of their workforce in information and communications technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and professional services than we do in Wales."

Mark Drakeford again denies misleading the Senedd about a decision to take north Wales's NHS board out of special measures when he was challenged about it for the first time in the Siambr.

He says the Welsh Government acted on the advice of watchdogs, including the Auditor General, and civil servants when it relaxed its control over the Betsi Cadwaladr board in 2020.

But in a letter last week the auditor Adrian Crompton revealed his office had not advised ministers to change the board's status.

Mr Drakeford faces questions from Adam Price for the time since the auditor's letter was revealed by Plaid Cymru.

The auditor also says he wrote to the government in 2020 about an "unhelpful" statement by former health minister Vaughan Gething. Mr Gething also said the auditor had recommended taking the board out of special measures - the highest level of Welsh government intervention.

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price calls on Mr Drakeford to correct the record. But the first minister replies: "there was no record to correct because the minister will have acted on the basis of the system that I have set out to members this afternoon.

"Each decision, whether to do more or to do less, follows that three-stage process. I’ve set it out for members. I don’t think I can help the member any further on that matter."

The Betsi Cadwaladr board was put back into special measures in February after more failings came to light.

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, refers to comments by Dr Iona Collins of the British Medical Association in Wales, who said Wales does not have a functioning NHS and people do not have faith in it.

Mr Drakeford replies, "I don't agree with what the chair of the BMA said about the Welsh NHS not being functional. Of course I agree that there are parts of our NHS that are under the most enormous strain from the volume of people needing to access those services. But the Welsh NHS, for a population of 3 million people, deals with 2 million contacts every single month from people here in Wales. I don't believe that a system that has 2 million contacts with the Welsh population every single month could in any fair sense be described as a system that is failing."

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.

Plaid Cymru’s Siân Gwenllian asks what steps is the government taking to support people in Arfon who depend on public transport.

Mr Drakeford replies that the Welsh Government has collaborated with Gwynedd Council to improve bus services.

But, he says, "the problem for people who rely on public transport is that many other people haven't returned to bus or train services since the Covid pandemic. Taxpayers, through the Welsh Government, have provided millions of pounds in additional funding to support public transport, but the funding that's taken in bus tickets is still much lower, and there is a new reality there that we have to face."

Siân Gwenllian calls for a summit to discuss the "crisis" in bus services. She says, "some communities go from one crisis to another, and are fighting hard to maintain a level of service which is inadequate in the first instance. There are constituents in Gerlan, Llys y Gwynt, Talybont, Deiniolen, Rhosgadfan, Nebo, and so on and so forth, who are at risk of being totally isolated at important times of the day."

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the twelfth session of First Minister's Questions in 2023.

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

You can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings.