:00:21. > :00:22.Good afternoon, welcome to the programme and our weekly
:00:23. > :00:24.coverage of questions to the First Minister.
:00:25. > :00:27.The ususal mixed bag of questions for Carwyn Jones today.
:00:28. > :00:31.According to the Order Paper we can expect questions on payments
:00:32. > :00:33.to farmers, tackling poverty and the Trade Union Bill
:00:34. > :00:40.Following yesterday's news that some 750 steel jobs will go at Tata
:00:41. > :00:46.We're also expecting there to be exchanges on that subject.
:00:47. > :00:49.Don't forget you can follow all the latest on Welsh politics
:00:50. > :00:58.Well, business in the chamber is already underway so let's take
:00:59. > :01:07.a look now at today's questions to the First Minister.
:01:08. > :01:17.Good afternoon. The National Assembly for Wales is in session. It
:01:18. > :01:23.gives a great pleasure to announce in accordance with standing order
:01:24. > :01:26.26.75, both the rented homes Wales Bill and the regulation of social
:01:27. > :01:31.care bill were given Royal assent on the 18th of January. We now move to
:01:32. > :01:38.the first item on the agenda, questions to the First Minister.
:01:39. > :01:42.Westie and one. What specific steps is the Welsh Government taking to
:01:43. > :01:47.support farmers who are waiting for payments and other basic payment
:01:48. > :01:51.scheme? Within a payments window commencing
:01:52. > :01:58.the 1st of December last year and which will end on the 30th of June,
:01:59. > :02:03.we've already paid 73% of businesses and are promptly processing
:02:04. > :02:07.remaining claims. Farmers who have not received payments by the end of
:02:08. > :02:12.January will receive a letter updating them on progress and when
:02:13. > :02:15.they should expect payment. As you have said, a quarter of Welsh
:02:16. > :02:24.farmers are still waiting and I'm sure many of us will have received
:02:25. > :02:26.messages from some of them who are facing a very dire financial
:02:27. > :02:32.situation as the results of the waiting for payment. People are
:02:33. > :02:37.facing hardship and the Deputy minister has asked us to deferred
:02:38. > :02:40.cases to her. Also in cases once the Deputy minister has look that those
:02:41. > :02:45.cases and it is clear the payments were not receive any time soon,
:02:46. > :02:48.would you be able to consider developing some method of providing
:02:49. > :02:53.some part payment at an earlier date in order to ensure the welfare of
:02:54. > :02:58.those individuals or the livestock suffers. We are willing to look at
:02:59. > :03:05.anyway of ensuring they are paid. One of the problems with, for
:03:06. > :03:10.example, the cross-border farms is we haven't yet received the details
:03:11. > :03:17.of the data from the body in England, we expect to receive that
:03:18. > :03:25.next month. We must ensure we do continue to pay the farmers. We are
:03:26. > :03:32.doing much better than England. 18% has been paid in Scotland. 67%, I'm
:03:33. > :03:38.sorry, in Scotland. We hope that payments will be made as soon as
:03:39. > :03:41.possible. First Minister, last year you will be aware that the deputy
:03:42. > :03:46.minister wrote to me to state that your government had the right to
:03:47. > :03:52.make payments under this scheme from the middle of October onwards but
:03:53. > :03:57.you decided not to do that. Don't you accept it would've been sensible
:03:58. > :04:02.to have started to make these payments at that point ensure your
:04:03. > :04:07.officials had more time to concentrate on those complex cases
:04:08. > :04:13.and then more farmers would have received their payments in full? No,
:04:14. > :04:17.I don't access that bearing in mind there is a higher percentage of
:04:18. > :04:24.farmers having been paid in Wales than in England. We are doing far
:04:25. > :04:30.better than Scotland. I believe the system that has been adopted is one
:04:31. > :04:36.which is robust and it demonstrates that come as is evident by the fact,
:04:37. > :04:42.the majority of those farmers have been paid. There are some difficult
:04:43. > :04:45.cases which are still outstanding. But we're very confident the
:04:46. > :04:53.situation will improve yet again over the ensuing weeks. I'd draw
:04:54. > :04:58.members attention to make register of interests in terms of my own
:04:59. > :05:04.family farming partnership. In last weeks written statement, your deputy
:05:05. > :05:08.minister for farming and pushed farmers to "To resist the temptation
:05:09. > :05:17.to phone the customer contact centre to chase payments." While I
:05:18. > :05:21.understand the time and resources are limited, given the extreme
:05:22. > :05:25.stress certain farmers are under, would you reiterate today it is
:05:26. > :05:32.important that farmers can make contact with the advice centres if
:05:33. > :05:37.they are in a situation where they think there has been in regularity
:05:38. > :05:42.or whether they wish specific issues to raise because of the potential
:05:43. > :05:48.stress which many of them are under as we have heard in previous weeks.
:05:49. > :05:55.I would urge farmers to track the progress of their claims using our
:05:56. > :06:03.PW Botha online. It does -- our PW Botha online. It will provide
:06:04. > :06:14.information quickly. There is also the liaison service there. Question
:06:15. > :06:17.number two. What are the Welsh Government 's's
:06:18. > :06:25.plans for improving the provision of social care in Wales?
:06:26. > :06:29.In Wales we regulate for success yesterday I see other new
:06:30. > :06:33.legislation, the regulation and spectrum of social care act as it is
:06:34. > :06:39.now. We continue to support the provision of effective citizen
:06:40. > :06:45.centred social care. The new legislative bill to protect our
:06:46. > :06:48.budget allows the sector to meet the challenges ahead.
:06:49. > :06:53.Thank you, First Minister. While we welcome additional money in the
:06:54. > :06:59.budget of social services cuts in other areas are impacting on social
:07:00. > :07:05.care. Your government has cut funding to many organisations in
:07:06. > :07:08.receipt of the sustainable social service grants and change the way
:07:09. > :07:15.grants are awarded to care and repair agencies. The way your
:07:16. > :07:20.government is awarding grants is endangering the provision of social
:07:21. > :07:26.care and will have an impact on the NHS by increasing delayed transfer
:07:27. > :07:31.of care. Therefore, will you look again at the grand awarding process
:07:32. > :07:38.and ensure those organisations in receipt of grants designed to help
:07:39. > :07:44.the most vulnerable in society are able to plan for the future.
:07:45. > :07:49.I can say that in the draft budget on the 8th of December and
:07:50. > :07:52.additional ?21 million was included in that state it is in recognition
:07:53. > :07:58.of the pressures on social services in Wales. In England there was a
:07:59. > :08:05.court of 11.5% in the social services budget. We see, for
:08:06. > :08:10.example, the latest figures from the Treasury, the combined spending on
:08:11. > :08:17.social services was 7% higher than in England. A care fund is helping
:08:18. > :08:24.to avoid unnecessary hospital and residential admissions, making sure
:08:25. > :08:29.there are no delays in hospital discharges and that's fun to promote
:08:30. > :08:35.independent living. We have made our financial commitment to social
:08:36. > :08:38.services, we will not pass the blame onto local government which is what
:08:39. > :08:41.is happening under the government in England and we will continue to fund
:08:42. > :08:47.social services in Wales in the way our people would expect.
:08:48. > :08:51.First Minister, as you have just said, despite the challenges caused
:08:52. > :08:55.by Tory funding cuts to Wales things are much better here because of the
:08:56. > :08:59.steps this government has taken to protect social services. Can I ask
:09:00. > :09:04.whether you are aware of the recent Guardian survey which found the vast
:09:05. > :09:10.majority of social workers are happy in their roles in Wales, 87%,
:09:11. > :09:14.compared to 69% in the south-west of England. Would you agree because
:09:15. > :09:18.alteration announced by the minister this morning on ending Zebo our
:09:19. > :09:24.contracts and ensuring domiciliary workforce is well paid it is another
:09:25. > :09:28.step forward to make sure social care is a positive career in Wales.
:09:29. > :09:38.I thank the member for the question. It is a sign the recognition the
:09:39. > :09:41.profession has shown. The survey showed Wales is a place, a nation,
:09:42. > :09:47.where social workers recognised and valued. It is a better place to be
:09:48. > :09:52.and social workers in Wales are the happiest in the UK. Our research is
:09:53. > :09:57.welcome. It shows where you invest in those who work in social care
:09:58. > :10:01.their morale increases and importantly the service they provide
:10:02. > :10:09.to the public improves as well. Elin Jones. First Minister, four times in
:10:10. > :10:15.this Assembly Government and the Labour block has voted against the
:10:16. > :10:20.place of a ban on zero hours contracts. Perhaps it like to
:10:21. > :10:23.explain to the Assembly why you prefer to vote against the
:10:24. > :10:31.introduction of this Assembly and in your term of government and to
:10:32. > :10:34.postpone it until the next Assembly by introducing a consultation only
:10:35. > :10:41.on this important issue during your time as First Minister.
:10:42. > :10:49.We didn't have any kind of a problem as regards the principal of it. That
:10:50. > :10:54.is fine. We wanted to ensure that zero hours contracts and a thing of
:10:55. > :10:57.the past. But that would mean adding to the bill is going through the
:10:58. > :11:04.Assembly and also they would be greater risk that those bills would
:11:05. > :11:08.be referred to the Supreme Court. There is a direct way of doing this,
:11:09. > :11:15.did so the United Kingdom government, if they want to refer
:11:16. > :11:18.any bill to the courts that is a matter to them. We didn't want to
:11:19. > :11:23.endanger any major bill, that was our concern.
:11:24. > :11:30.We move now to questions from the party leaders stop now the Leader of
:11:31. > :11:34.the Opposition, Andrew RT Davies. We all witnessed the terrible news
:11:35. > :11:39.yesterday coming out of the Talbot and other plants across Wales and
:11:40. > :11:43.the rest of the UK. One job loss is one too many, devastating news for
:11:44. > :11:47.the families and the individuals, highly skilled individuals, who have
:11:48. > :11:52.given a lifetime service to the steel industry. There have been UK
:11:53. > :11:55.summits, Welsh summits, event at the fifth minister held a steel summits
:11:56. > :12:01.with the industry. Can you tell is what tangible efforts were made
:12:02. > :12:05.after that summer to offer support from the Welsh Government in
:12:06. > :12:11.particular business rates to the steel industry in Wales?
:12:12. > :12:15.The Minister will make a statement on this later on this afternoon.
:12:16. > :12:24.This is difficult news for Pavel that. Can it be to be to the end
:12:25. > :12:33.stunting -- difficult news for the Port Talbot area. What Tata have
:12:34. > :12:36.told this is there is an issue with oversupply of steel. That is a
:12:37. > :12:42.matter for the European Commission to resolve. The strong pound, Tata
:12:43. > :12:47.Telesis not helpful in terms of exporting steel from the UK. There
:12:48. > :12:52.is sues with regard to high energy costs which the UK Government has
:12:53. > :12:59.recognised. We accept as business rates were devolved in April last
:13:00. > :13:04.year. The Minister will indicate that a review will go ahead with
:13:05. > :13:08.urgency to see what we can do to help Tata with business rates. Is
:13:09. > :13:11.this rates are never going to be enough in terms of the kind of money
:13:12. > :13:22.that is going to be made available. Bash business rates. Above all else,
:13:23. > :13:26.Tata wanted to feel, they have told us, they need to feel the UK
:13:27. > :13:30.Government really and truly believes that is a future full steel in the
:13:31. > :13:35.UK. First Minister, that is a future for
:13:36. > :13:39.steel in the UK, I believe that. Any advancing economy has to retain its
:13:40. > :13:42.steel industry and I will stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone who
:13:43. > :13:47.wanted to argue their case to make sure we have a strong steel industry
:13:48. > :13:50.in Wales and the rest of the UK. It is vital we stand shoulder to
:13:51. > :13:55.shoulder, that is a vital board meeting in Mumbai next month where
:13:56. > :14:01.the truth the board will discuss whether actions taken to date to
:14:02. > :14:04.warrant further investment and further positive decisions in the
:14:05. > :14:09.Port Talbot steelworks but also at the site they have across Wales and
:14:10. > :14:13.across the UK. It is a fact the chief executive, I take your point
:14:14. > :14:18.about business rates on their own would not be the solution to this
:14:19. > :14:23.problem, imports and dumping and energy costs are important parts of
:14:24. > :14:26.the equation. The chief executive of Tata Europe they'd pointed to
:14:27. > :14:30.business rates as being one one of the blocks they require to be
:14:31. > :14:35.addressed in the war will support they require. It is important is
:14:36. > :14:41.when we look at this chamber and what this government can do, we look
:14:42. > :14:47.to what you will be announcing maybe after tomorrow's meeting or sooner,
:14:48. > :14:51.about business rates. I do put the question again to you. Is there any
:14:52. > :14:56.respite available to steel producers here in Wales on business rates
:14:57. > :15:00.because there is self-serve steel in Cardiff as well and it couldn't be
:15:01. > :15:07.offered to just one steel producer, it would have to be offered to the
:15:08. > :15:12.industry. That issue makes it expensive. What I can say is the
:15:13. > :15:17.Minister is writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking
:15:18. > :15:21.him to designate Port Talbot as an enterprise zone. That will mean
:15:22. > :15:27.assistance in terms of capital allowances. That'll mean we will be
:15:28. > :15:30.able target business rate relief and we look forward to the Chancellor of
:15:31. > :15:36.the Exchequer agreeing we should be able to do that here in Wales. We
:15:37. > :15:41.recognise of course that we need to work on business rates. The UK
:15:42. > :15:46.Government also has to recognise there are factors here which are
:15:47. > :15:49.outside their control. There are two unique factors that affect the steel
:15:50. > :15:53.industry only in Britain that don't affect the steel industry elsewhere
:15:54. > :16:00.in Europe. Once is the strength of currency, there is less of the UK
:16:01. > :16:05.Government, they are not powerless, that is less they can do about that.
:16:06. > :16:09.That is something we have been lobbying the UK Government about for
:16:10. > :16:14.four years. They recognised last than this is an issue. We will work
:16:15. > :16:22.with the UK Government, the last thing those who have seen their jobs
:16:23. > :16:26.at risk is a political battle taking place. We have to understand the
:16:27. > :16:30.challenges for this is a government, then are major challenges for the UK
:16:31. > :16:30.Government and indeed there are challenges for the European
:16:31. > :16:40.Commission. I look forward to working with you
:16:41. > :16:43.and any other politicians on this and I will be joining in those
:16:44. > :16:49.discussions and correspondence with the Chancellor to see what help we
:16:50. > :16:54.can offer, particularly building on our 5-point plan for steel. I do
:16:55. > :16:59.want to ask you a question on another issue that is in the news to
:17:00. > :17:03.date around the Royal College of emergency medicine, and the pressure
:17:04. > :17:06.that accident and emergency departments in Wales are facing. We
:17:07. > :17:12.know that across the United Kingdom, there are pressures on accident and
:17:13. > :17:18.emergency departments, but I do not believe there is a single country
:17:19. > :17:23.that is as understaffed in that department as the report identified
:17:24. > :17:28.today. In the Freedom of information requests we had returned from health
:17:29. > :17:31.boards across Wales, in June of this year, the full-time equivalent or
:17:32. > :17:40.the staffing measure that was used was only being met by 40 -- at 45%.
:17:41. > :17:46.Can you answer hope the government will respond to the report around
:17:47. > :17:58.accident and emergency staffing levels? First of all, the comment
:17:59. > :18:01.that was made today, it is worth saying that the doctor who made the
:18:02. > :18:10.comment also said this is a problem that is across the UK, not just in
:18:11. > :18:15.Wales. He also said we are able to fill junior doctor training posts in
:18:16. > :18:21.Wales. We have done that to maximum numbers. It is true to say it is
:18:22. > :18:29.always a challenge to recruit A consultants. There are pressures at
:18:30. > :18:35.this time of year and we plan for that. We are grateful to our medical
:18:36. > :18:44.staff for all the do at this time of year. We will work with the Royal
:18:45. > :18:49.College its self to attract even more doctors. We have already
:18:50. > :18:55.increased the mother of accident and emergency consultants in Wales. We
:18:56. > :19:00.will continue to do more. The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats,
:19:01. > :19:05.Kirsty Williams. The news from Tata steel would be devastating to
:19:06. > :19:09.hundreds of families and it is vital that the Welsh government does all
:19:10. > :19:18.that it can to help those workers the train to find other jobs and
:19:19. > :19:26.maintain salaries. When the steelworks closed in Newport number
:19:27. > :19:30.of years ago, the Welsh government set up Newport unlimited to try and
:19:31. > :19:34.mitigate against the job losses in steel and try to build resilience
:19:35. > :19:40.within the community. Do you have any similar plans to establish such
:19:41. > :19:44.asked scheme to address these significant job losses in the steel
:19:45. > :19:48.industry? Yes, these are all issues that will be discussed at the
:19:49. > :19:56.meeting that takes place tomorrow. I have already mentioned the request
:19:57. > :20:01.that we are making for an enterprise zone. What we don't know is what
:20:02. > :20:04.books but will be between voluntary and compulsory redundancies. We
:20:05. > :20:11.don't know how many people will be in need of retraining and further
:20:12. > :20:17.help. But we have a track record, we have done this and other places in
:20:18. > :20:22.2001 when there were more significant job losses. Tomorrow
:20:23. > :20:28.will be the start of a short process in order to develop our action plan.
:20:29. > :20:31.I was dismayed to read comments yesterday from yourself that you
:20:32. > :20:36.felt you had done everything that you could to help the steel
:20:37. > :20:40.industry. I'm glad that today there are more initiatives being pursued
:20:41. > :20:47.by the government to try and ensure that there is a future. Can I return
:20:48. > :20:52.to the issue of business rates? Your government has had full control of
:20:53. > :20:57.business rates since last year. In November of this year, you said that
:20:58. > :21:02.your government would proactively look at the abolition of business
:21:03. > :21:07.rates on plant and machinery. No today, to tell us that the Minister
:21:08. > :21:12.has written to the Chancellor of the extractor. The problems of the steel
:21:13. > :21:20.industry have been around for a very minute months. Redcar and Scunthorpe
:21:21. > :21:23.will win a source that our steelworkers would be next. Why did
:21:24. > :21:28.the Minister wait until the job losses had been announced before
:21:29. > :21:31.writing to the Chancellor of the extractor to pursue the issue of an
:21:32. > :21:36.enterprise zone and when would you be in a position to make a positive
:21:37. > :21:41.announcement around business rates for Tata? I am surprised at the tone
:21:42. > :21:49.of the question. To hear she is dismayed. It is an unfortunate
:21:50. > :21:56.phrase are not and the spirit that I would argue has been so today by the
:21:57. > :21:59.Leader of the Opposition. We were not aware of what the scale of the
:22:00. > :22:06.announcement would be until the end of last week. She is right to say
:22:07. > :22:11.that we do there were challenges for the steel industry, but in terms of
:22:12. > :22:15.the skill of the job losses, we were under way until the end of last
:22:16. > :22:22.week. It is right to say that Tata have asked us to join with them and
:22:23. > :22:27.emphasising to the UK Government how important energy costs and prices is
:22:28. > :22:33.to them, the cost of infrastructure projects as well. The tidal lagoon
:22:34. > :22:45.is a huge product with great opportunities for school, -- or
:22:46. > :22:52.steel, each S2 as well. Those schemes have not gone ahead.
:22:53. > :22:57.Tomorrow's emphasis will be on helping people, or making sure that
:22:58. > :23:03.we understand what he can do to help those affected and we will then look
:23:04. > :23:09.at how we can encourage the UK Government, and the European
:23:10. > :23:15.Commission, to make sure that we see the establishment of a level playing
:23:16. > :23:20.field where we do not see the low-cost imports coming into the
:23:21. > :23:25.European union, and that the costs are dealt with quickly. It was not
:23:26. > :23:32.just be the workers at Tata that will be fearful of their futures
:23:33. > :23:35.today. But also those working for people working in the supply chain
:23:36. > :23:38.and the businesses and the keys communities that will be affected
:23:39. > :23:44.and concerned about the knock-on effect to their businesses and their
:23:45. > :23:46.employment prospects. Figures published yesterday showed that
:23:47. > :23:50.confidence amongst small businesses in Wales has fallen back into
:23:51. > :23:55.negative numbers for the first time in August to back years. They are
:23:56. > :24:18.losing confidence in our economy. -- first time in almost two Mac
:24:19. > :24:22.years. How can they get the confidence to invest and look to a
:24:23. > :24:26.brighter future? Many small businesses depend on larger
:24:27. > :24:34.businesses for their existence. If we look at the plant at Port Talbot,
:24:35. > :24:39.it does sustain jobs for a number of contractors and it goes without
:24:40. > :24:45.saying the announcement yesterday was unwelcome. We have to balance
:24:46. > :24:52.about against the good job announcements we have had this year,
:24:53. > :24:59.for instance in the creative industries. Yesterday was difficult
:25:00. > :25:08.news. We will work with partners to help them further through finance,
:25:09. > :25:19.and the leader of the Liberal Democrats is correct in that the
:25:20. > :25:25.emphasis has to be on sustainable steel industry Wales. Port Talbot is
:25:26. > :25:30.one of the most sophisticated plants in Europe. It has had lots of
:25:31. > :25:34.investment, it has a thin plastic workforce, it has the ability to
:25:35. > :25:38.produce high-quality steel. What it doesn't have is a level playing
:25:39. > :25:45.field and that is something that a number of levels of government have
:25:46. > :25:50.address. We will return to steal later in the
:25:51. > :25:58.session. I would like to go back to the question of health. It is clear
:25:59. > :26:01.from your response to recent concerns that you think Welsh
:26:02. > :26:08.patients should just put up with the current state of the Welsh NHS. One
:26:09. > :26:12.point that has been made by that Doctor is that in Wales staff
:26:13. > :26:16.turnover and emergency medicine is getting worse. We have not been able
:26:17. > :26:19.to recruit new consultants at the same level here as in other
:26:20. > :26:25.countries. I wonder if you can tell us how many health boards are out
:26:26. > :26:30.recruiting now for emergency consultants? I heard in your answer
:26:31. > :26:36.earlier that you said there has been an increase in spending in A
:26:37. > :26:44.consultants and according to your own fingers but is almost ?1
:26:45. > :26:50.billion. If you can't show results from this, does not called into your
:26:51. > :26:56.management? First of all, what I said was the number of consultants
:26:57. > :27:01.had increased over the last five years. We will continue to do more
:27:02. > :27:07.to recruit, health boards are actively recruiting to code the
:27:08. > :27:14.cancers, but there are shortages, not just in Wales but across the UK.
:27:15. > :27:18.That is encouraging that we are able to fill the junior doctor training
:27:19. > :27:24.posts in Wales. We did at last year to maximum numbers. That means that
:27:25. > :27:32.we're doctors trained in Wales, they are more likely to stay in Wales. It
:27:33. > :27:39.is quite clear, given the junior doctors strikes in Wales, junior
:27:40. > :27:46.doctors see Wales as our good place to begin a developer careers. If you
:27:47. > :27:57.look at A, the Times on loan, people here are waiting longer than
:27:58. > :28:00.in England or in Scotland. If the situation with regard for recruiting
:28:01. > :28:07.consultants is the same throughout the UK, why are patients in Wales
:28:08. > :28:16.waiting longer than anyone else? In England, A include the walk in
:28:17. > :28:21.centres which are not totally departments, and that helps them
:28:22. > :28:30.produce figures in a different way. We do not use walk in centres as a
:28:31. > :28:41.way of making our figures appear better. The plans have held this
:28:42. > :28:46.winter. We have not seen what we saw in England last year in A The
:28:47. > :28:50.pressures are there, that is true and those pressures need to be
:28:51. > :28:53.addressed, but I do not the comments of the Royal College, they are
:28:54. > :28:57.positive in terms of the engagement they have with the Welsh government,
:28:58. > :29:02.positive in terms of recruitment of junior doctors and, of course,
:29:03. > :29:07.recognising the fact that there are difficulties across the UK and
:29:08. > :29:16.beyond in terms of recruitment and that is a challenge for all levels
:29:17. > :29:20.of government. These sound like excuses, and weak excuses. These are
:29:21. > :29:26.not new problems. The problem is that your government has
:29:27. > :29:35.consistently failed to title -- to tackle. Plaid Cymru has set out
:29:36. > :29:40.plans to counter your centralisation plans. Our plans to train and
:29:41. > :29:44.recruit 1000 extras doctors will improve outcomes for patients. Our
:29:45. > :29:50.proposals to fully integrate health and social care will heal with the
:29:51. > :29:58.bureaucratic nightmare that that Doctor has highlighted. We all know
:29:59. > :30:04.what you are against. You consistently rubbish you ideas that
:30:05. > :30:10.will improve outcomes for people, although, usually, a few years down
:30:11. > :30:16.the line our proposals are usually accepted by yourself. Is it not time
:30:17. > :30:22.to come round to addressing the crisis in NHS of recruitment ASBO as
:30:23. > :30:31.the need to fully integrate health and social care?
:30:32. > :30:36.This money, I understand from your party's press conference, the
:30:37. > :30:46.suggestion was that the Welsh government can borrow up to ?1
:30:47. > :30:53.billion. Isolating you know, that is not the way to deal with the
:30:54. > :31:05.situation. Order. Order. First Minister. First Minister. Is my
:31:06. > :31:13.microphone on? And the context of that, I turn to what you said about
:31:14. > :31:20.doctors. Order. I am sorry, First Minister.
:31:21. > :31:33.First Minister, I'm sorry. First Minister! First Minister. First
:31:34. > :31:38.Minister. First Minister. Your microphone has been turned off. I'm
:31:39. > :31:42.trying to get some quiet so we can you what you are saying. The
:31:43. > :31:55.Minister has not answered his question yet. We have to wait until
:31:56. > :31:59.he has finished. I will move on having used that
:32:00. > :32:04.context to deal with the point she raises. There is an issue with the
:32:05. > :32:10.recruiter she says on A consultants. She is correct. A
:32:11. > :32:23.thousand doctors does not address the issue of A consultants. It
:32:24. > :32:27.will not help in recruiting consultants now to the Welsh NHS. We
:32:28. > :32:32.will focus on recruiting consultants now rather than saying it doesn't
:32:33. > :32:36.matter, everything will be fine in ten years' time. That is not good
:32:37. > :32:44.enough. There is no need to be patronising. I would appreciate it
:32:45. > :32:47.if members could lead the chair here what is going on this afternoon so
:32:48. > :32:57.please could you stop shouting across the chamber. We now move back
:32:58. > :33:00.to the questions on paper. Well the First Minister provide an update on
:33:01. > :33:06.the Welsh Government 's commitment to tackling poverty among older
:33:07. > :33:10.people in Wales. We are committed to tackling poverty for including older
:33:11. > :33:15.people, for example so far, in the current financial year our
:33:16. > :33:19.supporting people programme has helped over 43,000 older people to
:33:20. > :33:26.live independently. A funding allocated to age Wales enabled them
:33:27. > :33:33.to respond to over 17,000 requests for advice in the first half of this
:33:34. > :33:37.financial year. Last week we heard an announcement made by the
:33:38. > :33:41.Conservative government in the UK to devolve the attendance allowance to
:33:42. > :33:47.Wales. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK
:33:48. > :33:51.Government on the devolution of these welfare benefits and do you
:33:52. > :33:56.share my concern that the fund could be cut for -- before it is devolved
:33:57. > :34:03.similar to the devolution of council tax benefits? Thank you for the
:34:04. > :34:07.question. There are a number of its use here. We haven't asked for the
:34:08. > :34:14.devolution of this allowance. There's been no discussion on this.
:34:15. > :34:17.I don't know what the United Kingdom government's plans are. What we do
:34:18. > :34:24.know are, if we look at the council tax benefit funding was taken out of
:34:25. > :34:28.the budget before it was allocated to us. There was a gap in the
:34:29. > :34:35.butchers before it even arrived. We don't know in which way the funding
:34:36. > :34:45.would be allocated. What we do know is 71%, as regards the UK
:34:46. > :34:53.percentage, we note that 71% of the people are in receipt of it actually
:34:54. > :34:57.come from Wales. If we got the right Barnett Formula allocation then that
:34:58. > :35:04.might assist. Thank you for that answer. Will you join me in
:35:05. > :35:07.congratulating the UK Government on its introduction of a triple lock
:35:08. > :35:12.for pensioners in terms of the increase in the state pension. Do
:35:13. > :35:16.not also want to reflect, when you talk about council tax, they've had
:35:17. > :35:23.a council tax freeze in England and its pensioners haven't been able to
:35:24. > :35:27.enjoy such a freeze here in Wales. That has left pensioners hundreds of
:35:28. > :35:29.pounds worse off under your government than under a government
:35:30. > :35:38.in England which is frozen council tax. Freezing council tax in England
:35:39. > :35:44.is a myth. We no half councils have ignored it. It couldn't afford to
:35:45. > :35:49.keep their budgets going and the settlement his party delivered. When
:35:50. > :35:55.you type about a council tax freeze, when that leads to a destruction of
:35:56. > :35:59.social care for older people that is something we will support. Council
:36:00. > :36:03.tax is 17% lower than in England. That is the price of a Conservative
:36:04. > :36:08.government in England, 17% increase in council tax. When it comes to
:36:09. > :36:15.attendance allowance we've had no discussions with this. The UK
:36:16. > :36:20.Government must not devolve it as the same basis of council tax
:36:21. > :36:33.benefit when it took a cut of the money before the many arrived in
:36:34. > :36:46.Wales. -- money. One of the main reasons older the Bill have two
:36:47. > :36:49.exist on... You mentioned Age Cymru but the
:36:50. > :36:53.charities are available as well. What efforts are the Welsh
:36:54. > :37:00.Government are doing to help older people gain access to help?
:37:01. > :37:07.We do support a range of support providers. We can try to reach the
:37:08. > :37:11.individuals and families which are in most need of support. We to make
:37:12. > :37:18.sure that range of advice services available to suit the needs of
:37:19. > :37:21.everyone. Face-to-face advice is particularly important for older
:37:22. > :37:29.people so we want to maintain this service. Question number four. Will
:37:30. > :37:33.the First Minister make a statement on the impact of the Welsh
:37:34. > :37:40.Government 2016-17 budget and university research projects.
:37:41. > :37:41.Universities receive a range of funding to support research
:37:42. > :37:59.projects. How do you counter the criticism
:38:00. > :38:07.that the ?20 million reduction in the education budget for HEFCW will
:38:08. > :38:17.curtail the money spent on part-time education. Overall income to the
:38:18. > :38:20.sector from private and public sector is ?1.3 billion. We maintain
:38:21. > :38:27.this budget reduction is a relatively small one. In his dream
:38:28. > :38:31.at letter to HEFCW, the Minister will provide a strong steer on how
:38:32. > :38:35.the budget should be applied. We will listen to your representations
:38:36. > :38:39.from the sector in the meantime but it is up to the council to allow the
:38:40. > :38:45.allocation of resources. When it comes to the search, they have had
:38:46. > :38:55.to the minute pound grant income for a ?10 million input. Number two has
:38:56. > :38:59.had ?70 million from a fund. There are many other sources of income
:39:00. > :39:04.available to higher education and the figures that are being talked
:39:05. > :39:15.about in terms of addiction, add to be set against the public sector for
:39:16. > :39:18.top HEFCW is quite clear on this because David Bellini has e-mailed
:39:19. > :39:23.all the Welsh universities on the 15th of January saying the
:39:24. > :39:30.following. You have to look at cuts in funding.
:39:31. > :39:37.You are cutting HEFCW's funding which in terms will cut research
:39:38. > :39:42.from 80 million this year to 50 million or less for next year. In
:39:43. > :39:47.your final year as First Minister, are you proud that you have
:39:48. > :39:49.withdrawn funding from research in universities and doesn't this
:39:50. > :39:55.demonstrate your university funding policy is an utter failure. No, I do
:39:56. > :40:09.not. I've written to the figures are you do do to earlier. Namely, the
:40:10. > :40:15.monies that go to our fund. We search the research has increased
:40:16. > :40:21.and grown in Wales of the past years because these schemes have been
:40:22. > :40:27.established. The funding has been drawn from other sources. I declare
:40:28. > :40:34.an interest my husband works for some to university. Cardiff
:40:35. > :40:43.University generates ?6 for every pound spent on it. Cats for that one
:40:44. > :40:48.institution alone but taken June ?20 million out of the local economy in
:40:49. > :40:52.my region. Cardiff University Binks of itself in one single institution,
:40:53. > :40:58.in miserable impact in Wales's TVA and export figures. That assessment
:40:59. > :41:02.stirs the Welsh Government make on impact for cuts in budgets from the
:41:03. > :41:05.education and skills department on the output it expects to see in the
:41:06. > :41:12.Welsh economy and the economy, science and transport budget? It is
:41:13. > :41:19.difficult, it is difficult for the further education sector. The cuts
:41:20. > :41:25.were higher in Scotland. The cuts are relatively small although they
:41:26. > :41:29.will need to be managed. HEFCW have the job of ensuring our universities
:41:30. > :41:35.are funded but as I mentioned, we will be having a steer to accrue one
:41:36. > :41:42.in terms of how the cuts to its budget should be applied. Question
:41:43. > :41:45.number five. Will be First Minister make a statement on the
:41:46. > :41:48.constitutionality of the UK Government imposing the Trade Union
:41:49. > :41:56.Bill on Wales without the consent of this Assembly? We will have a motion
:41:57. > :41:58.next Tuesday. The UK Government should respect the will of the
:41:59. > :42:03.Assembly and revise the bill accordingly.
:42:04. > :42:07.Thank you. The Welsh trade union Congress has released legal advice
:42:08. > :42:16.that stays the UK Government's conclusion in the bill provisions
:42:17. > :42:21.are not... How damaging is this imposition of the Welsh Trade Union
:42:22. > :42:26.Bill to labour relations in Wales? Hugely. Our view is this falls
:42:27. > :42:30.within our devolve competence which is why there is an LCM coming. I
:42:31. > :42:38.would hope the UK Government respects the bill of this Assembly
:42:39. > :42:42.elected by the people of Wales I believe the three parties, at least
:42:43. > :42:46.two parties in the chamber, would field this does come within the
:42:47. > :42:55.devolve competence and we will do all we can in order to press that
:42:56. > :42:58.point home. We will take steps to overturn the appeal of those
:42:59. > :43:06.legislation should that become law in those areas that we feel are
:43:07. > :43:10.within our competence. Mohammed O. One of the proposals under the Trade
:43:11. > :43:16.Union Bill is that union members will have two opt in to pay a
:43:17. > :43:23.political levy instead of opting out as at present. Is it not the case,
:43:24. > :43:28.First Minister, this is your concern and proposal is not under the true
:43:29. > :43:40.spirit of the Constitution of the Trade Union Bill. The whole point of
:43:41. > :43:44.the Trade Union Bill is to undermine the opposition party, that is what
:43:45. > :43:49.this is about. I don't see equivalent revision for businesses.
:43:50. > :43:52.I do not see how shareholders in individual companies as some have
:43:53. > :43:57.asked their view as to whether there should be a political contribution
:43:58. > :44:02.to his party. One rule for them and one rule for everyone else. It is
:44:03. > :44:05.our view there are sections... We don't support the Trade Union Bill
:44:06. > :44:09.as it is but there are sections which fall within devolve
:44:10. > :44:13.competence. Let's see if the party opposite agree with that, this is a
:44:14. > :44:19.matter for the people of Wales will they do as they're told from London.
:44:20. > :44:23.Simon Thomas. Thank you. Plaid Cymru agrees with
:44:24. > :44:28.you, First Minister. There are parts of this bill which are within the
:44:29. > :44:35.responsibility of this Assembly and that is -- it is appropriate it
:44:36. > :44:40.comes before the Assembly. If Westminster legislates anyway
:44:41. > :44:45.because it is a convention, of course, rather than part of because
:44:46. > :44:48.that Touche and as such, you have mentioned you would look at
:44:49. > :44:52.legislating in this area to do away with those sections of the bill that
:44:53. > :44:59.are devolved to Wales. It will happen in the next Assembly. If that
:45:00. > :45:03.does happen, are you willing to fight that corner, whoever the First
:45:04. > :45:12.Minister is in the Supreme Court? Of course. If you are asking me what I
:45:13. > :45:17.believe will happen, the Assembly will vote against the LCM and the
:45:18. > :45:24.United Kingdom government proceed regardless and insists the bill
:45:25. > :45:29.itself should come into Wales and also devolved public services. Then
:45:30. > :45:35.of course this is a matter for the next government, if the bills comes
:45:36. > :45:41.before the Assembly in order to get rid of some of the sections of the
:45:42. > :45:46.bill appertaining to the devolved issues, if that goes through as it
:45:47. > :45:51.stands then it'll be difficult to do that as an Assembly. The legal
:45:52. > :45:55.position at the moment gives the people of Wales the opportunity to
:45:56. > :45:59.invert part of the bill that has not been agreed by this Assembly and
:46:00. > :46:05.would have to look then at the new bill.
:46:06. > :46:09.I commend the government 's's stands it has taken in supporting
:46:10. > :46:12.democratic race in the United Kingdom. Leaving aside this
:46:13. > :46:18.agreement that may exist between different parties over the merits or
:46:19. > :46:22.demerits of de bill itself, there is a broader constitutional issue
:46:23. > :46:28.around which everyone in this chamber can unite and that is the
:46:29. > :46:33.silk convention has to be upheld. Attempts to hold legislation on
:46:34. > :46:37.Wales, on areas that are clearly matters for this Assembly, is
:46:38. > :46:41.constitutionally wrong and what we should be expressing from this
:46:42. > :46:43.chamber is unity on the constitutional position which is the
:46:44. > :46:50.Trade Union Bill should not be opposed on this Assembly.
:46:51. > :46:56.And Bill makes it pretty clear to my mind that this is an issue where the
:46:57. > :47:03.assembly has devolved powers. We have made this point to the UK
:47:04. > :47:05.Government. That is something they will have to explain. But if it
:47:06. > :47:14.comes to the point where that Bill is passed, we will seek to introduce
:47:15. > :47:19.a bill in the strainer to overturn the sections of the bill that impact
:47:20. > :47:23.in devolved areas. It is a matter for the UK Government if they then
:47:24. > :47:25.wish to go to the Supreme Court in order to frustrate the will of this
:47:26. > :47:27.democratically elected assembly. There we are, that was
:47:28. > :47:29.First Minister's Questions. If you want more more coverage
:47:30. > :47:33.of the National Assembly, you can go online to BBC
:47:34. > :47:41.Wales's Senedd Live page at... But that's it for First
:47:42. > :47:45.Minister's Questions. Don't forget, for all the latest
:47:46. > :47:48.political news, watch Wales Today later today at 6.30 on BBC1 Wales
:47:49. > :47:52.and Newyddion at nine on S4C. As for AMPM though, from all of us
:47:53. > :47:56.on the programme, goodbye.