10/02/2013 Sunday Politics Wales


10/02/2013

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$:/STARTFEED. We are told an increase in the number of people

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unable to keep up with their rent could threaten the viability of

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2459 seconds

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Hello and on Sunday Politics Wales: Could rent arrears threaten the

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viability of housing associations? Are we doing enough to maximise

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overseas markets? Joining me are two appears of the

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Ron - Baroness Randerson from the Liberal Democrats and Lord Dafydd

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Elis-Thomas, the Plaid Cymru assembly member. Let's start with a

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discussion on the horsemeat scandal. You are the chair of the

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Environment sustainability committee. We have discussed the

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food chain. Are you surprised by the headlines? In one sense I am

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not because the market throughout Europe in food product does not

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have the kind of traceability that we are used to in the labelling in

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Wales. The important issue is that people know what they are buying,

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when they buy a product. I shall have some Welsh lamb for lunch and

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a couple of hours. We will not keep you that long! By the time the lamb

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has rested, I am ready to carve it. I know where it comes from and I

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know the butcher and probably the farmer. There is the red tractor

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which you can look for. It is important to look for product which

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you know you can trust and buy your product in a place you can trust.

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This is about the supermarkets policing as well as the Food

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Standards Agency. Is there anything your committee can do to

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investigate this? Food safety is a UK government matter but we are

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intending to look at the whole question of the food industry and

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the food chain in Wales. We had the terrible incidents which were

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investigated a few years ago and as a result of that, food hygiene has

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been much improved. Recent legislation has been going through

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the assembly. This is a huge story that people are very much concerned

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about. What can the government to? You are a Welsh Office minister

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with the UK government - is there a big job for the government two

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there is going to be a massive job as the government identifies the

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scale of the problem. The police will almost certainly be involved

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internationally. But the thing we need to worry about in Wales is

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that we rely a great deal for our prosperity on our farm and

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community. Life is not so easy in the farming community and the food

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production industry in Wales at the moment. Anything like this which

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sends a shock through the whole of the food industry is not good for

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farmers. But I think, as Dafydd says, shoppers need to look for the

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label. If you see the Welsh label, you have a guarantee of good

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quality. In six weeks, changes to the

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benefit system will come into force, affecting thousands of people in

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Wales and this programme has had the viability of housing

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associations could be under threat because of people falling behind on

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their rent. One South Wales charity has told us that the number of

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people contacting them about rent arrears in the current financial

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year has more than doubled. On this box it says... To times are

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hard for Mary Cox and sh he relies on her family collecting pennies to

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be able to afford to buy flowers for her husband's grave. Affording

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the rent on her house is a struggle, to. She has been behind with a run

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before but pay back what she owed. She is concerned that changes to

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the welfare system could leave her with less money. From April,

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families in council homes, people renting from a housing associations

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and working age recipients of housing benefit will be assessed to

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see how many benefits they need. Those who have too much living

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space will get less benefit, a change dubbed the bedroom tax by

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the UK government's political opponents. Although Mary's grandson

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regularly stays with her, her benefit will be reduced because of

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the other two bedrooms she has. I have been told that from 1st

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April dabble have to pay for the two bedrooms that are not being

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used. They asked me if I would think about a smaller property

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which I will not because this is my home and it has a lot of memories.

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My husband has just died and my grandson sleet see every night

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because of my illnesses. Rather than feed myself, I would pay the

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rent because this is my home and I have no intention of giving my home

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up. Mary is not the only one concerned about falling behind with

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the red. Figures from the Citizens Advice Bureau show 165% in the

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number of winter Rea's enquiries. Across Wales, the figure for

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housing associations is only 12%. We have seen significant increases

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in the number of people coming to us with rented villas and that is

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giving us big cause for concern as the welfare reform changes start to

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impact. The fact that we are already working with the most

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deprived communities mean that other parts of Wales are going to

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see the catch-up effect and we are going to see increases across the

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whole of Wales next year. That increase in people fallen behind

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with the rent will have implications for the tenants. And

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also for some of the landlords. Housing Association model has been

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probably the most successful public private partnership in the whole of

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Western Europe and these changes we need to threaten the viability of

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that model. We have leathered a �1.5 million into housing in Wales.

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-- levered. To meet housing need, we have to make sure that resources

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are available to service the debt. The spokesman added that money was

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available from local authorities to help support disabled people and

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foster carers. For Mary, welfare reform will mean finding more money

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to pay the rent but or housing association landlords, welfare

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reform could mean a drop in their income.

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Jenny, the situation outlined by the Citizens Advice Bureau was a

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big surprise, seeing a big jump in the people in rent arrears. But

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they say it is going to get worse from a poor when the changes come

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in. -- from April. Are you find in these changes are difficult to

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communicate? Everyone accepts it is not something the government would

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have wished to have to do. But the truth of the matter is that housing

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benefit now costs the nation, the UK, �23 billion. If you think that

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the Welsh government runs Wales fought roughly �15 billion a year,

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that puts that in perspective. The savings that the UK government is

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making on that 23 billion is 2 billion. There is still an awful

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lot of money going out. The vast majority of housing benefit will

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still be paid in the same way. But savings have to be made because of

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the financial mess that we inherited. The way in which we are

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trying to do it is the fairest possible way and we are providing a

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cushion for those who find themselves in difficulty. There is

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the discretionary housing payments, which are going to go up. They are

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being tripled in value so that there is a cushion for people who

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find themselves in the sort of difficulties that were referred to

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in that piece. Dafydd Elis-Thomas, there appears to be a knock-on

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effect. We heard the man from the Housing Association say that the

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viability of housing associations across Wales could be challenged

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because their rent might drop and that is a frightening thought

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because it is not just the house as they provide but the jobs they

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create. As a third sex to provider of all sorts of activities, not

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just housing but extra care homes - - third sector, the housing

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associations are dependent on a higher market in rent. If the

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support is reduced, that is bound to affect the viability of the

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organisations. I would say it is essential that we investigate this

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from the receiving end in Wales. Whenever there are changes in UK

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government policy on income support that affect our population, it

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affects us worse because we have a higher proportion of people on

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benefits. It undermines the activity of world government very

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often. One of your jobs within the Wales Office is dealing with of the

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UK government departments and the Welsh government. Are these

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discussions you have been having with the Welsh government? Wales

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Office ministers have been discussing the issues and

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particularly the way in which changes to the benefit, with

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universal credit, are going to be rolled out. We are very conscious

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that a higher proportion of people in Wales fan across the UK as a

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whole rely on benefits. We had Mary says she would rather starve

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because she did not want to lose her home. That is rather stark.

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people are very worried about something in advance, or rather

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more worried about something in advance in many cases than the

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problem will actually arise. There are those emergency payments that

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the government is determined it will help the most vulnerable.

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Nobody wants people to feel like that but there are systems in place

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to ensure that, in reality, it does not happen. This is something we

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will keep a watch on after April. This week, the first minister heads

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off to San Francisco in the latest of a series of trade missions,

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which has led to various parts of the globe. He has been to Ireland,

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China and Turkey this year already. One leading Welsh academic police

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there was government is missing a trick by not focusing enough of the

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trade opportunities offered in the countries of central Europe. Our

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political correspondent has been looking at how Wales could benefit

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from its relationship with Romania. After the troubled past, Romania is

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now back at the very heart of Europe. It has retained the

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elegance and sophistication that meant that the capital, Bucharest,

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was once known as the Paris of the East. In the decades following the

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second world war, Romania was plunged into the grey sludge of

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political paternity and the oppressive rule of Nicolae

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Ceausescu and his cronies. The twilight years of communist rule

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came to an end in 1989. The revolution here was the bloodiest

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of all the revolutions that hit eastern Europe. But the country

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emerged onto the European stage for the first time since the end of the

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World War II. Romanians joined the European Union in 2007. In Europe,

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almost all countries need to be better known or to know better

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other members of the European Union. We are a family now, in the largest

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sense of the word. But her family, it is quite normal to exchange

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views, to exchange ideas, to exchange values and against this

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background, we have to do a lot. One of recent trip to Cardiff, the

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Romanian ambassador stressed that his government wants to improve

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ties in Wales. He has met the first minister on three occasions. He has

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been to Scotland half-a-dozen times. As power shifts towards the former

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Eastern bloc countries, countryside Romania will play a greater role in

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economic affairs. The question is whether it Welsh Government's --

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the Welsh government is playing its part. A one of the interesting

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aspects when you think about the worst situation is that Wales is in

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two thirds of structural funds. One of the things the government cannot

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be accused of, regardless of the outcomes, is having problems with

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spending European money. There is a trick been lost here in terms of

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the links that we could set up, established, with the Romanian and

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Bulgarian governments to see how: Basically, we could support them

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and help them in addressing the this underspending of European

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structural funds. The experience of the recent industrial past and

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Wales is a commodity which something the Romanians would value.

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Knowledge has a very high value. We are not talking about selling tea

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cups or mugs or teaspoons. We are talking about taking 25 years of

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hard earned recovery based knowledge to a country that can

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benefit from that. They have further to recover than we have and

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we can give them a thought up. That comes at a premium price and one

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that you have to pay for. Welsh ministers have emphasised they are

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keen to develop stronger overseas trade links. But what about Romania

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and other countries in central Europe? In a statement, there was

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-- of the Welsh at government Between 2007-13, there were 30

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billion euros of project funding available on agriculture,

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infrastructure, people development, and all of these are areas in which

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Wales can provide genuine support. Currently, Romanians and Bulgarians

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face trade restrictions but they will be lifted next January. This

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has prompted fears that thousands of eastern Europeans can flood into

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the UK but is also making people think about what business Wales

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could do with Romania. Were there some points raised their

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about markets that could be exploited by the Welsh government?

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I am very interested in environmental goods and services

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and the growth of rural as well as urban development by a green jobs.

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I am sure there is a huge potential we need to look at and the idea

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that we could do a knowledge transfer in relation to our

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experience, and the opportunity for Welsh communities to benefit from

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them as they grow up, is what the EU is all about. There has been

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talk of putting adverts and papers to stop people from Romania and

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Bulgaria coming here. This is perhaps a more positive side, isn't

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it? There are great opportunities and Wales exports 40% of its

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products that did exports to the EU as an whole. That means there is

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great potential throughout the EU but also, the important thing we

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need to bear in mind is that Wales has not been doing as well as it

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should have done in recent years - not just in terms of exports but in

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terms of attracting inward investment. Is that there was

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government's fault? I am not going to attribute blame. Whatever the

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cause, we need to have a stronger focus on Wales. -- of the Welsh

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government's fault? The Wales offers is playing its part in that

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liaison and it is really important that we seize the initiative and

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that the Welsh government does follow through. Well we are talking

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about the EU, we cannot not talk about the budget discussions. David

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Cameron claimed success on cutting the EU's budget. You do not share

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his delight. I do not. I am concerned about higher education

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and other research and development budgets. I am deeply concerned

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about the level of the Common Agricultural Policy because the

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growth of Welsh agriculture depends a man. And the Rural Development

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Programme, which the Welsh minister concerned is about to go at a

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consultation on. But how can we consult on the spending of a

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programme when we do not know the final figures? The sooner we get

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the figures, the sooner we can see what damage one part of the

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coalition has done to Wales's prospects. As Dafydd raised the

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point, one part of the coalition he says, I assume you are referring to

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the Conservatives - this is not something the Lib Dems supported,

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is it? The Liberal Democrats accept the fact that the EU has to spend

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its money very wisely at this particular time. However, as

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enthusiastic Europeans, we accept also that there are two sides to

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the story. Wales is a net recipient of EU funds and is therefore in an

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unusual position within the UK. You do have to accept that not just the

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UK government but several other EU governments - a majority, otherwise

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it would not have got through - wanted to bring their spending

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under control. Wales, I hope, will one day very soon not be in a

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position of relying on EU funds in the way it has done in the past.

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Time now for a look back at some other political stories of the Week

:02:16.:02:26.
:02:26.:02:28.

Opposition parties accused the Welsh Government of backtracking on

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an election promise to introduce GP led health checks for the over-

:02:32.:02:36.

fifties. Ministers want online checks instead.

:02:36.:02:46.
:02:46.:02:46.

The Prime Minister asked a Welsh Minister to review NHS practices so.

:02:46.:02:49.

But by Health Minister of Leslie Griffiths said the government would

:02:49.:02:52.

look at the report on the mid- Staffordshire NHS Trust to see of

:02:52.:02:57.

this as could be learned here. All Wells Conservative MPs voted

:02:57.:03:01.

against gay marriage. David Cameron describes the bill as a step

:03:01.:03:05.

forward. More than half of Conservative MPs and two Wells

:03:05.:03:09.

Labour MPs opposed the legislation. The Welsh education minister

:03:09.:03:12.

Leighton Andrews welcomed the decision not to scrap GCSEs in

:03:12.:03:16.

England. The original proposals from the way education minister

:03:16.:03:20.

Michael Gove would have a ladder to growing difficulties -- differences

:03:20.:03:30.
:03:30.:03:35.

Baroness Randerson, Leighton Andrews describes Michael Gove as a

:03:35.:03:39.

repentant sinner. Part of your role, with your response before education,

:03:39.:03:41.

is managing the relationship between the Welsh government and

:03:41.:03:46.

the UK government. I am sure that has been quite difficult over the

:03:46.:03:53.

GCSE row. It is not the easiest situation but I think the important

:03:53.:04:00.

thing is that we now need to focus our minds on how GCSEs in Wales are

:04:00.:04:05.

going to mean something different, possibly, from GCSEs in England.

:04:05.:04:13.

That is a problem, overwhelmingly, four Welsh young people. There I'm

:04:13.:04:17.

awful lot more of the English people than there are Welsh people.

:04:17.:04:22.

-- there are an awful lot. People assume the majority situation will

:04:23.:04:29.

apply in Wales. Both of the ministers concerned are keen to

:04:29.:04:37.

keep the name of GCSE. Leighton Andrews I suppose feels he has been

:04:37.:04:44.

vindicated by the U-turn. What do you think of the debate? Not a lot.

:04:44.:04:52.

But alas, we have got a system in Wales... But I agree with Jenny.

:04:52.:04:56.

There has to be a proper marketing of the meaning of the Welsh system.

:04:56.:04:59.

I have experience over the years that although employers say what

:04:59.:05:04.

they want from a qualification, in reality they very often do not.

:05:04.:05:08.

They have to be educated in what systems ought to be produced.

:05:08.:05:13.

aware of what a GCSE means in Wales, rather than England. Being aware of

:05:13.:05:16.

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