MINISTERIAL FIRE: Deputy minister Hannah Blythyn today responded in the Senedd to the publication of a report detailing serious misconduct by staff of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. The report detailed prolonged sexual harassment and serious problems with the organisation’s corporate culture.

The minister said she was unconvinced the fire authority was capable of overseeing change and said: “The issue is not whether the Welsh government becomes involved, but how and to what extent.”

LIFE OR DEATH: Welsh leadership contender Vaughan Gething has said the NHS saved his life. The economy minister is making a second attempt to win the top job in Wales.

Mr Gething was treated for kidney disease when he was a teenager and told BBC Wales he “would not be here” without the health service. One of Mr Gething’s leadership pledges is to ensure that spending on health and social care in Wales does not fall below England.

SCHOOL STRIKE: NASUWT Cymru members at Pencoedtre School in Barry, South Wales, will be on strike on Wednesday with a further five days of strikes planned in January and February. The union has said its members have health and safety concerns after suffering increasing verbal and physical abuse from pupils. 

NASUWT Wales official Neil Butler said: “Pencoedtre is one of a number of schools in Wales where the NASUWT is in dispute over learner behaviour.”

CHILD ABUSE: NSPCC Cymru revealed today that child sexual offences recorded by police forces in Wales over the past year remain close to record levels.

Welsh police forces recorded 4,671 offences in 2022-23, including 838 in Dyfed Powys, 884 in Gwent, 1,096 in North Wales and 1,853 in South Wales. Adults can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 and children can contact Childline on 0800 1111.