:00:27. > :00:31.Good afternoon and welcome to the programme. Coming up, questions to
:00:31. > :00:35.the First Minister. I will run through in the ways you can get in
:00:35. > :00:45.touch with us, to comment on anything on the programme or
:00:45. > :00:48.
:00:48. > :00:53.Businesses already under way in the chamber, so let's catch up with
:00:53. > :01:03.questions to the First Minister. I the National Assembly of Wales is
:01:03. > :01:07.
:01:07. > :01:13.now in session. Good afternoon. First Minister, what is the
:01:13. > :01:18.programme for Government For Wales East and the next few months? It
:01:18. > :01:21.aims to strengthen the conditions that will enable businesses to
:01:21. > :01:28.create jobs and sustainable economic growth. Following on from
:01:28. > :01:36.the recent meeting of Consul for economic renewal, will the First
:01:36. > :01:43.Minister comment, in particular undertaking it necessary analysis
:01:43. > :01:48.to determine the export capacity of small and medium-sized businesses?
:01:48. > :01:52.Does he agree that such a strategy and then marching would provide him
:01:52. > :02:00.with the required level of details to demonstrate whether the Welsh
:02:00. > :02:04.Government relationship with UKTI is delivering for Wales? We are
:02:04. > :02:14.going through a process for a need of representation overseas to make
:02:14. > :02:22.
:02:22. > :02:32.sure we can maximise our profile What assessment has the First
:02:32. > :02:35.
:02:35. > :02:45.Minister made of changes in benefits payments? We have shown
:02:45. > :02:50.
:02:50. > :03:00.some negative effects and further analysis is underway. Thank you for
:03:00. > :03:00.
:03:00. > :03:03.that response. There are negotiations ongoing between the
:03:03. > :03:08.Northern Ireland Government and Westminster to make changes to
:03:08. > :03:17.benefits more flexible in Northern Ireland, to respond to local demand.
:03:17. > :03:27.Keeping in mind the historic referendum we have reach, what will
:03:27. > :03:38.
:03:38. > :03:45.you say now about safeguarding benefits for the future? I would
:03:45. > :03:49.not be in favour of devolving benefits, or what is important is
:03:49. > :03:57.that the right policies are in place with regard to benefits, not
:03:57. > :04:01.that benefits should be devolved. Why? Because we're doing a great
:04:01. > :04:11.deal and money is allocated across the United Kingdom because of the
:04:11. > :04:14.
:04:15. > :04:21.benefits system. Our group has spent -- been assessing the need to
:04:21. > :04:29.collect fruits for families that need it. First Minister, would you
:04:29. > :04:35.agree with me that no matter how humble and know all these emergency
:04:35. > :04:43.programmes are, they are a damning effect of the current Government's
:04:43. > :04:47.policy. The food banks are indications of what has happened
:04:47. > :04:52.over the last two years and a warning to the UK Government that
:04:52. > :04:57.there needs to be a change of course before they are even more
:04:57. > :05:01.recipients and need for our food banks. The introduction of a
:05:01. > :05:07.benefit cap will not affect the disabled or those who are in work
:05:07. > :05:17.and receiving tax credit. At a rate of �26,000 a year in real terms,
:05:17. > :05:19.
:05:19. > :05:23.this will be the equivalent of �35,000 before tax. Our recent poll
:05:23. > :05:28.shows that an opposing these changes, are you saying to this
:05:28. > :05:33.chamber that your own supporters are wrong? I can say to the people
:05:33. > :05:37.of Wales, I do not believe it is right that low income families
:05:37. > :05:41.should be penalised by your Government. Only this morning we
:05:41. > :05:48.heard that some 2 million people will lose their entitlement to
:05:48. > :05:58.benefits with regard to their council tax payments. They will be
:05:58. > :05:59.
:05:59. > :06:03.paying �274 a year more than they are paying now. First Minister, you
:06:03. > :06:07.know local authorities have the right to issue discretionary
:06:07. > :06:14.housing payments to help with problems with housing benefit.
:06:14. > :06:19.Often these a underspent by their local club -- their budgets and
:06:19. > :06:26.underspent by local councils. What advice would you give to them to
:06:26. > :06:32.make best use of the money they have available? It is crucial that
:06:32. > :06:42.they are able to maximise payments. So many people are feeling the
:06:42. > :06:44.
:06:44. > :06:49.squeeze imposed by the local -- UK Government. I First Minister, there
:06:49. > :06:54.are reports today from the higher education sector that there are
:06:54. > :06:59.doubts over to the validity of marking foreign student papers.
:06:59. > :07:09.What are your thoughts on such allegations that are made today?
:07:09. > :07:09.
:07:09. > :07:13.far as I'm aware there has been no evidence to support this. There has
:07:13. > :07:18.been a train of thought in the higher education sector of this
:07:18. > :07:25.fact is undertaken, with only 11% of the student population coming
:07:25. > :07:29.from overseas, there has been a perception and now these
:07:29. > :07:34.allegations have appeared in the press. Do you not believe that
:07:34. > :07:38.unless these allegations are taken seriously and address, there is a
:07:38. > :07:42.real issue that the Welsh branded higher education could be devalued,
:07:42. > :07:49.and therefore there is need to get into this issue and address the
:07:49. > :07:54.concerns addressed -- raised by students and those involved in the
:07:54. > :07:59.sector will? It is a UK issuer if there is any such evidence that
:07:59. > :08:08.supports that we will consider it. One thing that would be helpful
:08:08. > :08:12.would be the ability for people to see the dissertations made
:08:12. > :08:17.available across a higher education sector in Wales. Some universities
:08:17. > :08:27.do do that and that is to be applauded. However, someone has got
:08:27. > :08:32.some indigestion this afternoon... However... However, it is not
:08:32. > :08:37.common practice among us all higher education facilities and Wales. We
:08:37. > :08:41.do not support such a move that those dissertations could be made
:08:41. > :08:48.available for publican open scrutiny so that these allegations
:08:48. > :08:58.could be put to rest? If there is any evidence that backs up such
:08:58. > :08:59.
:08:59. > :09:04.allegations we would support that. We now move to questions from the
:09:04. > :09:08.leader of Plaid Cymru. First Minister, can you tell us what
:09:08. > :09:13.progress is being made in preventing the UK Government from
:09:13. > :09:20.introducing and regional Kaplan benefits? We made clear our
:09:20. > :09:23.position to any regional Caporn benefits. The shadow works and
:09:23. > :09:28.Pensions Secretary said at the Labour Party Conference that it
:09:28. > :09:33.would make much more sense to have a different cap in different parts
:09:33. > :09:42.of the country. Do you agree with your party's policy to introduce
:09:42. > :09:47.this cap or not? For I do not agree with their cap. Whilst welfare
:09:47. > :09:52.decisions are mainly non devolved, all you can do here is mitigates
:09:52. > :10:02.the decisions that are made. The party of wills would like to see a
:10:02. > :10:03.
:10:03. > :10:09.network of advice centres set up so we could react to the agenda set by
:10:09. > :10:15.Westminster. Can you outline what additional support you will be
:10:15. > :10:22.given to advice then turns -- centre has over their next few
:10:22. > :10:27.years? We understand that as people become more vulnerable, they will
:10:27. > :10:35.need more support and more advice and we intend to make sure they get
:10:35. > :10:39.that. We now move to their leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
:10:39. > :10:44.national clinical for up, a body set up by a Health Minister to
:10:45. > :10:51.advise on possible changes to the Health Service had stated that a
:10:51. > :10:54.relation to plans, those plans has published may not be deliverable
:10:54. > :10:58.and hospital services will have to close because of a shortage of
:10:58. > :11:04.doctors. A year ago you'd told me that the answer to this pressing
:11:04. > :11:10.problem was to launch a campaign that would fill most of those costs.
:11:10. > :11:14.Can you tell this chamber how that campaign is going? It will take
:11:14. > :11:18.time to assess a campaign which has been running for a few months. The
:11:18. > :11:24.difference would wean us and the UK Government is that we have tried to
:11:24. > :11:34.be proactive with the doctors and Wales. Your Health Minister wrote
:11:34. > :11:42.to me saying in 2012, January there were 2000 vacancies in Wales. In
:11:42. > :11:48.June that figure had dropped, but solely to 209 vacancies. At this
:11:48. > :11:55.rate it would take you 20 years to address the shortage of medics in
:11:55. > :12:04.Wales. When to you expect your campaign to bear fruit? The first
:12:04. > :12:14.point is that you talk about than net gain. It would be immensely
:12:14. > :12:15.
:12:15. > :12:20.helpful if the perception the UK is not a welcome place to come to if
:12:20. > :12:25.you're not from the UK, it would be helpful if that was not the case.
:12:25. > :12:29.Any changes to the immigration laws that allow doctors in the past to
:12:29. > :12:33.come to these countries were changed by the previous Government.
:12:33. > :12:43.First Minister, the worrying figures have a real impact on
:12:43. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:50.patient care. Patients experienced waiting times because of problems
:12:50. > :12:56.in recruiting senior medics. That lack of recruitment has led to a
:12:56. > :13:01.lack of clinical leadership. Five doctors in six months, over 200
:13:01. > :13:05.vacancies - when will Welsh patients have the doctors in their
:13:05. > :13:10.hospitals that they need to treat them? We know that this is an issue
:13:10. > :13:15.that affects the whole of the UK. We have taken steps to address the
:13:15. > :13:20.issue of recruitment. It is in its early days in terms of analysing
:13:20. > :13:26.his success. We want to sell wills to doctors as a place to specialise
:13:26. > :13:32.and enervate, that has been key to what we have been doing as a
:13:32. > :13:37.Government. I cannot accept this Government, sorry, but the
:13:37. > :13:41.immigration laws were changed by a previous Government. You cannot
:13:41. > :13:44.simply say sorry, it was done by a previous Government, there is
:13:45. > :13:52.nothing we can do. It is time you're Party delivered and
:13:52. > :13:58.Government. He will the First Minister make a statement on the
:13:58. > :14:04.progress made in developing the national resources body for Wales?
:14:04. > :14:09.Yes, the chief executive has been appointed. Staff and stakeholders
:14:09. > :14:19.have been involved in shipping the body's vision and working. It is
:14:19. > :14:29.
:14:29. > :14:33.very much on track. Thank you very much for that answer. In the draft
:14:33. > :14:37.order for the establishment of the resources body, these powers have
:14:37. > :14:42.been transferred. Given the wider scope of the new body, there is
:14:42. > :14:47.nothing in the draft which best of buys any limitations to the use of
:14:47. > :14:51.those powers. Will you clarify this troublesome ambiguity and specify
:14:51. > :14:58.if your Government intends to limit these surveillance powers to only
:14:58. > :15:05.those activities that relate to the agency's previous functions or
:15:05. > :15:09.whether you extend them -- intend to extend them? We would expect
:15:09. > :15:15.anybody to use their powers reasonably. We want to ensure it
:15:15. > :15:21.has a sufficient powers ate its disposal to make sure that we have
:15:21. > :15:31.a vibrant environment but also to ensure economic development can
:15:31. > :15:42.
:15:42. > :15:52.take place, while ensuring it is What resources will be available in
:15:52. > :15:52.
:15:52. > :15:57.order to achieve his objectives? are involved in ensuring that when
:15:57. > :16:03.applications are received, they are dealt with. Resources will be made
:16:03. > :16:10.available. The objective of the body is to make sure that there is
:16:10. > :16:18.less duplication and Morse in the vacation of environmental advice. -
:16:18. > :16:27.- more simplification. Should we not create one natural resource
:16:27. > :16:32.body otherwise things will be lost? Summer Fisher men have had concerns.
:16:32. > :16:40.Will he consider giving unique responsibility to the members of
:16:40. > :16:46.the body to promote specific areas such as fishing? That is an
:16:46. > :16:51.interesting idea. I will look at that. It is up to every member to
:16:51. > :17:00.take every aspect of the environment seriously. As a keen
:17:00. > :17:06.fisherman myself, I understand that we must sit here the Lakes in order
:17:06. > :17:13.to ensure that we can carry out fishing. -- we must have the Lakes
:17:13. > :17:19.secured. What about the establishment of a Disability
:17:19. > :17:29.Commission? We Want To implement the frame of action for independent
:17:29. > :17:33.living. We think that will deliver positive gains in the future.
:17:33. > :17:37.government has been keen and quite rightly to establish Commissioners
:17:37. > :17:43.for all the people, children and recently the Welsh language. Is it
:17:43. > :17:47.not time to put party politics aside and show a commitment to
:17:47. > :17:51.having a national voice all citizens, particularly after the
:17:51. > :17:57.performance of Welsh athletes in the recent Paralympics? Are we
:17:57. > :18:01.taking more positive action, or not? We have got political dividing
:18:01. > :18:07.lines on this issue. We will make sure it can be done as quickly as
:18:07. > :18:12.possible. Engagement has taken place. Groups have been clear that
:18:12. > :18:18.they want practical action for disabled people living in Wales.
:18:18. > :18:23.The framework is the next step. What discussions have you and the
:18:23. > :18:32.Welsh government had with the Department for Welsh -- work and
:18:32. > :18:37.pensions with regard to a disabled person's ambassador? We welcome the
:18:37. > :18:43.rights of disabled people and we have had more than a balance in the
:18:43. > :18:50.other direction. The UK government took the decision to penalise some
:18:50. > :18:58.of the most vulnerable citizens in society. Sadly, that is
:18:58. > :19:01.tremendously negative news for many people in factories. Will he
:19:01. > :19:06.outline how the government plans to look at the police and crime
:19:06. > :19:13.commissioners? We intend to meet the new commissioners on a
:19:13. > :19:18.quarterly basis. A meeting has been scheduled for December 3rd. That is
:19:18. > :19:25.hot off the press. Thank you for that answer. We look forward to
:19:25. > :19:31.that meeting. In September, South Wales Police announced the closure
:19:31. > :19:36.of front office desks, including planning, and now there is no front
:19:36. > :19:39.desk in my constituency. Is there not a role in discussing the cut to
:19:39. > :19:48.the services with local communities, local government and Welsh
:19:48. > :19:52.government? Is that part of the Commissioner's role? His job is to
:19:52. > :19:57.guarantee firstly that there is a broad direction of policy and that
:19:57. > :20:06.people feel that they had somebody to talk to and people that they can
:20:06. > :20:10.make representations to the. I can see a role in that. -- to the
:20:10. > :20:13.individual. And we welcome the role of the police and crime
:20:13. > :20:19.Commissioner. We congratulate the Government on giving policing to
:20:19. > :20:23.the people and giving them a clear and accountable representative.
:20:23. > :20:27.Will he bring forward a formal charter between the Welsh
:20:27. > :20:31.government, police commissioners and local authorities in Wales,
:20:31. > :20:35.with a view to working together in co-ordinated fashion to tackle
:20:35. > :20:41.crime and rehabilitate people lost in the criminal justice system?
:20:41. > :20:48.There is scope for people to work together and this and other issues
:20:48. > :20:54.will be raised in the course of the meeting with the minister.
:20:54. > :21:00.recent decision taken by the police authority team effectively shut
:21:00. > :21:09.down police stations and establish central facilities to cover large
:21:09. > :21:14.areas is a matter of concern for my constituents. Taking two police
:21:14. > :21:19.officers to transport offenders will have a detrimental impact not
:21:19. > :21:24.just on safety but on tackling anti-social behaviour in the area.
:21:24. > :21:28.What discussions had he had with the Police Authority? Would you
:21:28. > :21:34.agree that the problem is the cuts imposed by the coalition
:21:34. > :21:39.government? We have spoken to the police authority about this. Action
:21:39. > :21:43.that will be taken. It is right to say that while it is correct that
:21:43. > :21:51.police officers are far more able to quickly get to the scene of a
:21:51. > :21:56.crime than police officers on foot, never the less, it would act as a
:21:56. > :22:01.deterrent, police officers on foot. To remove officers from the front
:22:02. > :22:10.line in order to transfer suspects to other places clearly would not
:22:10. > :22:15.assist in dealing with crime on the front line. Good afternoon. Can you
:22:15. > :22:19.provide an update on your understanding of the situation
:22:20. > :22:25.between the Welsh government, the UK government and other devolved
:22:25. > :22:32.administrations? Were have a dispute resolution protocol. That
:22:32. > :22:39.was recently revised by the joint ministerial committee in September.
:22:39. > :22:43.Thank you for that answer. You are obviously aware that this deals
:22:43. > :22:49.with dispute resolutions. I wonder if you can tell us, at any disputes
:22:49. > :22:52.been formally put to the joint ministerial committee? Either this
:22:52. > :22:55.government, the Westminster government or any devolved
:22:55. > :23:04.administrations on any of the issues covered by the current
:23:04. > :23:14.memorandum? There have been issues referred to the process in the past
:23:14. > :23:17.year or two. Crew that process, matters can be resolved. Does the
:23:17. > :23:25.First Minister accept that the process of deciding on any
:23:25. > :23:33.financial dispute between Wales and the Treasury is problematic because
:23:33. > :23:42.as the Treasury tends to have an independent system of resolving
:23:42. > :23:48.disputes? We are discussing this process and it is true to say that
:23:48. > :23:51.the Treasury is the judge and the jury on issues such as this. It is
:23:51. > :23:59.more independent but not as independent as we would like it to
:23:59. > :24:04.be. What is the world government doing to increase the supply of
:24:04. > :24:12.housing -- the government doing to increase the supply of housing?
:24:12. > :24:16.are providing 1.2 million this year from the social housing grant to
:24:16. > :24:23.Denbighshire and funding between 2012 and 2015 to support housing
:24:23. > :24:28.programmes. That is encouraging. I have been contacted by many
:24:28. > :24:34.concerned constituents in my area, worried and frightened by the Tory
:24:34. > :24:38.lead government coalition welfare reform. They are worried that they
:24:38. > :24:42.will be hit with a bed tax. They are being penalised through no
:24:42. > :24:47.fault of their own and added to the announcements that young people
:24:47. > :24:52.cannot apply for housing benefit if they are under 25. Do you agree
:24:52. > :25:00.that these callous acts provide further evidence that the Tories
:25:00. > :25:04.are not fit to govern any way? are introducing stringent rules for
:25:04. > :25:09.working age tenants deemed to be under occupying their homes.
:25:09. > :25:16.According to statistics, this will impact on 40,000 people in Wales. I
:25:16. > :25:19.cannot for the life of me understand why people under a
:25:19. > :25:23.certain age should be penalised by the benefit system. There seems to
:25:23. > :25:28.be an assumption that some of them live with their parents but what if
:25:28. > :25:34.they have children in care? What if they come from homes that are
:25:34. > :25:39.dysfunctional and they have nowhere to go? Surely it will lead to an
:25:39. > :25:46.increase in homelessness among young people. Last year the Welsh
:25:46. > :25:56.Cup would supported its 33 people purchasing their houses in the by a
:25:56. > :25:56.
:25:56. > :26:00.scheme. A scheme has been announced for people to access housing. The
:26:01. > :26:04.government on another occasion chose not to put money into housing.
:26:04. > :26:08.Will they all this occasion, now that we have had the announcement,
:26:08. > :26:16.provide another 16,000 homes for first-time buyers and put the money
:26:16. > :26:19.this time in that direction, so that 33 can hopefully increase?
:26:19. > :26:23.difference between delivering something and claiming to deliver
:26:23. > :26:29.something is where we are at the moment. We have set targets for
:26:29. > :26:34.affordable homes. And of course we have got a great concern about
:26:34. > :26:44.people, particularly young people that will be left homeless. Changes
:26:44. > :26:54.
:26:54. > :27:01.Do we not have homes being forced on a local authorities... May I ask
:27:01. > :27:06.what the government is doing to insure that as many as possible
:27:06. > :27:11.people have their local housing needs met? It is extremely
:27:11. > :27:16.important that happens. It is important that we have a
:27:16. > :27:21.substantial number of affordable houses but that they are restricted.
:27:21. > :27:26.There are a number of ways in which affordable houses are the ones that
:27:26. > :27:31.people want at the moment. It is important to realise that we have
:27:31. > :27:36.got a shortage of housing in Wales and it is important to offer the
:27:36. > :27:42.opportunity to give people housing and that they can afford also to
:27:42. > :27:47.pay, or rent in future. Will he make a statement on the number of
:27:47. > :27:53.unemployed people in Cardiff? Through the programme for
:27:53. > :27:58.government we have job creation in Wales and apprenticeships...
:27:58. > :28:03.appreciate the work being done. I am appalled that one community in
:28:03. > :28:08.England I have been reading about had just 4% of young people leaving
:28:08. > :28:16.school in either work, training, or further education. We have not
:28:16. > :28:21.reached that stage in Wales, happily. But I wonder how we can
:28:21. > :28:26.galvanise the public, private and voluntary sector across this
:28:26. > :28:31.country to guarantee that no young person is without a job, training
:28:31. > :28:35.or education. I commend the work being done by children's charities
:28:35. > :28:40.working with employers to offer apprenticeships to young people to
:28:40. > :28:46.enable them to have a chance of getting a job. Can he tell us if
:28:46. > :28:53.any other such schemes are available to be celebrated?
:28:54. > :29:00.commend what they are doing and jobs growth in Wales is delivering.
:29:00. > :29:04.It is on track and will give people the opportunity of a training and
:29:04. > :29:08.indeed H job. We know that in practical ways such as that, more
:29:08. > :29:16.young people will have the chance to make a living and that means the
:29:16. > :29:20.number of unemployed in Wales will drop. Thank you. The central
:29:20. > :29:24.business district in Cardiff for the Enterprise zone has been eight
:29:24. > :29:32.key feature. I asked about the government support to Cardiff in
:29:32. > :29:35.attracting and creating job opportunities. The council's plans
:29:35. > :29:38.regarding the central business district and the lack of
:29:38. > :29:43.information on its the Enterprise then is a problem. Is it a
:29:43. > :29:47.commitment to develop the central business district and further that
:29:47. > :29:51.support, or is it the case that the Enterprise zone is the
:29:51. > :29:54.encapsulating body that will deliver the aspirations of the
:29:54. > :30:02.government and the council and therefore be central business
:30:02. > :30:09.district initiative is falling by We will be looking to sort that out.
:30:10. > :30:16.It will have a heavy gurkhas on financial services industries. --
:30:16. > :30:26.focus. We will work on this point to insure that major finance
:30:26. > :30:32.
:30:32. > :30:36.initiatives are sorted out in $:/STARTFEED. The party of Wales
:30:36. > :30:41.favours apprenticeships that lead to full-time work over schemes that
:30:41. > :30:49.offer a short periods of work experience that then lead people
:30:49. > :30:54.back to square one. Considering last week's News, and their target
:30:54. > :30:59.for the Cardiff enterprise zone, a looks like a backward trend is not
:30:59. > :31:08.going to reverse any time soon. Can you tell us what changes your
:31:08. > :31:18.Government is going to make to its strategy on unemployment? You have
:31:18. > :31:21.
:31:21. > :31:27.nearly encapsulated what the Government is doing. On top of that,
:31:27. > :31:31.we have the all-aged apprenticeship programme. We invested �76 million.
:31:31. > :31:35.We know that has helped many thousands of people to get
:31:35. > :31:43.apprenticeships. So why have to agree with what she said, because
:31:43. > :31:47.she has described what the governments are already doing.
:31:47. > :31:53.you outline the steps the Welsh Government is taking to help young
:31:53. > :31:58.people in Wales into employment? would refer to jobs growth Wales as
:31:58. > :32:02.one way of effectively showing that young people have a chance. It is
:32:02. > :32:07.encouraging to hear about the job growth wheels programme and how it
:32:07. > :32:12.is helping young people here in Wales to gain employment. There are
:32:12. > :32:16.many youngsters benefiting from schemes as well. These are as
:32:16. > :32:22.diverse as one that I know of running in a school in my
:32:22. > :32:26.constituency where they have taken on twice school-leaver has into the
:32:26. > :32:33.work they do and to those that Turlough lot -- running in global
:32:33. > :32:37.apprenticeship programmes. Can I ask that we continue to endeavour
:32:37. > :32:41.to do the best we can as a Government to encourage more
:32:41. > :32:47.businesses to take part in apprenticeship schemes and to give
:32:47. > :32:52.more young people hope for the future? Absolutely. What young
:32:52. > :32:55.people need is opportunity. They need skills and ultimately they
:32:55. > :33:00.need jobs. We have been encouraged that the level of engagement we
:33:00. > :33:04.have had from the private sector, in terms of the programme. There
:33:04. > :33:09.are many businesses out there who want to offer apprenticeships but
:33:09. > :33:15.find themselves in a position where they cannot do it themselves. That
:33:15. > :33:19.is why these schemes are so important. Do you agree that one of
:33:19. > :33:24.the most important assets very young person in finding employment
:33:24. > :33:31.our core skills and numeracy and literacy - that is the foundation
:33:31. > :33:35.that employers build on on on-the- job training. Can you explain why
:33:35. > :33:44.their GCSE grades achieved in core subjects by the poorest students in
:33:44. > :33:48.Wales have been less than half the rate of their other classmates? And
:33:48. > :33:58.then under five years of Labour administrations, that gap has
:33:58. > :34:03.
:34:03. > :34:09.widened? The criticism would carry more weight if it did not come from
:34:09. > :34:15.a party that did not support the regrading. We supported the view
:34:15. > :34:18.that there should be fairness were Welsh students. But the
:34:18. > :34:28.Conservative Party decided it would take the side of Michael Gove
:34:28. > :34:28.
:34:28. > :34:34.instead. An important consideration for helping some young people into
:34:34. > :34:39.work is the availability of affordable childcare. What he
:34:39. > :34:44.joined me end congratulating a group which have managed to
:34:44. > :34:50.overturn a decision to close their nursery and save 35 jobs and a
:34:50. > :35:00.places for up 135 children. Can I thank him for helping us in
:35:00. > :35:02.
:35:02. > :35:07.achieving this. The point has to be made that were Government
:35:07. > :35:11.encourages people to stay and work, it is important that the facilities
:35:11. > :35:16.are in place to remove any obstacles there may be to allow
:35:16. > :35:26.them to stay in work. I am glad that the decision has been
:35:26. > :35:32.overturned. Will the First Minister make a statement regarding the mid-
:35:32. > :35:37.Wales Connection project? decisions are the responsibility of
:35:37. > :35:43.UK Government Ministers. As you will appreciate, this project is
:35:43. > :35:48.slowly progressing because of your Government's insistence to have
:35:48. > :35:51.large-scale wind farm developments in three areas in Wales. You have
:35:51. > :35:55.said that of the consents are given to large developments, you would
:35:55. > :36:01.expect there to be significant benefits to affected communities.
:36:01. > :36:06.Was starring of the landscape, years of Transport misery,
:36:06. > :36:11.devaluation of property prices, I see very little in the way of
:36:11. > :36:16.community benefit for the projects going ahead. Can I ask you what do
:36:16. > :36:26.you perceive the benefits to be for these communities of these projects
:36:26. > :36:28.
:36:28. > :36:34.go ahead? -- F these projects. will ignore the limits that have
:36:34. > :36:44.been imposed. In England there are no developments -- limits at all
:36:44. > :36:45.
:36:45. > :36:49.for Devon at -- before developments. I take the view the Welsh people
:36:49. > :36:53.deserve sufficient control over their own resources and I ask the
:36:53. > :37:01.member opposite and his party to support the Welsh people in that
:37:01. > :37:05.endeavour. Until recently you only wanted devolution over 100
:37:05. > :37:15.megawatts. Do you share my disappointment that there has been
:37:15. > :37:22.
:37:22. > :37:28.no effort to bury this cabling in more sensitive areas? Can I also
:37:28. > :37:35.ask him, what effect will the proposals for the Irish Development,
:37:35. > :37:39.which will go through North Wales, have on the mid-Wales Development?
:37:39. > :37:47.It is very difficult to know what the effect will be. What I hope
:37:47. > :37:57.does not have an is there are no developments and will -- in England
:37:57. > :37:58.
:37:58. > :38:04.and Wales has them all. In terms of our Government's position, our
:38:04. > :38:09.position is under grounding. This is not our decision. With our
:38:09. > :38:13.discussions with the National Grid, if this goes ahead, there will be
:38:13. > :38:21.significant mitigation from what they were originally proposing.
:38:21. > :38:31.That is without prejudice to hour opposition which want to see under
:38:31. > :38:31.
:38:31. > :38:41.grounding. There is no reason in principle why there should be a
:38:41. > :38:41.
:38:42. > :38:51.limit. Of course the more resistance there is why the UK
:38:52. > :38:55.
:38:55. > :39:01.Government, the last force any such limit has. Will you outlined the
:39:01. > :39:09.priorities for neonatal care in North Wales? To achieve the best
:39:09. > :39:15.evidence based outcomes for babies. What you are delivering is a
:39:15. > :39:21.downgrading of Level 3 services. I have attended of a six public
:39:21. > :39:26.meetings on the future of units. Two counties in North Wales have
:39:26. > :39:31.the highest rates of infant mortality in they will whole of the
:39:31. > :39:36.country. Do you agree a would be wrong to lose the level three
:39:36. > :39:43.service in North Wales and exported across the border into England,
:39:43. > :39:53.leaving low-level three neonatal care within the North Wales health
:39:53. > :39:55.
:39:55. > :40:03.at -- authority? These are matters for consultation it at the moment.
:40:03. > :40:11.In response to a question from my office recently, when we asked
:40:11. > :40:21.about the numbers of new born babies requiring intensive care,
:40:21. > :40:23.
:40:23. > :40:30.that was a response that we receive it. Many babies born before that
:40:30. > :40:36.also need intensive care. Air raises a question of the intention
:40:36. > :40:41.of outsourcing intensive care to England. Are you confident that the
:40:41. > :40:48.managers have based their business case on facts and hard evidence?
:40:48. > :40:54.is important that the health board itself ensure that the listen to
:40:54. > :40:59.the public and to also the doctors. That is also important, before
:40:59. > :41:09.coming to any conclusion of the way forward.
:41:09. > :41:18.You can see more coverage on the We're going to speak to our Welsh
:41:18. > :41:25.Affairs Editor who is in Cardiff Bay for us. I think the most
:41:25. > :41:32.exciting thing that happened there was the First Minister's microphone
:41:32. > :41:36.stop working today. It was a bit of socialism in action. It was a flat
:41:36. > :41:44.First Minister's Questions and it was one of theirs that was
:41:45. > :41:50.dominated by UK issues, by British issues, benefit cuts, benefit cuts
:41:50. > :41:56.-- caps. We had the Health Service cropping up a number of times, that
:41:56. > :42:00.is part of the course. It was invitations to criticise, to attack
:42:00. > :42:05.the UK Government ought to described measures to ameliorate
:42:05. > :42:09.things the UK Government was doing. A sign perhaps that Welsh politics
:42:09. > :42:14.is in one of its British faces and the moment with British rather than
:42:14. > :42:22.Welsh issues to the fore. mention of Scottish independence.
:42:22. > :42:27.What did you think of one tactic of challenging the First Minister's
:42:27. > :42:32.policy on the regionalisation of benefits. She does not often call
:42:32. > :42:38.after hen, does she? I that she made a good point. Although it was
:42:38. > :42:42.a few weeks after the event. She did not land the hammer at the end.
:42:42. > :42:47.I think the juxtaposition between what the Labour Garman here is
:42:47. > :42:51.saying and what did party are saying at the UK level is
:42:51. > :42:56.potentially a bit of an open goal for the opposition. She did not
:42:56. > :43:03.really hit the back of the net. Some urgent questions this
:43:03. > :43:08.afternoon - can you tell us about those? The closure of the Abercorn
:43:08. > :43:15.School is one we should be reaching a very shortly. Thank you very much
:43:15. > :43:20.for joining us. We will leave it there. You can catch up a lot of
:43:20. > :43:24.politics with us on BBC Wales. I will be back with Sunday Politics
:43:24. > :43:31.Wales when we will be looking at the police and Crown Commissioners
:43:31. > :43:35.elections. We will be back again next Tuesday at the same time. Also