25/11/2015

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:00:00. > :00:09.Tonight on the Wales Report, we're at Westminster

:00:10. > :00:12.for a special programme on today's spending review.

:00:13. > :00:15.We'll be looking at the Chancellor's measures and considering what they

:00:16. > :00:20.And we'll be asking how the announcements here today affect

:00:21. > :00:22.the debate ahead of next year's Assembly elections in Wales.

:00:23. > :00:33.Good evening and welcome to The Wales Report.

:00:34. > :00:35.We're at Westminster on a busy day - the Chancellor has

:00:36. > :00:38.been outlining his spending review and updating MPs on the Government's

:00:39. > :00:55.Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb hailed the announcement as a

:00:56. > :01:01.landmark for Wales. And remember, you can join

:01:02. > :01:03.in the discussion on social media. But first,

:01:04. > :01:13.my colleague Felicity Evans outlines how the Chancellor's announcements

:01:14. > :01:23.may impact on Welsh communities. Statement, the Chancellor of the

:01:24. > :01:29.Exchequer. George Osborne prepared this

:01:30. > :01:33.spending review under pressure under his cuts to tax credits. A recent

:01:34. > :01:38.defeat in the Lords had forced him back to the drawing board. Most

:01:39. > :01:47.commentators predicted a compromise, they got a U-turn. I listened to the

:01:48. > :01:50.concerns, I hear and understand them, and because I have been able

:01:51. > :01:52.to announce today an improvement in the public finances the simplest

:01:53. > :01:57.thing to do is avoid these changes altogether. The households in Wales

:01:58. > :02:01.that receive tax credits are likely to be relieved that the cuts have

:02:02. > :02:06.been cancelled. Mr Osborne says he can still reach his target of

:02:07. > :02:09.cutting a total of ?12 billion from the welfare budget during the

:02:10. > :02:16.Parliament. Despite the turnaround critics argue the UK Government's

:02:17. > :02:22.spending plans continue to leave public services exposed. The Welsh

:02:23. > :02:26.government said this does nothing to help public services in Wales, but

:02:27. > :02:32.there were significant announcements on the way the Treasury calculates

:02:33. > :02:36.the money the Treasury receives, the Barnett formula. In Cardiff Bay

:02:37. > :02:40.there is a widespread conviction that the Barnett formula

:02:41. > :02:46.short-changes Wales and there were calls to ameliorate that. Today Mr

:02:47. > :02:50.Osborne agreed. Wales has asked for a public floor to protect public

:02:51. > :02:54.spending and now within months of coming to office this Conservative

:02:55. > :02:59.government is answering that call and providing that historic funding

:03:00. > :03:05.guarantee for Wales. I announced today that we will introduce the new

:03:06. > :03:10.funding floor and set it at 115%. While he was on the subject of

:03:11. > :03:15.finding Mr Ob spawn confirmed that the block grant from the Treasury

:03:16. > :03:21.for Wales will stand at almost ?50 million by 2020. It was 14.4 billion

:03:22. > :03:27.this year. The Welsh finance minister says this amounts to a cut

:03:28. > :03:32.in real terms. The UK Government once the Welsh government to raise

:03:33. > :03:36.some of the money it spends by taking partial control of income tax

:03:37. > :03:41.rates but the First Minister is wary of this because of his concerns over

:03:42. > :03:46.fair funding. Today Mr Osborne not only committed to a funding floor

:03:47. > :03:51.for Wales he also removed another barrier to the devolution of income

:03:52. > :03:56.tax. No longer will a referendum be required for the Bush government to

:03:57. > :03:59.take control. The Welsh government gave a cautious welcome to a funding

:04:00. > :04:03.floor commitment but asked for clarity on how it will be permitted

:04:04. > :04:08.and how reliable the promise will be in the long-term.

:04:09. > :04:10.I'm joined tonight by Alun Cairns, Wales Office Minister

:04:11. > :04:13.and Conservative MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, Nia Griffith, Shadow

:04:14. > :04:16.Secretary of State for Wales and Labour MP for Llanelli, from the

:04:17. > :04:17.Liberal Democrats, Baroness Jenny Randerson, and

:04:18. > :04:31.I am bound to start with the biggest U-turn of the day, on tax credits.

:04:32. > :04:36.We were told the logic for that was clear in the summer but suddenly

:04:37. > :04:40.maybe it isn't. I think this demonstrates the strength of the

:04:41. > :04:44.Chancellor, he is pragmatic tom he listens to the debate and he has the

:04:45. > :04:48.authority to make changes according to the demands made on him. The

:04:49. > :04:52.House of Lords threw back the changes and because of the difficult

:04:53. > :04:55.decisions taken some time ago he had so much more freedom because the

:04:56. > :05:01.revenue for the country is far better than it was even in July so

:05:02. > :05:07.he was in a position where he didn't have to force through the tax credit

:05:08. > :05:13.changes. All about Parliamentary arithmetic? It is about changing the

:05:14. > :05:16.debate but also the better financial position we are rain because of the

:05:17. > :05:27.difficult decisions over four or five years. I assume the opposition

:05:28. > :05:30.welcomes the change. We have obviously run a strong campaign on

:05:31. > :05:34.the opposition benches and we wanted to make sure working people didn't

:05:35. > :05:38.miss out but the worrying thing is that he is still talking about

:05:39. > :05:42.taking ?12 billion of money off the bubbly some of the very same people.

:05:43. > :05:47.When Universal Credit comes in he is talking about taking money off

:05:48. > :05:51.people there and when people transfer from one to the other we

:05:52. > :05:55.also know there is difficulty with Universal Credit and I worry people

:05:56. > :05:59.will miss out so I would like us to continue the campaign to make sure

:06:00. > :06:07.that in future years we don't see the people who have been spared this

:06:08. > :06:12.year miss out again later on. You are not quibbling with the fact that

:06:13. > :06:19.there is still an impact on people with low pay surely, Alun? Universal

:06:20. > :06:23.Credit is a fantastic success. It is changing the opportunities that

:06:24. > :06:25.people have in terms of finding a fantastic success. It is changing

:06:26. > :06:31.the opportunities that people have in terms of finding deployment. The

:06:32. > :06:35.Universal Credit has been welcomed by charities, the independent sector

:06:36. > :06:40.and employees because of the real difficulty it makes about making

:06:41. > :06:45.work more attractive. -- employers. Welfare had to change, people were

:06:46. > :06:48.trapped on benefits, that wasn't right, so the Universal Credit is

:06:49. > :07:00.recognised widely as the way forward. I am just making the point

:07:01. > :07:04.that today are lot of the headlines... It is misleading

:07:05. > :07:08.because there are still changes in the pipeline which will affect

:07:09. > :07:14.people's income. That is the consequence of benefit reform, that

:07:15. > :07:18.is the changes proposed today, they are so much more positive and better

:07:19. > :07:23.for those individuals. Universal Credit is transformational the

:07:24. > :07:29.quicker we get people on to it the better because it will always make

:07:30. > :07:38.sure work pays. Liz, your thoughts on today's change. There is now a

:07:39. > :07:43.?4.4 billion hole in the welfare cuts and the Chancellor is committed

:07:44. > :07:52.to those, and we don't know where that ?4.4 billion is going to land.

:07:53. > :07:57.Even with tax credits, the level of earnings which were disregarded for

:07:58. > :08:02.change within tax credits was previously within ?5,000, that has

:08:03. > :08:08.gone down to ?2500, affecting people who work in seasonal industries.

:08:09. > :08:17.What would the coalition have done about this, Jenny, if they were

:08:18. > :08:21.still in existence? We would never have had the proposal for tax credit

:08:22. > :08:26.cuts in the first place because we stopped that in coalition, said it

:08:27. > :08:30.couldn't be done, we were totally opposed to cutting benefits for the

:08:31. > :08:37.poorest, so it would have been a very different statement from that

:08:38. > :08:43.point of view. We have lots to discuss, lots of content. Let's talk

:08:44. > :08:49.specifically about our Welsh focus, this thought that income tax powers

:08:50. > :08:58.could be devolved without going to a referendum. Does that make sense? If

:08:59. > :09:03.the powers are there it is up to each individual party to put that in

:09:04. > :09:08.their manifesto if they want to use those powers. First and foremost I

:09:09. > :09:11.think we need a thorough impact assessment, let's have a look at

:09:12. > :09:17.what actually would be the effect if we had a difference in rate one side

:09:18. > :09:20.of the border and the other side. About 50% of people in Wales live

:09:21. > :09:24.within commuting distance of the border so we need to look carefully

:09:25. > :09:30.at that and I think parties would have to be very honest and upfront

:09:31. > :09:34.about what they intended to do. You don't sound too enthusiastic. If you

:09:35. > :09:38.look at the powers given to Scotland, they haven't used them in

:09:39. > :09:44.the time they have had them there and we may find there is good reason

:09:45. > :09:54.for that. Liz, your thoughts. This has been our policy all along and we

:09:55. > :09:58.delighted to see it being adopted. Northern Ireland is a different

:09:59. > :10:03.context but it is now on the cards for the other nations of Britain and

:10:04. > :10:06.we need to look at the wider fiscal arrangements for Wales. If somebody

:10:07. > :10:11.on the doorstep says this is a very big thing to do, we should have a

:10:12. > :10:19.voice in a separate vote in a referendum on this. Shouldn't this

:10:20. > :10:23.be the fair and just thing to do? We have had referendums in the past in

:10:24. > :10:27.the Welsh assembly and we are now in a position where we can move ahead

:10:28. > :10:36.with this and it is quite an easy case to argue. The level of answer

:10:37. > :10:48.ability is very much improved and we need that to revitalise politics in

:10:49. > :10:54.Wales. Nia, do you think this kind of major devolution of power should

:10:55. > :10:59.happen? There are other ways the public can express their opinions,

:11:00. > :11:03.we have elections. Lots of issues get mixed up there, the whole point

:11:04. > :11:11.of a referendum is to focus on one thing. Yes, but the important thing

:11:12. > :11:15.is that people need to be upfront about their proposals and the public

:11:16. > :11:23.can decide. You are comfortable this can happen without a referendum?

:11:24. > :11:29.Yes. Jenny? I am delighted the idea of a referendum has been dropped

:11:30. > :11:33.because we have had several referendums and the people of Wales

:11:34. > :11:39.want the Assembly to have additional powers. It is not a good idea to

:11:40. > :11:44.have the potential for a power like this to be hanging around in the

:11:45. > :11:48.ether. It is time now for the parties to be putting forward in

:11:49. > :11:54.their manifesto is what they would do on income tax powers specifically

:11:55. > :12:01.and this gives the opportunity for parties to put forward and our

:12:02. > :12:04.leader in Wales, Kirsty Williams, has put forward the idea that we

:12:05. > :12:12.should be looking at reducing income tax in Wales as part of a way to

:12:13. > :12:18.stimulate the economy. That is a fascinating perspective. I will come

:12:19. > :12:21.to the lower tax thing in a moment. The referendum first, if somebody in

:12:22. > :12:27.your constituency comes up and says, hang on, this is a big thing we are

:12:28. > :12:32.doing, I would rather have a say in a referendum, you will say hard

:12:33. > :12:37.luck? They can vote for a party that makes various proposals on tax

:12:38. > :12:41.changes. This allows me to stand on a platform with my Conservative

:12:42. > :12:54.colleagues calling for tax cuts in Wales, but it is easy to have a

:12:55. > :12:55.spending body armour something that just distributes money. It now

:12:56. > :12:58.changes the responsibility whereby the Welsh government, if they want

:12:59. > :13:00.to spend more money, can have the opportunity to raise that money and

:13:01. > :13:03.it makes it far more directly accountable to the people who vote

:13:04. > :13:06.for it. I think this is a great chance to attract investment,

:13:07. > :13:13.entrepreneurs, business people. What a great thing it would be if we had

:13:14. > :13:20.a lower rate tax in Wales. -- rate of income tax. If you are facing a

:13:21. > :13:22.party that portrays itself as a tax-cutting party, how will Labour

:13:23. > :13:35.respond? I think this is a similar move, he

:13:36. > :13:41.will cut and cut and cut centrally then make it more and more difficult

:13:42. > :13:45.for people to deliver services, whether at the Welsh Government

:13:46. > :13:49.level or the local authority level, and therefore he will be throwing

:13:50. > :13:54.out to them the question of whether they need to raise taxes in order to

:13:55. > :13:58.make up for that shortfall which he is putting into the budget in the

:13:59. > :14:01.first place. So I am very worried because I do think it is the

:14:02. > :14:10.mechanism he may be trying to use across the UK in order to, if you

:14:11. > :14:13.like, pushed down the way taxes are collected, and people will find

:14:14. > :14:18.themselves perhaps having to pay more in the same way they have had

:14:19. > :14:21.to pay more VAT. The Welsh Government regularly calls for

:14:22. > :14:28.additional spending in Wales. If they want that they can now raise

:14:29. > :14:31.the tax... Precisely... But they will have to justify to people.

:14:32. > :14:36.Every business and organisation and family must make savings, it is easy

:14:37. > :14:41.to spend. They will now have to look voters in the eye and say, we are

:14:42. > :14:46.spending more on this project but raising tax because of it. People

:14:47. > :14:48.will judge accordingly. So you are proposing that Welsh taxpayers

:14:49. > :14:53.should pay more because the Chancellor cuts the block grant.

:14:54. > :14:59.That is affecting what you are saying -- effectively. Absolutely

:15:00. > :15:03.not. We have associated tax varying powers with a funding floor which

:15:04. > :15:09.will guarantee funding for Wales and the longer terms as with the

:15:10. > :15:12.independent Silk Commission recommended. The independent expert

:15:13. > :15:17.who looked at the funding recommended it and he said it is

:15:18. > :15:20.very fair for Wales, and I would take his word over the Welsh

:15:21. > :15:24.Government. It doesn't alter the fact that we will still see cuts

:15:25. > :15:27.throughout this Parliament through the budget the Welsh Government. You

:15:28. > :15:32.mentioned the funding floor, many viewers will know about it, but some

:15:33. > :15:38.understandably will not be into the detail. What does it mean, Alun,

:15:39. > :15:43.what does it offer the Welsh Government? Many have expressed

:15:44. > :15:47.concerns over many years that the way the Barnett For Miller works for

:15:48. > :15:55.Wales does not always advantage Wales over other parts of the UK --

:15:56. > :16:01.formula. Arrange was set between ?114 - ?117 to be spent in Wales

:16:02. > :16:07.according to ?100 spent in England because it is based on need. So it

:16:08. > :16:17.is in that range. The floor is forward hundred and ?15 to be spent

:16:18. > :16:23.in Wales compared to 100 pounds in England. In the 1990s we were in the

:16:24. > :16:28.realms of 125% which was consistent, and what is worrying here is that if

:16:29. > :16:33.we are looking at a needs -based assessment, the needs of Wales don't

:16:34. > :16:38.always compare, they won't track the needs of England. But on the figure

:16:39. > :16:44.of 115, to get back to specifics, Gerry Holt is saying... Are you

:16:45. > :16:52.saying it is not fair? Going back, what's bad, I said to the 90s, 15

:16:53. > :16:58.years or more, it was averaging 125% then. A lot has changed since then.

:16:59. > :17:06.It drops to 116 when Wales were -- Labour were in power, it could have

:17:07. > :17:09.been addressed then and is now 111%. 115 is an improvement but the

:17:10. > :17:17.question is does that reflect the needs? The Welsh economy was doing

:17:18. > :17:25.better when it was 125 than it is now. Gerry Holden will recognise the

:17:26. > :17:29.need and he said 114-117. I am delighted because the funding for

:17:30. > :17:33.what was something the Liberal Democrats fought for when we are in

:17:34. > :17:37.the coalition, the promise was made in coalition that this would be

:17:38. > :17:44.introduced. I am so pleased to see it. Are you happy with the figure?

:17:45. > :17:50.It is in the range Gerry Houlton spoke about, that he recommended,

:17:51. > :17:56.and Plaid Cymru have not argued before the recommendations. I think

:17:57. > :18:00.there is possibly a case for getting him to make sure and double check

:18:01. > :18:06.and all the rest of it, but the point is, this is the Welsh

:18:07. > :18:16.Government's initiative that is being put into place now. Nia, on

:18:17. > :18:20.the figure, are you prepared to say tonight you are satisfied with

:18:21. > :18:24.that? That is the level the Welsh Government has sought and which has

:18:25. > :18:29.been put forward, so in terms of the level of that floor, we are happy

:18:30. > :18:34.with it. We are not happy with the continuing cuts, which there will

:18:35. > :18:40.be, to the Welsh block grant anyway, and also the money sucked out of the

:18:41. > :18:43.economy in Wales through all the different tax changes there have

:18:44. > :18:48.been up till now, and those we anticipate in the remainder of this

:18:49. > :18:52.government, which will suck money from the local economies, the high

:18:53. > :18:57.streets, which will have an impact... What is happening to the

:18:58. > :19:02.block grant for Wales? On a capital bases it will go up nearly 70%,

:19:03. > :19:06.which is quite transformational, we haven't seen that increasing many

:19:07. > :19:12.years, so money the Welsh Government will have at its disposal for

:19:13. > :19:15.capital projects, roads, schools, that really is quite

:19:16. > :19:20.transformational. Adding capital and revenue Wales is in a much stronger

:19:21. > :19:25.position as a result. Some departments across Whitehall face

:19:26. > :19:31.cuts of 25%, that region. Wales's position is much stronger than

:19:32. > :19:35.those. Nia, your point? Capital funding over expenditure is less

:19:36. > :19:42.than revenue and the overall effect of the cuts as I understand it will

:19:43. > :19:48.be at least 3.5% of cuts to come. Wiping out, do you mean? The overall

:19:49. > :19:53.effect of cuts to the budget will be 3.5%, so if you think of the cuts

:19:54. > :19:58.they have already been and remember that the money the Welsh Government

:19:59. > :20:03.Spens is almost entirely on front line services, then these cuts that

:20:04. > :20:09.will be additional will have another significant impact. Jenny. In fact,

:20:10. > :20:14.in Wales the cuts will be proportionally less than for some of

:20:15. > :20:23.the departments, because the situation in Wales is reflected, the

:20:24. > :20:28.health budget, the education budget, and I noticed the culture budget as

:20:29. > :20:36.well, very small, but those are protected, and therefore, I think it

:20:37. > :20:41.is time the Welsh government stop complaining and made the best of the

:20:42. > :20:45.situation in terms of making their spending a great deal more efficient

:20:46. > :20:50.than it has been until now. Is that a fair point? Everyone needs to make

:20:51. > :20:54.savings, but the resources they have at their disposal a significant,

:20:55. > :20:59.both capital and revenue. Ally that then with their borrowing powers as

:21:00. > :21:03.well as tax varying powers, but in addition to these, there is the

:21:04. > :21:08.Cardiff city deal, which will bring more money over and above Barnett,

:21:09. > :21:19.the formula, to Cardiff, to make the city more productive, there is

:21:20. > :21:22.electric and to Swansea, all this money is in addition to the normal

:21:23. > :21:24.black grant -- block grant. The resources being made available to

:21:25. > :21:27.Wales for XE any expectation any political party had a short time

:21:28. > :21:30.ago. Could the Minister clarify how much money the Cardiff city deal

:21:31. > :21:37.will get because we haven't heard that. The Welsh Government has asked

:21:38. > :21:41.for match funding. On electrification can we have more

:21:42. > :21:44.clarity on when it will happen? We have heard this announcement

:21:45. > :21:47.repeatedly and we would like to see action. We have certainly heard it

:21:48. > :21:53.several times on electrification because some of us do that Jenny a

:21:54. > :21:57.lot! Let's go to the Cardiff city deal first, how much money going

:21:58. > :22:01.into that -- do that journey a lot. We have an in principle commitment

:22:02. > :22:04.to being the structure part of the deal, only two weeks ago we had

:22:05. > :22:07.below growth of the deal, only two weeks ago we had below grow 30 bids

:22:08. > :22:11.but this agreement from the Treasury in principle now throws the onus

:22:12. > :22:18.back to the businesses and the Welsh Government to further details. We

:22:19. > :22:21.would have liked to have been further forward because we

:22:22. > :22:25.originally wanted the deal in July but it took until a fortnight ago to

:22:26. > :22:29.get it. We will do that in detail but we have in principle agreement

:22:30. > :22:33.which is significant because that then paves the way to the upgrades

:22:34. > :22:37.of the Valley lines, the metro around South Wales, this is all in

:22:38. > :22:42.addition to the block grant Wales gets, so this is a pretty landmark

:22:43. > :22:47.deal we have announced today. Are you convinced, Liz? We are not

:22:48. > :22:53.seeing electrification in North Wales, there are debates about it.

:22:54. > :23:00.There are also cuts another Westminster department. The Courts

:23:01. > :23:03.estate is to be reduced, HMRC is centralising all services in Cardiff

:23:04. > :23:06.which will affect the rest of the economy, those areas, and we are

:23:07. > :23:11.talking about hundreds of jobs here, with the courts we are talking about

:23:12. > :23:14.an ongoing affect particularly in general areas where services are

:23:15. > :23:19.being drawn out and it will have a terrible effect on the local

:23:20. > :23:24.economy. Alun? The modernisation of railway of the North Wales, I am

:23:25. > :23:28.ambitious about, I was there two weeks ago with the Welsh Government

:23:29. > :23:41.and the transport minister. We need to do develop that with local

:23:42. > :23:44.authorities. I am excited. The window for that bid is next year. We

:23:45. > :23:46.will make a bid to upgrade the railway lines in North Wales. The

:23:47. > :23:48.other areas, of course, every government needs to make savings and

:23:49. > :23:51.look carefully at how it spends, because we need to get more for

:23:52. > :23:54.less, and that is what the UK Government has done. I think there

:23:55. > :23:57.is a big responsibility on the Welsh Government to follow suit just like

:23:58. > :24:00.every other business. The tax is interesting because some people

:24:01. > :24:04.argue there are special circumstances around some Welsh tax

:24:05. > :24:08.offices not least because they provide different services to other

:24:09. > :24:12.parts of the UK. Have you protected that enough or are you going along

:24:13. > :24:15.with Whitehall? We have looked closely at it and there is the Welsh

:24:16. > :24:20.language provision we need to preserve, the Welsh language scheme

:24:21. > :24:26.which we are committed to delivering on, but there is the digitisation of

:24:27. > :24:28.HMRC services, of the Courts service, which will provide the

:24:29. > :24:33.opportunity for a much better service either through the Welsh

:24:34. > :24:38.language or communities. Many people already complain about the tax

:24:39. > :24:44.revenue system. In order to improve it, we need to make changes, but

:24:45. > :24:49.there is a net gain for Wales out of that, at potentially 600 extra jobs

:24:50. > :24:55.in Wales as a result. A and we will move on. Thereat areas in Wales were

:24:56. > :25:01.digital sizes and doesn't work because some areas cannot have good

:25:02. > :25:03.broadband. I am worried about using digital technology to access

:25:04. > :25:07.justice. We don't know the effects of that, if you are a witness alone

:25:08. > :25:11.with the court in another place what will the outcome be? I think we are

:25:12. > :25:16.rushing without knowing where it will lead. We have a few minutes

:25:17. > :25:22.left, looking ahead, I noticed many months, but the assembly elections

:25:23. > :25:26.next year. A thought from each of you as to what you think will

:25:27. > :25:30.dominate the campaign for the months ahead? Clearly today's statement

:25:31. > :25:35.could have a" Don that campaign. I would start with the minister, what

:25:36. > :25:40.you think it will be about? I think it will be about tax cuts or

:25:41. > :25:44.increases for any party but I know my party will propose tax cuts in

:25:45. > :25:48.that manifesto and people will have a choice, you either want to live

:25:49. > :26:08.and work in Wales and pay less tax or go with some of the other parties

:26:09. > :26:11.because they always promised to spend more money in certain areas

:26:12. > :26:13.but now they will have the opportunity to raise it but justify

:26:14. > :26:16.that to voters. Jenny? We have got this far without mentioning the

:26:17. > :26:19.Wales Bill which is going through Parliament, and as it goes on its

:26:20. > :26:21.process, I am sure there will be a lot of discussion about the

:26:22. > :26:24.additional powers we hope will come to the Welsh Assembly, and what I

:26:25. > :26:27.would like to see is a debate that concentrates not on those powers but

:26:28. > :26:30.on what each individual party will do with those additional powers,

:26:31. > :26:37.because that is what people care about. Indeed, and we have spent a

:26:38. > :26:42.long time discussing that bill. Two-day's context, Nia, what does it

:26:43. > :26:47.tell you about what lies ahead? Jenny mentioned the Wales Bill but

:26:48. > :26:52.today's measures change nature of the bill, don't they? To a certain

:26:53. > :26:57.extent but next year people book will be looking for a government

:26:58. > :27:00.that wants to put growth in high-tech industries and strategic

:27:01. > :27:05.support for industries to when sure we keep high-quality jobs in Wales

:27:06. > :27:09.and support industry, make sure procurement uses locally sourced

:27:10. > :27:14.goods, and that is a strong economic platform, which people will look

:27:15. > :27:20.for, they will be looking for a genuine understanding of what makes

:27:21. > :27:25.jobs grow in Wales and how we can do that. Liz? Plaid Cymru will keep the

:27:26. > :27:29.money coming to Wales for health ring fenced for health in Wales. I

:27:30. > :27:34.would also like to remind the Welsh Tories that their manifesto in 2015

:27:35. > :27:41.promised to protect the funding for S4 C and now we are seeing a cut. It

:27:42. > :27:45.is unique to Wales and needs to be protected. That is another programme

:27:46. > :27:50.entirely which we will come back to, an important issue, but thank you

:27:51. > :27:52.very much for coming in. Good of you to come this evening.

:27:53. > :27:55.We'll be back next week with a special programme with

:27:56. > :27:59.And if you'd like to be in the audience and get the chance

:28:00. > :28:02.to put your questions to the First Minister, get in touch - the e-mail

:28:03. > :28:07.or we're on social media - the hashtag is #thewalesreport.

:28:08. > :28:12.Diolch am eich cwmni, nos da, good night.