04/10/2011 am.pm


04/10/2011

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Transcript


LineFromTo

Good afternoon. Welcome to the programme. It's

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draft Budget Day here in the Assembly today. The Welsh

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Government will set out its spending plans for the next

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financial year later this afternoon. Before all that takes place we will,

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of course, bring you coverage of First Minister's Questions. Feel

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free to get in touch with us while As usual, our Welsh Affairs Editor

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Vaughan Roderick will be here to cast his expert eye over

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proceedings later, but first let's go over to the chamber for First

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There is one question to the First Minister.

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Question one, Christine Chapman. Will the First Minister provide an

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update on what the Welsh Government is is doing to eradicate poverty in

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Wales? An anti-poferty action plan is being developed.

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Thank you. Despite that progress, I think that a high number of Welsh

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children are still living in poverty, exacerbated by the cuts

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made by the UK. Now the indicators by which we assess child poverty

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has changed. Sometimes there is a lack of understanding of the true

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nature of child poverty. What more can we do to ensure that

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child poverty remains at the forefront of public awareness and

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the the awareness of the agencies. The child poverty strategy gives a

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clear account as to what we can achieve as a Government in helping

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to reduce poverty and it contains three new objebg tis for tack --

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objectives for tackling child poverty.

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Thank you. Well, the severe child poverty in Wales report published

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by Save The Children in February February said that Wales as the

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severest child child poverty among the nations. A report found that

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child poverty rate between the mid- 1990s improvement had been lost in

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the previous five years, where the Welsh Government's new child

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poverty target requires the rate to fall four times as past over the

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next ten years m. How do you respond to the call for joint

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action with the two governments working together to device a plan

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to tackle the severe child poverty? We are having to work with the UK

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Government when it comes to child poverty and we expect a commitment

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from them that they continue to take child poverty seriously.

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In the Western world poverty is very much a relative term. If you

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have no roof over their head, that is real poverty. Minister, what

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steps is the Government taking to ensure that local authorities are

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meeting their full obligations to provide housing to those households

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who need housing as a priority need?

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Well, local authorities have their responsibilities in terms of

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providing housing and you will know we have targets with regard to the

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numbers of houses we wish to see built every year and we know that

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good progress was made in the previous four years of Government

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particularly when the Government of the day and that's progress we want

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to build on. Thank you. First Minister, you will

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know one of the best ways of dealing with poverty is to give

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young people opportunities in terms of better education and skills. How

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is your forthcoming Budget going to be targeting particularly those

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young people who are growing up in poverty to ensure that they have

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the opportunities and that they do get the education and skills needed

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to apply for descent paid jobs and get out of poverty? I don't want to

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pre-empt the Budget Statement. But it is a manifesto of this

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Government toin crease education -- to increase education funding by 1%

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a year. Will the First Minister make a

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statement on employment levels in Wales?

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Yes, the latest employment data shows that there are 1.3 million

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people in employment in Wales, but we know that the economy remains in

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a fragile state. Thanks for that answer, First

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Minister. First Minister, the advent of 24-hour news means we are

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seeing the Tories sucking away prospects on a minute to minute

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basis. It is making it for young people to find work. Next time you

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meet the UK Government can you stress to them that Plan A is not

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working? It is clear that Plan A isn't working and there doesn't

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seem to be a Plan bmt and that's -- Plan B and that's something I

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regretment First Minister, I listened

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carefully to your answer there. What you didn't say, of course, is

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that Wales has the least competitive business rates regime

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in the United Kingdom. That is contributing to the uncertainty

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particularly for small business that could do so much better if

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they were taken out of business rates altogether. Will you give

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careful consideration to our party's proposals to withdraw

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people from business rates altogether where their ratable

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value is under �12,500 to give them the confidence to create new jobs.

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The small business release scheme is in place until September of next

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year, unfortunately we don't have a magic money tree which seems to

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grow in Conservative Party head quarters.

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This morning MBMA announced it will be cutting 400 jobs at its Chester

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centre in spite of announcing a postof �348 million. Bank of

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America says most of the jobs will be voluntary, however, this is

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going to be a body blow to many families in north-east Wales who

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work there. Is this the worst short-term thinking that prevads

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the banking sector and would you examine how retraining support

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could be offered to the banking sector workers who live in north-

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east Wales? As you know, of course, we have

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invested heavily in retraining over the past three or four years. It is

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right to say that many people working at Bank of America work on

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this side of the border. I agree, it is important that where business

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desrksz are taken, they are not taken on a short-term basis rather

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they should be planned for the longer term.

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TRANSLATION: Has the Government commissioned or gathered any data

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or research about the jobs that have been lost already in the

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sector which make up the Government's economic regeneration

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programme particularly over the past three years because these

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sectors are extremely important, but I would like to have some sort

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of idea if if jobs have been lost and where can we collaborate to

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ensure those gaps are plugged. There are statistics that are

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published and these are the labour market statistics every quarter.

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And contained in those statistics it is possible to look at which

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sectors have been hit hardest. But as regards finding out exactly

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where every job is lost, that is not possible.

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We move to leader's questions. Wyn Jones. Does the First Minister

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agree that we need a package of measures to promote the economy now

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and we need an injection of capital? You say in your programme

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for Government that you want to look into innovative and

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collaborative ways of raising capital to invest in the

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infrastructure of public services and as that document does not tell

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us exactly how you're going to achieve this, can you tell us today

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how you intend to achieve that? I agree with what the leader of

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Plaid Cymru is saying and that, of considers, is -- of course is why

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we must ensure that borrowing powers come to the Welsh Government

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as soon as possible bearing in minute the discussions will take

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place between the Welsh Government and the UK Government, a process

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supported by all parties in this assembly.

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I take it First Minister, when your programme for Government mentions

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finding innovative ways of working, you will have to go further than

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just borrowing. It is apparent to me that borrowing is something that

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we are all agreed on, but I am sure you would agree with me that we

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need to go further than that. A shortage of capital money is a

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challenge, of course, �800 million is what the Assembly Government is

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going to lose by 2014 and in real terms, that is a cut of over 46%

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when you take inflation into account and if you look at the

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draft programme that you had already published then the

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reduction in the education budget and the health budget will be

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around 50%. So there will be a significant reduction in capital

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expenditure and the question is, and I virtually asked it already,

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but if you are saying that you're going to go, try and get borrowing

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powers, what in addition are you going to do? There has been some

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discussion of borrowing using Local Government's borrowing powers. But

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no discussion has taken place between yourself and local

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authorities. Can you tell us what you know? There is a plan for Wales.

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Are you dependant on borrowing powers? No, we will look at all

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kinds of means of raising capital in the future. It is important of

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course, that the schemes we look at are practical ones. The first step,

:11:09.:11:19.
:11:19.:11:21.

Government has the right to borrow, of course, and to ensure that we

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have our fair share of funding bearing in mind the work of the

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commissioner. So we are looking at a number of ways of securing more

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capital for the Welsh, budget and borrowing is one part of that.

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Well, I will give you another opportunity now, but we, I had said

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that negotiations were to take place yourself and Local Government

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to see whether we could use the borrowing powers available to Local

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Government for Government plans. Schools is one example, for example.

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Road building is another. Can you tell us if any negotiations have

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taken place already because I do think that it is important that we

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should know how far those negotiations and discussions have

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gone. We know that you have to be ambitious and be proactive if we

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are to move things forward and another question in addition to the

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one on Local Government, what pressure have you put on the

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Treasury to ensure that, if there is an injection of capital for the

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UK, that Wales gets its fair share? We always do that with the Treasury.

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Naturally we've fought Wales' corner with the Treasury. We do it

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every week. Almost every day since the establishment of this

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Government back in May. And of course, we do have discussions with

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the local authorities. We have financial discussions, continuously

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with local authorities, but as said, we look at every practical means of

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securing capital for ales in the future and -- Wales in the future

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and one step is that the United Kingdom Government Government gives

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Wales the same rights as they do Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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First Minister, the Budget this afternoon provides us with an

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opportunity for you to show us where your priorities lie. Under

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Labour in Wales, we spend �604 less per head than on education in

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England. Wales is slipping backwards, for reading, maths and

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science in its international rankings and for the last four

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years, Welsh children have fallen behind their English counterparts

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in GCSE achievements. If this performance doesn't persuade you to

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prioritise education in your Budget this afternoon, what will? You know

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the Government priorityises -- prioritises education. I should

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emphasise that spending more doesn't necessarily mean that there

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is better delivery. The two runs together.

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So yes, extra funding is important, but so is better delivery.

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The performance of our schools across Wales needs to improve, but

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let us consider for the moment the performance of the worst off

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children in Wales. Just one in five children, who are in receipt of

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free school meals are poorest children, actually get five good

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GCSEs from grade A star to C. Just one in five. You surely would agree

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that this is a dreadful record for your Government and don't you agree

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with me that we should direct extra resources to those children that

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need it the most to help them succeed.

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We are looking to ensure that the budget for schools is protected in

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difficult financial times. You heard me talk about the commitment

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that the Government has publicly given many, many times. I don't

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accept that every school in Wales is somehow not doing well. Some

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schools are doing very, very well. The key is to make sure there is

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better consistency in terms of performance across the whole of

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Wales. First Minister, two years ago, you

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were implementing Rhodri Morgan's Budget. This year, it is your

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Budget. Surely the legacy of your Budget this afternoon should be

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additional help for our poorest children to give them the skills

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they theed to succeed -- need to succeed in life.

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Unless you have seen the Budget, the leader of the Liberal Democrats

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will have to wait to see what the Budget speech is.

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First Minister, will you be cutting council tax? Will you be be

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freezing council tax next year? is a matter for local authorities.

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Do you not think with the new money that's been made available to you

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from Westminster that it would be a sensible, it would be a sensible

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move on behalf of the Welsh Government to assist, to assist,

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hard-pressed Welsh householders with a freeze on council tax?

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Bearing in mind, in Scotland, they are freezing it for four years and

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this is the second year that this is happening in England.

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I mean really, for weeks and weeks and weeks the Leader of the

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Opposition has been saying any extra money should go on health.

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Now he has has flip-flopped. Why? Because he has been told to do so

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by the Secretary of State. We look at this and the benefit for most

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families in Wales is �3 to �5 a month and the reason why this money

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has been given to local authorities in England is because they have

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been hammered in terms of the Local Government settlement, in Wales we

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have not done that. I have to say to the Leader of the Opposition, we

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will be looking to use this money constructively. We will be looking

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to use it as part of an economic package because we believe

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investment in jobs and skills is important with the economy as it is.

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He is the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, not the servant of

:16:49.:16:53.

the Secretary of State. The leader of the Liberal Democrats has her

:16:53.:17:03.
:17:03.:17:04.

own mind. His predecessor did the First Minister, you are acting like

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a petulant child in your description. Maybe we should buy

:17:12.:17:22.
:17:22.:17:23.

you a romper suit and a rattle, to be honest. I am very interested in

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hearing. I'm sorry, I am really interested in what the leader of

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the opposition is saying but I can't hear him. We provided our

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budget last year, and we protected health spending and itemised how

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that would happen. This is new money being made available to you

:17:42.:17:50.

as a government. You are behind the curve on enterprise zones, failure

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in the education system, failing to protect health spending, you will

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not deliver the cancer drugs formed for Wales. When will you start

:17:59.:18:04.

delivering for Welsh households? noticed yesterday the leader of the

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opposition described himself as a farmyard areca who rants and raves.

:18:10.:18:15.

I praise him for that. I think self-awareness is a wonderful thing

:18:15.:18:22.

in a politician. People in Wales in March and May voted as they did to

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get protection against him and his party. We know full well when it

:18:27.:18:31.

comes to the health service in Wales, we haven't got health

:18:31.:18:41.
:18:41.:18:42.

professionals telling us of Iraq -- irreparable damage will be done -

:18:42.:18:48.

his party has. In June, those people waiting more than 52 weeks

:18:48.:18:57.

for treatment, that figure increased by 60%. The situation in

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England is far worse than in Wales. We have nothing to learn from his

:19:00.:19:06.

party. In his Budget last year, he wanted to cut local government

:19:06.:19:12.

funding by 12.5%. He said we hadn't gone far enough, and now he wants a

:19:12.:19:18.

freeze in council tax. If we get back the �400 million that we have

:19:18.:19:28.

lost, then I will be more than pleased to consider such a move.

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TRANSLATION: What are the Welsh Government's plans for the

:19:32.:19:42.
:19:42.:19:47.

agricultural industry? To promote and assist them, of course. Bearing

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in mind there are significant additional cost to farming, are you

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disappointed by the statement that Wales will be only country in the

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UK that will not provide any specific assistance to farmers in

:20:03.:20:08.

the less favoured areas? I don't understand this debate. Every

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farmer in this country will receive more money because of the changes

:20:11.:20:16.

that have been published and publicised. Much more money than

:20:16.:20:26.
:20:26.:20:26.

was available. Every family will benefit in the future. We have to

:20:26.:20:31.

do everything we can to assist the agriculture will industry and one

:20:31.:20:35.

way of doing that is to make sure government bureaucracy on farmers

:20:35.:20:39.

is as light touch as possible. The First Minister will be aware that

:20:39.:20:47.

farmers can no longer Plough within one metre of boundaries, in order

:20:47.:20:52.

to protect them, but having seen the impact of this it is apparent

:20:52.:20:57.

that weeds grow into the fields from the hedgerows. Under the

:20:57.:21:01.

circumstances, can the First Minister and the government to

:21:01.:21:05.

reconsider this rule and provide more flexibility into the system?

:21:05.:21:13.

am happy to revisit anything if the problem is being created. In the

:21:13.:21:15.

light of the UK Government's decision to abolish the of a

:21:16.:21:18.

cultural wages Board, can you comment on the implications of that

:21:18.:21:28.

for Wales and how we might do things a bit do for it -- do things

:21:28.:21:38.
:21:38.:21:46.

are bit differently. In recent times the sector of Welsh

:21:46.:21:50.

agriculture that has been under greatest pressure is the organic

:21:50.:21:56.

sector. What commitment will the First Minister make to support the

:21:56.:22:00.

sustaining and development of that important sector going forward?

:22:00.:22:04.

the organic farming scheme over the years has been helping with

:22:04.:22:09.

conversions particularly, and we see that there was a robust market

:22:09.:22:14.

for organic produce. On occasions in the past the prices have see-

:22:14.:22:20.

sawed dramatically, but the long- term prospects are good,

:22:21.:22:30.
:22:31.:22:35.

particularly for dairy. What are the First Minister's priorities for

:22:35.:22:40.

the South Wales Central Region? I have asked you several times about

:22:41.:22:44.

the government's intention for Cardiff airport and the sport they

:22:44.:22:50.

are able to afford Cardiff airport to develop more route. Hopefully

:22:50.:22:56.

you have been in a position to have discussions with them. Can you tell

:22:56.:23:00.

us today how those discussions have receded, and your own personal

:23:00.:23:05.

support? In May you indicated your personal concern over this

:23:05.:23:11.

situation. There is still concern over the airport, over the way it

:23:11.:23:14.

operates. There has been a large rise in the number of complaints

:23:14.:23:18.

about it, certainly in my own postbag, which needs to be dealt

:23:18.:23:22.

with by the airport. There are ongoing discussions with the number

:23:22.:23:26.

of airlines and we need to make sure those discussions become

:23:26.:23:32.

fruitful. I can't reveal who they are. First Minister, would you

:23:32.:23:39.

agree with me that the new constructive approach outlined by

:23:39.:23:42.

Davis in the sharpened last week, that he wants to see constructive

:23:42.:23:51.

dialogue with all parties is to be welcome? The question was South

:23:51.:23:55.

Wales Central priority. I didn't see a question there, so you

:23:55.:24:01.

needn't answer. The last week I raised the issue of the factories

:24:01.:24:05.

in the South Wales Central Region under threat and ask you to explore

:24:05.:24:13.

the possibility of devolving, getting the budget devolved in

:24:13.:24:16.

Wales and for you to undertake a commitment that if the budget was

:24:17.:24:21.

devolved that those budget would be safeguarded. You agreed to explore

:24:21.:24:25.

the matter with the Minister for Education last week. Given that

:24:25.:24:30.

those workers are on the brink of losing their jobs, time is of the

:24:30.:24:36.

essence. Can you update us? We are very aware of the situation and we

:24:36.:24:41.

have discussed it many times in the past. I can't pretend that getting

:24:41.:24:46.

devolution of the Budget will be easy, nor that the UK government

:24:46.:24:50.

would acquiesce to that but we will continue to press the case. In

:24:50.:24:57.

fairness, in answer to the issue raised about the constructive nurse

:24:57.:25:02.

of this approach, I think he is being constructive by his own

:25:02.:25:09.

standards. What plans to as the First Minister have to 0 improve

:25:09.:25:16.

rail services in North Wales? are currently prioritising the

:25:16.:25:20.

transport plan and it will be published in the autumn. I have

:25:20.:25:25.

questioned do about the service from Holyhead to Cardiff and we

:25:25.:25:28.

understand announcements will be made by the minister when he

:25:28.:25:34.

announces his revised delivery plan for the national transport plan,

:25:34.:25:39.

hopefully this autumn. However, I am advised that already one

:25:39.:25:43.

locomotive is being repainted in the appropriate livery, that two

:25:43.:25:49.

more are expected to be repainted, and yet the clock is ticking to the

:25:49.:25:56.

current timetable where the current contract comes to an end. Could we

:25:56.:26:03.

please have some indication and not so much ourselves but the industry

:26:03.:26:06.

and the passenger representatives have some indication where we are

:26:06.:26:11.

going with this? The national transport plan will contain our

:26:11.:26:21.
:26:21.:26:23.

proposals for taking forward the rail network in the future.

:26:23.:26:28.

TRANSLATION: Has the government committed itself to retaining rail

:26:28.:26:38.
:26:38.:26:38.

services between North and South Wales including one particular link

:26:38.:26:44.

which has been of such great benefit to travellers between North

:26:44.:26:47.

and South Wales? We will be retaining that, bearing in mind

:26:47.:26:51.

that 10 years ago there was no single link between North and South

:26:51.:26:55.

Wales. We understand how important it is to make sure trains run as

:26:56.:27:02.

quickly as possible between Cardiff and Holyhead. First Minister, when

:27:02.:27:12.
:27:12.:27:14.

can we expect a further announcement? This is part of the

:27:14.:27:16.

National Transport planned and there will be details on the future

:27:16.:27:24.

of the rail network included within that document. What plans does the

:27:24.:27:29.

First Minister have for making sure that everyone in Wales is able to

:27:29.:27:34.

access the internet if they want to? Anyone who can't currently

:27:34.:27:38.

access the internet is able to make an application to our broadband

:27:39.:27:48.
:27:49.:27:49.

support scheme. My constituency has a broadband, not in a remote area

:27:49.:27:53.

but through miles from Cardiff City Centre. Can the Minister confirm

:27:53.:27:59.

that government activity will remedy hot spots will apply

:27:59.:28:03.

regardless of the location? Yes, we want to make sure we have as many

:28:03.:28:07.

people as possible with access to next generation broadband. We have

:28:07.:28:13.

made commitments regarding that by 2015. The situation in your area is

:28:13.:28:16.

complicated by the fact there is a difficulty with the way they are

:28:16.:28:21.

connected to the exchange. It can be remedied, but in the meantime

:28:21.:28:30.

residents can contact BT for help. Where Reeve parenting is not an

:28:30.:28:35.

option the scheme can help. One of the key issues that mid-Wales

:28:35.:28:39.

Tourism Partnership raised in the summer was the need to improve

:28:39.:28:42.

broadband infrastructure and increased small business access to

:28:42.:28:47.

it to make sure the tourism industry has the ability to fully

:28:47.:28:50.

market itself. I know your Government's commitment to deliver

:28:50.:28:57.

next generation broadband by 2015, but in relation to the next

:28:57.:29:07.
:29:07.:29:08.

generation project will you commit to improving bought -- broadband in

:29:08.:29:11.

areas that are not currently serve to make sure they can stay

:29:11.:29:15.

competitive? The at is a matter for the discussions regarding the

:29:15.:29:21.

tendering process and the contract, and we are looking to make sure

:29:21.:29:26.

that the process to secure a provider to deliver this target is

:29:26.:29:36.
:29:36.:29:37.

in place soon. Now that everybody has converted to digital television,

:29:37.:29:41.

there is a very significant spectrum that is available that

:29:41.:29:48.

will be auctioned before long under the Ofcom guidelines. It will be

:29:48.:29:53.

available to reach many rural areas of Wales that can't receive

:29:53.:29:57.

broadband in the traditional way. Will the government put pressure on

:29:57.:30:01.

Ofcom to make sure that when they come to auctioning that spectrum

:30:01.:30:06.

that they will reach at least 98% of the population in Wales and not

:30:06.:30:12.

the 95% that has been proposed to date? From what they understand,

:30:12.:30:17.

there are problems with Forgie across the UK, but there is a way

:30:17.:30:24.

of dealing with this. As a understand it, there is a means of

:30:24.:30:30.

improving mobile phone signals by making sure that a new broadband

:30:30.:30:35.

system is rolled out into rural areas. What we want to see is that

:30:35.:30:40.

people are able to use their mobiles and access faster broadband

:30:40.:30:47.

at the same time. There is a technical way of achieving this.

:30:47.:30:50.

Obviously we welcome the roll-out of fast broadband and we understand

:30:50.:30:55.

that is in procurement at the moment. Obviously for residents in

:30:55.:31:00.

urban not spot across Wales, they have been at a disadvantage for a

:31:00.:31:08.

number of years now. How will the procurement contract be awarded?

:31:08.:31:13.

When can residents expect to see improvement works beginning? We are

:31:13.:31:23.
:31:23.:31:24.

Will the First Minister give an update on Welsh priorities for for

:31:24.:31:28.

for? Yes, they are outlined. Many my my constituents will be

:31:28.:31:36.

worried about Conservative plans announced yesterday to extend the

:31:36.:31:40.

disqualified period for unfair dismissal. Would you agree this is

:31:40.:31:46.

typical of the Tories and instead of attacking the hard won rights of

:31:46.:31:48.

ordinary working people, they should be focusing their efforts on

:31:48.:31:53.

getting our economy moving again? I don't understand the logic that

:31:53.:31:57.

at a time when people are afraid for the security of their jobs,

:31:58.:32:00.

that the Government should take the step of making them even more

:32:00.:32:08.

insecure. I do not think that is the right way forward.

:32:08.:32:13.

First Minister, NHS waiting times are a key concern to people in my

:32:13.:32:19.

area. You recently boosted about Wales success on waiting time

:32:19.:32:25.

beyond 36 weeks. Why therefore, does your programme for Government

:32:25.:32:30.

seem to include no mention of a 36 week target? And no reference of

:32:30.:32:34.

how meeting this target is an indicator of how the people of

:32:34.:32:39.

Wales will know your actions are on track. Is this because under your

:32:39.:32:46.

watch, the number of people waght over 36 -- waiting over 36 weeks to

:32:46.:32:56.

start treatment has risen by incredible 3,125% and do you accept

:32:56.:33:01.

that 2,125% -- 3,15% rise is something the people of Gwent

:33:01.:33:06.

should not be prepared to accept. There were four questions there. So

:33:06.:33:08.

you can choose to answer some of them.

:33:08.:33:14.

There is an issue with orthopaedics as we know. That's why we allocated

:33:14.:33:17.

money to orthopaedic surgery across Wales at the earlier part of this

:33:17.:33:22.

year and we are now seeing the effect of that money because the

:33:22.:33:26.

rises come in orthopaedic and no other specialism. In terms of

:33:26.:33:30.

targets, the reality is if you look at waiting lists, waiting times

:33:30.:33:34.

past 36 yeex, -- weeks, there are more people waiting in England than

:33:34.:33:38.

in Wales. There is a far greater percentage of patients waiting in

:33:39.:33:43.

England than in Wales. And so whilst there are always challenges

:33:43.:33:46.

in the NHS, and we have met that challenge with regard to

:33:47.:33:56.

orthopaedics, we still compare well with other parts of the UK.

:33:56.:34:01.

With economic figures present a worrying picturement the percentage

:34:02.:34:07.

of working aged people deemed to be economically inactive is now 27%

:34:07.:34:11.

which is 6% higher than the national figure. First Minister,

:34:11.:34:14.

this is something that has not happened overnight and it is time

:34:15.:34:18.

we stopped blaming other people. First Minister, what steps are your

:34:18.:34:25.

Government going to take in order to tackle this deprivation please?

:34:25.:34:30.

I don't think that is a criticism of your party leader, but I assume

:34:30.:34:36.

it is it is not. The situation economically is difficult. That's

:34:36.:34:43.

why we introduced in previous years pro act and react. We are looking

:34:43.:34:46.

forward to bring forward an economic package. I mentioned that

:34:46.:34:50.

the �40 million that we have had from the UK Government is money

:34:50.:34:53.

that could be best used for investment and best used as part of

:34:53.:35:02.

that economic package. Will the First Minister outline the

:35:02.:35:07.

Welsh Government's plans to support SMEs? Yes, our plans are set out in

:35:07.:35:10.

the programme for Government. thank you for that answer, First

:35:10.:35:15.

Minister. And you know, much has been mentioned this morning about

:35:15.:35:19.

the broadband roll out scheme that your Government is match funding

:35:19.:35:25.

and also on the procurement process to deliver high-speed services to

:35:25.:35:28.

those parts of Wales that commercial operators have not

:35:28.:35:31.

provided for. Two schemes that will benefit small business and social

:35:31.:35:36.

enterprises are in my region. Could you update members on that scheme

:35:36.:35:41.

and the proposed broadband roll out? Well, we aim, as I said, to

:35:41.:35:46.

have the contract in place by Marchment we want to ensure that

:35:46.:35:50.

all residences and businesses in Wales have access to high-speed

:35:50.:36:00.
:36:00.:36:02.

broadband by 2015. First Minister, the Welsh

:36:02.:36:07.

Conservatives have proposed to abolish non-domistic rates for many

:36:07.:36:10.

SMEs and to simplify regulations following complaints from business

:36:10.:36:14.

leaders. We want to open up more public services and general

:36:14.:36:20.

procurement to SMEs. What steps are you taking First Minister to help

:36:20.:36:24.

SMEs maximise their potential instead of wasting time and money

:36:24.:36:30.

on red tape and regulation and disproportionate levels of NDR

:36:30.:36:35.

particularly in the first few years of a business start-up.

:36:35.:36:40.

It wasn't the Conservatives plans to abolish domestic rates. You ask

:36:40.:36:44.

the question will small companies. With we have the microbusiness

:36:44.:36:54.
:36:54.:36:55.

strategy and the task group has been set-up. We are looking to help

:36:55.:36:58.

businesses and people are being recruited for that and we are look

:36:58.:37:02.

to go continue to improve procurement for small and medium

:37:02.:37:08.

sized enper triess and to help them gain more in terms of public sector

:37:08.:37:14.

contracts than has been the case in the past.

:37:14.:37:21.

First Minister, building a creative industry is crucial to our country.

:37:21.:37:24.

As the communities and equalities and Local Government committee

:37:24.:37:29.

commences its review of the media landscape in ales, what work is the

:37:29.:37:34.

Welsh Government doing to help Wales' creative industry sector and

:37:34.:37:38.

strengthen the media base in Wales? I recognise the creative industry

:37:38.:37:45.

sector is a key area for growth and we have implemented a number of the

:37:45.:37:48.

recommendations. There are other projects being created to support

:37:48.:37:56.

the sector specifically and these will be announced shortly.

:37:56.:38:00.

First Minister, you mentioned earlier this afternoon your

:38:00.:38:05.

intention to carry on with the reduction on business rates until

:38:05.:38:10.

September of next year. There is no reference to business rates in your

:38:10.:38:12.

programme for Government at all. What therefore, does your intention

:38:12.:38:17.

over the ensuing four years of this Government's programme? Our course

:38:17.:38:22.

has been stated publicly. The Minister for Business is currently

:38:22.:38:27.

considering this and is considering the business rate system and a

:38:27.:38:32.

report will be drawn up over the next few months.

:38:32.:38:36.

What plans does the First Minister have to promote the city regions of

:38:36.:38:39.

Wales? Well, we are considering the

:38:39.:38:45.

benefits of a city region approach as part of our efforts to have a

:38:45.:38:48.

sustainable economy. Would the First Minister agree that

:38:48.:38:53.

the single most important item of infrastructure that would help the

:38:53.:38:58.

Cardiff City region to be truly competitive would be the

:38:58.:39:00.

electrification of the valleys lines? Yes. In principle that is

:39:00.:39:03.

something that we would support. There is a significant cost

:39:03.:39:08.

attached to it, but we hope to work towards a position where such a

:39:08.:39:14.

project will become viable in the future.

:39:14.:39:21.

In the spring, you responded to my question asking you to outline the

:39:21.:39:28.

success of the Ryder Cup. And you replied that they had been some

:39:28.:39:33.

promisesing leads, but they had to remain private because it was a

:39:33.:39:37.

commercial sensitivity. Could I ask you, are you satisfied with the

:39:37.:39:40.

inquiries and would you publish a list of the successes? Well, there

:39:40.:39:44.

are a number of leads that are being followed. These things take

:39:44.:39:49.

time. With regards to tourism, Wales is favourably positioned in

:39:49.:39:57.

terms of tourism and particularly with regard to golf tourism.

:39:57.:40:02.

Thank you. As you will know, First Minister, many of us across the

:40:02.:40:06.

chamber are across party acknowledge the success of the

:40:06.:40:13.

Wales economy is is tied into improving transport infrastructure.

:40:13.:40:19.

Should we proceed with the Valleys electrification on the proposals

:40:19.:40:29.
:40:29.:40:33.

drawn up around the Metro idea. As I said earlier on, we would be

:40:33.:40:36.

in principle in favour of a South Wales metro system. There is a

:40:36.:40:40.

significant cost that is attached to that, but nevertheless it is a

:40:40.:40:43.

system of transport that would benefit not just the city of

:40:43.:40:49.

Cardiff, but the wider area. That's it for First Minister's

:40:50.:40:52.

Questions this week. As mentioned earlier, the Finance Minister Jane

:40:52.:40:55.

Hutt will present the Government's draft Budget at 3pm. You can watch

:40:55.:41:02.

it on our Democracy Live online coverage.

:41:02.:41:08.

Our Welsh Affairs Editor, Vaughan Roderick, is here. Watching through

:41:08.:41:12.

that, there was one highlight, wasn't there, where the leader of

:41:12.:41:19.

the Conservatives accused Carwyn Jones of behaving like a pet

:41:19.:41:22.

petulant child. And offered to buy him a romper

:41:22.:41:26.

suit and a rattle! Grown-up politics. I mean it is

:41:26.:41:31.

interesting the dynamic between Andrew Davis and Carwyn Jones.

:41:31.:41:36.

Almost a Westminster dynamic. You hear the sound increasing in the

:41:36.:41:39.

chamber and these noisy exchanges between them. One has to say

:41:39.:41:44.

perhaps a lot more heat than light being generated, but it seems to me

:41:44.:41:48.

that Carwyn Jones enjoys doing battle with someone he sees as

:41:48.:41:52.

being, you know, an old-fashioned right-wing Conservative whereas

:41:52.:41:56.

with Nick Bourne, the previous Conservative leader, he was much

:41:57.:42:01.

more proactive, more willing to praise the Government. This is

:42:01.:42:07.

political knock about which traditional Labour people like

:42:07.:42:09.

Carwyn Jones are used to and happy with.

:42:09.:42:12.

I mention we are going to see the draft Budget statement later on.

:42:12.:42:16.

There will be more more knock about there, isn't there? The Government

:42:16.:42:20.

to get this draft Budget passed have to reply on the support from

:42:20.:42:24.

one other party so they will be setting out their bargaining

:42:24.:42:26.

position? This is the beginning of the process, not the end. Five

:42:26.:42:30.

weeks after today, before the Budget has gone through various

:42:30.:42:33.

committees and comes back to the assembly for a vote. Now you are

:42:33.:42:37.

almost certainly going to see all three Opposition parties saying,

:42:37.:42:40.

"We're not going to support this." They will be looking for

:42:40.:42:44.

concessions. Plaid Cymru want concessions on economic development.

:42:44.:42:49.

Some sints in -- hints in the First Minister's Questions there there

:42:49.:42:53.

maybe concessions in that area. It maybe Plaid Cymru they are reaching

:42:53.:42:56.

out to. The Liberal Democrats are pushing education. Their idea of

:42:56.:42:59.

the pupil premium to help the most disadvantaged students in our

:42:59.:43:05.

schools. The Conservatives are refighting the last assembly

:43:05.:43:13.

elections. Carwyn Jones did reach out almost to Kirsty Williams by

:43:13.:43:19.

suggesting she stands by her principles. He maybe picking up on

:43:19.:43:22.

something that happened in the Press briefings this morning where

:43:22.:43:26.

the Liberal Democrats made it clear that they didn't support a freeze

:43:26.:43:29.

on council tax in Wales. They said extra money coming to Wales because

:43:29.:43:33.

of the freeze in council tax in England should go on schools.

:43:33.:43:36.

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