00:00 Well, we know that there are hundreds of thousands of children across the UK who will be in poverty
00:07 as a result of the decisions made by the UK government. That is what the UK government
00:12 itself says. That's not something that I am making up. Their own figures demonstrate that
00:19 hundreds of thousands more children will be in poverty as a result of the decisions they
00:24 have already made. And you know when the Tories are desperate, because they turn, as ever,
00:29 on the weakest members of our society.
00:33 Thousands of people on disability benefits have struggled through the cost of living
00:36 crisis and there have been calls to help amid rising inflation. Mark Drakeford has been
00:41 quizzed on what his government are doing to help plenty of times in the past, but he makes
00:45 it very clear that issues like disability payments are not devolved. The First Minister
00:49 has said he wants to be able to help wherever his government can, but says nothing can happen
00:53 here in Wales until things change across the border, and blamed Westminster for people
00:58 struggling here in Wales.
01:00 I'm asked a question by Conservative members about what we can do for people with disabilities
01:06 and I'm explaining that the things that we can do have to be set in the context of further
01:11 cuts, further cuts, which his government plans to make for people with disabilities. And
01:19 that contrasts very directly, doesn't it, with news that the Conservative Party is considering
01:26 cuts to inheritance tax. Four per cent, the richest four per cent people in the whole
01:32 of the country to see their incomes increased, while people who manage on the smallest incomes
01:38 of all have to worry about those incomes being eroded even further.
01:44 Privatising the NHS has been a topic of massive debate for the last decade or so, with arguments
01:48 in every direction. Applied Cymru leader Srinath Yorworth says that there are calls to privatise
01:52 the NHS in England from a number of senior figures, and wondered whether Mark Drakeford
01:57 agrees. The First Minister, though, doesn't bite and makes it clear decisions on the Welsh
02:01 NHS are made here in Wales.
02:04 Had started to move in the right direction by bringing in more private companies, but
02:08 wanted to see a Labour government, and I quote again, "put our foot on the accelerator".
02:14 Does the First Minister agree that bringing in the private sector is the key to an improved
02:18 NHS?
02:19 Well, I wonder if I need to remind the leader of Plaid Cymru that health has been a devolved
02:24 matter in Wales since 1999. We make decisions here in Wales for the Welsh health service,
02:32 and we will continue to do so. What is said in Westminster, where I know is where he would
02:37 rather be, but what happens in Westminster is of no relevance to the decisions that we
02:44 will make here.
02:46 This winter will be a struggle for many people, whether that's those taken ill, facing issues
02:50 with winter pressures in the NHS, or whether it's inflation meaning people on benefits
02:54 struggling to pay bills. Whether things become easier seems too late, given how quickly winter
02:59 has come upon us, and people may face issues across the board.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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