:01:33. > :01:37.Concerns over the increase in the number of women in the dole queue.
:01:37. > :01:47.Cause to consider increasing the number of assembly members in the
:01:47. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :39:09.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2241 seconds
:39:09. > :39:12.Hello, and on the Sunday Politics Wales: Everyone is worried about
:39:12. > :39:14.the number of people losing their jobs, but should we be more
:39:14. > :39:16.concerned about the increase in women finding themselves out of
:39:16. > :39:19.work? And the Silk Commission has
:39:19. > :39:24.reported on taxation powers for the National Assembly, but are there
:39:24. > :39:26.enough AMs to deal with those powers if they come to pass?
:39:26. > :39:29.Joining me throughout today's programme are the Conservative AM
:39:29. > :39:32.David Melding and the Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans. Good morning to you
:39:32. > :39:35.both. We're going to be talking specifically about unemployment
:39:35. > :39:40.among women in a moment, but we'll be begin with looking at the job
:39:40. > :39:50.losses in North and South Wales: 600 hundred at the steel maker Tata
:39:50. > :40:00.and 200 at the Paramount pizza maker. Nobody welcomes it job
:40:00. > :40:00.
:40:00. > :40:06.losses. Let us look at the 600 - confers to Reading, quite
:40:06. > :40:16.disturbing. -- on first reading. has been a rough week for the Welsh
:40:16. > :40:21.
:40:21. > :40:26.economy. The viability is not being questioned, investment will be
:40:26. > :40:36.maintained. In fact, it will remain one of the world's leading
:40:36. > :40:37.
:40:37. > :40:44.steelworks and will get more competitive in time. Carol Wyn
:40:44. > :40:49.Jones came back from a trade mission in India in April,
:40:49. > :40:59.announcing Investment end Tata, saying that would make the industry
:40:59. > :40:59.
:40:59. > :41:09.in Wales competitive. But that does not chime with the figures. It is a
:41:09. > :41:14.huge blow. The loss of hundreds of jobs has a great knock-on effect,
:41:14. > :41:21.and my thoughts are with the families, and the support the
:41:21. > :41:29.Government can provide to those people. He what we see in the
:41:29. > :41:35.economy is that as more of these job losses are happening, we need
:41:35. > :41:41.to cut other Wales -- ways of avoiding these job losses before
:41:41. > :41:44.they happen. We need to provide that support that is needed, but
:41:44. > :41:47.this is very bad news. Wales' equality watchdog says the
:41:47. > :41:51.growing number of unemployed women in Wales is extremely worrying and
:41:51. > :41:54.could begin to erode 50 years of progress in equality for women.
:41:54. > :41:58.Despite a fall in this month's overall unemployment figure for
:41:58. > :42:08.Wales, the number of out-of-work women is on the rise. And the
:42:08. > :42:12.
:42:12. > :42:18.figure for women over 50 has Opening doors for the jobless -
:42:18. > :42:26.that is the aim of this company. Kim it says the support she gets
:42:26. > :42:31.this invaluable. She is in her fifties, and despite the help she
:42:31. > :42:37.gets, she says the search has not been easy. It has been quite
:42:37. > :42:41.difficult, and it is something that is getting more difficult. I am
:42:41. > :42:51.looking for part-time work. A lot of women my age are looking for
:42:51. > :42:51.
:42:51. > :42:57.full-time work. Sometimes, that goes against me. It has not been as
:42:57. > :43:07.successful as I thought it would be. The latest figures showed a fall in
:43:07. > :43:09.
:43:09. > :43:14.unemployment in Wales. But when you take a closer look at the figures,
:43:14. > :43:20.you see a big difference between men that and women. Male
:43:20. > :43:28.unemployment is down by 26,000, but the number of unemployed women has
:43:28. > :43:36.gone up by 12,000. You it is extremely worrying. A lot of women
:43:36. > :43:43.are already working part-time, low- paid work. If we go back to the
:43:43. > :43:48.statistics, it seems the picture varies according to age. A high
:43:48. > :43:53.level of youth joblessness has been at the centre of political debate,
:43:53. > :43:58.and young women are the most likely to be out of work. But while
:43:58. > :44:05.there's been a reduction in the number without jobs and this age
:44:05. > :44:10.group, the over-fifties without jobs has doubled. That is
:44:10. > :44:14.concerning - that so many women are losing out on full-time employment,
:44:14. > :44:19.maybe because of caring responsibilities, and moving to
:44:19. > :44:23.being unemployed or part-time at roles. We would encourage more
:44:23. > :44:28.flexible working. Labour market watchers fear the number of women
:44:28. > :44:32.without jobs could rise. We are likely to see more people from the
:44:32. > :44:36.public sector losing their jobs, and because a greater number of
:44:36. > :44:42.them tend to be women, I would expect that proportion to increase
:44:42. > :44:46.even further. That is something to look out for in the next 12 months,
:44:47. > :44:52.to try and get a grip on trying to help those people back into
:44:52. > :44:58.employment. There is concern that could have serious implications for
:44:58. > :45:03.equality. What would be very worrying is that if that hard want
:45:03. > :45:08.equality begins to be pushed back, if women are the ones be losing
:45:08. > :45:14.their jobs, if you have got it part-time, low-paid role, those
:45:14. > :45:19.jobs are more vulnerable to being cut when jobs go. It is very
:45:19. > :45:24.worrying if the gains that have been achieved over the past 50
:45:24. > :45:30.years are eroding. Back in the centre, Kim is hoping to buck the
:45:30. > :45:36.trend. I am trying to be as positive as possible. I believe
:45:36. > :45:41.there is something there. latest unemployment figures were
:45:41. > :45:51.given a cautious welcome, but getting women into work will be
:45:51. > :45:53.
:45:53. > :46:00.crucial if the overall figures are More women over 50 are unemployed.
:46:00. > :46:06.Those figures are shocking! I am surprised at the size of the
:46:06. > :46:11.difference. We know that in a time of economic crisis, women suffer
:46:11. > :46:16.worst. A lot of women also low-paid, it ought in part-time work, and a
:46:16. > :46:26.lot of work for the public sector or local authorities. When cuts are
:46:26. > :46:35.made, they lose their jobs first often. There is a need for us to be
:46:35. > :46:41.supporting and protecting those kinds of projects we have in Wales.
:46:41. > :46:47.They have supported hundreds of companies. They will be him
:46:47. > :46:57.Brussels next week. They are things being done, but the size of these
:46:57. > :46:58.
:46:58. > :47:01.figures show we need more urgent action. David, there was a strong
:47:01. > :47:07.statement from the quality in human rights commission. These statistics
:47:07. > :47:16.could corrode 50 years of Equality. That is overstated, but in this
:47:16. > :47:23.recession, the number of women facing unemployment is worrying,,
:47:23. > :47:29.and there has been a fall in the number of unemployed men. It is a
:47:29. > :47:35.real issue. But the big factor here is an over-dependence on the public
:47:35. > :47:45.sector. We need to rebalance the economy. It is not only in Wales,
:47:45. > :47:51.it is in the South East of England that too many jobs are crowded. Job
:47:51. > :47:56.creation is what we have to focus on. Job defence is a tough battle,
:47:56. > :48:00.especially when the economy is not performing well. But that is a
:48:00. > :48:04.long-term outlook. In the short term, if more public sector cuts
:48:04. > :48:13.are made, more women will lose their jobs. In the short term, what
:48:13. > :48:21.can be done? We want to ensure that these people in the over 50 s
:48:21. > :48:27.bracket do not lose touch with the labour market. In the meantime, we
:48:27. > :48:33.need to attract new jobs in. Once we leave these economically
:48:33. > :48:38.depressed times, we will see the economy generating jobs more
:48:38. > :48:46.quickly. That is the experience of past economic downturns. Looking
:48:46. > :48:52.ahead, we had a warning that things could get worse. I knew satisfied
:48:52. > :49:00.that after they do get worse, they will get better? -- are you
:49:00. > :49:09.satisfied. I do not agree with making cuts or the time. They have
:49:09. > :49:17.been made more recently, perhaps. This is the very time when are we
:49:17. > :49:22.need investment. We have so much talent in Wales. The project I
:49:22. > :49:27.mentioned earlier is supported by European funding. We can work with
:49:27. > :49:34.businesses, we have worked on schemes in the past. The Government
:49:34. > :49:40.is going to set up 10,000 apprenticeship schemes. There are
:49:40. > :49:50.many steps that could be taken. Apprenticeships were not helped
:49:50. > :50:01.
:50:01. > :50:03.women over 50, though. We need a It's been a big week in Welsh
:50:03. > :50:08.politics, with the Silk Commission saying the National Assembly could
:50:08. > :50:11.have the power to vary income tax by the year 2020. That was one of
:50:11. > :50:14.the conclusions from the first part of the report from the cross-party
:50:15. > :50:18.group which was set up by the UK Government to consider how Wales
:50:18. > :50:20.should be funded. The commission, headed by Paul silk, is now turning
:50:20. > :50:30.its attention to constitutional issues, and they are already facing
:50:30. > :50:32.
:50:32. > :50:36.a call to look at increasing the They are still a few hurdles to be
:50:36. > :50:40.overcome before Welsh ministers could have new powers and
:50:40. > :50:46.responsibilities for raising a quarter of their budget. Paul Silk
:50:46. > :50:53.believes that those powers could happen by 2020. But that referendum
:50:53. > :50:58.has to be triggered by a two thirds majority vote in the Assembly.
:50:58. > :51:05.Similar to the arrangements for last year's referendum on further
:51:05. > :51:08.law-making powers. The Silk Commission is turning its focus on
:51:08. > :51:13.constitutional issues. However, they are facing calls to look at
:51:13. > :51:23.whether there should be an increase in the current number of 60.
:51:23. > :51:25.
:51:25. > :51:30.way Wales has been governed has changed massively. Most people want
:51:30. > :51:35.to know that Welsh ministers are held to account for important
:51:35. > :51:40.decisions. For that to happen, we need a stronger National Assembly.
:51:40. > :51:48.It reports suggested 80 members. Although the Silk Commission will
:51:48. > :51:53.not look at the number of AMs, the call for more has been greeted as
:51:53. > :52:02.inevitable. A bid is implicit, isn't it? It will be interesting to
:52:02. > :52:07.see what happens with part two - or we seek the devolution? We were
:52:07. > :52:14.told, during the referendum campaign, that the new system would
:52:14. > :52:23.cost people less. Here we are, having to pay for legal consultants,
:52:23. > :52:28.a new Welsh Treasury and another 20 or so Ms. It is very predictable.
:52:28. > :52:34.There is a feeling that increasing the number of Assembly Members
:52:34. > :52:38.would not be unwelcome. Most politicians here think they do need
:52:38. > :52:45.additional members, and there is actually a secret corridor in the
:52:45. > :52:52.Chamber, which would allow them to remove a partition to seat 20 extra
:52:52. > :52:56.members. That was designed into the Chamber. The difficulty is, telling
:52:56. > :53:03.people you meet politicians were not go down well. It is
:53:03. > :53:10.particularly difficult now because trying to reduce MPs from Wales has
:53:10. > :53:16.bogged down. It might be possible to persuade the voters we can
:53:16. > :53:20.offset that with an extra 10 Assembly Members. A most people
:53:20. > :53:27.want to see value for money, and what -- most people want to know
:53:27. > :53:31.that Welsh ministers are being held to account. Any change must be cost
:53:31. > :53:35.neutral. I would want the Welsh Government to look at the number of
:53:35. > :53:39.local councillors we have across Wales, because this is about
:53:39. > :53:45.holding Welsh ministers to account. The Silk Commission will be calling
:53:45. > :53:51.for more evidence on Thursday. Whether it is 60, 80 or more
:53:51. > :53:57.Assembly Members, there will be a debate.
:53:57. > :54:03.You are the Deputy Presiding Officer. I will let you decide how
:54:03. > :54:13.you manage with 60 of them! Were would be seen more of them?
:54:13. > :54:15.
:54:15. > :54:20.Assembly works with 60 members. If we had 80, we could do more work.
:54:20. > :54:27.If we want to do that sort of work, and make the Welsh economy
:54:27. > :54:37.attractive to taxpayers, if we can set up that, I do not think people
:54:37. > :54:43.
:54:43. > :54:49.would be that worried about having more Assembly Members. Silk is not
:54:49. > :54:56.suggesting the there should be more, but there was one recommendation,
:54:56. > :55:03.suggesting that more capacity could be built in to help scrutinised the
:55:03. > :55:08.Government's work, which means that the capacity is not there, the
:55:08. > :55:13.framework is not in place for the opposition and Labour to scrutinise
:55:14. > :55:23.the work of the Government. If you have a restricted membership, you
:55:24. > :55:30.
:55:30. > :55:37.really have to select your targets. We have had no taxpayers -- tax
:55:37. > :55:47.powers so far. Do you think more Assembly Members will be needed, if
:55:47. > :55:49.
:55:49. > :55:55.these recommendations get past? is about the workload. It will
:55:55. > :56:00.depend on whether the capacity is there. Assembly Members can run
:56:00. > :56:09.riot, sometimes! They are struggling to do the work they have
:56:09. > :56:15.to do now. If you compare with other law-making bodies across
:56:15. > :56:21.Europe, we have very few Assembly Members doing that work. We have
:56:21. > :56:28.been talking, up until now, about job losses. This is not the climate
:56:28. > :56:32.in which we want to be creating new elected politicians. I do not
:56:32. > :56:42.disagree in principle - the time will come when that will happen.
:56:42. > :56:47.
:56:47. > :56:52.But it is not top of the political It might not be the most popular
:56:52. > :57:02.suggestion for politicians - one Labour MP said there should be more
:57:02. > :57:03.
:57:03. > :57:09.Assembly Members. I can understand that. Taken at a long-term view,
:57:09. > :57:14.the work of the Assembly improves, then that argument can be made.
:57:14. > :57:20.own view is that we should have tax-raising responsibilities. That
:57:20. > :57:25.can bring great benefits to the Welsh economy. But I think you have
:57:25. > :57:29.to make the argument. You cannot say, we have been here for 13 years
:57:29. > :57:38.and it has not worked. We may not have been able to do as much in
:57:38. > :57:42.terms of volume of work, but it has met the scrutiny functions of
:57:42. > :57:47.legislation. We are working through how we deal with crime review law-
:57:47. > :57:55.making powers, and so far, we do have enough capacity. But we may
:57:55. > :58:03.see, in the future, we can deal with fewer bills. People have to
:58:03. > :58:06.decide what type of Assembly they want.
:58:06. > :58:16.Time now for a quick look back at some of the political stories of
:58:16. > :58:20.
:58:21. > :58:28.Alan Ken has called on the BBC to publish all invoices that amount to
:58:28. > :58:34.more than �500. The education minister said he
:58:34. > :58:44.would not brought anything out as he ordered an urgent inquiry into
:58:44. > :58:47.
:58:47. > :58:52.education services. With Tata steel cutting 600 jobs,
:58:52. > :58:57.Nick Smith said many families would be facing a difficult time in the
:58:57. > :59:04.run-up to Christmas. The Supreme Court upheld the
:59:04. > :59:10.legality of the first bill passed. The UK Government had claimed that
:59:10. > :59:20.part of the bill exceeded devolved powers, but their argument was
:59:20. > :59:25.
:59:25. > :59:32.dismissed. It will now get Royal One thing we did not mention there
:59:32. > :59:37.was the EU summit over the budget. No white smoke there! You have been
:59:37. > :59:43.doing work on the financial benefits that the Welsh people get
:59:43. > :59:53.from the EU. We have been hearing so much from the London government
:59:53. > :59:58.about cutting the budget. And about the UK interest. But all we get a
:59:58. > :00:06.lot of EU funding, so I looked at the figures, I looked at what we
:00:06. > :00:12.were getting in at EU support in Wales in terms of all kinds of
:00:12. > :00:19.projects and compared that to what we pay in, per-person. And it was
:00:19. > :00:29.about �40 the year each of us is better off. So Wales benefits
:00:29. > :00:30.
:00:30. > :00:36.financially from being in the EU. And so what I had to do in Brussels
:00:36. > :00:42.was argue in a Wales's case, because what successive London
:00:42. > :00:48.governments have done is try to cut the budget and the funding that
:00:48. > :00:53.comes to the EU, particularly regional funding. And that is so
:00:53. > :01:02.the kind of funding we need to. We do not want to be dependent on the
:01:02. > :01:09.EU, but we need that money now because of the poverty that exists.
:01:09. > :01:19.Come back on the point that it is a Conservative representation. Do you
:01:19. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :01:28.support a call? I do. By doing that, or we will create a stronger
:01:28. > :01:35.European and British economy. wanted to raise the debate in the
:01:35. > :01:40.Assembly? Yes. We want to reduce the stigma of mental health illness,
:01:40. > :01:44.and a number of us who have suffered from mental health would
:01:44. > :01:48.be joining that debate, it just so people are not afraid to talk of
:01:48. > :01:52.these issues. Don't forget the Wales Report with