23/11/2011

:00:27. > :00:30.Good morning, welcome to the programme. We have got a

:00:30. > :00:34.Westminster at the Al of coming up for you. In a moment we will take

:00:34. > :00:44.you to the Commons for Prime Minister's Questions and Welsh

:00:44. > :00:45.

:00:45. > :00:51.Questions. Feel free to get in Before we head off, we will have a

:00:51. > :00:55.quick chat with one of our studio guests. Good morning, Leeanne. We

:00:56. > :01:01.will be joined by Nick Ramsay later on. Why you have got the sofa to

:01:01. > :01:04.yourself, we know that there is a blight Cymru leadership competition

:01:04. > :01:09.starting in January. You're one of the names that is being talked

:01:09. > :01:14.about. If anyone put your name into YouTube they might see a film that

:01:14. > :01:21.has been made, calling on you to put your name forward. Any news on

:01:21. > :01:28.that? I am considering the situation in the leadership. I know

:01:28. > :01:33.a number of young members of Plaid are running a fierce campaign to

:01:34. > :01:37.persuade me to stand. It is an exciting time for the party at the

:01:37. > :01:41.moment. A lot of people are coming into the party, and people are

:01:41. > :01:45.looking at what happened in Scotland and seeing major

:01:45. > :01:50.opportunities for Wales in terms of expanding our devolution settlement.

:01:50. > :01:54.People are keen to be involved in that kind of politics. I am getting

:01:54. > :01:58.some messages to try to persuade me, but I am trying to wait for up at

:01:58. > :02:03.the moment. You are getting some messages to persuade you, I think

:02:03. > :02:10.you could be persuaded! Other people have said that they are

:02:10. > :02:13.going to put your names forward, why don't you? Blight can read his

:02:13. > :02:17.undertaking an internal review at the moment and we are looking at

:02:17. > :02:20.the future direction of the party - - Plaid. I am expecting some

:02:20. > :02:25.political discussions and debates to come out of that. Members have

:02:25. > :02:30.been having those debates already, and I am encouraged about the

:02:30. > :02:35.direction the blood talking about going in. But I would like to see

:02:35. > :02:39.the review take its evidence and produce something before finally

:02:39. > :02:42.making up my mind. I think that, depending what comes out of the

:02:43. > :02:49.review, I will make my decision. That will give you an idea of where

:02:49. > :02:54.the party wants to go, and if those ideas match your own? The debates

:02:54. > :02:58.that have taken place so far, what I am picking up, is that people are

:02:59. > :03:04.up for some kind of radical direction. I think that the

:03:04. > :03:10.politics of the time is calling for that as well, so we are in

:03:10. > :03:15.interesting times, I think. Thank you. I thought the house of Commons

:03:15. > :03:19.was ready, but let's look ahead first. We have got Welsh Questions

:03:19. > :03:24.and Prime Minister's Questions. What do you think we are likely to

:03:24. > :03:27.see today? Yesterday in the First Minister's Questions, York leader

:03:27. > :03:32.attacked Carwyn Jones for writing to the by Minister about talking

:03:32. > :03:36.about constitutional issues. Will we get a flavour of that today?

:03:36. > :03:40.think the economy is bound to dominate, as it has in First

:03:40. > :03:46.Minister's Questions all through the summer. The situation is

:03:46. > :03:50.getting more serious. We are seeing unemployment rising. I did some

:03:50. > :03:52.work this week showing that there is a high number of part-time and

:03:53. > :03:57.temporary workers as well, which could be masking the unemployment

:03:57. > :04:02.figures. We have got huge problems with youth unemployment. I imagine

:04:02. > :04:06.that will be a major topic in the House of Commons today. What you

:04:06. > :04:12.think about the attack on Carwyn Jones - he asked if he had his

:04:12. > :04:18.priorities right on constitutional matters. This has been the

:04:18. > :04:22.frustration of all of us, since the election last May. We need a major

:04:22. > :04:26.focus on the economy. We need a new thinking, and we are not saying it.

:04:26. > :04:30.We are seeing Carwyn Jones spending his time sending off letters about

:04:30. > :04:34.voting systems. A Bentley for your time for the moment. We are going

:04:34. > :04:41.over to the House of Commons now where Tomos Livingstone will be

:04:41. > :04:45.taking us through the next hour. Introduction of the fair fuel

:04:45. > :04:48.stabiliser, and a cut in fuel duty at the Budget earlier this year.

:04:48. > :04:52.thank the Minister for that response. Can I ask him to urge

:04:52. > :04:57.upon his Right Honourable Friend, we need to push government to

:04:57. > :05:01.produce a troupe fuel duty stabiliser, which would trigger an

:05:01. > :05:05.annual reduction in the pump price as the so-called fair fuel

:05:05. > :05:09.stabiliser announced in the March Budget does not go far enough, not

:05:09. > :05:17.anywhere near far enough. The volatility in petrol prices means

:05:17. > :05:20.businesses cannot budget, as noted by the FSB yesterday. Well, I hear

:05:20. > :05:24.what the Right Honourable Gentleman has to say, but I feel that I have

:05:24. > :05:29.to point out to him that, as a result of the tax measures we have

:05:29. > :05:31.taken, petrol prices are now approximately six pence per litre

:05:31. > :05:36.love with them they would have been had that escalator not been

:05:36. > :05:39.scrapped. Even taking VAT into account, fuel prices are

:05:39. > :05:44.approximately three pence a litre Le weather may would have been.

:05:44. > :05:48.Further to that response, could I ask the Minister a slightly

:05:48. > :05:53.different matter. What support is the UK Government providing for the

:05:53. > :05:58.use of electric cars? There are no charging points at all in Wales,

:05:58. > :06:03.not even one in each constituency. What is being done to encourage

:06:03. > :06:07.that? The Right Honourable gentleman is quite correct. This is

:06:07. > :06:11.the technology of the future. This is something that, as he knows, is

:06:11. > :06:16.being rolled out in the urban areas, and I hope solutions will be found

:06:16. > :06:20.to ensure that Rourke users will also be able to find access to

:06:20. > :06:25.suitable charging points -- rural users. Would the minister agreed

:06:25. > :06:30.that it would indeed be highly desirable to reduce fuel costs, but

:06:30. > :06:33.is it possible to do so while we are running a deficit of 1 �60

:06:33. > :06:40.billion a year as a result of the Honourable Ladies and Gentlemen

:06:40. > :06:43.opposite? I could not put it better myself. For commuters and

:06:43. > :06:47.businesses in my constituency, high fuel prices are painful enough

:06:47. > :06:51.without the exorbitant cost of the Severn Bridge tolls which, if they

:06:51. > :06:56.followed the normal pattern of toll rises, will hit nearly �6 for a car

:06:56. > :07:02.this year. What action is the Secretary of State taking to help

:07:02. > :07:07.constituents with these costs? Severn Bridge is privately operated,

:07:07. > :07:12.but the franchise comes to an end in 2017, at which time the

:07:12. > :07:17.Government will consider its options.

:07:17. > :07:20.Mr Speaker, with permission, I will answer questions to and eight

:07:20. > :07:26.together. The latest unemployment figures in Wales a disappointing.

:07:27. > :07:30.They show that there is still much for both the Welsh government and

:07:30. > :07:34.the UK government to do. We have made it clear that, whilst tackling

:07:34. > :07:38.the deficit remains a top priority, we are committed to creating the

:07:38. > :07:43.right conditions for the private sector to expand and grow in Wales

:07:43. > :07:46.to create much-needed jobs. Will be Secretary of State join me

:07:46. > :07:52.in congratulating the Labour Welsh government on the launch of the

:07:52. > :07:56.jobs growth Wales, which I'm sure we'll create 4,000 jobs per year.

:07:56. > :08:00.Will she encourage a Cabinet colleague to establish a similar

:08:00. > :08:07.scheme in this country because our constitute -- constituents are

:08:07. > :08:12.desperate for jobs? As the Honourable Gentleman knows,

:08:12. > :08:16.I would congratulate any government that tries to make the effort to

:08:16. > :08:21.reduce unemployment that blights so many families, particularly in

:08:21. > :08:25.Wales, no more than under the last Labour government. However, I must

:08:25. > :08:32.say to him that the verdict will be out until we see the results from

:08:32. > :08:40.that scheme. She will be aware that in my

:08:40. > :08:47.constituency and hundreds of people crossed the border both ways for

:08:47. > :08:51.Employment - some constituents from Wales who travel in to major

:08:51. > :08:55.employers across the border. Doesn't she think there needs to be

:08:55. > :08:58.some joined-up thinking with her colleagues in the Department of

:08:58. > :09:03.business to address the challenge by Honourable Friend has just

:09:03. > :09:07.raised. There is a good scheme in Wales. Why not replicated in

:09:07. > :09:10.England? The Honourable Gentleman is wrong.

:09:10. > :09:16.This is a new scheme in Wales been brought forward by the but govern.

:09:16. > :09:20.And I'd agree with him. The �400 million investment in the Airbus

:09:20. > :09:25.factory will secure at 6,000 Welsh jobs, and many jobs in the supply

:09:25. > :09:29.chain to the Airbus factory. The Prime Minister was able to open the

:09:29. > :09:39.new North factory recently, and we know that that is going to secure

:09:39. > :09:42.

:09:42. > :09:46.employment and development in that area for a long time to come.

:09:46. > :09:51.Enterprise Zones is of real concern to the communities in Wales. I am

:09:51. > :09:54.grateful to my Honourable Friend of reminding me that we started the

:09:54. > :09:57.enterprise zones in England at a much earlier stage than the Welsh

:09:57. > :10:01.government debt. But I am pleased to welcome the fact that the Welsh

:10:01. > :10:05.government has designated some areas in Wales as enterprise zones.

:10:05. > :10:08.I do know from my discussions with business and industry that they are

:10:08. > :10:13.keenly awaiting more details on these zones, which has been very

:10:13. > :10:18.slow in coming forward. Mr Speaker, will be Secretary of

:10:19. > :10:22.State well come with me the announcements by sawmills in

:10:22. > :10:25.Newbridge in my constituency that they are about to create another 20

:10:25. > :10:30.jobs, bringing Christmas cheer to those families who will benefit

:10:30. > :10:34.from that employment? Well, the Honourable Gentleman is

:10:34. > :10:39.right, and I know how hard he works in his constituency to insecure

:10:39. > :10:44.jobs, and I would often likened -- congratulations. I think we forget

:10:44. > :10:47.in this day and age, when we are seeing, unfortunately, figures in

:10:47. > :10:54.unemployment going in the wrong direction at the moment, but plenty

:10:54. > :10:58.of companies are creating jobs, and... For order, order. Can the

:10:58. > :11:04.Secretary of State face at the house so we can all hear her dulcet

:11:04. > :11:07.tones. I think she is finished and we are grateful to her. Mr Speaker,

:11:07. > :11:10.doesn't the Secretary of State realise how out of touch she is.

:11:10. > :11:15.The unemployment figures in Wales are not disappointing, they are

:11:15. > :11:18.shocking. We have had a 20% rise in the number of women claiming

:11:18. > :11:24.jobseeker's allowance since she came to power in 20th May 10. That

:11:24. > :11:28.includes an increase in one 5th out of work for over 12 months. Why,

:11:28. > :11:31.according to her parliamentary answers to me, hasn't the Wales

:11:31. > :11:39.Advisory Business Council yet discussed the plight of jobless

:11:40. > :11:43.women in Wales? The Right Honourable Gentleman is right to

:11:43. > :11:47.commiserate on those people that are looking for employment, but I

:11:47. > :11:52.am not going to take any lessons from him, he was part of a

:11:52. > :11:55.government where youth unemployment rose by over 40% under Labour, and

:11:55. > :12:00.female unemployment rose by over 30% under the last Labour

:12:00. > :12:06.government. What world is she living in? We

:12:06. > :12:09.created a record number of jobs in Wales. Mr Speaker, there are 10 men

:12:09. > :12:14.on her business advisory council. Why doesn't she appoint at least

:12:14. > :12:18.one woman to it? And, with the deficit rising and growth stalling,

:12:18. > :12:22.isn't it also time a government adopted Labour's five-point plan

:12:22. > :12:26.for jobs and growth in Wales, including a cut in VAT for home

:12:26. > :12:31.improvements to 5%, a tax break for every small firm which takes on

:12:31. > :12:35.extra workers, and a �2 billion tax on bankers' bonuses to create

:12:35. > :12:40.100,000 new jobs. And lest she act now, she will condemn tens of

:12:40. > :12:45.thousands of men and women in Wales to misery.

:12:45. > :12:49.In Wales there is an acid test of Labour's policies, and the fact is

:12:49. > :12:53.that a Labour government is in power in Wales, and as the First

:12:53. > :12:56.Minister in Scotland said the other day, if Labour had the answer to

:12:56. > :13:00.economic problems and unemployment, then why is unemployment in Wales

:13:00. > :13:04.higher than it is in Scotland? Why his youth unemployment higher than

:13:04. > :13:08.it is in Scotland? If Labour had any magic solutions, why aren't

:13:08. > :13:18.they implementing them in the one place in these islands where they

:13:18. > :13:20.

:13:20. > :13:23.are still in government? We are determined to tackle this

:13:23. > :13:27.and will announce additional measures as part of phase two of

:13:27. > :13:30.the growth review. That is to ministers now that have

:13:30. > :13:35.used the word disappointing about unemployment. It is a tragedy, and

:13:35. > :13:38.one of the worst things about it is that a previous Conservative

:13:39. > :13:42.government consigned constituencies like mine, and whole communities

:13:42. > :13:47.like the rounder, too long term a mass unemployment, and they are

:13:47. > :13:50.doing exactly the same now to a generation of young people. Will he

:13:50. > :13:54.suggest one single thing that he personally in his department is

:13:54. > :13:58.doing now to tackle youth unemployment in Wales and in the

:13:58. > :14:02.Rhondda? Mr Speaker, of course youth

:14:02. > :14:08.unemployment is too high, and sadly it is not a new phenomenon. In the

:14:08. > :14:11.last Parliament, youth unemployment in Wales increased by 73%. Not a

:14:12. > :14:15.word of apology from the Honourable Gentleman for that. We recognise

:14:15. > :14:19.the importance of the problem, and that is why we have introduced the

:14:19. > :14:24.work programme which provides properly targeted support to young

:14:24. > :14:29.job seekers. Mr Speaker, is export-led growth

:14:29. > :14:32.one of the Ritz to addressing youth unemployment? In that regard, will

:14:32. > :14:36.my Honourable Friend take this opportunity to congratulate the

:14:36. > :14:40.private sector business in Wales which has seen, since the last

:14:40. > :14:47.election, a 31% increase in Welsh exports, double the national

:14:47. > :14:51.average, and the largest increase of any part of the United Kingdom?

:14:51. > :14:54.Yes, my Honourable Friend is entirely right. The export figures

:14:54. > :14:59.for Wales were extremely encouraging, debt particularly as

:14:59. > :15:02.they were by the engineering sector. -- led particularly as they were.

:15:02. > :15:12.We must commend Airbus for the wonderful work they are doing in

:15:12. > :15:17.

:15:17. > :15:23.I welcome at the latest fall in inflation published last week.

:15:23. > :15:29.this government's watch, average food bills have increased by 5%. It

:15:29. > :15:34.puts more pressure on families. I have listened to the Secretary of

:15:34. > :15:40.State's responses. Can she guarantee that she is fighting a

:15:40. > :15:46.Wales's corner? I thank the honourable gentleman for what I

:15:46. > :15:50.think is a questions. I always fight Wales corner in Cabinet. I

:15:50. > :15:54.thought that he would at least be incurred in because the Bank of

:15:54. > :15:59.England has forecast that inflation should fall rapidly in 2012. This

:15:59. > :16:02.Government is taking very strong action to help consumers with high

:16:02. > :16:09.costs. We all want to help households and his government goes

:16:09. > :16:12.to the last degree to do so. right honourable friend the

:16:12. > :16:17.Secretary of State is meeting of members of the Welsh solar industry

:16:17. > :16:21.next week along with the Shadow Minister for Wales. It is to

:16:21. > :16:25.discuss concerns businesses have about the tariffs. The Minister

:16:25. > :16:30.will know that confidence in the solar industry has been damaged

:16:30. > :16:34.considerably by the decision on its tariffs. Will he now, with the

:16:34. > :16:38.Secretary of State, stand up for Wales and asked the Department of

:16:38. > :16:43.Climate Change to defer the decision date of implementation for

:16:43. > :16:46.December 12th. At least the consultation which finishes on

:16:46. > :16:51.December 23rd goal had the view of the solar industry which is meeting

:16:52. > :16:56.next week? I understand the Right Honourable General -- right

:16:57. > :17:02.honourable gentleman's concerns. There is a consultation going on.

:17:02. > :17:10.It ends on 23rd December, and although the reference date is 12th

:17:10. > :17:14.December, that is subject to the consultation. The Business Group in

:17:15. > :17:20.my constituency has well-developed plans for a Hydro-Electric scheme

:17:20. > :17:24.which will benefit the environment. It also provide an income. They are

:17:24. > :17:31.concerned that any future change in the terrace will undermine the

:17:31. > :17:36.financial basis of this game. What can the Wales offers do to insure

:17:36. > :17:40.it is not jeopardised by this Government's sanctions?

:17:40. > :17:50.consultation preceding at the moment relates only to

:17:50. > :17:54.installations. There will be a further consultation in due course.

:17:54. > :18:01.Mr Speaker, this Government's tower that fiasco risks investor

:18:01. > :18:04.confidence in manufacturing in the Wales. What will the Minister do to

:18:04. > :18:09.prevent imminent job losses in the industry and insure any change to

:18:09. > :18:14.the tariff is given a long lead-in time and said at a rate which will

:18:14. > :18:18.encourage investment and not increase unemployment? We fully

:18:18. > :18:22.understand that the difficulties that companies involved in this

:18:22. > :18:27.sector face as a consequence of this. The fact is, if things had

:18:27. > :18:31.been left as they were, the feed in terror of budget would have been

:18:31. > :18:37.eaten up. There is a consultation preceding and I have no doubt she

:18:37. > :18:40.will be participating in it. I have regular discussions with

:18:40. > :18:45.ministerial colleagues and the First Minister on various issues

:18:45. > :18:50.including enterprise zones in Wales. It is vital businesses investing in

:18:50. > :18:57.Wales are given the same, or even better, it has advantages as in

:18:57. > :19:01.places such as Bristol and Mersey's said. Given that enterprise zones

:19:01. > :19:06.create jobs and have a wider geographical impact on the supply

:19:06. > :19:08.chain with regards to the economy, does the Minister share my surprise

:19:08. > :19:15.about the progress summation of the World Government in locating

:19:15. > :19:20.enterprise zones in Wales? This is becoming a common theme. Although

:19:20. > :19:26.we do have the enterprise zones declared by the Welsh Government,

:19:26. > :19:31.we have only got a recent letter from the Minister for business on

:19:31. > :19:35.22nd November, which says they are currently working hard with

:19:35. > :19:39.colleagues in transport, planning and elsewhere to insure their

:19:39. > :19:43.enterprise zone policy could be delivered. We can only hope that

:19:43. > :19:52.they hurry up and get these details out to businesses as fast as

:19:52. > :20:01.possible. There is very high unemployment but great potential in

:20:01. > :20:06.Gwent. It includes an enterprise zone. The Secretary of State

:20:06. > :20:10.offered to speak to Treasury Ministers about a new race track.

:20:10. > :20:16.Following these representations, can she need me to see back on

:20:16. > :20:20.progress? I am always happy to meet with the honourable gentleman

:20:20. > :20:24.because I was very pleased to meet with him and those business people

:20:24. > :20:29.who were thinking of investing in Gwent in this way. There is a lot

:20:29. > :20:34.of work to be done on the project, it is exceedingly ambitious. As

:20:34. > :20:38.this area has been designated as an enterprise zone for the automation

:20:38. > :20:47.industry, I hope there will be good progress on this. If any help can

:20:47. > :20:56.be given I will see what I can do. Would my right honourable friend

:20:56. > :21:00.share my regret that it is almost impossible... There is a very

:21:00. > :21:07.considerable noise in the chamber. It is unfair to the Minister asking

:21:07. > :21:10.the questions. Let's have a bit of order. Would my right honourable

:21:10. > :21:14.friend share my regret that it is almost impossible to answer the

:21:15. > :21:18.question about cross-border implications because there are no

:21:18. > :21:24.details other than the location and the sector's for the Welsh

:21:24. > :21:27.enterprise zones? It is increasingly difficult when you are

:21:27. > :21:31.relying on another Government to implement its policies. I remain

:21:31. > :21:35.optimistic because I want the message to go out that Wales is

:21:35. > :21:39.open for business. We know that enterprise zones will give an

:21:39. > :21:44.advantage to business going into these areas and will create jobs.

:21:44. > :21:48.There are good forecasts for the number of private sector jobs to be

:21:48. > :21:54.created by 2015. I encourage the Welsh government to do everything

:21:54. > :21:58.they can and I stand ready to help them. The funding available for the

:21:58. > :22:02.Bristol Enterprise Zone is nearly as much as the entire amount for

:22:02. > :22:08.enterprise zones for the whole of Wales. How can she justifies

:22:08. > :22:12.supporting that, alongside the tax on trade and investment into Wales

:22:12. > :22:15.which the Severn Bridge toll represents? When she resist this

:22:15. > :22:21.massive investment to the doorway of Wales which will stop inward

:22:21. > :22:25.investment in Wales? Can I just say that the amount given to the Welsh

:22:25. > :22:29.government as a consequence of what is being spent on enterprise zones

:22:29. > :22:34.in England is calculated in exactly the same way under our government

:22:34. > :22:40.as the last Government. The Minister has �10 million towards

:22:40. > :22:45.enterprise zones. The Minister also has merely a �15 billion budget at

:22:46. > :22:55.her disposal. She can decide how she spends that. I would encourage

:22:56. > :22:56.

:22:56. > :23:01.her to look at what she can do to encourage business. Mr Speaker, I

:23:01. > :23:07.have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues, trade,

:23:07. > :23:09.investment and others in promoting investment in Wales. I have met

:23:09. > :23:13.with the cheek -- chief executive in the last month, and history are

:23:13. > :23:19.met with senior investment adviser for Wales as part of discussions to

:23:19. > :23:22.be to promote Wales to potential investors. The Welsh Affairs Select

:23:22. > :23:27.Committee recently heard from the chief executive that he, like a

:23:27. > :23:30.committee, is still waiting in hope for his first meeting with the

:23:30. > :23:34.Business and Enterprise Minister. Given the fact the Secretary of

:23:34. > :23:42.State has met with him many times, what advice can she give the Welsh

:23:42. > :23:46.Business Minister on the interests of Welsh business? I try to give

:23:46. > :23:51.encouragement to to the Labour Welsh Minister for Business, rather

:23:51. > :23:55.than giving her advice. I am pleased that the Welsh Select

:23:55. > :24:00.Committee here is investigating trade and investment. I am looking

:24:00. > :24:04.forward myself to giving evidence to the committee next month. I am

:24:04. > :24:10.continuing a whole series of meetings to see how we can assist

:24:10. > :24:20.and work with the Welsh government to improve those figures. His and

:24:20. > :24:22.inward investment always a second best. An indigenous Welsh bakery to

:24:22. > :24:28.go for an inward Investment Company in my constituency who were about

:24:28. > :24:32.to close it down. On Monday they increase their workforce by one

:24:32. > :24:35.third. Will she give congratulations and support to

:24:35. > :24:44.indigenous Welsh companies and insure that the rest of the country

:24:45. > :24:50.enjoy the great merits of Welsh cakes and Welsh bread! Now the

:24:51. > :24:55.honourable gentleman is tempting the! Can I just say to him, he

:24:55. > :25:00.should know how much I encourage indigenous Welsh companies, not

:25:00. > :25:04.least by my support to the fast growth 50 which celebrates

:25:04. > :25:12.indigenous companies in the way which they grow. He must not do

:25:12. > :25:18.down inward investment. In 2010-11, 28 inward investment projects led

:25:18. > :25:26.to the creation of over 2000 jobs. I think that is important and

:25:26. > :25:30.certainly not second best. My right honourable friend and I have

:25:30. > :25:33.regular discussions with ministerial colleagues, the Welsh

:25:33. > :25:37.government and other organisations to discuss measures which would

:25:37. > :25:46.help stimulate economic growth in Wales. Does my honourable friend

:25:46. > :25:50.agree that the private sector in Wales represents too small a share

:25:50. > :25:56.he tell us what steps he is taking to change that? My honourable

:25:56. > :26:00.friend is entirely correct, I agree. So does the Shadow Secretary of

:26:00. > :26:03.State and the Welsh First Minister. The Government's plan for growth is

:26:03. > :26:09.aimed at making the most competitive taxes and making the UK

:26:09. > :26:14.the best place in Europe to start finance and grow a business. That

:26:14. > :26:18.applies to Wales as much as anywhere. Do you agree that one of

:26:18. > :26:23.the best ways to incentive eyes growth is to invest in green jobs

:26:23. > :26:28.and a Green economy. What would he say to my constituent, Labour

:26:28. > :26:34.councillor who has put together proposals for investment in 1500

:26:34. > :26:38.homes in five of the most deprived areas of Wales using the feed in

:26:38. > :26:44.tariff scheme by next March. This Government has cut the legs away

:26:45. > :26:47.from that scheme. What would he say to him? I am sure that the

:26:47. > :26:53.honourable gentleman has listened carefully to my previous answers

:26:53. > :27:00.and I would urge him, and his constituents, to engage with the

:27:00. > :27:05.consultation out proceedings. permission I will answer questions

:27:05. > :27:07.10 and 11 together. My right honourable friend the Secretary of

:27:07. > :27:15.State and I have regular discussions with ministerial

:27:15. > :27:19.colleagues and Ministers to support Welsh business. Given the

:27:19. > :27:23.importance of SME is and the vital task of job creation in Wales and

:27:23. > :27:27.across the United Kingdom, could my honourable friend tell the House

:27:27. > :27:35.what steps the Government is taking to reduce the burden of regulation

:27:35. > :27:43.on businesses in Wales? Mineable Friend is quite correct, SME plu

:27:43. > :27:47.macro are the backbone of other Welsh economy. We are easing the

:27:47. > :27:52.burden on them and setting up new businesses and it is hope that it

:27:52. > :27:58.will cause the sector to flourish in Wales. I think the Minister had

:27:58. > :28:04.intended to announce gripping of 10 and 11th. I will soon that he has

:28:04. > :28:08.done so. Would my honourable friend agree with me that rises in

:28:08. > :28:11.interest rates would be catastrophic for the prospect of

:28:11. > :28:15.SME is in Wales and that maintaining our low-interest rate

:28:15. > :28:19.could be at risk if we were to lose her triple-A rating and make it

:28:19. > :28:26.more difficult for Wales to it maintain its competitive edge when

:28:26. > :28:30.it comes to export? That is correct. This Government has had to take

:28:30. > :28:33.difficult decisions on the economy. We have maintained a triple-A

:28:33. > :28:39.rating and the consequence of that is it that this country is in a

:28:39. > :28:41.better position than many of our competitors. Small businesses in my

:28:41. > :28:47.constituency have written to me this month saying they're going to

:28:47. > :28:52.lay off people and may face closure because of the Government's policy

:28:52. > :28:57.on at Harrods. Will the Minister give a categoric assurance that he

:28:57. > :29:00.will lobby the Treasury and the Ministers to ensure that this

:29:00. > :29:05.scheme is scrapped to help businesses who were doing the right

:29:05. > :29:11.thing in Wales? The honourable gentleman will have heard my

:29:11. > :29:15.previous answers on this question. I would urge him to contribute to

:29:15. > :29:24.the consultation and no doubt he will participate in the debate this

:29:24. > :29:26.afternoon. SME accounts for 90% of employment in Wales. What

:29:26. > :29:31.discussions have you had with the World Government about promoting

:29:31. > :29:35.this vital sector? The honourable gentleman is entirely correct, it

:29:35. > :29:38.is the backbone of the Welsh economy. We have regular

:29:38. > :29:46.discussions with the Welsh government and I meeting the

:29:46. > :29:49.appropriate Welsh Minister on Monday of next week. I had a recent

:29:49. > :29:55.discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Department of

:29:55. > :29:58.Culture, Media and Sport on a range of issues. My honourable friend the

:29:58. > :30:08.Parliamentary Secretary of State had recent discussions with the BBC

:30:08. > :30:11.

:30:11. > :30:16.Trust, and independent Welsh Well my right honorable Friend join

:30:16. > :30:20.with me I'm calling on the head of the BBC to reconsider his savage

:30:20. > :30:26.cuts to BBC local radio said that the people of Wales can continue to

:30:26. > :30:30.enjoy a broadcasting in the Welsh language, alongside people in

:30:30. > :30:33.Cornwall broadcasting in the Cornish language? I don't know if

:30:33. > :30:40.it is the microphones that are playing tricks with us or, more

:30:40. > :30:44.likely, that there is too much noise. I think I got her drift. Can

:30:44. > :30:49.I just say that I congratulate her on being a champion of the Cornish

:30:49. > :30:54.language. She, like me, will want to recognise and congratulate both

:30:54. > :30:58.the BBC and S4C in reaching an agreement on the accountability and

:30:58. > :31:07.funding of S4C, thereby securing Welsh language broadcasting in

:31:07. > :31:12.Wales. If anyone is watching BBC Wales's coverage of sport this

:31:12. > :31:16.weekend, I did notice that her odds have dropped. Would she like to

:31:16. > :31:25.have an flutter on that? I would tell the Honourable Gentleman not

:31:25. > :31:30.to bother wasting his money. Westerns to the Prime Minister.

:31:30. > :31:36.-- questions. Mr Speaker, I am sure the whole

:31:36. > :31:40.House will wish to join me in paying tribute to private Matthew

:31:40. > :31:48.Thornton from the 4th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, Lieutenant

:31:48. > :31:52.David Boyce from the Queen's Dragoon Guards, and Private Thomas

:31:52. > :31:55.lake from the Prince of Wales Royal Regiment. They were all courageous

:31:55. > :31:59.soldiers held in the highest regard by their comrades, and we owe them

:31:59. > :32:04.a debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifice. We sent our

:32:04. > :32:08.condolences to their families and friends. I am sure the whole House

:32:09. > :32:13.will also want to join me in paying tribute to Alan Keen, who has died

:32:13. > :32:16.after a courageous battle with cancer. He was a popular

:32:16. > :32:20.constituency MP serving has done for nearly 20 years. Before

:32:20. > :32:24.entering politics he was a scout for Middlesbrough Football Club,

:32:24. > :32:28.and continue to be an advocate for sport, not least through his

:32:28. > :32:33.chairmanship of the all-party football group, which routes to be

:32:33. > :32:38.large and if his leadership. We sent our leap -- sympathies to his

:32:38. > :32:41.family and all his constituencies. He will be missed by all members of

:32:41. > :32:46.this house. I had meetings this morning with ministerial colleagues

:32:46. > :32:50.and others, and in addition to my duties in this house, I will have

:32:50. > :32:53.further mark such meetings later today. Can I join the Premier stay

:32:53. > :33:03.in those words and the tributes to those brave shoulders who this week

:33:03. > :33:04.

:33:05. > :33:09.gave their lives to our country. -- brave soldiers. The mass strikes

:33:09. > :33:15.proposed by the unions for next week will cause great upheaval for

:33:15. > :33:20.many of our constituencies. Does the Prime Minister, like me, then

:33:20. > :33:27.it is the responsibility of the unions not to bring the unions out

:33:27. > :33:32.on strike based on such a small number of votes? My Honourable

:33:32. > :33:35.Friend makes an important point. It really is irresponsible when

:33:35. > :33:40.negotiations are ongoing to cause strikes that will actually lead to

:33:40. > :33:43.the closure of most of the classrooms in our country. It is

:33:43. > :33:47.the height of irresponsibility. What is on offer is an extremely

:33:47. > :33:52.reasonable deal. Low and middle income earners getting a larger

:33:52. > :33:56.pension at retirement than now. All existing accrued rights being fully

:33:56. > :34:00.protected. Any worker within 10 years of retirement saying no

:34:00. > :34:04.change in either the age they can retire or the amount they can

:34:04. > :34:07.receive. I think it is also a tragedy that it is not just union

:34:07. > :34:17.leaders who don't understand this, but the party opposite refuses to

:34:17. > :34:18.

:34:18. > :34:26.condemn these strikes. Ed Miliband. Mr Speaker, I start by joining the

:34:26. > :34:34.primacy in paying tribute to private Matthew Thornton, Lance

:34:34. > :34:42.Corporal Peter Eustace, Lieutenant David Boyce, and Private Thomas

:34:43. > :34:46.lake. All of these men died serving our country with the utmost bravery

:34:46. > :34:51.and courage, and my deepest condolences and those of the whole

:34:51. > :34:56.house are with their family and friends. I also want to pay tribute,

:34:56. > :35:02.as the Prime Minister rightly did, to Alan Keen, the former member for

:35:02. > :35:04.Feltham and Heston. He was somebody who had friends in this house. He

:35:04. > :35:09.believed in young people and opportunities for young people, and

:35:09. > :35:13.most of all, in the power of sport to change people's lives. As I

:35:13. > :35:17.heard at his funeral yesterday, he had an unusual idea of his first

:35:17. > :35:22.date. He took his wife to the Orient, which turned out not to be

:35:22. > :35:27.a Chinese restaurant but Leyton Orient, who were playing that day.

:35:27. > :35:31.He was a great and lovely man. He will be missed by all of us, but

:35:31. > :35:35.most of all by his wife and family. Mr Speaker, can the Prime Minister

:35:35. > :35:40.tell us what the increase has been in long-term youth unemployment

:35:40. > :35:46.since he's cracked the future jobs fund in March?

:35:46. > :35:49.-- since he has scrapped. Youth unemployment is up since the last

:35:49. > :35:53.election and it is unacceptably high in this country, as it is

:35:53. > :35:59.right across Europe. The problem is that youth unemployment in this

:35:59. > :36:04.country has been rising since 2004. Under the last Labour government,

:36:04. > :36:07.it went up by 40%. What we have got to do to help get young people back

:36:07. > :36:11.to work is improve our school system so they have got proper

:36:11. > :36:14.qualifications, improve our welfare system so it pays to work, and

:36:14. > :36:18.improve our employment system so there are proper apprenticeships to

:36:18. > :36:25.help young people. We have three had and 60,000 apprenticeships this

:36:25. > :36:29.year helping young people to get work. -- 360,000. Under 13 years of

:36:29. > :36:36.a Labour government, youth unemployment never reached one

:36:36. > :36:43.million. It has taken him 18 months to get to that tragic figure. And,

:36:43. > :36:46.since he did not answer the question, the reality is that,

:36:46. > :36:56.since he scrapped the dip future jobs fund in March, you long-term

:36:56. > :36:58.

:36:58. > :37:01.youth unemployment has risen by 77%. Now can he tell us what has

:37:01. > :37:06.happened to long-term youth unemployment since he introduced

:37:06. > :37:12.his work programme in June? Let me just repeat, youth unemployment up

:37:12. > :37:18.40% under a Labour government. Let me just remind him of something his

:37:18. > :37:24.brother said last week. He said very clearly, "this government did

:37:24. > :37:30.not invent the problem of youth unemployment". We should have that

:37:30. > :37:33.sort of candour from this brother. The leader of the opposition asked

:37:33. > :37:37.me specifically about the future jobs fund and the work programme.

:37:37. > :37:43.Let me give him the answer. The work programme is helping 50% more

:37:43. > :37:48.people than the future jobs fund. It will help 120,000 young people

:37:48. > :37:52.this year, where the future jobs fund only helped 80,000 people. The

:37:52. > :37:55.waiting time for the most needy young people will be half of the

:37:55. > :37:59.waiting time there was under the future jobs fund. Under the work

:37:59. > :38:03.programme, those who are not in education, employment or training,

:38:03. > :38:07.will get help. I would have thought members opposite would want to hear

:38:07. > :38:10.what about what we are doing for young people. They will get help

:38:10. > :38:14.within three months, rather than six months. But the absolute key is

:38:14. > :38:18.that because we are paying by results the work programme will

:38:18. > :38:22.help those who need it the most help. Whereas the future jobs fund

:38:22. > :38:26.put a lot of graduates into public sector jobs and was five times more

:38:26. > :38:32.expensive than the alternative. That is why be scrapped it and

:38:32. > :38:42.replaced it with something better. Classically, lots of bluster but no

:38:42. > :38:45.answer to the question that I asked. They will be interested in the

:38:45. > :38:48.answer, Mr Speaker. They will be interested in the arts are the

:38:48. > :38:52.prime minster did not give because in 20th June 11, when the bright

:38:52. > :38:58.programme was introduced, there were 85,000 young people unemployed

:38:58. > :39:02.for more than six months -- work programme. Now it is 133,000, a

:39:02. > :39:06.massive increase, since he introduced the work programme. If

:39:06. > :39:11.he is serious about tackling youth and a private, he should get those

:39:11. > :39:17.on the highest incomes to help those with no income at all. Why

:39:17. > :39:22.doesn't he attacks the bankers' bonuses and use the money to create

:39:22. > :39:26.100,000 jobs for our young people? -- attacks the bankers' bonuses.

:39:26. > :39:31.have induced the bank lending that will raise more every year than his

:39:31. > :39:39.bonus tax would raise in one year. Mr Speaker, we just heard a new use

:39:40. > :39:43.for the bonus tax. They have been nine already. He has used his bonus

:39:44. > :39:47.tax for higher tax credits, giving child benefit to those on the

:39:47. > :39:55.highest rate of tax, cutting the deficit, spending on public

:39:55. > :40:01.services, more money for the regional growth fund, turning empty

:40:01. > :40:07.shops into cultural community centres, and higher... This is the

:40:07. > :40:17.back tax that likes to say yes! No wonder the shadow chancellor has

:40:17. > :40:18.

:40:18. > :40:22.stopped saluting and started crying! A reference to Ed Balls

:40:22. > :40:32.crying on Antiques Roadshow last week. In even for this Prime

:40:32. > :40:33.

:40:33. > :40:38.Minister to be playing politics with the youth unemployment... And

:40:38. > :40:43.order, order! I apologise for interrupting. The Prime Minister

:40:43. > :40:48.will be heard, and the leader of the opposition will be heard.

:40:48. > :40:52.Laughing about the denial of a hearing is not to the credit of any

:40:52. > :40:58.Honourable All right honorable Member. Mr Ed Miliband. The truth

:40:58. > :41:02.is, he is the one cutting taxes for the banks here on year in the

:41:02. > :41:06.course of this Parliament, and that is the reality. He is creating a

:41:06. > :41:12.lost generation of young people and he knows it. It is his

:41:12. > :41:16.responsibility, it is happening on his watch. He said on Monday to the

:41:16. > :41:21.CBI that it was harder than anyone envisaged did get the deficit down.

:41:21. > :41:26.But, Mr Speaker, he was warned that his strategy of cutting too far and

:41:26. > :41:30.too fast would not create jobs. He was warned it would not create

:41:30. > :41:35.growth, and he was fined that -- warned that he would find it harder

:41:35. > :41:39.to get the deficit down. Isn't that exactly what has happened?

:41:39. > :41:45.accuses us of cutting taxes. We are cutting interest rates, which is

:41:45. > :41:49.giving this economy a boost. We are cutting corporation tax. We have

:41:49. > :41:54.now got the lowest rates of corporation tax in the G7. We are

:41:54. > :41:57.cutting tax for the low-paid and have taken one million people out

:41:57. > :42:04.of income tax. We a freezing council tax, cutting petrol tax,

:42:04. > :42:13.and scrapping Labour's dog attacks. Of course, let me answer him

:42:13. > :42:23.directly on the issues of growth and dead. He is at it again, I'm

:42:23. > :42:23.

:42:23. > :42:27.afraid. All over Europe are there is an interest rate storm with high

:42:27. > :42:32.interest rates in Spain, high interest rates in Italy, even in

:42:32. > :42:36.some of the country is at the heart of the euro-zone. We must make sure

:42:36. > :42:42.we keep this country safe with low interest rates. Let me just remind

:42:42. > :42:45.him of this. If interest rates went up by 1% in this country, that

:42:45. > :42:49.would at �1,000 to the typical family mortgage. That is the risk

:42:49. > :42:54.that we would have with Labour's plans for more spending, more

:42:54. > :43:03.borrowing and more debt. There he goes again - when it goes

:43:03. > :43:08.wrong, it is nothing to do with him. It is the prime minister's ABC.

:43:08. > :43:12.Anyone but Cameron to blame when things go wrong. What are the

:43:12. > :43:21.Chancellor say at the time of the Budget last year? That his approach,

:43:21. > :43:26."would deliver a steady and sustained economic recovery". Low

:43:26. > :43:32.inflation and falling unemployment. Mr Speaker, three promises made,

:43:32. > :43:39.three promises broken. Their plan is a failing, and that is the truth.

:43:39. > :43:43.Doesn't that show why the Autumn Statement the Prime Minister should

:43:43. > :43:48.change course? Let me just give him the latest growth figures in Europe.

:43:48. > :43:52.Britain grew at 0.5% in the last quarter - the same as the US and

:43:52. > :43:58.Germany. It is faster than France, faster than Spain, faster than the

:43:58. > :44:02.EU average, and a faster than the euro-zone average. Of course, it is

:44:02. > :44:06.a difficult economic environment we are in, but is there a single other

:44:06. > :44:12.mainstream party anywhere in Europe who thinks that the answer to the

:44:12. > :44:17.debt problem is more spending and more borrowing? If he is worried

:44:17. > :44:20.about the level of debt, why is he proposing to add another �100

:44:21. > :44:28.billion to it? It is the height of irresponsibility, and the reason

:44:28. > :44:36.why people will never trust Labour with the economy again. How out of

:44:36. > :44:40.touch does this by ministers and? One million young people and their

:44:40. > :44:46.families worried about finding a job, and all he offers his

:44:46. > :44:50.complacency and more of the same. Now we know, Mr Speaker - however

:44:51. > :44:56.high youth unemployment goes, however bad it gets, it is a price

:44:56. > :45:03.worth paying to protect his failed plan. I tell him this, and the sea

:45:03. > :45:07.changes course next week, -- unless he changes course next week, one

:45:07. > :45:15.million young people will become the symbol of his failed economic

:45:15. > :45:19.plan and and out of touch Prime Let me just say to him what the

:45:19. > :45:25.leading economic organisations across the world say about that

:45:25. > :45:35.issue. The IMF say this, is there a justification for a shift in the

:45:35. > :45:38.

:45:38. > :45:42.policy mix? We think the answer is that no. There has to be a plan A,

:45:42. > :45:48.a this country needs a fiscal consolidation starting from its

:45:48. > :45:52.largest peacetime budget ever. Who give us that peacetime budget? The

:45:52. > :45:58.Labour Party. The CBI, the leading business organisation in this

:45:58. > :46:03.country, priorities for the next 12 months. Stick closely to the

:46:03. > :46:07.existing plant. That is what the experts say. That is what business

:46:08. > :46:15.says, that is what the Bank of England says. Would you listen to

:46:16. > :46:25.them or the people who got us into this mess? Returning to next week's

:46:26. > :46:27.

:46:27. > :46:31.public sector strikes. Mr Speaker, that they do not like it. Is the

:46:31. > :46:40.Prime Minister aware that of the three largest unions, the turnout

:46:40. > :46:45.in the strike ballots was 32%, 31% and 25% respectively. Will he agree

:46:45. > :46:49.that any striker has the right to strike if he so wishes, but he

:46:49. > :46:56.should not engage in mass action unless he has the support of the

:46:56. > :47:00.majority of these unions? The my honourable friend makes an

:47:00. > :47:04.important point. It is wrong that the strikes are going ahead when

:47:04. > :47:12.negotiations are under way. It is wrong to close so many classrooms

:47:12. > :47:17.and essential services. It is being done on the basis of these turnouts.

:47:17. > :47:21.23% of those balloted at Unite union have voted in favour. I am

:47:21. > :47:25.not surprised Labour members want to shout me down. We know why they

:47:25. > :47:29.will not condemn the strikes because we have the figures to date

:47:29. > :47:34.of where they get their money from falls docked in his first year of

:47:34. > :47:44.leader of the party, 86% of Labour donations have come from the trade

:47:44. > :47:46.

:47:46. > :47:51.unions. Under the last Labour leader it was 56%. He is about the

:47:51. > :47:54.only thing he has improved since the time of Gordon Brown's.

:47:54. > :47:59.understand that the Prime Minister is having trouble connecting with

:47:59. > :48:04.women and is seeking advice. Given that female unemployment has

:48:04. > :48:09.increased this year by 20%, given that women have been hardest hit by

:48:09. > :48:14.public sector cuts and the VAT rise, and given they have benefited least

:48:14. > :48:18.from his tax giveaways, would he not agree it is time for a plan B

:48:18. > :48:24.which reverses VAT increase and insures benefits increase in line

:48:24. > :48:27.with inflation? I do not agree. Every family in Britain is facing a

:48:28. > :48:32.difficult time with rising inflation, tight household budgets

:48:32. > :48:36.and the fact there has been a public sector pay freeze. If you

:48:36. > :48:41.look at what we're doing to help women, the million people we have

:48:41. > :48:48.lifted out of tax, many of those are women. In terms of additional

:48:48. > :48:53.child care, that is helping women. The extra hours we are giving for

:48:53. > :48:57.two-four year olds, that is helping women. This is a difficult economic

:48:57. > :49:01.environment. With the changes we are making to public sector

:49:01. > :49:05.pensions, low-paid people in the public sector will actually get a

:49:05. > :49:13.better pension including many women. But because she, like everyone else

:49:13. > :49:19.on the other side is in the pocket of the unions, they cannot see that.

:49:19. > :49:27.Given the Government's intention to freeze council tax, is the Prime

:49:27. > :49:35.Minister is astounded that Brighton and Hove Council are planning to

:49:35. > :49:40.decline of �3 million of council tax and rise council tax. This is a

:49:40. > :49:44.very important point. At a time of difficult household budgets, this

:49:44. > :49:49.Government has cut the petrol tax, is freezing my council tax and made

:49:49. > :49:54.that available to councils up and down the country. It is a decision

:49:54. > :49:59.for individual councils. If they want to go ahead with the council

:49:59. > :50:02.tax freeze, the money is there. If they reject it, as they plan to in

:50:02. > :50:06.Brighton, I think it is a huge mistake because it will be asking

:50:06. > :50:10.families to pay more when they should be on their side. Earlier

:50:10. > :50:16.this year the Prime Minister confirmed he would meet with

:50:16. > :50:20.members of the cross-party inquiry which I chair. It is welcome news

:50:20. > :50:24.that the Home Office will be consulting with a view to legislate

:50:24. > :50:27.in. Would he confirm that the inquiry's evidence-based

:50:27. > :50:33.deliberations and conclusions will be taking into account when

:50:33. > :50:36.considering future legislation? can certainly give that assurance.

:50:36. > :50:39.That is seen as important that we take forward the work that the Home

:50:40. > :50:47.Office and the Justice Department have done in terms of looking at a

:50:48. > :50:56.proper, a separate offence for a stocking. There is a gap in the

:50:56. > :51:01.current law. There is genuine concern in crew in my constituency

:51:01. > :51:05.about over-development with housing. How can my right honourable friend

:51:05. > :51:09.insure that my constituents good degree to stay in planning

:51:09. > :51:13.decisions for new housing estates required for a housing shortage?

:51:13. > :51:17.The great strength of the Localism Bill which is now the localism Act

:51:17. > :51:21.is that we are giving local people a much greater say. Been many parts

:51:21. > :51:24.of the country that will be welcomed because people can see the

:51:24. > :51:29.advantages of development going ahead and recognise that if they do

:51:29. > :51:34.build extra houses, they will keep the council tax. If they attract

:51:34. > :51:38.extra businesses, they will keep the business taxes. That will help

:51:38. > :51:45.end the problem of communities not seeing any advantage of development

:51:45. > :51:53.taking place. It should be a matter for them to decide. With the Prime

:51:54. > :51:59.Minister agree that the history represents a modern morality tale

:51:59. > :52:06.of play. We have a decent, a mutual building society which is then

:52:06. > :52:11.privatise. It then over extents, it then goes bust, it is then bailed

:52:11. > :52:18.out by the taxpayer, and now, sadly, instead of returning to mutuality

:52:18. > :52:22.it is sold off did she to one of the brashest companies in England.

:52:22. > :52:25.I was with the right honourable gentleman for some of the way

:52:25. > :52:28.through his question, but if you look at the decision the Government

:52:28. > :52:34.has taken, at first, we are selling a business that was costing the

:52:34. > :52:38.taxpayer money and getting it well over �700 million for that business.

:52:38. > :52:43.The second thing we are doing which is in the interests of every single

:52:43. > :52:48.person in this country is to get another functioning bank and

:52:48. > :52:52.building society on our high-street lending money. How many times do go

:52:52. > :52:58.to our constituencies and hear people say, I cannot get a mortgage.

:52:58. > :53:01.For small businesses saying I cannot get a loan. We need a good,

:53:02. > :53:08.healthy lending institution out there and we should welcome that it

:53:09. > :53:12.will be based in the north-east of England as a Northern Rock was.

:53:12. > :53:22.the Prime Minister update the House on what measures are being taken to

:53:22. > :53:22.

:53:23. > :53:32.attract high quality into prize Investment -- it into prize --

:53:33. > :53:35.

:53:35. > :53:38.enterprise and investment. If you take the enterprise zone and

:53:39. > :53:44.Wolverhampton were Jaguar Land Rover had said they are going to

:53:44. > :53:50.establish a new plant, employing 1000 people. Enterprise zones are a

:53:50. > :53:54.success story and our government is behind them. The damage caused by

:53:54. > :53:59.long-term unemployment can be phenomenal. Some unemployed --

:53:59. > :54:03.unemployed for more than six months is more likely to have as serious

:54:03. > :54:06.mental health problems. Doesn't the Government worry we will have a

:54:06. > :54:11.generation of young people suffering many of the problems of a

:54:11. > :54:15.lack of self-esteem, never having a first job. Wouldn't it make more

:54:15. > :54:21.sense to be guaranteeing every under 24-year-old a job after six

:54:21. > :54:25.months unemployed, paying them to work, not paying them benefits.

:54:26. > :54:32.This is an important point, the scarring effect of long-term youth

:54:32. > :54:38.unemployment. Gerard two important things we are doing to help them.

:54:38. > :54:42.Helping within three months of the work programme rather than six

:54:42. > :54:47.months. One of the most successful schemes there had been in recent

:54:47. > :54:52.years is giving people work experience placements. We will be

:54:52. > :54:55.producing evidence for this in, but in many cases it is leading to

:54:55. > :54:59.direct employment opportunities for those young people. The Deputy

:54:59. > :55:03.Prime Minister will have more to say about this later in the week.

:55:03. > :55:11.We're doing everything we can it to prevent the scarring effects that

:55:11. > :55:14.he talks about. Alan Keen was our dear friend and colleague on the

:55:14. > :55:18.select committee and everyone who worked with him or will miss him

:55:18. > :55:23.greatly. Will the Prime Minister acknowledged that one of the most

:55:23. > :55:26.disruptive impact on it next week's strikes will be on parents with

:55:26. > :55:31.children in school? Will he encourage employers to allow

:55:31. > :55:36.parents to bring their children to work where it is safe for them to

:55:36. > :55:40.do so? I'm sure that everyone in the House of would agree with the

:55:40. > :55:44.tribute to which she paid to a colleague from the Select Committee

:55:44. > :55:49.and the good work that he did. She makes a good point about the

:55:49. > :55:53.strikes. Frankly, these strikes are going to go ahead. Everyone should

:55:53. > :55:58.be clear about where responsibility lies, it is with those union

:55:58. > :56:04.leaders and the party opposite who are taking their side and backing

:56:04. > :56:09.the strike. Where it is safe, we should help people to bring their

:56:09. > :56:13.children to work. Organisations should do so. The Prime Minister

:56:13. > :56:17.will probably be aware that there are up to 20,000 individuals in the

:56:17. > :56:27.United Kingdom who have lost considerable sums of money, often

:56:27. > :56:28.

:56:28. > :56:31.their pension savings. Will the Prime Minister now heed of the

:56:31. > :56:36.calls from all sides of the House for the Government to use the

:56:36. > :56:42.powers open to them to institute an immediate inquiry under section 14

:56:42. > :56:45.for the financial services so this never happens again? I have had

:56:45. > :56:51.contacts from my constituents who have lost money because of this

:56:51. > :56:54.fund. There has been a Westminster debate on this issue and the

:56:54. > :56:58.Ministers set out to the position in terms of the responsibility that

:56:58. > :57:05.financial-services a priority. I will look at what he says and see

:57:05. > :57:08.if we can do more. I am very concerned at the proposals for

:57:08. > :57:13.significant cuts in the Ministry of Defence police budget and the

:57:13. > :57:17.possible implications for security at the nuclear bases in my

:57:17. > :57:23.constituency is. Will the Prime Minister look at these proposals

:57:23. > :57:27.very carefully? This is an important point. If you look at the

:57:28. > :57:32.defence budget overall it is �35 billion and will continue at pretty

:57:32. > :57:36.much that cash figure throughout this Parliament. It will be the

:57:36. > :57:41.fourth largest defence budget in the world. I can assure you there

:57:41. > :57:46.are no current plans to reduce the number of the Ministry of Defence

:57:46. > :57:49.police at the bases in his constituency. These are vital sites,

:57:49. > :57:54.but we have to look at all the costs in the Ministry of Defence

:57:54. > :57:59.and make sure what we are getting in terms of outcomes is the safety

:57:59. > :58:03.that we need. Does the Prime Minister believe the establishment

:58:03. > :58:06.of local authorities to meet only to give a context to others and

:58:06. > :58:09.provide those services to the local population should be support a

:58:09. > :58:13.question mark I support local authorities to provide good

:58:13. > :58:16.services and keep their council taxes down. In his part of the

:58:16. > :58:23.world he has had the advantage of some change and commonsense

:58:24. > :58:27.conservatism. People employed by Thomas Cook at their headquarters

:58:27. > :58:35.in Peterborough are rightly concerned about media coverage

:58:35. > :58:37.after the last two days. Will my right honourable friend join me in

:58:37. > :58:42.supporting this great British institution which has been

:58:42. > :58:46.providing travel to British people for 170 years. People can support

:58:46. > :58:56.the company by booking their holidays through Thomas Cook, safe

:58:56. > :58:56.

:58:57. > :58:59.in their knowledge that it will be secured on to the atoll scheme.

:58:59. > :59:03.is a light comic business which has given people a lot of pleasure over

:59:03. > :59:08.the years. By her last the business department to give me a report on

:59:08. > :59:14.what is happening in terms of Thomas Cook. It is important that

:59:14. > :59:19.the business is in a healthy state. Recent research has shown the NHS

:59:19. > :59:23.achieve the biggest drop in cancer deaths and the most efficient use

:59:23. > :59:32.of resources in 10 leading countries. Will the Prime Minister

:59:32. > :59:38.accept he did not inherit an NHS in and stop using it dodgy ten-year-

:59:38. > :59:42.old statistics to justify his wasteful and destructive NHS plans?

:59:42. > :59:49.I am a huge supporter of the NHS and there are many things that are

:59:49. > :59:54.truly wonderful about the NHS. Under the last government, the

:59:54. > :59:59.number of managers in the NHS doubled. The number of NHS managers

:59:59. > :00:03.was increasing six times faster than the number of nurses and NHS

:00:03. > :00:10.productivity was falling. You inherit a situation like that and

:00:10. > :00:14.it makes sense to make some changes. Since we have come in, 14,000 fewer

:00:14. > :00:19.non-clinical staff and we have actually got more doctors, more

:00:19. > :00:27.midwives, more operations taking place. If she wants something to

:00:27. > :00:37.celebrate in the NHS through, mixed-sex accommodation, mixed-sex

:00:37. > :00:39.

:00:39. > :00:45.wards are down 90% since we came to Is my Honourable Friend aware by

:00:45. > :00:48.research which shows that residents of the Maldon district are paying

:00:48. > :00:52.more in motoring taxes and receiving less indirect benefits

:00:52. > :00:55.than anyone else in the constituency? My constituents

:00:55. > :00:58.appreciate that under the plans of the last Labour government they

:00:58. > :01:03.would be paying even more in motoring taxes, but will he accept

:01:03. > :01:07.that for them and others in rural areas this is becoming an

:01:07. > :01:12.intolerable burden? I do accept what my Honourable Friend says, and

:01:12. > :01:15.that is why, in the Budget, we took the decision not only to get rid of

:01:15. > :01:21.the tax increases on petrol that were coming down the track, but

:01:21. > :01:26.also to make a cut in petrol duty, so effectively that was 6p of a

:01:26. > :01:29.litre of diesel or petrol. It is essential that at a time of

:01:29. > :01:33.economic difficulty we demonstrate that we are behind those people who

:01:33. > :01:37.want to work hard and do the right thing. Raising council tax,

:01:37. > :01:40.scrapping Labour's job tax, and helping them with motoring expenses.

:01:40. > :01:45.This government is committed to doing that. It is all very well

:01:45. > :01:48.members opposite shouting about the taxpayers alliance. They do a good

:01:48. > :01:58.job to draw attention, and the difference is, they don't actually

:01:58. > :02:04.pay us to put down amendments. I think the whole house will

:02:04. > :02:06.approve of the belated conversion of the justice secretary to the

:02:07. > :02:14.office of chief coroner -- promotion. But there are still

:02:14. > :02:17.concerns about war memorials. Will the Prime Minister now use his

:02:17. > :02:22.office and his weight to provide the Justice Secretary and his

:02:22. > :02:26.ministers that they need to look urgently at new penalties and a new

:02:26. > :02:30.protections both for war memorials and for those who attack them?

:02:30. > :02:33.Honourable Gentleman speaks for the whole house, and the whole country,

:02:34. > :02:38.in saying what has been happening to our war more it -- our war

:02:38. > :02:42.morals has been unacceptable. I suspect the answer may lie in some

:02:42. > :02:46.new punishment and roles, but it also lies in looking at the scrap

:02:46. > :02:49.metal market and how that is currently regulated. I hear very

:02:49. > :02:53.clearly what he says about the Office of the chief coroner. I am

:02:53. > :02:57.delighted that we have been able to put forward an amendment and to

:02:57. > :03:01.accept some of the. There. What the one thing we should avoid, and this

:03:01. > :03:04.is really important, because all of us want to do the right thing for

:03:04. > :03:08.those solders and their families who have given so much to our

:03:08. > :03:11.country, I don't think having an endless right of appeal after

:03:11. > :03:21.inquests would be a good idea. At think that would damage the

:03:21. > :03:22.

:03:22. > :03:24.interests of families. Mr Stuart Andrew. Over the last 30 years,

:03:24. > :03:28.thousands of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the UK

:03:28. > :03:32.have been supportive through projects funded by Children in Need.

:03:32. > :03:41.Would my right honorable Friend join me in congratulating them in a

:03:41. > :03:44.racing over �600 million over the years, and they particular to my

:03:44. > :03:50.constituents in pubs the who welcomed but the bare home for the

:03:50. > :03:55.first time. -- pussy. I apologise for almost squeezing him out. It

:03:55. > :04:02.would be a tragedy if we didn't have this opportunity to pay

:04:02. > :04:06.tribute to Children in Need. Last week I visited Afghanistan through

:04:06. > :04:09.the armed forces Parliamentary Scheme and had the opportunity to

:04:09. > :04:15.meet the commanding officer in Helmand. He said there are two

:04:15. > :04:18.issues that he needs to put forward. Political help and influence with

:04:18. > :04:22.neighbouring countries to Afghanistan to enable Afghanistan

:04:22. > :04:25.to develop, and secondly, sufficient training and adequate

:04:25. > :04:30.equipment for the Afghan army. Can the Prime Minister assure the House

:04:30. > :04:35.today that these requests will be delivered by to any 2014 withdrawal

:04:35. > :04:39.from Afghanistan? The Honourable Gentleman is right to speak up on

:04:39. > :04:43.this issue and to repeat what he heard in Afghanistan. He is

:04:43. > :04:46.absolutely right that we need to help neighbouring countries and

:04:46. > :04:51.members of my team are in Pakistan speaking to the government there as

:04:51. > :04:54.we speak. In terms of the equipment, assistant and training given to the

:04:54. > :04:57.Afghan National Army, we now publish a national monthly report

:04:57. > :05:02.to this house so everyone can see the progress we are making with

:05:02. > :05:10.equipment and training of the Afghan police and army. In spite of

:05:10. > :05:20.all the difficulties in Afghanistan, that is broadly on track. Statement

:05:20. > :05:28.

:05:28. > :05:38.by the Secretary of State for energy and climate change.

:05:38. > :05:41.

:05:41. > :05:46.Well, my guests are still with us. Our presenter pointed out there

:05:46. > :05:54.that the economy dominated. Youth unemployment dominated, didn't it?

:05:54. > :05:59.It did, and I thought that it would. I was in a school last week,

:05:59. > :06:05.talking to the head teacher there. He told me that out of the entire

:06:05. > :06:12.Leah -- year that had left, only five pupils were actually in

:06:12. > :06:17.employment now. That is very worrying. There would have been

:06:17. > :06:22.about 200 people leaving the school in that year. Admittedly, it is a

:06:22. > :06:27.particularly deprived ward that the school serves, but if we have that

:06:27. > :06:31.kind of problem on an ongoing basis, we will get into serious trouble.

:06:31. > :06:38.That is why Plaid is pushing for an economic stimulus here in the

:06:38. > :06:42.Assembly. You have to have some kind of major stimulus to get

:06:42. > :06:47.people into jobs because we have got so many people now who are not

:06:47. > :06:53.even able to buy food or pay for heating. But should not happen in

:06:53. > :06:56.2011. You are calling for a new deal, I suppose. Nick Ramsay, what

:06:56. > :06:59.we did see in Prime Minister's Questions was neither your party or

:06:59. > :07:03.the Labour Party taking responsibility for youth

:07:03. > :07:08.unemployment figures. It was a brain game that was being played.

:07:08. > :07:13.Who is to blame? Well, at the end of the day you have got to look at

:07:13. > :07:16.how long this coalition has been in power in Westminster. OK, a year

:07:16. > :07:22.now, but still, the Labour Party were in power for 10 years before

:07:22. > :07:26.that. So Labour is to blame? It is not helpful, as you say, to get

:07:26. > :07:29.into the blame game because we have got to look forward and how we are

:07:29. > :07:32.going to stimulate the got - macro economy from here on him. There is

:07:32. > :07:36.no doubt that the current government have got a massive

:07:36. > :07:38.problem to deal with. They have got a massive debt situation. It isn't

:07:38. > :07:42.going to take a while to turn things around. There is light at

:07:42. > :07:47.the end of the tunnel, but in the meantime we must do what we can to

:07:47. > :07:52.get the Welsh government to give more support to business. In terms

:07:52. > :07:57.of the economy, we hear the big picture details, don't we, limited

:07:57. > :08:01.growth, higher unemployment figures, but I think you were on it last

:08:01. > :08:06.week talking about food banks. Are they the day-to-day knock-on effect

:08:06. > :08:09.of having a struggling economy? you can watch things like Prime

:08:09. > :08:13.Minister's Questions and there was a lot of discussion about jobs and

:08:13. > :08:18.the economy, but in reality, what it means for people is that people

:08:18. > :08:25.are now not able to afford the basics of life - food, heating,

:08:25. > :08:28.shelter. I had a show debated in the Assembly last week raising

:08:28. > :08:33.awareness of the food bangs, and one of the things I said was about

:08:33. > :08:39.a woman I heard about he found she was eating paper towel so that she

:08:39. > :08:46.could provide her children with food and stave off her own hunger.

:08:46. > :08:52.In 2011 in Wales, there should be those basics for people. They are

:08:52. > :08:55.not, and it is a pretty grim situation for many people. It is

:08:55. > :09:00.not just the Assembly Government, it is the UK government as well,

:09:00. > :09:04.that would deal with those kind of problems we are talking about. How

:09:04. > :09:08.specifically can the Assembly improve the conditions that Leanne

:09:08. > :09:13.is talking about? I am hearing similar stories. Things are getting

:09:13. > :09:20.more and more difficult. In terms of the bulls Government's decision

:09:20. > :09:23.on council tax that was one easy way that a bit more money could go

:09:23. > :09:32.into people's pockets so that at this difficult time they would have

:09:32. > :09:37.more money available. Maybe not enough, but a bit more available.

:09:37. > :09:41.The problem is, prices are going up and incomes are going down. People

:09:41. > :09:45.are having pay cuts, benefit cuts, and our members are being squeezed.

:09:45. > :09:49.To defend those sort of actions that are happening in Westminster,

:09:49. > :09:54.I think you are on a pretty sticky break because so many people are in

:09:54. > :09:57.desperate circumstances. I am not defending those conditions. We

:09:57. > :10:02.would be here whatever. We have got an economic situation that has to

:10:02. > :10:07.be dealt with. Yes, it is difficult for people, and I think we have got

:10:07. > :10:11.to make sure we can do whatever we can. A council tax freeze within

:10:11. > :10:17.Wales, as in England, would have given people at least some money

:10:17. > :10:20.back. We can carry on this discussion in a moment. We have

:10:20. > :10:28.seen the businesses when -- well under way in the Commons. Let's

:10:28. > :10:33.find out what is happening in the Senedd today. Good afternoon. First

:10:33. > :10:36.of all, questions to ministers. Today, the finance minister and the

:10:36. > :10:39.business and enterprise minister. Then we have got a Conservative

:10:39. > :10:43.nominated debate on transport infrastructure. The Conservatives

:10:43. > :10:47.are concerned about Cardiff airport and want the Government to do more

:10:47. > :10:52.to revitalise that amenity. They also it would like the Government

:10:52. > :10:59.to look at the network of service stations and truck stops to do

:10:59. > :11:02.something to invest in those. Moving on, we have got a plight --

:11:02. > :11:06.Plaid debate on Nursing, establishing a network of

:11:06. > :11:10.specialist nurses. Also the opportunity for professional

:11:10. > :11:14.development within nursing. The Lib Dems have got a debate on housing.

:11:14. > :11:18.They are concerned that there are so many empty houses - 26,000, we

:11:18. > :11:23.gather in Wales. That, at the same time as not having enough homes for

:11:23. > :11:26.people who need them. They will be pursuing those ideas this afternoon.

:11:26. > :11:31.We will catch up with you before the end of the programme. You can

:11:31. > :11:39.get more information about what is happening in the Assembly on BBC

:11:39. > :11:42.Wales Democracy Live online coverage. It is estimated that

:11:43. > :11:46.domestic abuse accounts for a quarter of all recorded crime here

:11:46. > :11:49.in Wales and England. The Welsh government has recently campaign to

:11:49. > :11:54.raise awareness and challenge attitudes towards the issue, and

:11:54. > :12:00.today sees the launch of a cross- party group on domestic violence.

:12:00. > :12:10.Mark has been talking to the AM leading the group. I am joined by

:12:10. > :12:12.

:12:12. > :12:16.Joyce Watson... Sorry. I am joined by... Well, we had some trouble

:12:16. > :12:22.with our tape. We will carry on and hopefully get back to him a bit

:12:22. > :12:25.later. Implement and the economy dominated proceedings at Prime

:12:25. > :12:33.Minister's Question Time -- employment. It was also give

:12:33. > :12:37.discussion for two MPs earlier. Next week the Chancellor will

:12:37. > :12:40.deliver his autumn statement here in the Commons. It is expected that

:12:40. > :12:44.he will cut his broadcast for -- forecast for economic growth and

:12:44. > :12:49.the next -- this year and the next. The global economic outlook is

:12:49. > :12:55.looking pretty bleak this winter. Joining me to discuss this matter

:12:55. > :12:59.further are to Welsh MPs. Labour's Owen Smith and Alun Cairns from the

:12:59. > :13:03.Tories. Allen, the Prime Minister has admitted that tackling

:13:03. > :13:07.Britain's debt is proving harder than envisaged. Why is that?

:13:07. > :13:12.always knew it would be difficult. You have got to accept the context

:13:12. > :13:19.of what was inherited. �120 million a day in interest alone on the debt

:13:19. > :13:23.- Black Swan -- a quarter of every penny spent is being borrowed. That

:13:23. > :13:27.is an unsustainable position. Getting the debt under control is

:13:27. > :13:31.key to making Britain a safe haven. But in the context of making sense

:13:31. > :13:35.of what is happening in Europe. The best way to grow the economy is

:13:35. > :13:40.through exports. When half of your market is in Europe, and the mess

:13:40. > :13:43.that we are seeing in Europe, it is not necessary helping. If the

:13:43. > :13:47.coalition government does not hit his deficit reduction targets, it

:13:47. > :13:53.is a serious political blow. I am confident that we will achieve the

:13:53. > :13:57.targets. But you need to accept the scale of the economic crisis that

:13:57. > :14:02.is going on in Europe. It is half of our export market. At the outset

:14:02. > :14:06.of this crisis, the debt levels in Britain were at the same level or

:14:06. > :14:10.higher than the debt levels in Greece. Interest rates were at the

:14:10. > :14:14.same increase and the UK because of the deficit reduction plan interest

:14:14. > :14:18.rates in the UK are now amongst the lowest in Europe. We are now seen

:14:18. > :14:22.as a safe haven. There is an influx of funding and it is about turning

:14:22. > :14:25.that into investment, into infrastructure, into investment,

:14:25. > :14:30.into business and export. That is the way we get out of it. Because

:14:30. > :14:33.we are seen as a safe haven, I am optimistic over the long term.

:14:33. > :14:41.Helen Smyth, you are shadow Treasury minister. Do you in your

:14:41. > :14:45.team have the answer? We know that we start by understanding that it

:14:45. > :14:50.is nonsense to compare Britain's economy with that of Greece. It has

:14:50. > :14:54.always been nonsense to compare Britain with Greece. We are a -- we

:14:54. > :14:58.are a completely different economy. We are many times greater in size

:14:58. > :15:04.and capacity. The nature of the debt we had is over a greater

:15:04. > :15:07.period. But the answer is, of course, that they are getting it

:15:07. > :15:11.fundamentally wrong. They got it wrong from the beginning. The

:15:11. > :15:16.austerity measures that they put in place choke off demand in our

:15:16. > :15:21.economy, they took of confidence in our economy. We have seen

:15:21. > :15:24.effectively a year of no growth in our economy, whereas other

:15:24. > :15:28.comparative European economies, even within the euro-zone crisis,

:15:28. > :15:31.are growing at a higher rate. All of this happened long before the

:15:31. > :15:35.Eurozone crisis bit, and what we are seeing are the Tory chickens

:15:35. > :15:39.coming home to roost. They are getting it wrong again today. Today

:15:39. > :15:42.they are suggesting that the answer to increasing growth in our country

:15:42. > :15:46.is actually making it easier to sack people. That is the latest

:15:46. > :15:50.Tory wheeze for getting our flatlining economy running. No

:15:50. > :16:00.matter what he says, there is nowhere for them to hide on the

:16:00. > :16:01.

:16:01. > :16:05.economic data. It is a disaster. The answer is when the Chancellor

:16:05. > :16:10.makes the Autumn Statement to come up with measures to promote growth,

:16:10. > :16:18.stimulate demand in our economy. We have come up with five suggestions

:16:18. > :16:23.of our own. Reducing VAT. Reducing it NIC contributions to get small

:16:23. > :16:30.employers employing people. Stimulating infrastructure growth

:16:30. > :16:35.through public spending. That is what we need to do so. Ins I simply

:16:35. > :16:40.do not accept what Labour are talking about. They are talking

:16:40. > :16:44.about getting out of a debt crisis by borrowing more money. Because of

:16:44. > :16:48.the action that we are taking in cutting the debt, we are seen as a

:16:48. > :16:57.safe havens. That is what will get us out of the predicament.

:16:57. > :17:03.Borrowing levels... Borrow is going to be increased in the way in which

:17:03. > :17:07.it has been mismanaged. We are talking about playing down the debt

:17:07. > :17:14.at a slower rate which will allow us more real room to stimulate the

:17:14. > :17:18.economy. Labour's commitment over the last five years would put an

:17:18. > :17:22.additional �87 billion worth of borrowings. That is �5,000 for

:17:22. > :17:28.every man, woman and child in addition to the debt we have at the

:17:28. > :17:31.moment. The VAT reductions, the rejection to the benefit reform the

:17:32. > :17:36.system which would make it an incentive to get people into work

:17:36. > :17:40.and stop them playing incapacity benefit when they can work. It is a

:17:40. > :17:44.difficult time, but a great opportunity. We need to live within

:17:44. > :17:49.our means and that is the answer to getting out of this problem.

:17:49. > :17:54.Politics should have moved on from the way in which the Tories are

:17:54. > :17:57.making up statistics, adding up so- called spending commitments. We

:17:58. > :18:02.would pay down the debt at the slower rate than the current

:18:02. > :18:06.government and that would allow us to stimulate the economy. Paying

:18:06. > :18:10.their debt at a slower rate was what Italy was proposing to do,

:18:11. > :18:20.Spain is proposing to do and France is proposing to do. You look at

:18:21. > :18:21.

:18:21. > :18:25.their borrowing rates compared to Two MPs discussing the economy

:18:26. > :18:35.there. We have had some problems with gremlins in our works this

:18:36. > :18:40.

:18:40. > :18:45.morning. The I am joined by a Labour MP and a chief constable.

:18:45. > :18:50.Nearly 49,000 incidents of domestic abuse in Wales last year. Five

:18:51. > :18:56.murders, over 14,000 calls to the Wales domestic abuse helplines.

:18:56. > :19:03.Nearly 2000 people going into refuges. What is being done to

:19:03. > :19:09.address the problem? Many things are being done. We have got

:19:09. > :19:14.policies, procedures, we put in a huge amount of money to refuges.

:19:14. > :19:18.What ultimately has to happen is that everybody takes responsibility.

:19:18. > :19:23.We can set the scene in terms of our policy and give as much money

:19:23. > :19:28.as we are able to to help those people find themselves in what is a

:19:28. > :19:34.terrible and devastating circumstance and situations. But it

:19:34. > :19:42.has to be wider than that, and that is what this is all about. What is

:19:42. > :19:46.White Ribbon Day? It is a day when men are being asked to to say no to

:19:46. > :19:53.violence against women. To talk to their Pearce, to stand proud

:19:53. > :19:57.wearing their white ribbons and to stand as men who were not abusers.

:19:57. > :20:04.One in four women are abused, there for three in its four are not

:20:04. > :20:10.abused. The appeal it is, and always was, to those men to stand

:20:10. > :20:15.up and say this is a wrong. We all know that it is wrong and that the

:20:15. > :20:20.majority of men think it is wrong. It is about getting that message,

:20:20. > :20:23.whether it is at the school gate, whether it is on the playground,

:20:23. > :20:31.whether it is in sport and we have a message of support from the Welsh

:20:31. > :20:38.rugby team today., whether it is in a pub, or in any area at where men

:20:38. > :20:45.congregate. We want this Kong -- conversation brought up. Chief

:20:45. > :20:51.Constable, is a lot of the police's work targeted at men in general

:20:51. > :20:59.rather than men who were only abusers? We have moved forward with

:20:59. > :21:04.the police and the World Government to put plans and it strategies into

:21:04. > :21:08.action -- Welsh Government. Mickey's success aspect was

:21:08. > :21:12.understanding, through victims, about the issues they needed to

:21:12. > :21:18.understand. Welsh government funded under local-authority project got

:21:18. > :21:22.us to the heart of the issue which was cause and effect. We have

:21:22. > :21:28.introduced a domestic abuse conference call, which means every

:21:28. > :21:33.morning information is shared across all agencies are very secure

:21:33. > :21:39.website. Risk assessments are completed and done, actions and

:21:39. > :21:44.services to victims circuit in within an agreed period of time by

:21:44. > :21:49.the key people with the expertise to do it. The police follow-up in

:21:49. > :21:54.taking positive action, making sure that immediate safety plans are has

:21:54. > :21:58.put in place in line with the risk assessment. We're working closely

:21:58. > :22:01.with the Crown Prosecution Service to bring offenders to justice. As

:22:01. > :22:05.part of that prevention, we are making sure offenders have the

:22:05. > :22:10.support and help they need in the criminal justice process for them

:22:10. > :22:16.to realise their behaviour is not right. Is the problem getting

:22:16. > :22:20.worse? On one hand, it seems things are getting terribly bad, on the

:22:20. > :22:28.other hand maybe the fact we have the knowledge of what is happening

:22:28. > :22:33.is a good thing. It is one of those behind net curtain type crimes. At

:22:33. > :22:39.every minute in the UK the police get a call about domestic abuse.

:22:39. > :22:45.What we have realised through this working pattern, which has cost us

:22:45. > :22:52.no more money, that in a six-month trial period in Gwent we have

:22:52. > :22:57.reduced repeat victimisation down by 25%. We have also, by sharing

:22:57. > :23:01.information in a timely manner, increase the number of high-risk

:23:01. > :23:05.individuals. Not everyone was aware previously about the key

:23:05. > :23:09.information that they had about things. This meant that potential

:23:09. > :23:13.high risk of victims immediately get safety planning and plans put

:23:13. > :23:17.in place which make sure they're protected at some time in the

:23:18. > :23:27.future of. We hope that today's event will go some way to

:23:28. > :23:28.

:23:28. > :23:38.addressing this very difficult We had a few problems earlier. But

:23:38. > :23:39.

:23:39. > :23:44.now market is alive here. I am joined by the Liberal Democrat AM.

:23:44. > :23:54.You're talking about housing this afternoon, specifically empty

:23:54. > :23:54.

:23:54. > :23:58.houses. But the problem is the size of a large towns. Housing waiting

:23:58. > :24:01.lists are growing it year-on-year and we're calling on the Government

:24:01. > :24:06.to take some action. They had been talking about addressing the

:24:06. > :24:10.problem of very little has been done. We think there are a two

:24:10. > :24:16.issue is that they could approach this from. The first is to make it

:24:16. > :24:20.punitive for people who own empty homes to pay additional council tax,

:24:20. > :24:23.but also we have as social housing grant which has historically been

:24:24. > :24:28.used to build new homes. With current building costs it would

:24:28. > :24:32.make more sense to bring these current empty homes back into

:24:32. > :24:37.circulation. It would also provide a regeneration boost and small

:24:37. > :24:44.builders and local areas could be used to bring these homes in to use

:24:44. > :24:50.force stop what would that cost? We're calling for it that social

:24:50. > :24:54.housing grant... It is reallocated rather than increased of?

:24:54. > :24:59.million of additional funding was announced yesterday. The Government

:24:59. > :25:02.should be more direct given the way that that funding is used. At the

:25:02. > :25:05.moment there's a lot of responsibility on local authority

:25:05. > :25:10.and we think it is time for the Government to take action to

:25:10. > :25:14.address this problem. Do you have concerns as a liberal about this

:25:14. > :25:19.notion of changing council tax because they home is empty? It

:25:19. > :25:25.would address a problem, such other people might say it is an

:25:25. > :25:28.individual's home and they can do with it what they will. In a lot of

:25:28. > :25:33.instances it is not a conscious decision not to do anything with

:25:33. > :25:39.these homes. A lot of homes or out of the market because of disputes

:25:39. > :25:41.over money for, because of disputes due to estates, we think if a

:25:41. > :25:51.penalty was there people would do with the situation more rapidly

:25:51. > :25:55.

:25:55. > :26:00.than they are doing at the moment. We will speak about the Budget.

:26:01. > :26:04.Nick Ramsay, start with you. No agreement on a budget yet. Last

:26:04. > :26:09.week it was said any of the three opposition parties could do a deal

:26:09. > :26:13.with the Government, could the Tories? I think that is probably

:26:13. > :26:17.further over the horizon than some other deals. It is a minority

:26:17. > :26:21.Labour government, we knew this was going to happen. They should have

:26:21. > :26:26.started discussions earlier so we would not be in this situations. I

:26:26. > :26:31.think we have got until March for a deal. Can you see the Budget not

:26:31. > :26:38.being passed on sixth December? There is a real possibility of

:26:38. > :26:42.that? As far as I can see, there has been a woeful lack of co-

:26:42. > :26:46.operation. This is a minority Labour Government. To get their

:26:46. > :26:52.budget through it they have to talk to other parties. This has not

:26:52. > :26:57.happened and they have put their own interests first. Leanne, we

:26:57. > :27:05.hear that Carwyn Jones is relaxed about negotiations. Are you relaxed

:27:05. > :27:11.about them? We are quite keen to be involved in meaningful negotiations.

:27:11. > :27:16.What does that mean? Why aren't they meaningful? I am not a part of

:27:16. > :27:20.the negotiating team, but from what I understand, but Labour government

:27:20. > :27:24.are slow coming forward with concrete proposals. What we have

:27:24. > :27:28.said is that we want to see some evidence of a change in thinking on

:27:28. > :27:33.the economy from this Government. You want them to do what was in

:27:33. > :27:38.your manifesto at the election, but not enough people supported that.

:27:38. > :27:42.We want them to take action on the economy. We have spent the whole

:27:42. > :27:47.programme talking about jobs and unemployment. That situation is

:27:47. > :27:51.worse in Wales and has got worse since the elections. Until we see

:27:51. > :27:56.some evidence from the Government that they have taken that issues

:27:56. > :28:01.seriously, and by all accounts that is not coming through at the moment,

:28:01. > :28:05.but we are open and keen to secure a deal. But it has got to be the

:28:05. > :28:10.right kind of big deal. And it has got to come from a government that

:28:11. > :28:15.is serious about making changes to the economy. We spoke about any

:28:15. > :28:17.leadership ambitions that you may have had. Nick Ramsay, you have

:28:17. > :28:23.been through the process of standing for the leadership of your

:28:23. > :28:27.party, would you recommend it? is an experience. If you are in

:28:27. > :28:31.politics, having a chance to stand for the leadership of your party,

:28:31. > :28:36.it is not for everyone, but it is an interesting experience. I am

:28:36. > :28:39.sure Leanne would have supporters. It is always interesting to hear