11/10/2016 am.pm


11/10/2016

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Good afternoon, welcome once again to am.pm and our coverage

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According to the agenda we can expect questions

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on specialist critical care, school funding levels

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Don't forget you can follow all the latest on Welsh politics

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Well, question time is already underway,

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I call the National Assembly to order and before we begin members

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should have been informed by their business managers of my intention to

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be stricter in ensuring members ask short, succinct questions. The

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business committee agreed this is the best way to ensure if effective

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scrutiny. I called to order any member who will deprive others of

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the opportunity to scrutinise by not coming quickly to a question. And so

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the first item on the agenda of this afternoon is questions to the First

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Minister. The first question from Nick Ramsay. Will the First Minister

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provide an update on the timescale for developing these specialist

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critical care centre at Llanfrechfa. Following a review over the summer I

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can confirm that the Cabinet Secretary will receive the

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information he needs next week and will be able to move towards making

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a decision. Thank you, you did indicate that might be the case last

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week. There is going concern in South East

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Wales about the rate of progress with the critical care centre first

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plans ten years ago. You said the Health Secretary is going to have

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that information at his disposal in the near future. Will you do what

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you plan to take charge of this issue to make sure that people in

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South Wales can be reassured that they are going to get that vital

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piece of the National health service infrastructure that they've waited

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for foreign long time. And really need as soon as possible.

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The information is there. I'd like to pay tribute to my colleague who

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has been unstinting in her advocacy of the plans. It is right that a

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project of this size, full consideration is given to the

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project from a financial perspective. The decision process

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can now begin as it is in the hands of the secretary this week. Question

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tool, Jane Bryant. Willie first was a make a statement on the social

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construction pilot scheme? We are piloting it as part of our

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programme for government. We are scoping how the scheme could best

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operate. Social prescribing offers an

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opportunity to look behind medication. Chronic loneliness is as

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bad for our health as mugging 15 cigarettes a day, and as damaging as

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obesity. Research shows it affects people across their lifetime. The

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friending boots provide a vital lifeline in the battle against

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loneliness, one example which can reduce medication. In Aneurin Bevan

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health board there is an exciting new project designed to act as a

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description for loneliness. Does the First Minister agree with me that

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communication between health and commuter services must be as good as

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possible to make this work? And what support can be given to win Courage

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volunteers who will be crucial to the success of social prescribing?

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It is absolutely correct to say that we need to look at holistic approach

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is to helping people when they feel depressed, when they feel like that.

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The Welsh government is providing ?180,000 over three years to develop

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volunteer led networks which supports lonely and isolated people

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within communities, similar to the scheme she has mentioned.

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Angela Burns. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As you are aware social

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prescribing is dependent on the third sector. However, many rural

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communities have faced consistent downgrading of community assets. And

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support networks. Our Willie Welsh government, the house boards and

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local government work effectively together to ensure that community

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assets are in place. For a brief example the threatened closure of

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the Avenue Centre in Tenby which was threatened under the terms of the

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social care while being built. That's what the local government

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tried to do. We take that kind of asset away then social prescribing

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which we support, and think is an excellent way forward is going to

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struggle to be delivered on the ground specifically in rural

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communities. How are we going to tie this together? You've asked your

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question. First Minister. It is absolutely right that mutation will

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be crucial for the networks to be developed and established. --

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communication will be crucial. We launched us the delivery plan for

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mental health strategy together with mental health yesterday. And the

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social prescribing pilots included will complement that action. I

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believe the Government can learn from the delivery plan for best

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practice in rural areas. Now questions from the party

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leaders. I first called the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew

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Artie Davies. First Minister, I asked this question as a supporter

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of alleviating the traffic congestion around Newport. Last

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weeks announcement was bitterly disappointing. There was a clear

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letter issued last week to a member of the Assembly here that

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highlighted how the Welsh government had interrupted at various

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workshops, consultations, and indeed, the changing methodology has

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been highlighted as early as 2014 and confirmed in workshops in March

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20 15th brought forward in July 20 16. Why was it such a shock to the

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Welsh government that this methodology was changing? And

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ultimately could delay the advancement of the project?

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This is a queue list tale, which, with your permission I'd like to

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elaborate on. The letter received by Mohammed Asghar was dated the 5th of

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October to apologise for a delay in responding. I do wonder when that

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letter originally was signed, because normally we don't get a

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response within three days from the Department for Transport. That is

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curious, is it not? Secondly, it's not right to say that the

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information, the planning data was before the Welsh government at any

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time before July this year. No indication was given by the

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Department for Transport what that data would look like. They said

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after the referendum that they believed they would be a delay in

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the publication of that data, that's what officials were told. It is not

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the case either that they had information before July. Alan

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officials discovered that highways England had received the information

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to weeks before and had not shared it with us as the Government. That

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information was requested and not provided until July 28. Even more

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curious is that the data was provided is normally provided in

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draft, with a nine to 12 month consultation period for the data to

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be examined and question. This occasion it hasn't been

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published in draft but in final form which disturbs us because the data

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is so badly flawed. It uses planning data for Wales not included in the

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LDP and has no apparent basis in fact. We've not been provided with

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any information as to where the DFT got this information.

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Once data is provided takes a long time to work out what the effect of

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that data is which is why it's a nine to 12 month period for it to

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happen. On this occasion, nothing. It was made final straightaway.

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Curious that highways England were told before us, and what they set of

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data does is, in fact, benefit schemes in London, the south-east

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and east of England at the expense of everywhere else. Even more

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furious, isn't it. We are calling on the DFT to work with us and

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re-examine these figures. To tell us where they found the planning data

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from and to work with us to provide figures that are far more accurate

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for the Welsh context. Many curious issues, to which we

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have not received an answer. Thank you for that detailed answer.

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I don't think there's much curiosity around any of this. We've been

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highlighting this for the last 12 months that the methodology needed

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to be revisited. The blue and black wood could be evaluated on the same

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methodology so that ultimately the two words could be compared

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favourably and taken forward either blue or black. The Welsh

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government's solution around South East Wales, it is a crisis, the jam

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on the M4 can stretch back 12 miles, is to favour the black route. So can

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you commit to having a traffic solution in place by 2021 so that

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people can have confidence that your manifesto commitment to deliver that

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solution will be met by 2021? Yes, that is the aim. It is not

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helpful when we have government departments in Whitehall acting in

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this way. They knew there was a public enquiry beginning in autumn

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this year. Yet this data was... We had to ask for it. It was not

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provided. We were not notified it existed. Then officials worked hard

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through August to look at the date and see what it would mean for Welsh

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road schemes. It is not just Wales affected, it's everywhere outside

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the south-east of England. So as far as the Department for Transport is

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concerned I urge them to revisit this data and have a proper process

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where data is published in draft and then given to examine that data.

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Examine its robustness rather than adopt the strange approach they've

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adopted so far. I disagree with you about the

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strange and unusual process. This process has been going on for two

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years. This change would be coming down the road at you. Obviously,

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your governments didn't respond. Traffic Scotland were involved,

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Northern Irish transport apartment of infrastructure were debating with

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the Department for Transport. They are all on this letter as

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participants in workshops and consultations. What is important is

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that we find a solution to the traffic gridlock that exists in

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south-east Wales. Your government has put its colours firmly on the

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mast of the black route. You are on record as saying that the blue

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route, if you supported the blue route you could kiss goodbye to

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winning elections in Newport for a generation. If it winning elections

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driving the decision around the traffic gridlock and solutions to

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solve that gridlock or are you actually looking at what is the best

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solution both financially and in terms of traffic going forward?

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It is a fact that the blue route goes past many homes that would

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affect nearly 4000 people. That is the reality. It passes close to

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their houses. Some buildings would have two be demolished, commercial

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and residential. I doubt very much any government would be looked on

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favourably if it were to move ahead with the blue route without proper

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consultation. We've said that the public enquiry will look at the

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black and blue routes and I want that enquiry to be as wide-ranging

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as possible and as open as possible. The process is one where they can

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have faith in. But I say once again, any suggestion that the Welsh

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government was involved, or knew of the data that was provided on the

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25th of July is wrong. Wholly wrong, and wholly untrue. The information

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he has received is simply wrong. They worked on this, the informed

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people what they were doing, they did not even tell us when figures

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were going to be published. They shared them with highways England

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first. We had to ask for them and then they were shared with us on a

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basis that is abnormal. Normally nine to 12 months is available for

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data to be examined. That was not done and we have a set of data that

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would benefit London and the South East of England at everyone else's

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expense. The Leader of the Opposition, Leanne

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Wood. First Minister, the UK Home Secretary announced plans last week

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to force companies to publish lists of their foreign workers. A

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regressive step, I'm sure you agree with me. It's not clear exactly how

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this information was intended to be used, but I'm concerned that it

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could have led us down a very dark path indeed. Since then the UK

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Government has rolled back on that position after a public outcry. The

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data is still going to be gathered and they remain questions to be

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asked about what will happen to that data.

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Can you prevent any of these measures in Wales? I think the word

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that is now being used is nudge. Nudge companies in that direction.

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We're not going to do that. Nor any of the body 's response. At the end

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of the day it is a matter for companies who they employ, I don't

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think it's helpful to have lists of people that would be used against

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those businesses for many reasons, firstly the sinister side of it,

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which is to suggest that if people are not UK passport holders then

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they are in some way in in the jobs they hold. That is the message it

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would convey. I can think of no more powerful disincentive to an

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investor. If you come to Wales or the UK you have to tell us how many

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workers from outside the UK you will employ, they don't have to do that

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in other countries and it's another barrier to investment. Like me, I

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know that she shared the same view very publicly when the announcement

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was made. I do not think that creating lists of people from

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outside the UK with a view to using those people against the companies

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who employ them is the right way forward for Wales or Britain.

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I welcome the sentiment you have conveyed. Many of our problems in

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Wales do not stem from certain people moving into the country, but

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from the fact that many of our young people move out and don't return.

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This is especially true of graduates, where we have a lower

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retention rate than any other UK nation. There has been a lot of

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focus on immigration, particularly around the debate on Brexit. Yet

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very little attention has been given to out migration. Plaid Cymru

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believes graduates should be allowed to live and work where they choose

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but we should be also be able to incentivise them to come back so

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that we can see a return on our public investment in their

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education. We are the only party to have proposed a mechanism through

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higher education to incentivise students to return to work and you

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will be aware we put forward those proposals ahead of the election in

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May. In that election, you had no policy on this and you claimed that

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Plaid Cymru would charge students fees. If you implement the diamond

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review, these are likely to be charged by your government. Will you

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accept we need to incentivise graduates to return to Wales after

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study? If you do agree, what do you intend to do about it? The reality

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of the situation is that if I recall I think the minister has intervened,

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but I will answer the question. If I remember, policy in May was such

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students would be incentivise to stay in Wales and their fees would

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be paid if they studied in Wales but not elsewhere. That is not a

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position I would share. From my perspective, what I want to do is

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make sure we attract students into Wales, not just those from Wales but

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also from outside Wales. Make sure there are skilled jobs there for

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them. It is a question of enabling them to return, not whether they

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leave. I see no reason why young people would want to leave and come

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back. In the same way I know there are people who will come to Cardiff

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in their 20s and then go back to rural Wales when they are older. For

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us it is all about ensuring the jobs are there. Unemployment is at 4.1%,

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lower than England, Scotland, Northern Ireland. That is why we see

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Wales is a good place to invest in skilled jobs. First Minister, you

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have completely misunderstood what we were proposing ahead of the

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election. What you said we should have done is what you said we should

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have been doing and what you were attacking us for. You should get a

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better brief and next time. I would like to return to a serious issue

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raised by a Welsh volunteer in the Calais refugee camp. Yesterday, the

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UK Government agreed to house the 378 children from the camp in Calais

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who have connections in the UK. The woman who has contacted me told me

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she has encountered an unaccompanied child in Calais who is being

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horrifically exploited by traffickers. She relates a story to

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me how this young boy of 12 has been given heroin by traffickers,

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promising him that it will helping get to the UK easier and it will

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make his journey easier. On his addiction to heroin, he was passed

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by the traffickers to predatory men outside the camp, not other

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refugees, who paid those traffickers with violence being the price of

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refusal along with the withdrawal of heroin, on which he is now

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completely dependent. I am sure you will agree with me that this is a

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completely up current situation and I am sure that you will, like me,

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wants to do what you can to help children in vulnerable situations

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like this. During the Second World War, we did what we could to help

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the Kindle transport children. To help these children today, we need

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to make sure our child protection systems are ready and prepared to

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accommodate what will be incredibly vulnerable children who may be sent

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to Wales. If we are to remove those children from a very vulnerable

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situation, we cannot risk putting them into another vulnerable

:19:19.:19:21.

situation, so how can you ensure that local authorities social

:19:22.:19:25.

services departments in Wales are ready to step up and help these

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children now? Who can disagree with the powerful testimony that the

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Leader of the Opposition has given? I have no reason to disbelieve what

:19:35.:19:39.

has been said. In an atmosphere of desperation, predators will thrive.

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It seems that is the case in Calais. Last week, I met with CW LGA's

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responsible elected member, we worked through some of the issues

:19:56.:19:58.

including unaccompanied children. It is true to say that few refugees

:19:59.:20:06.

have come to Wales thus far, but we talked about how we can help local

:20:07.:20:09.

authorities to resettle adult refugees, as well as unaccompanied

:20:10.:20:15.

children. And of course we agreed to work together in order to make sure

:20:16.:20:19.

that where we feel that the funds should come from a non-devolved

:20:20.:20:24.

sauce and those bonds do come from Whitehall. Certainly, it was a good

:20:25.:20:29.

meeting and emphasise once again that we want to very much an issue

:20:30.:20:34.

worth that children have a safe haven in Wales and are able to move

:20:35.:20:38.

away permanently from the sort of exploitation she has relate. VW get

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group, Neil Hamilton. In the year 2000, Wales was second from bottom

:20:47.:20:50.

in the league tables amongst the nations and English regions in the

:20:51.:20:55.

UK for gross weekly earnings. In the interim period, earnings have gone

:20:56.:20:59.

up by 55% in Scotland, 51% in Northern Ireland and only 46% in

:21:00.:21:03.

Wales so that we now have the dismal accolade of being bottom of those

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league tables. We've had Labour governments in Cardiff Westminster

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for either all or most of that time. Do you and your party accept any

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responsibility for this regard of failure? He was a member of the

:21:17.:21:20.

Conservative Party in the 1980s and if you look at the statistics,

:21:21.:21:25.

inequality increased markedly. Markedly. In the 1980s compared to

:21:26.:21:31.

any other decade. That was when people started to lose confidence in

:21:32.:21:36.

politics and saw that inequality rise. If we look at the level of

:21:37.:21:40.

employment in Wales, it is at a record high, far higher than when he

:21:41.:21:45.

was in government. Employment is -- unemployment is 4.1%. Youth

:21:46.:21:50.

unemployment 13.7%. The UK rate is 14.1%. The fall in Wales was nearly

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5% in one year. As far as numbers are concerned, we know the economy

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is moving in the right direction. It is right to say that challenge is to

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make sure we raise people's incomes, and make sure they have the skills

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required to bring well-paid jobs from investors who are coming in

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from abroad but also that they have the ability and confidence to set

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themselves up in business and succeed in the future. None of these

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things were in place when he was a member of the Conservative Party. No

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party did more to wreck our economy, raise unemployment and create more

:22:26.:22:29.

inequality than the party he was once a member of. I don't intend to

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rehearse the arguments about the winter of this content in 1979,

:22:36.:22:39.

which led to all the cuts that took place in the 1980s. We are here to

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talk about the 21st century, not the 20th. Looking forward to the future,

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although the First Minister won't accept his responsibility for this

:22:50.:22:52.

record of failure, isn't it clear that we now need to create in Wales

:22:53.:22:57.

and enterprise economy, a low tax jurisdiction relatively speaking,

:22:58.:22:59.

and one where we have proportionate regulation, and the opportunity that

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wrecks it provides its us the tools with which to achieve what both he

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and I want, which is greater prosperity for the Welsh people? Not

:23:08.:23:11.

surprised he doesn't want to discuss his record in the 1980s. One phrase

:23:12.:23:17.

I picked up on there. The creation of a low tax economy. I thought his

:23:18.:23:21.

party's line was he didn't want to see any text evolution to this

:23:22.:23:24.

place. He needs to make his mind up by what he means by that. I think

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there is merit in looking, for example, at the way corporation tax

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operates, particularly in terms of tax breaks. I think the territory

:23:35.:23:38.

needs to be far more flexible in terms of the powers it gives in that

:23:39.:23:43.

regard. Why not have a system of tax breaks for research and development

:23:44.:23:45.

in Wales watch my bees are the powers we think will be practical,

:23:46.:23:52.

without carrying too much danger in terms of potential loss of three the

:23:53.:23:55.

Barnett formula. It is correct to say we want to make sure Wales is a

:23:56.:23:59.

good place to invest. We see it, we have seen a number of big investors

:24:00.:24:02.

coming in over the last year and beyond. There is a challenge of

:24:03.:24:06.

Brexit of re-entering investors in the future they will have access to

:24:07.:24:09.

European markets, bigger than America and Russia combined, and we

:24:10.:24:12.

ensure to make sure that they see Wales as a natural place to access

:24:13.:24:19.

that market in the future. My party is not against the devolution of

:24:20.:24:23.

income tax per se, what we are against is devolution of income tax

:24:24.:24:26.

without a referendum as we were promised before 2011. Moving to the

:24:27.:24:31.

future and the opportunities that Brexit provides, isn't it rather

:24:32.:24:35.

disappointing that the European advisory group that the First

:24:36.:24:40.

Minister has appointed 20 members has lots of politicians and

:24:41.:24:44.

academics on it, very few people with practical business experience,

:24:45.:24:47.

and as far as I can define from looking at the names, very few of

:24:48.:24:53.

these were the people were actually in favour of leaving the EU. The new

:24:54.:24:57.

one I can positively identifies my honourable friend from North Wales,

:24:58.:25:03.

Nathan Gill. Would it not be sensible therefore to have more

:25:04.:25:09.

people actually see Brexit as an opportunity rather than something to

:25:10.:25:14.

be feared? The purpose of the group is not to refight the referendum,

:25:15.:25:17.

the result is clear. The purpose of the group is to advise government on

:25:18.:25:24.

potential ways forward. For example, looking at models like Norway, can

:25:25.:25:28.

that be adapted? Or the other models? This is what we need to look

:25:29.:25:31.

like. Nathan Gill is a member of that group, he is an MEP. He is

:25:32.:25:35.

somebody who has contributed greatly to the work of the group thus far

:25:36.:25:39.

and is somebody who can bring his experience in Europe and bring --

:25:40.:25:51.

use it to good effect. Will the First Minister make a statement on

:25:52.:25:54.

schools funding levels in South Wales West? The Welsh government

:25:55.:25:59.

will shortly publish it local government settlement for 2017, 20

:26:00.:26:07.

18. Thank you for that response. We all understand the complexes of the

:26:08.:26:10.

funding formula, but can I ask what you are doing to secure adequate

:26:11.:26:18.

funding for smaller schools? Well, it's a matter for local authorities,

:26:19.:26:20.

of course, to ensure there is sufficient funding for their

:26:21.:26:27.

schools. We give them the funding and we expect them to spend an

:26:28.:26:32.

adequate amount of money on their skills in order to create good

:26:33.:26:36.

education in their areas, but the responsibility lies with the local

:26:37.:26:39.

authorities for funding of individual schools. Will the First

:26:40.:26:49.

Minister join me in congratulating Swansea Council on record-breaking

:26:50.:26:57.

GCSE results? And congratulate to macro skills on the excellent

:26:58.:27:02.

results. I very much welcome where Pathways success skills have

:27:03.:27:07.

improved. I would also like to congratulate the schools on their

:27:08.:27:11.

best ever sets of results whilst taking part in the challenge. The

:27:12.:27:17.

member is rightly proud. It was back in December 2011 that the then

:27:18.:27:22.

education Minister Leighton Andrews made an announcement about ?1.4

:27:23.:27:26.

billion of expenditure for the 21st-century schools programme. That

:27:27.:27:30.

covered south Wales West and other parts of Wales. Kanute us how much

:27:31.:27:34.

has actually been released of that cash, given we are now five years

:27:35.:27:39.

into the programme and that 700 million was supposed to have been

:27:40.:27:42.

spent within the first seven years? I believe roughly half has been

:27:43.:27:46.

allocated. It is a matter for local authorities to come forward with

:27:47.:27:51.

schemes to replace or repair schools and I have seen them up and down

:27:52.:28:00.

from real to Cardiff. We see that new buildings are going up all over

:28:01.:28:04.

Wales to provides facilities that youngsters need and expect. At the

:28:05.:28:07.

same time, nothing is happening under his party in England. First

:28:08.:28:15.

Minister, cuts in local authority budgets have put pressure on school

:28:16.:28:19.

budgets throughout my region. In addition to school budgets, Swansea

:28:20.:28:23.

Council have also increased the amount they charge for service level

:28:24.:28:28.

agreements, which is impacting upon schools' ability to deliver things

:28:29.:28:32.

like music lessons, swimming lessons and supply library books. Swansea

:28:33.:28:38.

now has one of the lowest per-pupil funding levels in Wales. Will the

:28:39.:28:42.

Welsh government consider the impact budget cuts are having on schools in

:28:43.:28:47.

my region when it set the level of government funding in the

:28:48.:28:52.

forthcoming budget? Of course we expect local authorities to allocate

:28:53.:28:56.

money for local services such as education. It is for them to justify

:28:57.:29:00.

the amount of money they spend on education. It is true that there are

:29:01.:29:04.

some schemes run centrally as a government, but we expect all local

:29:05.:29:08.

authorities to fund schools in such a way that we continue to see the

:29:09.:29:12.

improvement we have seen over the last few years in children's

:29:13.:29:19.

education. Will the First Minister make a statement on road safety in

:29:20.:29:24.

Pembrokeshire? The road safety framework sets out the actions that

:29:25.:29:28.

we and our partners will take to achieve our casualty reduction

:29:29.:29:35.

rates. On our roads. The framework will be reviewed once again

:29:36.:29:43.

following the release of the 2016 I shall teach statistics are released.

:29:44.:29:49.

Rio I'm grateful to the First Minister for that response. Road

:29:50.:29:56.

safety is a problem for walkers in Fishguard. Despite having assurances

:29:57.:30:08.

from previous ministers and although feasibility was undertaken in 2012,

:30:09.:30:10.

2013, the current minister has asked for another study to build a

:30:11.:30:13.

footbridge. I am sure you are familiar with that part of the town

:30:14.:30:16.

and it is important to improve safety in that part, so what

:30:17.:30:20.

assurances can you give the people of that area that a footbridge will

:30:21.:30:24.

truly be built during the term of this Assembly, rather than

:30:25.:30:30.

commitments on endless feasibility studies are smart and what funding

:30:31.:30:31.

will be available? When you mention that area I'm not

:30:32.:30:42.

aware of any footpath there. There is a problem with Newport, to

:30:43.:30:54.

Cwmgwaun. I will write him on the issue with greater detail so that we

:30:55.:30:58.

can ensure that those details are available to his constituents.

:30:59.:31:04.

Thank you, First Minister for his answer on that. I wanted to widen

:31:05.:31:07.

this slightly to those safety issues. They've certainly been

:31:08.:31:13.

raised with me and other members relating to safety around schools.

:31:14.:31:17.

It's often the case that even with the provision of separate pelican

:31:18.:31:21.

crossings the safety of children travelling to and from schools is of

:31:22.:31:28.

concern. Ideally the council would imply a school crossing patrol

:31:29.:31:33.

staff. But the cost of that is prohibitive as councils need to

:31:34.:31:36.

prioritise spending. Does the First Minister agree with me that as part

:31:37.:31:41.

of obligations under the active travel at their is opportunity for

:31:42.:31:46.

local authorities, when preparing maps, to think proactively about

:31:47.:31:49.

addressing concerns in schools in respective areas.

:31:50.:31:54.

Absolutely. The point of the active travel act is to encourage road

:31:55.:31:58.

safety and to ensure that the local authorities see walking and cycling

:31:59.:32:02.

not just as forms of recreation but most of transport. It was at the

:32:03.:32:15.

heart of the active travel act. John Griffiths's summary was very

:32:16.:32:20.

passionate. We want to see local authorities ensure that in the

:32:21.:32:23.

future cycling and walking are seen as normal as modes of transport.

:32:24.:32:31.

Alongside more traditional modes. Simon Thomas. Thank you, Presiding

:32:32.:32:37.

Officer. It's difficult to reach the state of normality that you talk

:32:38.:32:42.

about when cycling accounts for 1% of all journeys taken in Wales, or

:32:43.:32:46.

in premature. Being killed or seriously injured on bicycles is

:32:47.:32:54.

33%. There is a huge mismatch there between the risks taken by those on

:32:55.:32:58.

cycles and those who are killed or seriously injured. This is

:32:59.:33:01.

particularly true of younger people where you have a target of 40%. You

:33:02.:33:06.

reduce the number killed or seriously injured by 28% but haven't

:33:07.:33:11.

reached your target. What steps will you take to improve road safety in

:33:12.:33:15.

premature and beyond, particularly for cyclists and young people who

:33:16.:33:20.

make use of those roads? One of the things that the act gives

:33:21.:33:25.

as is the power over speed. Because on some roads it would be worth, in

:33:26.:33:30.

my view, considering whether the speech should be reduced in order to

:33:31.:33:35.

safeguard cyclists. There is a risk in doing that, because obviously a

:33:36.:33:42.

cycle isn't as large as a car. Obviously we don't want people to be

:33:43.:33:47.

at an excessive risk. Others would not agree with me on this, but it's

:33:48.:33:52.

important that we have cycle only parties. It's believed that cyclists

:33:53.:33:58.

should have the same rights as cars. For many people they don't have the

:33:59.:34:02.

confidence to go on the roads and mix with cars. Developments we've

:34:03.:34:08.

seen recently with a bypass in Rhondda Cynon Taff, the Church

:34:09.:34:15.

Village bypass where it is quite usual for them to have a cycle path

:34:16.:34:20.

in parallel. That's a safe way of travelling.

:34:21.:34:27.

Question five, Rhiannon Passmore. What importance does the Welsh

:34:28.:34:30.

government plays on broadcasters in terms of public money for high-level

:34:31.:34:33.

programming? We believe they should portray the

:34:34.:34:39.

culture of Wales. We ensured that the new BBC Charter included a much

:34:40.:34:44.

better public purpose to deliver that content.

:34:45.:34:54.

The Chief Executive of S4C stated 50% of its programmes had been shown

:34:55.:34:57.

before compared to 20% when it was launched in 1982. Funding will

:34:58.:35:07.

remain at ?74.5 million a year until 2022. S4C also received ?7 million

:35:08.:35:11.

from the UK Government. What actions can the UK Government take to wonder

:35:12.:35:16.

store the importance of individual programming and when programmes such

:35:17.:35:22.

as hinterland are universally applauded, when my constituents are

:35:23.:35:26.

concerned at the lack of representation of English bilingual

:35:27.:35:29.

Welsh lives across the public sector Metro.

:35:30.:35:34.

As we are reviewing the charter, the BBC would be obliged to reflect the

:35:35.:35:38.

diverse communities of Wales and other nations and regions of the UK.

:35:39.:35:42.

It will now have to set up and develop those new duties including

:35:43.:35:49.

improving services for Wales. That is a new development, one we believe

:35:50.:35:58.

will develop and reverse the slow decline in English language

:35:59.:36:02.

programming made in Wales. Thank you, very much, Presiding

:36:03.:36:07.

Officer. Bearing in mind the Brexit wrote and the need emerging from

:36:08.:36:14.

that to improve the information available to the people of Wales as

:36:15.:36:19.

to what happens in this place and what happens in Wales, the portrayal

:36:20.:36:23.

of Wales and what we in the Assembly do to address that and can't do.

:36:24.:36:29.

What's discussions have you had with the hierarchy at the BBC and others

:36:30.:36:34.

on the dire needs to improve the portrayal of Wales both within Wales

:36:35.:36:39.

and outside Wales? There is a problem with some parts

:36:40.:36:42.

of the BBC weather isn't a great deal of understanding. One of the

:36:43.:36:49.

things we have discussed is whether we should have our own news at six,

:36:50.:36:56.

and also our Ronan News at ten. And this is something we have to

:36:57.:37:03.

consider -- our own News at ten. It's sure to say, of course, that

:37:04.:37:12.

there is a lack of knowledge and information amongst the people of

:37:13.:37:16.

Wales about what happens here, what we do, and what happens in Wales

:37:17.:37:21.

itself. We must ensure that more news is available for the people of

:37:22.:37:25.

Wales, appropriate to the people of Wales.

:37:26.:37:29.

The draft charter provides an opportunity for further scrutiny of

:37:30.:37:33.

the BBC to include the appointment of a nonexecutive director agreed by

:37:34.:37:37.

the UK and Welsh government. Amidst concerns that the National Assembly

:37:38.:37:41.

of Wales will not be afforded the same waiting as the House of Commons

:37:42.:37:47.

and the House of Lords, what representation are you making half

:37:48.:37:50.

of this Assembly to ensure we are part of that process as regards to

:37:51.:37:54.

the appointment of a nonexecutive director? And also the further

:37:55.:38:00.

workings of the BBC? That is an important point. What I

:38:01.:38:04.

can say is that the Assembly will have powers to scrutinise the BBC.

:38:05.:38:09.

That's not happened before. To call it to appear before the Assembly and

:38:10.:38:13.

holder to account which puts it on a par with the UK Parliament. In terms

:38:14.:38:18.

of the issue the member raises it is something that is still being

:38:19.:38:21.

discussed in terms of the ability and the role of the National

:38:22.:38:24.

Assembly. Question six, Julie Morgan. What is

:38:25.:38:29.

the Welsh government doing to ensure there is a workforce with

:38:30.:38:31.

appropriate skills in Wales? One of the things we are doing is

:38:32.:38:35.

creating a minimum of 100,000 or later prone to ship during this

:38:36.:38:38.

term. That will continue our focus on raising -- apprenticeships. What

:38:39.:38:47.

progress has been made with the apprenticeship levy proposed by the

:38:48.:38:52.

former Chancellor, George Osborne, and what are the consequence of that

:38:53.:38:56.

for Wales? It's an issue which catch across

:38:57.:39:01.

much of the work we are doing. I know the Minister has been involved

:39:02.:39:04.

in many discussions with the UK Government on this. It is an area

:39:05.:39:10.

where I don't believe many businesses comply. They are not

:39:11.:39:16.

aware of the levy coming. They are certainly not knowing what they are

:39:17.:39:20.

going to get out of it. The UK Government has a great deal of work

:39:21.:39:23.

to do in informing businesses and what it means for meshing with

:39:24.:39:30.

programmes we already run. Thank you, president. There is

:39:31.:39:36.

evidence of course that pupils who fall behind in the early years,

:39:37.:39:41.

particularly in terms of cognitive development are more likely to

:39:42.:39:46.

struggle later in life in terms of lifetime opportunities and there is

:39:47.:39:51.

no evidence showing that having degree level practitioners in those

:39:52.:39:55.

early years is a great assistance in ensuring that doesn't happen. Your

:39:56.:40:01.

government, of course, will, in the spring, publish the early years

:40:02.:40:05.

workforce plan which will, hopefully, give workers in that

:40:06.:40:08.

sector the necessary skills. Will that planning to take commitment to

:40:09.:40:14.

ensuring that practitioners in the sector are of degree level,

:40:15.:40:19.

particularly working with children? This will be something discussed

:40:20.:40:26.

before the plan is published we wish to ensure that those working with

:40:27.:40:31.

children at an early age, when the children are at an early age, have

:40:32.:40:34.

the skills required in order to ensure that the best pathways is

:40:35.:40:43.

followed by those children. The older people's Commissioner for

:40:44.:40:46.

Wales stressed the need to keep older people in the workforce and to

:40:47.:40:54.

bring them back to work as well. How will the first moves ensure that the

:40:55.:40:58.

100,000 high-quality apprenticeships promised in the programme are

:40:59.:41:03.

delivered in a need basis rather than on the age of the person in

:41:04.:41:06.

Wales? The intention is that it is all age.

:41:07.:41:11.

I think the question here is making sure we work with those people who

:41:12.:41:17.

want to come back to work. Somewhat retired may feel financially

:41:18.:41:20.

comfortable. They are the basis for volunteers we have across Wales. One

:41:21.:41:27.

of the issues we face is people work longer is the prospect that we have

:41:28.:41:32.

fewer volunteers because people have less time. The whole point is to

:41:33.:41:37.

make sure it is an all age scheme. Vicky Howe was. Diolch, Llywydd. I

:41:38.:41:44.

recently met with careers Wales staff in Aberdare who told me how

:41:45.:41:48.

they are using the reactor programme to ensure that people who are

:41:49.:41:52.

affected by redundancy of the skills they need to seek alternative

:41:53.:41:57.

employment. Do you agree, First Minister, that's Korea's wheels and

:41:58.:42:01.

the reactor programme have a crucial role to play in developing skills

:42:02.:42:06.

people need to re-enter stay in the workforce -- careers Wales.

:42:07.:42:13.

It's certainly a good example. We will continue to ensure that schemes

:42:14.:42:18.

like we act that have been successful continue to work for the

:42:19.:42:25.

people. Question seven, David Melding.

:42:26.:42:31.

Willie First Minister make a statement on the measures to improve

:42:32.:42:33.

the planning process for the provision of housing?

:42:34.:42:41.

First Minister, a rational land policy needs to identify land

:42:42.:42:46.

provide good quality, preplanning application advice and then

:42:47.:42:51.

encourage speedy use so that we don't have speculative land banks

:42:52.:42:54.

being built up. How will legislate achieve these

:42:55.:43:00.

AMs? We seek to ensure that if we look at, for example, the LDP

:43:01.:43:06.

process, that is done in a suitable time it will look at certain

:43:07.:43:09.

developments in order for them to be considered. Most speedily, not in

:43:10.:43:15.

terms of less detail, but in terms of being considered in an

:43:16.:43:20.

appropriate timescale, also, of course, it will ensure that as far

:43:21.:43:23.

as developers are concerned they will be a better understanding of

:43:24.:43:27.

how the process works and at what point the planning process must be

:43:28.:43:32.

identified. Ultimately, it's about ensuring not just that there is land

:43:33.:43:35.

available but various models are available in terms of the type of

:43:36.:43:40.

tenure that people wish to get when they either buy or rent houses. The

:43:41.:43:49.

local development plans, of course, are central to the process of

:43:50.:43:53.

housing provision. These plans have been established on the basis of

:43:54.:43:59.

historical statistics as regards the level of population growth. Do you

:44:00.:44:04.

therefore believe that it is high time to develop a more effective way

:44:05.:44:13.

of gauging the demand and getting in more strategic coordination between

:44:14.:44:17.

local authorities? There is opportunity for local authorities to

:44:18.:44:22.

produce their own figures. It is possible for them to say we have our

:44:23.:44:26.

own figures. They are figures which are supported by evidence, and

:44:27.:44:29.

therefore these are the figures we want to use. Then it's a matter for

:44:30.:44:35.

the planning Inspectorate as to how much waiting will be given to those

:44:36.:44:40.

figures. So it is already possible for local authorities to use

:44:41.:44:43.

different figures if they are evidence -based. Thank you,

:44:44.:44:50.

Presiding Officer. Since the 1960s Wales has seen many tens of

:44:51.:44:53.

thousands of new homes built that were never destined for local

:44:54.:44:58.

buyers. This happens on a grand scale across Wales and particularly

:44:59.:45:02.

north-east Wales. The situation we find in rural North Wales,

:45:03.:45:07.

particularly in Flintshire, is that commuters from across-the-board buy

:45:08.:45:10.

up houses as soon as they are available, distorting the local

:45:11.:45:14.

housing market. These commuters are earning money in England than

:45:15.:45:17.

spending it in Wales, but they are locals out of housing. The situation

:45:18.:45:23.

is cleverly manipulated by planners, developers, estate agents and others

:45:24.:45:27.

in the housing trade as an argument to build more new housing from which

:45:28.:45:32.

most locals are deluded. Improved transport connections... Can you

:45:33.:45:38.

bring yourself to a question please? Along the a 55 corridor will only

:45:39.:45:43.

exacerbate the problem. Are you willing to introduce legislation to

:45:44.:45:46.

reserve a percentage of housing stock for local buyers and went you

:45:47.:45:53.

post to do so? -- when do you propose to do so?

:45:54.:45:58.

We already require developers to reserve a certain percentage of

:45:59.:46:06.

housing for affordable housing. We have to see whether there is scope

:46:07.:46:11.

for the local market in the future to ensure there is sufficient

:46:12.:46:15.

housing available, particularly in villages where, at the moment there

:46:16.:46:19.

are no plans to build any houses. The reality is that the cross-border

:46:20.:46:25.

flow is there, it is in the economic interest of both England and Wales

:46:26.:46:28.

to work together for the prosperity of both regions. It shows how

:46:29.:46:34.

popular wheels is as a country to live in, people want to live in

:46:35.:46:40.

Flintshire rather than treasure. That rather than Cheshire. What

:46:41.:46:45.

plans does the Government have two review TAN8? Nun at the moment.

:46:46.:46:51.

That's a disappointment because TAN8 has been in place without

:46:52.:46:56.

significant review since 2005. In a way it has failed in its main

:46:57.:47:00.

objective to plan renewable energy. The targets set we are a long way

:47:01.:47:05.

off will stop we know that new powers in that area will come to the

:47:06.:47:11.

Government up to 350 megawatts which includes all of the terrestrial

:47:12.:47:13.

developments as well as interesting things such as tidal lagoons. Is it

:47:14.:47:19.

appropriate now to review TAN8 and have enforcement powers for climate

:47:20.:47:25.

change objectives and also to put pressure on the National Grid to

:47:26.:47:28.

strengthen the grid without needs to be done? I don't believe the problem

:47:29.:47:36.

lies with Islwyn full stop the problem is with the boundaries.

:47:37.:47:42.

Of course, everything else was considered by ministers in London.

:47:43.:47:50.

It's not TAN8 that is the problem but the artificial boundaries. We

:47:51.:47:54.

welcome the fact that 350 megawatts will be the ultimate boundary, there

:47:55.:47:58.

is no reason why that's been chosen. But perhaps we should... I quite

:47:59.:48:03.

agree, we should have the same powers over the grid as Scotland

:48:04.:48:07.

has. It's the powers that are the problem. Willie first Mr make a

:48:08.:48:12.

statement on trade between Wales and Ireland?

:48:13.:48:18.

Ireland is our fourth largest export market. While she exposed to islands

:48:19.:48:22.

are worth just over ?1 billion in 2015. -- Welsh exports to Ireland.

:48:23.:48:33.

The question of borders with Ireland is one of the most crucial question

:48:34.:48:38.

in terms of the debate on leaving the UPN union. If a border is placed

:48:39.:48:44.

around the ideal of Ireland as is suggested and the Secretary of State

:48:45.:48:47.

for Northern Ireland as said he wants to strengthen border controls

:48:48.:48:52.

in the ports and airports of Ireland, then what is the First

:48:53.:48:56.

Minister's assessment of the impact of that, or likely impact of that?

:48:57.:49:02.

On the crossing point in terms of trade between Britain and Ireland,

:49:03.:49:07.

that's in my constituency, the port of Holyhead? There are a number of

:49:08.:49:12.

problems and I alluded to this before the vote. Nobody wants to see

:49:13.:49:17.

a hard border between Northern Ireland and the republic. Nobody

:49:18.:49:21.

knows how that can be avoided. If some kind of system was put in place

:49:22.:49:25.

where you had to show your passport to fly from a fuss to Belfast

:49:26.:49:34.

Cardiff the Unionists of the DUP you would be completely against it.

:49:35.:49:38.

They've said they wouldn't wish to see a system where you had to show a

:49:39.:49:43.

password as they would see it, from one part of the United Kingdom to

:49:44.:49:47.

another. If that does become the position I don't see what will take

:49:48.:49:53.

place in Holyhead, Pembroke Dock or Fishguard because they would be

:49:54.:49:59.

different immigration policies in the Republic. And in Northern

:50:00.:50:04.

Ireland. So I can't see what kind of system they can have unless it's one

:50:05.:50:06.

where you have to show a passport. It would be any benefit to the

:50:07.:50:14.

residents. There we are, that was

:50:15.:50:17.

First Minister's Questions. If you want more coverage

:50:18.:50:19.

of the National Assembly you can go online to BBC Wales's Senedd Live

:50:20.:50:22.

page at bbc.co.uk/walespolitics. As for am.pm though, from all of us

:50:23.:50:24.

on the programme, goodbye.

:50:25.:50:28.

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