22/01/2014 The Wales Report


22/01/2014

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Tonight on the Wales Report... Is there a crisis brewing in the

:00:00.:00:14.

care sector? The Welsh government is urged to bring much tougher

:00:15.:00:16.

regulation of home care workers. We talk about income tax. And we ask

:00:17.:00:21.

what powers are needed to boost the Welsh economy?

:00:22.:00:23.

And the challenge of keeping Welsh politics in the headlines. But is

:00:24.:00:26.

more media coverage the same as more scrutiny? Stay with us for the Wales

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Report. Good evening, welcome to the Wales

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Report, where we take a look at the issues making an impact on lives in

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Wales. And we question some of those making the decisions.

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On tonight's programme, vulnerable adults who receive home care in

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Wales are potentially being put at risk by a lack of regulation and

:00:53.:00:55.

inconsistent standards of training. That is according to a leading Welsh

:00:56.:01:03.

charity. The vast majority, over 94% of professional care workers in

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Wales, are not registered with a regulating body. And they currently

:01:07.:01:08.

don't need any formal qualifications. Many in the sector,

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including qualifications. Many in the sector,

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the way, say change Every day, tens of thousands of

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vulnerable people across Wales relied on paid carers to come into

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their homes. They may be elderly or disabled and need assistance with

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vital tasks like taking medication, and sometimes that carer will be

:01:48.:01:50.

their only contact with the outside world. So how do we know whether our

:01:51.:01:57.

home carers at up to the task? The Ansett is we don't. Some workers do

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not need to have altercations and don't have to be registered with the

:02:07.:02:14.

regulator. The Wales Report has been contacted by a carer who is deeply

:02:15.:02:19.

worried about the situation. She wants to remain anonymous, but in

:02:20.:02:23.

e-mails still does that when she first darted as a carer she had very

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little training, despite having no previous experience. Training took

:02:29.:02:32.

place over eight weeks and was unpaid. Then there was a period of

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shadowing, going out with an experienced carer watching care put

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in practice, but only as good as the person you are shadowing all stop

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then you got your order and out you went. The lack of qualifications

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means most workers only in the minimum wage, and some only paid for

:02:53.:03:01.

the time the hard-working, not travelling between appointments, so

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moral is low, and there is a high turnover of staff. Sickness rates

:03:06.:03:11.

were very high, adding more pressure to the carers, as they had to take

:03:12.:03:17.

on the calls, staff leaving weekly, and a newly inducted member of staff

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lasted half a day in one company. According to a survey by the union

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Unison, that of -- who pay and conditions is having a shocking

:03:32.:03:33.

effect on the work horse and on care.

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The workers are undervalued, with no constituency with regard to

:03:40.:03:44.

training, or expectations when they are in the client's home, and

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unfortunately, all of the conditions could lead to a real crisis, a real

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high profile problem arising in the future. Currently, the only legal

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high profile problem arising in the requirement is that home carers must

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be checked to see if they have requirement is that home carers must

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criminal record, and must be given requirement is that home carers must

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basic induction. It is the responsibility of the key

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inspectorate responsibility of the key

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carry those out. But is that happening? The Wales Report has

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found that the inspectorate does not always ensure those checks have been

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done. Of the 50 home care reports we looked at on their websites, 28 did

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not look into staff records at all. That is because the inspectorate

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only check the fools that records every three years. The Czechs in

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between those do not have to be comprehensive. Charities working

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with honourable people are concerned that is not enough scrutiny. The

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system is not robust enough at the moment. The regulator has a job to

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do. We are very concerned that vulnerable people being provided

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care in their own homes might not be getting the level of protection

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deserve. That is why the UK home care Association would welcome

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statutory regulation for all care workers, leaving it would help

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monitor records. People must be sure the key worker coming into their

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home is trustworthy, has all the necessary checks and is absolutely

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skill for the intimate personal care B may be delivering. The Welsh

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Government has no recognised the current system is not fully

:05:34.:05:36.

protecting vulnerable people in their homes. It wants to bring in a

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new law that would change the inspection and regulation regimes

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here in Wales. Under the plans, a new body would be set up, called the

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National Institute for air and support, and that, the government

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argues, would improve all aspects of care. But there are criticisms that

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the proposals do not go far enough. Controversially, there is no plan to

:06:03.:06:07.

register all home care workers. The we would welcome that registration,

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although that would bring a high level of bureaucracy. But we do not

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believe vulnerable people should be put at risk and every risk possible

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should be mitigated with registration and universal

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registration would be the best way forward. And the carers themselves

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would like their role to be seen as more professional, recognising their

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vulnerable work. Each call presents a whole different set of needs, very

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diverse needs, for the most honourable client group, they rely

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on you totally and quite often you are the only person they may see.

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Many believe unless real changes are made to home care, and June, in

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future the potential for problems will be huge. -- and soon. If the

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situation continues, we will go from will be huge. -- and soon. If the

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one crisis to the next. The vulnerable people will not get the

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one crisis to the next. The services needed and deserved. There

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could be disasters ahead. Personal disasters. On the

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receiving this care. Helen Callaghan reporting. Joining

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me now is the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Labour's Gwenda

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Thomas. Thank you for coming in. My pleasure. One thing to say

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straightaway, lots of carers delivering a very good service.

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Yes. Before we discuss potential problems. Shouldn't every key worker

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bee registered? When you are talking about a workforce of over 70,000,

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and we have ended consultation on the new White Paper on registration

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and inspection, I am analysing those responses at the moment. And I have

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to make the point that, in Wales at the moment, we are registering more

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workers than we have ever done before. This is a step-by-step

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approach. The principle that anyone going into someone's home,

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especially vulnerable people, should be registered so we are safeguarding

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not just standard but the person cared for. That principle is surely

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one you would agree with? And it is the utmost priority for the Welsh

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Government that the safety and dignity of people receiving care is

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the most priority to us. When you talk about raises during the whole

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work force, the film made the point that, since last month, it is a

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requirement or home care managers to be registered, and when you look at

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other countries, Wales is taking vast steps towards registration, and

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it is fundamentally important for us to realise that the establishment of

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the Institute of care and support will be a huge step forward and the

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code of this principle will be developing training and building on

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the excellent work of the care Council, which has gone on in recent

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years, developing excellent training and creating career pathways. When

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you talk about the vulnerability of people cared for, often at home, and

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the carer is the only person they will see, they are dependent on that

:09:39.:09:42.

person. Again coming back to the points of confidence and trust in

:09:43.:09:47.

the system, how can they have full confidence they aren't being

:09:48.:09:50.

protected if we don't have the kind of registration that is being called

:09:51.:10:00.

for? We are considering a response, but this is a huge workforce. A

:10:01.:10:06.

workforce that sometimes moves quickly, and people working for

:10:07.:10:07.

three months then moving on. Is that quickly, and people working for

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part of the problem, such a big turnover that the bureaucracy puts

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part of the problem, such a big registration process? -- fool

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registration process? No not putting as of, but we have to look at this

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in a sensible way. We are registering more than many other

:10:31.:10:33.

countries, but I will take seriously all responses to the report, and

:10:34.:10:41.

underpinning this, I think it is the utmost importance of developing,

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valuing, because I do not think the social workers and social care

:10:49.:10:51.

workers are valued enough within our society, recessional lies that work

:10:52.:10:56.

force and develop the training and that is taking forward, and we have

:10:57.:11:00.

invested tens of millions over the last few years in training, and that

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extends right across the public, private and voluntary sector. And we

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will want to identify senior people to have a responsibility in law for

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the workforce that they are employing, and that they do employ a

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proportion of that work force who are qualified to our required level.

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That brings me to the final point about qualification, and perceptions

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of, I suppose, education of the workforce, because so many are

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earning very little money, minimum wage, and there are clearly problems

:11:38.:11:42.

of commitment in the sense people feel they have to move on, not happy

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with the conditions they have, and lots not having qualifications. A

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matter of bringing up standards in lots of areas? Indeed, and we are

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well on the way to do that, and we have to professionalise the

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workforce in order to value it and improve services and the quality of

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provision. Bank you for coming in. -- thank you.

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Back in November, Prime Minister David Cameron and his Deputy Nick

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Clegg came to Cardiff to unveil their proposals for new financial

:12:18.:12:20.

powers for the Welsh Government. They included powers to set income

:12:21.:12:24.

tax, if the people of Wales approved them in a referendum. The secretary

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of Wales, David Jones, has welcomed the move calling for the ballot to

:12:28.:12:34.

be held sooner rather than later. He said it will make the Welsh

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Government more accountable. Income tax powers, and the more favourable

:12:41.:12:46.

income tax rate in Wales, will be good for the Welsh economy.

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First Minister Carwyn Jones has described the new powers on offer.

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As pretty useless. This is what he had to say to the Welsh Affairs

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Select Committee on Monday. I am somebody who I suspected regarded as

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fairly strong with regard to the devolution of powers, but on this

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issue, I cannot make a case for Wales that would demonstrate

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evolution of this model of income tax varying powers, without there

:13:13.:13:20.

being reform of the funding system, would be something

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being reform of the funding system, net benefit. Joining

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being reform of the funding system, economist and Welsh Government

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advisor Gerald Holtham. Thank you for coming in. Let us talk

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advisor Gerald Holtham. Thank you are the useless currently? Very

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difficult to use. -- to vary them. In the present-day, politicians

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binding from tax difficult. Look at the Scots, never using the powers

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they have add. And when have we last had an increase in income tax? When

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Gordon Brown removed the 10p, tremendous furore. It is a difficult

:13:58.:14:01.

power to use at the best of times. And if you want the government to

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use it, both up and down, you need as much like stability. The

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arrangement being proposed here is very rigid, and that will ensure it

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is never used. When we talk about a lockstep system, what is meant by

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that? Normally there are three bans for income tax. Rahm 10p up to

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30,000, in 40p up to 150000 and then above that you pay ?45. A government

:14:31.:14:35.

can normally change the marginal rate for each of those bands

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separately. The way the Welsh power is being devolved is like this. 10p

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is going to the Welsh Government and the rest is going to the UK

:14:46.:14:50.

government. If the Welsh Government changes its rate, everybody's rate

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changes. So the person who is paying 45p then 10p is going to Wells. If

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the Welsh Government changes to 8% then everybody's marginal tax rate

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goes down. What is the logic? Because the argument that has been

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made with as much charity I can assemble, is complete nonsense. They

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want to preserve the progress of the system, how much it redistributed

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between income groups, for the centre. Westminster. The reason that

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does not make sense is that this system does not do that. Are likely

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to ever see a referendum on these particular proposals? I think it is

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quite unlikely as things stand. It is very easy to lose this

:15:44.:15:46.

referendum. If you say to people that they need power to change taxes

:15:47.:15:51.

than the initial reaction will be, "do I want to do that?" Hodges and

:15:52.:15:55.

are not any more popular in Wales than anywhere else. We never know

:15:56.:16:00.

whether a referendum will be on the issue or whether we like the

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politicians. They are taking a big risk. And for what? For a power that

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there are unlikely to be able to use. And Observer who would maybe

:16:09.:16:12.

take on board what you were saying would also come back and say that it

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is very odd for politicians, or stakeholders involved in this

:16:17.:16:17.

process, not to want more stakeholders involved in this

:16:18.:16:21.

even of the powers are not stakeholders involved in this

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would like them, or not set out in the way they would like. Actually,

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would like them, or not set out in the natural thing for you to want

:16:28.:16:30.

would be to have more powers in order to realise your own policies.

:16:31.:16:34.

Is that not right? I think if you would say to Welsh politicians that

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they could have these powers then they would not refuse them. They

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might never use them but at least they would be on the shelf, as it

:16:42.:16:45.

were. But you are asking them to fight a referendum for them. I think

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that is the point. It is not just theoretical. Somebody has to go and

:16:51.:16:53.

knock on the door and ask people to vote. One of the problems in Wales

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is that we are having referendum is not on big issues of principle but

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on fairly technical matters. Nobody's tax is going up as a result

:17:02.:17:07.

of the referendum but it is being organised in a different way,

:17:08.:17:10.

different people can live it. You have to explain lockstep. You will

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probably get a turnout of 20%, as we did for the last referendum, which

:17:16.:17:19.

was about whether you have powers to legislate on 30 do is use with 14

:17:20.:17:25.

exemptions. -- 32 issues. It is a bad and able to get into that we

:17:26.:17:30.

have these very detailed referendum instead of the question of whether

:17:31.:17:32.

we want a parliament with powers. We are doing these very detailed things

:17:33.:17:38.

and I think the politicians are getting a bit punch-drunk. All of

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this, in the wider context of how you improve the wider economy -- the

:17:43.:17:47.

Welsh economy. How do you boost the Welsh economy? 7.1% unemployment in

:17:48.:17:55.

the UK, 7.2 in Wales. The picture has been improving in many parts of

:17:56.:17:59.

the country. Thinking in terms of what Wales needs, not just tax

:18:00.:18:02.

powers but other economic powers, how would you explain the picture?

:18:03.:18:09.

There is no quick fix, really. There are two things that the Welsh

:18:10.:18:14.

Government needs to focus on. The first is education and training. The

:18:15.:18:19.

great Irish success, before their disaster in 2007, was really based

:18:20.:18:23.

on a huge investment in education, much higher proportion of Irish kids

:18:24.:18:27.

get to tertiary kids than the UK, certainly than Wales. -- treachery

:18:28.:18:35.

education. Our standards are slipping behind the UK and the best

:18:36.:18:38.

places in Europe. We have turned that around. If you're going to get

:18:39.:18:43.

technical businesses here, large businesses wanting to establish,

:18:44.:18:45.

they want a trained workforce. That is the first thing we have to do.

:18:46.:18:49.

That is a long job, not a six-month effort. It is a 60 year effort. The

:18:50.:18:56.

second thing is infrastructure. If we wanted to be able to move people

:18:57.:18:59.

and goods around and our infrastructure is not great, we do

:19:00.:19:03.

not have a very late topography, all those mountains. We have to improve

:19:04.:19:08.

that. -- a very friendly topography. There is a programme needed of

:19:09.:19:15.

investment to put the country in a better position. Is the Welsh

:19:16.:19:19.

Government engaged in putting together a programme to answer those

:19:20.:19:23.

things? It has started to put together an infrastructure plan,

:19:24.:19:25.

which if that were to come to fruition would be a step forward.

:19:26.:19:30.

There is certainly a big focus on education now. I do

:19:31.:19:32.

There is certainly a big focus on they're going to succeed in turning

:19:33.:19:34.

the corner but these people are talking about it.

:19:35.:19:38.

the corner but these people are very much for coming in.

:19:39.:19:40.

the corner but these people are Do Welsh politicians get the

:19:41.:19:42.

scrutiny they, and the voters, deserve? The Assembly's Presiding

:19:43.:19:45.

Officer, Rosemary Butler, believes the decline of the newspaper

:19:46.:19:48.

industry in Wales and the dominance of London- based media has led to

:19:49.:19:51.

fewer people being engaged in Welsh political life. And she's not alone

:19:52.:19:59.

in that view. But with fewer resources in many news

:20:00.:20:01.

organisations, how realistic is it to demand more coverage? Professor

:20:02.:20:04.

Richard Sambrook of Cardiff University School of Journalism, a

:20:05.:20:07.

former head of BBC Global News, presents his own report on the

:20:08.:20:09.

prospects. Its wheels talking about Wales

:20:10.:20:31.

enough? The lack of media coverage and scrutiny of the Welsh Government

:20:32.:20:35.

is a talk topic that has been talked about -- a topic that has been

:20:36.:20:38.

talked about many times, usually in the same newspapers and TV

:20:39.:20:42.

programmes stop because the coverage of the UK government. How many times

:20:43.:20:48.

have you seen Carwyn Jones on the pages of those same newspapers? Here

:20:49.:20:54.

at Cardiff University, we try to teach student journalists the

:20:55.:20:58.

importance of default government and holding politicians to account but

:20:59.:21:01.

there are not many good examples for them to learn from. Welsh media is

:21:02.:21:10.

back in the spotlight, thanks to Rosemary Butler. Gone will be the

:21:11.:21:16.

days of confusing Michael Gove's policies with Hugh Lewis, she wants

:21:17.:21:23.

the people of Wales to have plenty of sources of news about Wales to

:21:24.:21:27.

choose from. So how exactly are they proposing to do this? One suggestion

:21:28.:21:31.

is a journalism hub in the Senedd, working with hyper local media and

:21:32.:21:36.

digital organisations to provide content for new digital channels.

:21:37.:21:39.

Others include better communication facilities at The Senedd, making the

:21:40.:21:44.

data more accessible and ensuring that people are treating enough and

:21:45.:21:48.

helping to train them journalists of the future in the way The Senedd

:21:49.:21:52.

works. All very good but there is a problem here. Pushing information

:21:53.:21:56.

out is just PR. It is not the same as asking the awkward questions and

:21:57.:21:59.

holding politicians to account. That in the new journalism hub in the

:22:00.:22:03.

Senedd, will the journals of the future be encouraged to challenge

:22:04.:22:06.

what they see and hear will be simply become mouthpieces? These

:22:07.:22:12.

plans are just a starting point and will be developed. I cannot help

:22:13.:22:15.

thinking they're coming from wrong direction. It should be ours, the

:22:16.:22:19.

public, whose lives are affected by the decisions taken in the Assembly,

:22:20.:22:21.

public, whose lives are affected by it is ours who should be pushing for

:22:22.:22:24.

more hard-nosed, independent reporting. We care about schools,

:22:25.:22:29.

more hard-nosed, independent communities, hospitals. It

:22:30.:22:29.

more hard-nosed, independent we started to care about how

:22:30.:22:33.

more hard-nosed, independent being made. It

:22:34.:22:34.

more hard-nosed, independent looking for high-quality

:22:35.:22:37.

more hard-nosed, independent decision-makers coming from many

:22:38.:22:39.

different sources. In many ways, we get the media we deserve. But as the

:22:40.:22:43.

Welsh Government gets greater powers, so should be made more

:22:44.:22:47.

accountable. It is time to get wheels on the front page.

:22:48.:22:50.

Joining me now from our Assembly newsroom is the Deputy Presiding

:22:51.:22:56.

Officer, Conservative David Melding. Thank you for joining us. I am going

:22:57.:23:01.

to pick up on the point that he was making there. Is he right to say

:23:02.:23:04.

that the public gets the media it deserves? I think we all have a part

:23:05.:23:10.

to play in the political process. Those that analyse it, those that

:23:11.:23:17.

have to engage with the public. I suppose public engagement itself. We

:23:18.:23:19.

want to encourage people to tell us what they think and ensure that they

:23:20.:23:26.

can participate openly. Distil the democratic deficit that we have in

:23:27.:23:28.

the modern age, with moderately medications, and very fast legs were

:23:29.:23:32.

people cannot quite spend the time they would have in the past in

:23:33.:23:36.

listening to long broadcasts, I think this is all part of the next

:23:37.:23:43.

we need. Do you think the median Wales, broadcast and oppressed, is

:23:44.:23:48.

at fault? I think there are lots of things that we need to do to catch

:23:49.:23:52.

up with the technology we have had in communications. The fact that we

:23:53.:23:56.

are enjoying, or going through, a period that is like the late 19th

:23:57.:24:00.

century, when Mars newspapers started. That -- when newspapers

:24:01.:24:08.

started. That changed the way politics was done and we moved to

:24:09.:24:11.

universal suffrage and the participation in a formal way. Now

:24:12.:24:18.

we are seeing those old patter and documentation breakdown and new ones

:24:19.:24:21.

opening up. Engaging the public is much more difficult now that there

:24:22.:24:24.

are many other things that people want to get involved with. Is your

:24:25.:24:28.

colleagues right in saying that there is a democratic deficit when

:24:29.:24:31.

it comes to media scrutiny and that that is partly, as she puts it, the

:24:32.:24:35.

media's fault for not taking an interest in what you are doing in

:24:36.:24:40.

Cardiff? I think what we have seen is that wherever is the control in

:24:41.:24:46.

Wales, decisions are made, then we are seeing excellent quality

:24:47.:24:50.

broadcasting and writing. But there is a difficulty, I think, when the

:24:51.:24:54.

number of journalists is reduced. We do not so specialist political

:24:55.:24:59.

journalists here in the. I have to say the BBC has made some decisions

:25:00.:25:04.

in the last year but political reporting and the extent of news

:25:05.:25:08.

coverage in Wales. We still have high quality but there is a real

:25:09.:25:13.

deficit in the UK level. A lot of what we do is not fully reflected in

:25:14.:25:18.

the output, particularly, I think, with the newspapers. But the

:25:19.:25:23.

broadcasters could improve also. A lot of progress has been made,

:25:24.:25:27.

particularly with the BBC. We go back to that question, one

:25:28.:25:28.

politician said at the other day devolved administrations, why would

:25:29.:25:34.

someone living in York, for example, devolved administrations, why would

:25:35.:25:38.

be interested in what is devolved administrations, why would

:25:39.:25:40.

in Cardiff? I think it is relevant when we are making a decision in

:25:41.:25:44.

Cardiff that could set a new precedent. You had this with organ

:25:45.:25:50.

donation, for instance. There was a shift in policy. It was seen to be

:25:51.:25:56.

very medical in the UK. -- very radical. That clearly could impact

:25:57.:26:00.

people's lives in England and Scotland, if their governments

:26:01.:26:04.

followed suit. I think it is that sort of test. Do we get top coverage

:26:05.:26:10.

then? That is kind of the measure that we need to apply to stop -- do

:26:11.:26:16.

we get proper coverage then? We have other examples of debates we have

:26:17.:26:19.

lit. Although we have had a fair coverage, perhaps not always the

:26:20.:26:23.

level we have deserved. A little more than scrutiny. Wouldn't be fair

:26:24.:26:26.

to say that in order that openness to be there, for the scrutiny to be

:26:27.:26:31.

efficient, ministers also have to be available and willing to be

:26:32.:26:34.

questioned. There are instances, certainly that I know of in Welsh

:26:35.:26:37.

Government, where ministers maybe are not as available as they might

:26:38.:26:45.

be. What would you say about that? I put my dignity Presiding Officer's

:26:46.:26:48.

hat on and say that we sometimes have to be very firm with the stars

:26:49.:26:53.

about Wendy -- with ministers about when and where they make statements

:26:54.:26:58.

and we want them to be available to be questioned in the Assembly. Their

:26:59.:27:02.

lives are demanding. They cannot say yes to every request but there is an

:27:03.:27:10.

issue in being available to the main broadcasters and news outlets. There

:27:11.:27:17.

should be effective fumigation. That is an important heart of scrutiny.

:27:18.:27:21.

How many people can watch first Minister 's questions? But how many

:27:22.:27:24.

people will listen to a news bulletin on the BBC in the morning?

:27:25.:27:28.

I think ministers will be aware of that. Finally, the importance of

:27:29.:27:33.

this, we are moving into a period were clearly election is on the

:27:34.:27:37.

horizon, we are talking about important things like tax varying

:27:38.:27:41.

powers, for example. That process of engagement by voters is even more

:27:42.:27:44.

important than it has been before. It certainly is. I think the

:27:45.:27:52.

effective devolution becomes and the greater range of subjects that are

:27:53.:27:56.

devolved, there is a clear logic in doing as much locally and nationally

:27:57.:28:00.

in Wales, Scotland and England at some point as possible. It is very

:28:01.:28:05.

important if we are going to see big decisions being taken on taxation

:28:06.:28:09.

and perhaps to model the Welsh economy, to make it more attractive

:28:10.:28:13.

than, say, the south east of England, if we want to attract

:28:14.:28:16.

people into Wales that currently are in an overcrowded economic region

:28:17.:28:20.

like London on the south east, we have to engage with people to tell

:28:21.:28:24.

them why it is necessary, perhaps, to make some of the decisions we

:28:25.:28:26.

need to be making that initially to make some of the decisions we

:28:27.:28:28.

might surprise people, if looking at really interesting

:28:29.:28:30.

innovative policy options. looking at really interesting

:28:31.:28:33.

thank you for joining us. My pleasure.

:28:34.:28:33.

That's it for this week's programme. pleasure.

:28:34.:28:37.

We'll be back next Wednesday. In the meantime, you can get in touch with

:28:38.:28:40.

us about the issues discussed tonight, or indeed anything else.

:28:41.:28:42.

Email us at [email protected] and we are on Twitter. Thanks for

:28:43.:28:45.

watching. Good night. Nos da.

:28:46.:28:52.

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