17/06/2012 Sunday Politics Wales


17/06/2012

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It is decision day for greases the country goes to the polls for the

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second time this year. It could plunge Europe into economic chaos.

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That is our top story. During the first Gulf war, Britain sent 53,000

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troops to the Middle-East along with hundreds of tanks. Could we

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send anything like that kind of firepower again.

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And we have had Prime Minister after Prime Minister after Deputy

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Prime Minister giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry this week. Is

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this creating a chilling atmosphere towards freedom of speech? All that

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and the best political panel and the business of looking forward to

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the week ahead and tweeting throughout the programme.

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Later in the programme, young people petition assembly members to

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back what they call living wage but does the business community like

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1557 seconds

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You're defence spending, you assume it starts to rise again by about

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one per cent in real terms after 2015, but the Chancellor has now

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told us there has to be more public spending cuts in 2016 and 2017.

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1% increase is only on the equipment programme. Our budget has

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been built on the assumption, which is agreed with the Treasury, that

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there will be a 1% increase. That is the commitment that has been

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made to us by the Treasury. It is approaching 12:30pm. Coming

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up and 20 minutes, they look at the week ahead with a political panel.

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Until then, Sunday politics across the UK.

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If on the Sunday politics Wells, app should Welsh employers pay what

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has been described as a living wage? That is �7.20 an hour. Some

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think not in the current economic climate. A changed policing.

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Elected police commissioners are coming soon but do you know when or

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more importantly what they will do? It is Mark's first time in the

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Sunday politics you feel that I am sure he knows what he is doing.

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Good afternoon. One story dominating the political agenda

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today which are the elections in Greece. This debate by of austerity

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verses the daylight - where you stand and where would you vote go?

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I understand the situation in Greece's very serious and the

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austerity budgets are not working. The result has been that time after

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time whenever they go there, the results are worse than not better.

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The general argument, whether Greece needs more austerity it or

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more economic growth, I do not think there is any argument at all.

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Across Europe, we will not get out of the predicament we are in by

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slowly strangling our economies. Business leaders are warning the

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Welsh government not to push for private sector pay rises because it

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could stop them from taking on more staff on even result and lay-offs.

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The warning comes as ministers investigate wage levels across

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Wales. Proponents of a living wage for all

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set at more than �1 above the minimum wage argue we could cut

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poverty levels and leaves firms with a healthier and happier and

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hard-working staff. It is something campaigners have patient --

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petitioned the Assembly for this week. I see people in my community

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working for long hours and they are left with not enough money to pay

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for the essentials. It is not fair they get to -- do not get a laugh

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and healthy and happy life. I am doing my GCSEs and I want to make

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sure that after doing all that effort, there is going to be a job

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out there and I am going to be able to make enough money to make ends

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meet. We have 200,000 children living in poverty in Wales today.

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The shocking fact is that 60% of those families have at least one

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parent who is in work. We know that if we started to pursue a living

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wage policies across the public and private sector here, we would put

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money into the pockets of the parents of children who are

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struggling with the current economic situation. It is a direct

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way to tackle child poverty. Welsh Labour's manifesto committed it to

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pursuing a living wage for everyone in Wales, which includes the cost

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of raising a family. Academics have estimated that the living wage is

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no lower than �7.20 an hour. The current statutory minimum wage is

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�6.80 an hour. Ministers are looking at where other devolved

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public sector bodies stand on the issue and encourage them to become

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a living wage employers. If we are the trailblazers, we hope the

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private sector will not be so frightened of it and will see the

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benefit of a workforce which when the a healthy and happy work harder

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and stay for longer. Welsh NHS workers and Welsh government civil

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servants already receive a living wage or more. A number of big

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private sector employers including Barclays Bank are also signed up to

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paying it. Business organisations are warning Welsh ministers not to

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try to force them to raise wages. For example, by inserting a living

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wage clauses and government contracts. What we're proposing is

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that this new living wage becomes the minimum wage. Lots of companies

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that I speak to that lot to be in a position to bring in more employees

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but anything like this at this time, anything that would hinder them,

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which they would like to do, is going to cause problems and I am

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afraid it is not realistic. We have to look at it from the employer's

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perspective. The ACE an increase would deter them from taking on

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staff and that force would week to lay-offs. Supporters of the living

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wage say they're important and practical questions here. Should

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staff be paying -- employers be paying staff so little their

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earnings have to be topped up through benefits? Employers have

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warned anything that increases the costs could damage job-creation.

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Are these calls for a living wage some kind of recognition that the

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minimum wage was set up to low- level by the Labour government?

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man on wage is what it is. It was a flower and it was a expected to

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cover all consistencies. I am a strong supporter of a living wage

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and what it does is to set a level where were people unable to meet

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from their own wages and without the need for state subsidies, and

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the basic costs of an ordinary living standard. What we heard of

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there was a tension between increasing wages and also keeping

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staffing levels. The indications in that piece where that if you

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increased the salary levels of some workers and some companies, the

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offshoot of that would be the have to get rid of staff to make up for

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it. That was the argument put forward by opponents of the minimal

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wage introduced back in 1987. The issue of a fair day's pay for a

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fair day's work as an issue in it areas like the is a I come from in

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North Wales. One of the things in agricultural and rural communities

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is that the central government has done away with wage councils which

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regulated the rates of pay given to people in that sector. Up what was

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interesting in Adrian's film was that, apart from the experts and

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pundits, people were talking about the expectations of the income from

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when they start work. There were worries and from young people.

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There is no requirement on companies to do so but some

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companies have signed up so there is Ombersley some will towards it.

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-- obviously. It is a matter now after the local government

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elections in May this year to work with the new local authorities. I

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was really proud last week that Birmingham, a local authority taken

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back by Labour, announced last week that it would in future be a living

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wage employer. Securing half the Assembly seats last year, Labour

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have still not made any impact. They were regained by Labour and

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the council elections a few weeks ago so there is a good bit of

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timing here. The Assembly government has been there for a

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year and the Welsh Government is now living wage employer. We are

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now able to work with more Labour local authorities in Wales and I am

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optimistic that we will see Welsh local authorities are moving in the

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same direction as Birmingham and the Scottish local authorities and

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set themselves up as a living wage employers will step what about the

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argument that this is a backdoor way of increasing the minimum wage?

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This is the classic debate. I mentioned earlier in the discussion

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this was made when introducing the minimum wage, how do you set in

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comes and wages? Do you allow the market to regulate itself up or do

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you have a more regulated form? This is a classic economic and

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political argument. We have been here before back in at the early

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days of the first Labour government. Putting it into a wider context

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across the area, it is a challenge. It is an issue that arises in all

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aspects of policy. When people hear the right words, the expected eight

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actions to follow. When they see and hear the Assembly government

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committing itself to a living wage and committing local authorities to

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being blooding wage authorities, they expect actions to follow. --

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living wage. The Welsh government has a target of eradicating child

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poverty by Twenty20. It is now throwing a new policy it there to

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increase wage levels. Is that recognition of the fact that what

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they have tried so far as spelling? -- is failing. Trying to eradicate

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child poverty, the first steps are the easiest. You can reach the

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family's closest to the poverty line and move them up. Moving

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further on, you need that further set of policies to reach those

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families further away from the policy line. -- poverty line. The

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next steps will be harder and more work is needed and a softer policy

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is just what is required. In just a few moments time, there

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significant change happening with power police forces or run. Elected

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police commissioners will replace the existing police are authorities

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with the abilities to set police budgets and higher chief constables.

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-- hire. On 15th November, the public will be invited to vote for

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who they want to oversee their police authorities. There will be

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elections for the public to vote for their preferred candidate in

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terms of who they want to set local police priorities and strategy. Not

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to deliver policing, that will be in the hands of the Chief Constable,

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but to provide a framework in which the Chief Constable pursues his

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political strategies. How big a change is this? This is potentially

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a very significant change to police governance. It is a unique system.

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There is nothing like this around the world so it is pretty unique.

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It could be quite profound but it could also be a very challenging

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role for the people elected because policing is a very complex job.

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They will have to reconcile some fairly difficult priorities at the

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current time. How are where are the general public about this change?

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For what I have seen, there is fairly limited awareness of what is

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going on and what he will be asked to do it. You have to think now

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about how are you going to motivate people and encourage them to turn

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out and vote in November for something they have not done before

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and there is not a high level of understanding about what is going

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to happen. The recent survey suggested that

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57% of those questioned knew nothing about these elections.

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Hardly surprising? It does not surprise me and released and in

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addition to not knowing what is going to happen, I would argue from

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the feedback I have heard, they do not know what is going to happen

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and have even less interest. What concerns people is that when they

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need a police officer, however high or low level that crime as, that

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there is a police officer there to respond to their need at that

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particular time. People don't know what is happening and Labour don't

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know what to make of it. The where initially against it but now there

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is a whole host of prominent names, such as John Prescott, pitting

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themselves forward. What is the Labour position now, four against?

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We were against the creation of police commissioners. We thought

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that they were a distraction that it money away from frontline

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policing but the law is now the law. The Conservatives and Liberal

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Democrats have made it clear they are going ahead so the Labour Party

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will fight these elections any thoroughgoing way. We will put

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forward serious candidates for a serious job. Tough on crime, tough

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on the causes of crime was the election slogan for Tony Blair. The

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big it is interesting that they are police and crime commissioners.

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They have both the instruments for tackling crime or when it happens

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at also have a role in preventing crime and the future, tough on the

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causes of crime. We need people to understand these issues and to are

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able to take a strategic grip on them. They will have an interest in

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all the things that local authorities do to help ensure crime

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does not happen in the first place. The UK government say they have

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scrapped central targets and have released more police officers to go

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on the beat. Visit the commonsense moved to have people on the local

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level who are in charge of putting police chief constables under the

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microscope and told them to account? The issue is what he or

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she is actually a responsible for. There is a possibility of a tension

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between the police commissioner and the punts -- chief constable. The

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commission will set the budget but how that money is spent is a matter

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for the operational spending and that is this what ability of the

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chief constable. We have not had a November election for a long time.

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What you think the turnout will be like? Absolutely abysmal. The last

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November election I remember was in 1974 and it was not a very happy

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occasion. Time for a look back at some of the political stories of

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the week. The Assembly's deputy presiding

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officer like a wreath to mark the 30th anniversary of the Falklands

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war. As clearing up began after the

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floods, Ieuan Wyn Jones arch the insurance companies to act with

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speed and efficiency. J fund was set up to help people without

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insurance. The Welsh government accused

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Pembrokeshire council of failing in its duty to safeguard children. It

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has emerged knew it evidence has been passed to police.

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Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has accused Welsh Labour of playing

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a plane game or the country's wars. In a visit to Cardiff, it said the

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Welsh government should accept more responsibility.

:45:39.:45:49.
:45:49.:45:53.

An Assembly inquiry into football. Let's get Wales to Brazil in 2014.

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I don't know if we have any midfield maestro has on the panel

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but let's look at the worrying situation in Pembrokeshire? Is this

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posturing of something more concerted than that? There is

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nothing about political posturing in this. The Minister has said in a

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team of people to try to help services and Pembrokeshire to

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recover from what had happened and to improve. He is acting on the

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information coming back from them which is saying the more they going

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to all of this, the more trouble the uncovering. It is a very

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serious response to a very serious situation. If it is not political

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posturing, what about Nick Clegg's visit to Cardiff telling Labour to

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take more responsibility for the money it spends? Can I pick up on

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that last dancer. The analogy of course is with what happened in

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Anglesey with governance issues they across the board for step the

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intervention Board where did not work and the Minister had to move

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to the next stage which was to take charge of the authority itself and

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appoint his own people there to run the place. That intervention is

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coming to an end and the shed will to end up in the later part of this

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year. -- scheduled to end. The same issues I think all arise here in

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Pembrokeshire. Nick Clegg's visit? One thing mentioned is the views of

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a number of the other parties and Wales. The march to a mature

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democracy means democratic institutions have to take

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responsibility for the services they provide but that raises the

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question of the resources and the first place. I have to ask you one

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question for step we know the draft bill for organ donation will be

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published in June. How do you think this will address those concerns

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some people have about family vetoes? I think it will be taken

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slowly. There is a white paper and then a draft bill before the final

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bill. The draft bill will what to continue some very important

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discussions with groups out here who have taken a close interest.

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Family views will be taken into account but it is a draft bill in

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order that people who feel strongly about this will know that their

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