21/02/2012 am.pm

Good afternoon. Welcome to am.pm. Carwyn Jones is on his feet as I

speak, so you will get over to the Senedd shortly.

You can contact us to Davia Twitter, -- today via Twitter. Physicist

under way, so let's take a look at today's questions to the First

Good afternoon. Item one, questions to the First Minister. Question one,

please. Will he make a statement on the Welsh ambulance response times

over the past six months? It is with testament to the ambulance

staff that the response time has been made over five of the past six

months. This is surely good news, but do you not agree it is time to

reorganise the service by making the ambulance service more

accountable to local health boards who did have much greater control

in response times? Would you could political differences aside, and

give an assurance that the proposal will be considered, and a report

presented to a future meeting of the health and social services

committee? There is no evidence to suggest the service would improve

if it was split between the health boards. But on top of the national

response time that I have mentioned, the target has been met a in 19 of

the past 23 months. First Minister, in any reorganisation of the health

board, will you ensure that any additional demands and ambulance

services in terms of costs and time will be taken into account and

built into the process? There won't be any reorganisation of the health

boards, but it is important that the ambulance trust is part of the

consultation that takes place, regarding any plans to change

services across Wales. It is regrettable that in December, the

65% target for Category A calls being met with in eight minutes was

not met in Wales. I know that there has been a trend towards improving

the service in recent years, but that is a disappointment. Given the

fact that ambulance -- the Welsh ambulance trust will face pressure

on its budgets as a result of the increasing cost in fuel,

particularly with the situation in the Middle East as it is, what

worker are you doing to ensure there are adequate resources for

the Welsh ambulance service to make sure it is able to meet the

demanding targets in place upon it? We're confident the trust has the

resources it needs. In December of last year, the ambulance has

received 40,000 life threatening calls, the highest-ever on records.

Despite that the target was missed by only 0.2%. That is a tribute to

the hard work put in by the paramedics. Will you provide a

statement clarifying the ways in which the Welsh government supports

the use of credit unions in Wales? We're working to encourage credit

union membership, using netted such as payroll deductions.

Thank you. I welcome the work being done by the Welsh government. I am

concerned with the development of the services they provide, and also

being able to be paid through credit unions, which is the big

issue. Will you be issuing a statement on what progress is being

made on the services, and the progress achieved? The Minister for

Local Government and communities is hosting the Wales credit union

forum on Friday this week, and the purpose is to explore a how we can

support credit unions be on the end of the current action plan and the

funding arrangements in place. These will end in 20th September 13.

-- September, 2013. The changes in the UK Credit Union

Act support the Welsh Government's idea off using post offices...

welcome any legislation that makes it easier for credit unions to

offer services and for the members of the public to access the

services. We will examine how best to move forward for. Thank you for

your responses. I have raised the issue of linkage between credit

unions and post offices on a number of occasions. I believe it is key

to improve the greater access. Can he confirm if the Welsh government

will confirm to doing more work with the Post Office network in

Wales, and drive for more co- ordinated approach to providing

credit union services? Yes, I will make that commitment. The minister

will be the event on Friday, which will cover examination of how this

May I take the point made a little further, and on your response to it,

regarding the access to credit unions. First Minister, you have

been condemning the short term loans that are available, and the

way that the borrower is penalised. But many of these companies use the

latest technologies in order to access your custom, so what can you

do to make sure credit unions can also take advantage of the latest

technology to insure their services are available to people for about

Wales? Funding is available to insure access to the most recent

technology is available to credit unions, and I have seen a number of

credit unions using technology, including the internet, over the

past few years. Some of the loan companies are sophisticated in the

way they target people, so we need legislation in Westminster to make

sure people are not drawn in by alone come police. -- loan

companies. At the moment, credit unions do not have a product which

is the equivalent of pay-day loans, and we're trying to develop a

suitable product to tempt people from the unscrupulous lenders have

the charge should have rights of interest. -- who charge massive

amount of interest. We're trying to find alternative solution, rather

than something that traps them into a downward spiral of unmanageable

debt. Yes, it is important that individuals are assisted as much as

possible. People are struggling at the moment with debt, and I am

pleased that credit unions are being promoted by Citizens Advice

officers. Over the last years, one company has seen a huge rise in

people contacting them, because people are struggling to pay their

bills. Debt counselling now have accounts for 42% of inquiries into

their office. Support for the least well-off is being cut by a Tory-led

UK government, and without the Labour-led government in Wales, the

people in need would be abandoned. It is important to make sure people

are able to explore as many avenues as possible to help with their

finances, rather than be tempted into the clutches of the paid a

loan companies. -- pay-day loan. The Welsh Government's permanent

secretary, talking in relation to the grants programme, said that the

Welsh government had not been a robust in ensuring organisations

have all the standards expected. Can you confirm for us that in

relation to this, the guidance they were under, there are no other

organisations backed we are going to find have fallen foul of such a

lack of guidance by the Welsh government, and particular the

accounting role. In situations like this, we always see whether there

are other companies involved. With regard to this, there are two

inquiries on going. The chief executive of the organisation, in

2008, giving evidence to the communities and culture committee,

said that there is a danger that organisations that are in the

charitable sector becomes so much part of the government that they

stopped doing the work they are intended to do. Do you not think

that those remarks are particularly relevant in this case? And that

there has been too much of a link between the Labour Party and the

government, and organisations to make sure that when recommendations

are made by previous reports to the assembly, there was recommendations

are not acted on, such as the 2004 report? I refer to the answer I

gave a moment ago. I appreciate you are being defensive, there is no

reason to stop him commenting on the report presented to the

Assembly Government in 2004, and the subsequent remarks in 2007. I

appreciate you might have difficulty commenting on the

current revelations which are subject to investigation, and

reports you have alluded to. But if you want to have a public

appointment in Wales, there is a perception you need to carry a

Labour Party card. If you look at recent appointments, a former

Labour candidate was appointed as chair, another Labour candidate in

another chair position. Can you assure the people of Wales that to

secure a senior public appointments and Wales, you do not need to have

a Labour membership card? Many appointments are made openly, and

like the 1990s, when toadies who could not get elected ended up in

quangos. They lost their seats in parliament, and as councillors. The

people of Wales did not want them. It is true that in the 1990s you

needed to be an active Tory to actually sit on any board in Wales

that took decision. Now that is much more open, and unless he has

evidence of this happening, I advise him to reduce -- produce

that evidence on not make himself look as foolish as he has just done.

First Minister, a health board has been allocated 80 million to

support the transformation of services. Can you tell the chamber,

what have the agreed to deliver? is a matter of fact that for many

years they have required extra money. That is no surprise. 80

million over three years was allocated last year. It has been

made clear to local health boards at their -- that the ad expected to

live within their budget. Is it surprising that you have agreed to

give them �80 million, but you cannot tell us what the money is

for? I am sure the people of Wales will have listened carefully to the

answer you have given. You are right, because it has been bailed

out to the tune of �67 million more than any other local health board

in Wales over the past three years. And they keep coming back for more.

This year they have had an extra allocation of �33 million, and they

are forecasting a further deficit of four million pounds. Is it any

wonder that the constituents have I'm not sure where the member is

coming from. Whether he objects to the money being available. It would

help my understanding whether he would declare whether he thinks the

money should have been paid or not. What I want to know is what are

they doing for the money? This is �80 million of public funds and you

can't tell us why they've been given the money and what they are

going to do, what they are going to deliver, for that money. Perfectly

proper question and I think we are entitled to a response and your

silence on that, I think, will not go down well with the people of

Wales. The truth is that local -- that the Local Health Board hasn't

kept withins in budget since formed. Isn't it clear that spending is out

of control? There's to guarantee that you can give that they will

keep within the budgets in the future. The health minister has

said that the ultimate sanction, if a health board cannot keep within

its finances, is that it should be replaced? Are you prepared to do

that in this case? The situation will be examined at the right time.

I'm confused as to the member's position. Is he saying he thinks

the money shouldn't have been spent, or services should have been cut on

that basis? The reality is that the area finds itself in a situation

where it runs four DGHs in a rural area and no-one is suggesting that

there should be fewer, might I add. We look at the investment that is

taking place bs �38 million, a large investment in an important

hospital. It is well known that Prince Phillip and others were

providing important services, but the area has struggled, but if

that's the case why is it that so many members resist tooth and nail

any changes that would assist the area to deal with the situation?

First Minister, your Government is banning NHS patients from receiving

free NHS IVF treatment at the popular and successful clinic at

Singleton Clinic in Swansea. Could you provide us with the evidence

that you have received proving that the new clinic you are setting up

will provide better results for patients who require IVF and whilst

you are at it, could you also provide us with a business case

proving that this new service will provide better value for fax

payers' money? -- taxpayers' money? It is recommended that there is a

two-centre model and that much is important and it's been clear, as a

result of that evidence, that this is the best model for patients.

are stopping the funding of IVF treatment in Swansea and the

fertility centre in Cardiff, as you well know, has been forced to cut

the number of people it can treat a week, because of incidents at that

centre. This is putting a huge strain on IVF services in Wales. In

your conference speech, on zarbgs you said that the NHS made in --

Saturday, you said that the NHS was safe in Wales. Can you confirm or

deny that as a direct result of your policy women in West Wales

must now drive passed the Swansea clinic, drive past the clinic in

Cardiff and receive their IVF treatment in Bristol? No, we are

looking to provide treatment in Wales, but bear in mind the clinic

in Swansea is private. I don't accept it's necessarily a good one.

I've plenty of case work surrounding what was the Cromwell

Clickic and there are a number of - - clinic and there are a number of

issues. HFEA, that was an organisation that changed the rules

many, many times over the years, particularly with regard to egg

donation and cycles and with regard to the number of embryos that cob

implanted. Always these things create uncertainty for couples who

understandably want to have a child, but we want to make sure that

people are able to access the services in order to have a

fighting chance of having a child of their own. It's funny, Presiding

Officer, that the First Minister seems to believe that just because

the clinic in Swansea is a private clinic, it many be a bad one. After

all, the NHS in Wales has been successfully having a contract with

this clinic for very, very many years and it's interesting that

only yesterday Ed Miliband said and I quote, "We want to see the

private sector working alongside the NHS delivering with patients.

In Government Labour used the private sector to support the NHS

in getting waiting times down and that was the right thing to go."

Fer silt clinicians have said that the move to set up a new NHS clinic

will cost over �1 million and that success rates will not be as high

as they are in the Swansea clinic. You cannot prove that this will

lead to better results for those parents. You cannot prove that they

will provide better value for money and there are women now have to

travelling further into England to get IVF services. Will you now

explain to those women and those families why it is they must travel

further because of your political dogma and ideology, rather than

outcomes? They'll get a better service. Experience teaches that

that is the case. It is certainly far from the case that the clinic

in Swansea was delivering the kind of service that you describe.

the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to support

disabled people in Wales? support the right of disabled

people to participate fully in society and exercise the same

choices as everyone else. Thank you. Will you join with me in rejecting

the emerging narrative at the earth end of the M4 that people with

disabilities are scroungers? The National Autistic Society has said

that the department is guilty of helping to drive the media

narrative around benefits, portraying those who receive them

as work-shy scroungers who are abusing a system that is easy to

cheat. This is a result of the bill that the Conservatives and Liberal

Democrats are trying to force through in the House of Commons. I

am not alone in being concerned about this. Charities such as Scope,

mencap and the Disability Alliance say it is making people fearful

that they will be the target of resentment, harassment and violence

leading to hate crimes. I'm sure you will agree with me that here in

Wales we value and stand on the side of people who have -

SPEAKER: Are you coming to a question? This is the question.

Will you side with me that we will uphold our duty to protect the vul

mer rabble -- vulnerable people in society? I find it frankly

appalling that it appears to be Government policy that people will

disabilities should work for less than the minimum wage. The UK

Government should explain that. The people in this country will find

that prospect utterly appalling. First Minister, accessing public

transport can be a hugely hard thing for disabled people. Travel

information is often difficult to find in accessible formats in bus

and rail stations. What is the Government going to do to help use

public transport in Wales? We have always committed ourselves to

ensuring that buses and trains are accessible as possible.

Unfortunately, the UK Government has taken the view they don't wish

to assist disabled people in the way that they should. Apart from

facing increased stigma, many disabled people are being declared

fit for work and facing a significant drop in their income at

a time when they are least likely to secure a job. That loss of

income, of course, will have a corresponding effect to their local

economy, because that's where they spend their money. Are you able to

quantify the loss to the Welsh economy to the UK Government's

welfare reforms? It is substantial. We know there are many people who

are relying on the welfare system as it is at the moment and any cuts

in that system will make it difficult for them to access the

money that they need, will not just affect them, but will affect the

Welsh economy as a whole. Will the First Minister make a statement

about the Government's policy for renewable energy regeneration in

Wales? Yes, I'll be issuing a statement on energy policy in the

spring. In the light of your recent meeting yesterday, I would agree

that there are tremendous prospects for low-carbon energy in investment

in Wales and the push for more projects is one that I would fully

agree with, however, the recent uncertainty for current and

potential investments is not at all about who they deal with, but about

what the policy intention is. You mentioned you'll make that

statement in the spring. Could you be more specific and agree to bring

that statement forward? I have been talking to the energy supply

companies on a regular basis and indeed with all those who are

involved in energy supply and generation in Wales and as a result

of meetings I've held, the information from those meetings

will feed into the comprehensive statement that will be made. Would

you consider providing within the energy statement, a clear route map

to achieving targets in Wales that builds on the current targets the

Government already has? In particular, would the Government

consider providing an annual report on the progress made across Wales

to deliver increased renewable energy generation and re-enforce

the speed of change for the future? In terms of an annual report, that

is something best contained in the annual report from the Government

which will be due in May. One of the difficulties that we have

experienced so far at committee in our inquiry into energy and

planning policies is to know the exact rationale, if they have a

rationale, from the UK Government in rejecting this bid that you have

made on a number of occasions and it was also done by your

predecessor too. What, in your opinion, is the real reason why the

UK Government is so reluctant to do something that is so obviously

beneficial in terms of effective work in energy? That is a question

for them. The answer that is given is something for the commission,

but in the interim that we'll lose out on the opportunity to create

jobs in Wales and new skills and investment in Wales, because of the

fact that we are failing to secure the same level of subsidy for

maritime energy as the Scotlanders and whilst that continues for the

next two years as regards the Silk Commission, then Wales will lose

out on jobs. Last Friday, First Minister, a strategy was launched

by the Scottish Government on the production of electricity using

hide row and considering your response, will your spring

statement demonstrate how your Government will develop policy in

this area? The statement itself of course will look at all sources of

energy generation in Wales. INAUDIBLE We have committed �6

million to flood schemes in ril and Denbigh to reduce the -- Rhyl and

Denbigh to reduce the number of properties at risk. Association of

British Insurers has published out- of-date figures, causing great

upset to many homeowners within my constituency and many more I

shouldn't imagine. Major projects have been funded by the Government,

including the �5 million action in Denbigh and also the west Rhyl

coastal defence scheme as well as in press statin now. Do awe gree

with me that the association should listen to the Environment Agencys

up-to-date evidence which reflects risk reduction rather than using

out-of-date figures to support its own interests? Absolutely. The ABI

are using figures that are out of date, it seems. Certainly they are

figures that were rebutted not only by ourselves but the Environment

Agency too. Insurance surely is a business based on up-to-date

information, but if the information that is being used then clearly it

is not in the interests of consumers nor indeed the insurance

industry. I'm grateful that you were so aware of that issue. Over

7,000 homes were indicated to be at risk and the reality on the latest

modelling by the Environment Agency being around the figure of 600.

Could you tell us what representations you made to the

association? Well, there are four agreements which are in place with

each administration in the UK and they are all due to end in 2013.

It's absolutely clear that the ABI must consider the new situation,

especially with flood risk if measures are put in place that

alleviate or remove the risk, then surely it is incumbent on the

industry to update its figures in order to provide a better

appreciation of the risk involved. That certainly isn't happening, but

we are working closely with the association to make sure that this

Question eight. As we approach the first anniversary of the referendum,

will the First Minister make a statement on his ambitions for the

Welsh government going into the second year of the assembly? Yes,

we will deliver the programme for government. Thank you. During the

debate on the Welsh Government's legislative programme on 12th July,

you stated that the local government democracy and elections

Wales bill will be brought forward in the first stage of the assembly.

Local elections are now closing in, and I believe it would be useful

for candidates to have more of an idea of the bill, while they are

preparing to stand for the elections. What progress has been

made on this, and when will a timeline for this be published?

expect the White Paper to be published in May. Tank battle. You

have recently underlined to support to regenerating the Welsh language,

and we're also -- all looking forward to seeing the strategy

published on 1st March. Would you agree with me that the decision by

Carmarthen County Council to half their support should be condemned,

and will recall with me to reconsider this? I do not know the

exact circumstances to this, but what is important is that we focus

on the use of the language, the battle has been one regarding

education, and the official status of the language. What we now need

to fight for us that people who speak Welsh use the Welsh language,

and that is a battle that is not being won and some parts. Will he

make a statement on the housing provision? Yes, it is complex, but

we need to look at its overall health, including affordability,

supply and quality support service is. Thank you. South-east Wales has

a house provision of social housing in Wales. Your government set a

target to improve all social housing to meet the quality

standard by the end of this year. It has been said that even in five

years from now, almost 79% of homes will be up to standard. This is

blamed in weaknesses in the Welsh Government's leadership and

monitoring. How do you explain this total failure to improve the

quality of social housing in Wales? We have allocated over �570 million

to support affordable housing schemes since 2007. An additional

80 million will be spent this year to build more homes, but I found a

question unbelievable from the party opposite, given that they

wanted to slash the housing government -- budget. What is the

government doing to combat cyber bullying? In addition to the

comprehensive guidance published, we have made �300,000 available to

local authorities for it management training for teachers, including

anti-bullying measures. The recent explosion in social networking has

brought a dramatic increase in the occurrences of cyber billion.

Effect on individuals can be numerous and long lasting. Over a

third of victims will miss some schooling because of this. Will you

commit to working with the social network sites to bring an end to

this type of bullying? Absolutely. We are represented on the UK

Council board for internet child safety, which also looks at this.

The body is encouraging organisations to make services

safer for children. Would you join me in acknowledging the work of a

telecoms company who are looking at a system of preventing cyber

billion through text besiegers. -- cyber bullying. -- text messages.

mention the guidance that has already been issued, and the

behaviour management for teachers in secondary schools. School-based

counselling is now available in all secondary schools, which shows that

it is having a positive impact. Children are able to identify

examples of cyber bullying which can be dealt with. Further to that,

what steps can the first minister outline, regarding the provision of

school counselling services, particularly the ability to use

social networks within the school environment themselves, to alert

the school authorities to cyber billion? It may be that the

Government cannot tell Facebook to put a red button on the website,

but it can encourage schools to take the issue more seriously than

some are already doing. Head teachers must determine measures at

preventing all forms of bullying, and they must have an anti-bullying

strategy. School strategies are central, and all head teacher

should be taking its series live. - - Seriously. What are the plans for

the Welsh Government's legislative programme Question Mark we will

Antisocial behaviour can blight the life of people in communities in

Wales, and -- undermining safety in the home. Having dealt with

particularly frustrating cases, I supported the Welsh Government's

recent consultation on introducing a mandatory power of concession for

social landlords in the delivery of housing. Would you agree that we

have to do more than this, so that those who persistently disturbed us

cannot be allowed to hold communities to ransom for extended

periods? This is why we issued a consultation document last year,

asking for views regarding a mandatory power of position. We

would be introducing this through the UK government, and a

consultation closed last week, and we are analysing this. In respect

to the legislative programme, euro claim that you hope that in the

latter part of the assembly to be bringing forward a planning bill.

Many employers organisations identify planning as being one of

the biggest concern of businesses. Could you give urgent consideration

to bringing the bill forward to an earlier juncture in the assembly so

that they can have the opportunity to progress such a bill? We're

planning to produce the White Paper before the end of this year. We do

realise by now that there is virtually nothing that has happened

in terms of your legislative programme. But you made an

announcement that the delivery unit would be at the heart of government.

Can you tell us exactly what that delivery unit has delivered since

its establishment four months ago? I meet with the unit on a weekly

basis, and the job of the unit is to ensure that department's work

together, and ensure that the Government's pledges in their

manifesto are carried out. Of course, we do have a programme of

government, and your party has none. What is the Welsh government doing

to encourage young people... first financial inclusion strategy

was published in July, 2009, which sets out the objective to provide a

lead in tackling financial exclusion. Thank you. In my

constituency, the credit union is looking at tackling this in the

longer term by changing the mindset of the next generation of adults.

The unit is running 19 school credit union centres at the moment.

Do you agree that this is an exemplary mechanism that should be

encouraged across Wales? congratulate the success in growing

membership, and in the success it had with schools savings clubs, and

I think exemplars such as this can Would you agree that education is

key in dealing with this problem of moneylenders and people's

susceptibility to it? Financial education has not always played the

important part in schools, and when young people leave school, they can

be least well-equipped to deal with problems such as credit cards and

money lenders. Would you agree that education can be used to alleviate

this? Yes. That was First Minister's Questions.

You can see more proceedings from I am delighted to say that Vaughan

Roderick is here as usual. He has been keeping an eye on the

Questions session. Health is very much on Ieuan Wyn Jones's mind.

�133 million extra over three years. Is that something which has

traction? It is something we're going to be hearing a lot about

over the coming weeks, as we approach the end of the financial

year. There are real questions about how the local health boards

will come in on budget. It does not look like they will. Can they be so

much over budget that they will be more over budget than the total

reserves to the Welsh government? What would happen if that were to a

car is very problematic. -- if that were to happen. It is a problem

with the health board, particularly the one that was singled out, he

seemed unable to come in under budget. The minister says she will

not put up with that any more, but how will they tackle it? You wonder

what the politics will be of the debate, because I can see a

situation that might be helpful for Labour, to make a virtue of

spending more than they should on the health service, at a time when

the main arguments against public sector cuts from Westminster.

of Carwyn Jones trying to do that, saying, are you saying we should

not have given this extra money? That comes into it. But the

reserves and the Welsh government these days are very tight, because

money is generally so tight. I think there is a real danger that

things could run up against the buffers. That is what he is trying

to highlight. And we have seen votes of no confidence in public

meetings, tax on Aberystwyth. This is a local health board that is

pretty popular. -- attacks on Aberystwyth. People are quite right

to stand up and questioned the managerial ability. What about the

quality charity, and the scandal about alleged financial

mismanagement? There were suggestions that this might be

happening elsewhere. Also there was a link between the top public

sector jobs and the Labour Party. There is a debate on the charity

tomorrow, but there was an attempt to throw exactly the accusations

against Labour that were put against the Conservatives in the