16/05/2017 First Minister's Questions


16/05/2017

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Welcome to the programme and our weekly coverage of questions

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As usual, we're expecting Carwyn Jones to field questions

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Today is no exception, with questions on residential care,

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air pollution and the importance of professional sport,

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On't forget we're @walespolitics on Twitter, where you can see all

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the latest on the General Election and Assembly politics too.

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Well, business in the chamber has already begun, so let's cross

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to today's questions to the First Minister.

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I call the National Assembly to order, the first item on the agenda

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this afternoon is questions to the First Minister, and the first

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question is this. Is there a strategy for tackling air pollution

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in Wales? Yes, in a number of ways including local air quality

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management, industry regulation, the planning regime and the promotion of

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active travel. Thank you, First Minister. We know that appellation

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kills more people than get killed in road traffic accidents and UK

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Government even admits it is the largest environmental threat to

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public health in the UK. A cross-party group in the House of

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Commons called it a public health emergency. The air quality

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management areas include an area of Newport Road where I have three

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primary schools running the longer it and they are breeding game toxic

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levels of air at the moment. And the latest plan published by the Tories

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this month is no more than an option, there is nothing in it that

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even approaches a strategy. One option is to have clean air surveys

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where polluting vehicles pay to enter them. And this would be best

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thing to make the biggest impact on cutting pollution. But the Tories

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have passed it back to local authorities, which shackles on. They

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are not allowed to do anything along these lines until for example all

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bosses have been converted from diesel to cleaner area -- to cleaner

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energy. What the Welsh interpret government -- government interprets

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from this plan and what it is doing to ensure communities like mine are

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relieved of this appalling thing? Some of the levers of fiscal

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measures are to diesel vehicles which are not devolved, and the UK

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Government level is unclear but as evidence of our desire to do all we

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can add a Welsh level, we have said in the UK plan that within 12

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months, we will consult on the detail for a clean air zone

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framework for Wales. I commend that study because if you look at

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Germany, clean air zones have been hugely successful in reducing

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emissions from exhausts by more than 50% in billing for instance. These

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policies require behavioural change, encouraging cycling and so on.

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Access to city areas and free parking for cleaner vehicles, and

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better use of existing -- existing infrastructure. We designating some

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rates for pedestrians and for cyclists. And I do think we should

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have the ambition to declare Cardiff a cleaner air zone and I encourage

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you to do that as soon as possible. We are encouraging local authorities

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to create more cycle routes and the proposals for a Metro that would

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lead to better and quicker journeys on public transport, people --

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taking people out of their cars, while the Metro would reduce

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emissions from the diesel rolling stock. Future Emmons -- future

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evidence demonstrates clean air zones brings about compliance, and

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we will set out measures to ensure the effective implementation of such

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zones. Thank you, it has been confirmed that it is the Welsh

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Government's intention that these air quality management zones do

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produce air particularly in terms of the very small particulates that go

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deep into the lungs and are particularly dangerous to children

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and young people who walk or cycle to school, and will there be

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specific targets within your plans for these air quality zones? This is

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something being considered at the moment and it is part of the

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consultation that will take place as has been noted. In the British plan.

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Will the First Minister make a statement about professional sports

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to Wales? It brings about important benefits, allegedly to Swansea and

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no doubt the member will ask about Swansea City and their successful

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campaign this year to stay in the Premier league. Professional sport

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is a catalyst not just to increase participation in sport, but it also

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gives people in cities and nations a feel-good factor. And the Euros of

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last year were an example of how that can happen in Wales. Can I

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thank the First Minister for that response and highlights the

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importance of sport for promoting the identity of an area and

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generating wealth in an economy? I would stress the importance of

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Swansea City staying in the Premiership for the economy of the

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region and tourism and for name recognition of Swansea. Will the

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First Minister join me in congratulating Swansea of staying in

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the Premiership which benefits Wales? Yes, it is hugely there are a

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team that gets into the Premier league and which stays in it. And

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importance to note the successful campaign by Newport County to stay

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in League Two and we saw the scenes when the final goal was scored a

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minute before the end of normal time. I can see the member for

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Newport East when I mention that. It is true to say professional sport is

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a hugely important economic catalyst. We know that Swansea's

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presence in the Premier league has been hugely important in creating

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tourism for the area in terms of improving hotel rate occupancy and

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improving spent by visitors to the city and beyond. First Minister,

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grassroots training in football is often crucial to future development

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of young players to professional level. Three of our four Welsh

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police forces are now investigating allegations of historic child sexual

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abuse at this level, with the FA chairman Greg Clark calling this the

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biggest crisis in football. In North Wales, there are several accusations

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of an historical nature that must be investigated. Steve Walters of the

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side trusts and one of my own constituents PC Mike Smith, both who

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have suffered, leading calls for the FA W to launch an enquiry into this

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matter, will you work with your Cabinet Secretary to support that

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and provide an environment where children looking to fulfil their

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ambitions in the sport to a more professional level are able to do so

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safely? We know this and I'm it is crucial for children and young

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people to enjoy sports and standards were not as good at one time as they

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are now. This is primarily for the FAW and police but it is hugely

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important as much assurance can be given that any allegations in the

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past or the present will be investigated fully so that we can

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ensure our children and young people continue to have a safer environment

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now and in the future. Thank you very much. I was delighted that the

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Senate unanimously supported Plaid Cymru amendments to the Public

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Health Bill which will mean that there will be a government strategy

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to tackle obesity on the face of the bill and I am grateful to all

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members and the Government for supporting that. Does the First

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Minister agreed that our clubs and professional sporting organisations

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as well as grassroots sport, have to be dimmed to create that strategy,

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to ensure that we have a strategy that can truly help? Yes, that is

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right. All those sports in the community is vital to ensure people

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are active within the community, professional teams can give an

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example, especially to young people. They see their heroes talking to

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them and telling them how important healthy living years, so there is a

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vital role for professional clubs to ensure that we do address obesity.

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Swansea City and Newport County SC, they are both important purposes in

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their communities and community morale will rise as a result of

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those successes. The problem we have with professional clubs is sometimes

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they tend to be foreign-owned. Two of the three football week. The it

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is not a EU thing. Sometimes, they do become distant from their fan

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base whereas at the same time, they are also important assets in the

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community. Is there any way in which the Welsh Government can help to

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preserve them in their role as assets in the community?

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Swansea City did that successfully and Cardiff City are back in the

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Premier league next year. Before long, I will have to go all around

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Wales and mention several clubs and wish them success. Wrexham and other

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football clubs in Wales and sporting clubs playing at any level, the best

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of luck for next year! Is right that it is hugely important fans are

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given the opportunity to own their club. Bayern Munich is an owned and

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is a model used quite regularly in Germany. -- is owned by fans. I do

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worry that with a lack of commitment by some owners and I do not mention

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the Cardiff City, but in some clubs, the question is, are the owners

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committed to the clubs in the way that fans could be? Is Swansea City,

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we saw the resurrection of the club because of the supporters willing to

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put the minion and that club is strongly embedded in the community

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as a result. -- to put into that club.

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Thank you, residing officer, could I welcome back the Cabinet Secretary

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for oral affairs? I wish you well for getting over the recent fall you

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had. He said at the end of April that Jeremy Corbyn needed to prove

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himself if he were to become the Prime Minister at the end of this

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general election. The relationship between the First Minister of Wales

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or Scotland or Northern Ireland and the Prime Minister is a very

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important relationship and intergovernmental relationship as

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well. Last week at the campaign launch, you failed to mention his

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name. Last week when the men of Buster was leaked to the press, you

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put out a press release to say it was not your manifesto -- the

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manifesto was leaked. And in a couple of hours, that was changed.

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Do you believe that Jeremy Corbyn will be the Prime Minister on June

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nine? It is what I want to see, I have dealt with Theresa May and I

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see no evidence of strong leadership from her, she cannot answer is

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straight question. Leadership is about leaders debates and leadership

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is about talking to people rather than going to stage-managed events

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and questions, that is what true leadership is about. There are

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several in this chamber who have had experience and note that is what

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leadership is about. I want to make sure we have somebody willing to

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engage in the public and not somebody who shuts herself away from

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the public. Giving a straight answer is probably

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not your strongest card! Is anybody who has asked you a question in this

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chamber can attest to. In the Labour Party manifesto today, it talks of

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abolishing tuition fees, but your education spokesperson as Cabinet

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Secretary at said it is not tuition fees that is the problem, it is

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living costs. And she said to eight press spokesperson Jeremy Corbyn

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would not be the Prime Minister. How on Earth can you have joined up

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thinking in your government when you have a dislocation between a message

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in the manifesto and the spending commitments you are signing up to

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date in, day out? Is it not the case that if people vote for Jeremy

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Corbyn on June 8th, you will have a coalition of chaos, rather than the

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strong and stable leadership of Theresa May?

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Well, I wonder if the leader of the Welsh Conservatives believes Theresa

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May to be a strong leader given the rumours that we have heard of his

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deselection. She said, he is the leader of the Welsh Conservatives.

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Well, stunningly true as a fact! We are proud of the manifesto that we

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are standing on, it offers great hope for our people. One thing we

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know is that the Diamond review has put people in Wales ahead of those

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in England. And we also know that if the Tories win the general election,

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we will be hammered even harder, students in England will be hammered

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even more. Students in Wales real never be in a position where they

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are better off under the Conservatives. As per usual, you cut

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out the bit of the quote where she went on to say what a good job I'm

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doing! If you look at what the offer is on the 8th of June, it is an

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offer from the Welsh Conservatives today to deliver a shot in the arm

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of ?100 million to the Welsh economy. ?100 million, against the

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fiscal illiteracy that we see coming out of Labour, and I notice the

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First Minister has not signed up to that or committed to that today, yet

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he sat in a meeting on the national executive last week and put his hand

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up to spend billions of pounds that this country has not got. It is a

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fact that if you want to get rid of Severn Bridge tolls, and put ?100

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million into the Welsh economy, you need to vote for the Welsh

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Conservatives, and the strong and stable leadership of Theresa May,

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unlike the coalition of chaos that Jeremy Corbyn represents. I am

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generous to the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, I want him to stay as

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their leader. Theresa May doesn't! You're right, I want him to stay!

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But Theresa May doesn't, and that's chaos for you. He stands there with

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the chutzpah, I think the word is, to claim that abolishing the Severn

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Bridge tolls is his parties idea, how many years have we in this

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chamber, demanding the end of tolls for the Severn Bridge and we were

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told by his party that it was too expensive! We saw estimates of ?120

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a year, it would cost. -- ?120 million. I welcome their conversion,

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but at the end of the day, the Conservatives would not have been

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saying this if it was not for the strong action and position taken by

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this Welsh government. STUDIO: Leader of the Ukip group. So

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Keir Starmer, the Shadow Chancellor, was in Wales and he said that

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Conservative Brexit negotiations pose a danger to the hugely

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successful campaign to recruit more doctors in Wales. Can the First

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Secretary tell us how many extra doctors from the EU this campaign

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has managed to recruit? We do know that 5.8 of our medical staff are

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from the EU, we know that there is interest from the UK and abroad.

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Anyhow system anywhere in the world operate on a world market. It is

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folly to think that the UK can train and recruit all of its own doctors.

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I think what we need to see are fewer doctors and nurses from

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abroad. It is vitally important that we are still seen as a welcoming

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place to get the best and the brightest in the Health Service. I

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agree with that, but the actual figure it is, seven actor doctors

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have been recruited this year, compared to last year, not all of

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whom, that's none of whom, will have come from the EU, therefore this

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seems to be rather irrelevant to the question of the Brexit negotiations.

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But what Keir Starmer seemed to be trying to do was to instil some sort

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of fear in the minds of those who might be susceptible to his words,

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that after Brexit, we're going to turn away potential doctors and

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nurses from the United Kingdom. I'm sure the First Minister knows in his

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heart of hearts that this is a preposterous idea, and that

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Australia, for example, has a very strict immigration system based on

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points, which are awarded in order to fill skills gaps in their

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economy, and the United Kingdom will be just the same. So, why doesn't

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the First Minister get on board with the Brexit negotiations and try and

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make it a success instead of trying to be an obstacle to progress all

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the time? Can he not see that handled badly, doctors and nurses

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will get the impression that the UK does not want them. It is already

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there, because of the issue of mutual recognition of residency

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rights has not yet been dealt with. Nobody wants to see people not being

:18:17.:18:21.

able to stay in the UK or UK citizens unable to stay in the EU,

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everybody wants that but there is no agreement on that yet. In my view,

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we need that before any negotiations over Brexit can begin. It is

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important that we are able to recruit from abroad. My great fear

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is that we end up with a cap on immigration, a cap in each sector,

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that the City gets the lion's share, in order to protect finance, and we

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end up unable to recruit doctors and nurses into Wales. That I think

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would be foolish. It is inconceivable that any cap which is

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introduced is going to work in such a way as to prevent the NHS filling

:18:58.:19:01.

skills gaps, particularly of professional people. But the First

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Minister will also know that two years ago, the Bank of England did

:19:06.:19:10.

an in-depth study of the impact of migration upon wage levels at the

:19:11.:19:15.

lower end of the income scale, people like cleaners and care

:19:16.:19:18.

workers and waiting staff in the Health Service, and it concluded

:19:19.:19:21.

that unlimited immigration from the year and other parts of the world of

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unskilled and semiskilled workers reduces wages by a factor of 2%, in

:19:26.:19:35.

relation to a 10% rise in the proportion of immigrants in those

:19:36.:19:38.

sectors. So what is happening here is that wage levels are being

:19:39.:19:41.

compressed for the people who can least afford it, whilst there is

:19:42.:19:45.

actually no danger as a result of the Brexit negotiations of the

:19:46.:19:49.

numbers of doctors and nurses being recruited from outside the UK going

:19:50.:19:54.

down. You can't say that a cap does not exist for certain professions.

:19:55.:19:58.

It is something which in my mind we need to avoid. We have 80,000 EU

:19:59.:20:03.

citizens in Wales, a tiny proportion of the population. I take his point

:20:04.:20:11.

that there were many who felt... Part of that is because there has

:20:12.:20:15.

been a complete failure to prosecute under the minimum wage legislation.

:20:16.:20:19.

His former party, they were against the minimum wage. As a result of

:20:20.:20:22.

that, that would have driven wages down even further. Now, there is

:20:23.:20:29.

exploitation, I have heard stories of exportation of EU citizens who

:20:30.:20:33.

come into Wales. That needs to be cracked down on and prosecuted, in

:20:34.:20:38.

the same way that those who try to employ people below the minimum

:20:39.:20:44.

wage, who try to get around weather legislation, should be prosecuted,

:20:45.:20:46.

and the law should be strengthened to make sure that nobody is expected

:20:47.:20:49.

in the future, and that is exactly what a Labour government would do in

:20:50.:20:56.

Westminster. Last week, the successful Time To Change John The

:20:57.:21:04.

Campaign Was Launched In Schools To Tackle Mental Health Problems And

:21:05.:21:08.

Stigma. If This Is Successful, We Should See More Young People Coming

:21:09.:21:10.

Forward To Seek Help For Problems That They Might Have. Can You Tell

:21:11.:21:15.

Us What Additional Funds You Have Made Available For School

:21:16.:21:18.

Councillors And For Training For Teachers To Deal With This Extra

:21:19.:21:23.

Demand? We have ring-fenced funding for health, she will know that. And

:21:24.:21:28.

we have put millions of pounds extra in to reduce the waiting times so

:21:29.:21:34.

that people can have an appointment within 28 days. We have not seen a

:21:35.:21:37.

massive reduction in waiting times, First Minister, you can barely say

:21:38.:21:43.

there is any difference. You can't say they are improved. It is not

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clear at all what those improved outcomes are from this extra

:21:49.:21:51.

spending. But what we do know is that the number of children

:21:52.:21:54.

requiring counselling is going up, and that's a good thing, because

:21:55.:21:57.

hopefully that means that problems can be prevented before they become

:21:58.:22:02.

severe and require specialist help. However, we know that many schools

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don't have enough councillors or teachers with training to help those

:22:08.:22:12.

pupils who may need it. Also, we've seen a reduction in local authority

:22:13.:22:16.

youth workers, a staggering 40% in that workforce as a decrease. This

:22:17.:22:24.

is clearly going to have an impact on whether the children are

:22:25.:22:28.

experiencing the low-level Mintel health problems, and whether they

:22:29.:22:31.

will be able to get the support they need, particularly as your

:22:32.:22:33.

government has raised the threshold for accessing specialist services. I

:22:34.:22:40.

spoke recently to someone who works with care leavers, who told me that

:22:41.:22:44.

they're only able to refer young people who are at risk of suicide.

:22:45.:22:50.

They have no capacity in the system to work on mental health prevention.

:22:51.:22:54.

Is that situation acceptable to you, First Minister? When is they're

:22:55.:23:00.

going to be an early intervention service, which is so badly needed?

:23:01.:23:07.

As I said before, health boards have committed to meet the 28 day target

:23:08.:23:10.

by the end of March, they have made great strides over the last 12-18

:23:11.:23:18.

months. One example, insurance older we have seen the percentage go from

:23:19.:23:25.

21% to 84% in one year, that is an enormous improvement in the

:23:26.:23:28.

proportion being seen within 28 days. So, the money that we have put

:23:29.:23:38.

in to the scheme, together with the policy in schools, is bearing fruit.

:23:39.:23:41.

You are giving the wrong impression because it is true to say that the

:23:42.:23:44.

waiting lists are no worse than before, and overall, you cannot

:23:45.:23:48.

claim overall, throughout Wales, that they are better. Now, children

:23:49.:23:53.

and young people with mental health difficulties go an average of ten

:23:54.:23:58.

years - ten years - before they receive specialist help. These are

:23:59.:24:02.

the people who are likely to be the most ill and also cost our services

:24:03.:24:08.

the most money. And it didn't have to happen this way. We know that

:24:09.:24:22.

tough harm is the sexist biggest killer of teenage girls globally.

:24:23.:24:26.

Are we going to have to wait for 16-year-olds to have the vote before

:24:27.:24:29.

the mental health of our children and young people get the proper

:24:30.:24:34.

priority that it deserves? Some of us do have children, I have a

:24:35.:24:39.

16-year-old daughter, so I know the pressures that exist, particularly

:24:40.:24:42.

through social media. That is something that did not exist when I

:24:43.:24:46.

was 16, so any bullying stayed at school. I know some of the things

:24:47.:24:51.

that are said online and I know that when youngsters are at their most

:24:52.:24:55.

vulnerable in terms of their confidence, they can be very deeply

:24:56.:24:57.

affected by that. She did not listen to the figures that I gave to her. I

:24:58.:25:05.

said, the percentage of... She can shout as much as she wants, she has

:25:06.:25:14.

had three questions already, right? In Betws-y-Coed, that percentage has

:25:15.:25:22.

gone from 20% up to 80%. She cannot deny that. We knew it needed to be

:25:23.:25:27.

improved, we knew more money had to be put in, and that is exactly what

:25:28.:25:31.

we did and we are delivering for our young people. Could the First

:25:32.:25:39.

Minister make a statement on the progress of the Welsh government's

:25:40.:25:41.

commitment to raise the capital limit? Yes, we are delivering on

:25:42.:25:46.

this commitment, phased-in fermentation is under way and a

:25:47.:25:50.

first increase to 30,000 was introduced in April. I thank him for

:25:51.:26:00.

that response and I commend the Welsh garment on taking very early

:26:01.:26:04.

steps to live on this pledge to raise the capital limit to more than

:26:05.:26:12.

double to ?50,000. We know very often that it is all many of our

:26:13.:26:16.

constituents have. More than doubling it has a disproportionately

:26:17.:26:20.

great benefit on what they can pass on to the relatives at some point.

:26:21.:26:24.

Along with this, there is also to be a full disregard of the pension

:26:25.:26:28.

being introduced in Wales which means that Welsh veterans no longer

:26:29.:26:31.

have to use any part of this to pay for the care they need. This is part

:26:32.:26:36.

of us honouring our covenant with those who put their lives on the

:26:37.:26:38.

line for their country. So, can I ask the First Minister if he has any

:26:39.:26:44.

idea now what sort of numbers we could be talking about and those who

:26:45.:26:48.

may benefit from this excellent policy? The initial increase to

:26:49.:26:54.

30,000 will benefit around 250 people, the increase to 50,000 will

:26:55.:26:59.

benefit up to 1000. So, a substantial number. We support the

:27:00.:27:08.

improvement in this policy, of course, especially relating to the

:27:09.:27:14.

veteranss' disregard. But is this savings cap really the best you

:27:15.:27:19.

could do for these people, in order that they save more? Jeremy Corbyn

:27:20.:27:26.

has recently said that he is not wealthy, despite earning more than

:27:27.:27:33.

?138 ?138,000 a year. So, don't you agree that the ?100,000 pledge, the

:27:34.:27:39.

cap, pledged by the Conservatives, probably reflects Mori is listed

:27:40.:27:47.

click -- reflects more realistically the situation of hard-working

:27:48.:27:50.

people? Of course, that Conservative policy was not costed properly.

:27:51.:27:55.

There is a cost to that, we know. 25% roughly of care home residents

:27:56.:27:59.

in Wales will benefit from this policy. And it is another example of

:28:00.:28:03.

a Welsh government keeping its promises, as we have done for the

:28:04.:28:09.

last six years. Will the First Minister make a statement on the

:28:10.:28:14.

progress being made on the economic and industrial strategy? Yes, we

:28:15.:28:16.

intend to publish our strategy before the summer recess.

:28:17.:28:26.

manufacturing is a strength within the Welsh economy, but the UK

:28:27.:28:32.

Government places still towards the bottom of that parities and I look

:28:33.:28:38.

forward to it being at the top end. We need to attract more

:28:39.:28:43.

manufacturing. We need to provide more premises of a larger square

:28:44.:28:50.

feet to ensure those factories are there. What is the Government doing

:28:51.:28:53.

to ensure there is a sufficient number of buildings to offer in

:28:54.:29:00.

meant investment -- inward investment and to allow current

:29:01.:29:04.

industries to expand? We do work with manufacturers to look at

:29:05.:29:07.

buildings as they become available. With Aston Martin, it happened and

:29:08.:29:12.

that was very useful in terms of being able to attract them and we

:29:13.:29:16.

work closely with all businesses to assess their needs in terms of

:29:17.:29:20.

future expansion. Where they work to do that, we can usually work with

:29:21.:29:27.

them to source buildings. First Minister, Jeremy Corbyn has

:29:28.:29:32.

set out plans for sleeping government intervention in our

:29:33.:29:38.

industry, including taking part of Britain's energy industry into

:29:39.:29:41.

public ownership alongside the railways, the biggest state

:29:42.:29:47.

intervention in our economy for decades. Do you endorse Jeremy

:29:48.:29:52.

Corbyn's approach, which I believe would take Wales back to the 1970s?

:29:53.:29:57.

And do you agree with your party leader when he says that private

:29:58.:30:00.

transport operators cannot be trusted with having the best

:30:01.:30:07.

interests of passengers at heart? Anybody who says the energy market

:30:08.:30:10.

is good for consumers must be living in a different universe. Time and

:30:11.:30:14.

time again, governments have recognised the current situation

:30:15.:30:18.

does not work. Energy was cheaper in the 1970s and we had made

:30:19.:30:23.

investments such as the tidal lagoons. He talks about the

:30:24.:30:29.

railways, the last major investment happened in 1977 under a Labour

:30:30.:30:35.

government. Since then, we have had no major investment in the mainline.

:30:36.:30:39.

Well still waiting for electrification, where has that

:30:40.:30:44.

gone? To Cardiff, to Swansea, where has that gone? To mark -- two

:30:45.:30:49.

promises made by the party opposite not still have. No sign of

:30:50.:30:54.

electrification from the Conservatives. And nobody could

:30:55.:30:58.

possibly argued the railways at the moment are delivering value for

:30:59.:31:02.

money. They cost more for the taxpayer than they did nationalised.

:31:03.:31:05.

Because of the way in which it was done. There needs to be more reality

:31:06.:31:10.

as far as the Conservatives are concerned and they need to deliver

:31:11.:31:13.

on their promises but energy and railed and they have had an abject

:31:14.:31:19.

failure in that sense. We certainly need new ideas for economic strategy

:31:20.:31:23.

because the old ideas have not worked. Wiwa poorer now relatively

:31:24.:31:29.

incompatible rest of the UK than when Labour first took office in 97

:31:30.:31:36.

in Westminster and in the Assembly in 1999. Can the First Minister

:31:37.:31:44.

explains what new ideas but Labour has transformed our economy? And

:31:45.:31:49.

given the fact that you have been in power in Wales for almost 20 years

:31:50.:31:53.

and for a good proportion of the time in Westminster as well, but has

:31:54.:31:59.

kept you? Where have those transformational ideas been? Where

:32:00.:32:03.

was his party is the former grey years when they were in charge? You

:32:04.:32:07.

forget is that, of course, they do not like hearing that because they

:32:08.:32:13.

would rather forget that, it is conveniently forgotten about. The

:32:14.:32:16.

valleys task was is in place, we are looking how to develop ourselves as

:32:17.:32:21.

an international presence because we know we have to look outside to new

:32:22.:32:29.

countries for new investment. We have seen unemployment, died in

:32:30.:32:34.

level lower than England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and made

:32:35.:32:38.

investments such as Aston Martins and technique are coming to Wales.

:32:39.:32:43.

The next challenge is to improve GDA. He is correct about that, but

:32:44.:32:47.

as far as job creation is concerned and reaching out to the world, as

:32:48.:32:52.

far as getting investment, the best foreign investment figures we have

:32:53.:32:57.

had for 30 years, this Welsh Government is delivering. Will the

:32:58.:33:03.

First Minister outlined a Welsh Government's approach to investing

:33:04.:33:06.

in capital infrastructure projects across Wales? At the heart of our

:33:07.:33:11.

approach is a focus on maximising resources we have available and

:33:12.:33:14.

targeting bees on the Aries with the biggest impact on the economy,

:33:15.:33:19.

supporting communities and all parts of Wales. It was welcome news that

:33:20.:33:25.

Finance Secretary and stated ?1 billion as an investment model would

:33:26.:33:33.

fund projects in Wales, it including but social structure centres and

:33:34.:33:36.

21st-century schools programme. And also the final phase of the dualling

:33:37.:33:42.

which is so vital for all my constituency, how does the Welsh

:33:43.:33:46.

Government plan to use innovative approaches to invest in

:33:47.:33:48.

infrastructure and benefit the people of Wales in the future? We do

:33:49.:33:53.

face unprecedented challenges to public finance and it is important

:33:54.:33:59.

to look all opportunities to boost infrastructure investment as well as

:34:00.:34:03.

the ?1 billion of capital investment we are committed to delivering

:34:04.:34:07.

through the innovative finance model, we are also using innovative

:34:08.:34:13.

ways of funding capital investment over the finance grant and the risk

:34:14.:34:19.

management programme, in addition to the ?1 billion of direct capital

:34:20.:34:22.

borrowing as a result of the Wales at 2014. First Minister, last year's

:34:23.:34:30.

UK budget provided invaluable boost to capital in the structure spending

:34:31.:34:34.

in Wales and it shows what Canon be achieved when Welsh and UK

:34:35.:34:39.

governments work together. Do you agree with me that the projects you

:34:40.:34:44.

mentioned, the welcome agreement on a Cardiff City deal and the

:34:45.:34:48.

announcement of the Severn Bridge tolls shows what can be achieved and

:34:49.:34:52.

the Welsh Government and a self is better working with Theresa May than

:34:53.:35:02.

Jeremy Corbyn? There is some cheap to that question and I give him

:35:03.:35:08.

credit to that. Bluntly, no, I would rather work with Jeremy Corbyn. Yes,

:35:09.:35:12.

I think it is right that at a time when there is no election, but the

:35:13.:35:15.

Welsh and UK governments can work together. But I have to say when it

:35:16.:35:20.

comes to the Severn Bridge tolls, we have been pushing for this for

:35:21.:35:24.

years. If an example of working together is we have made the case

:35:25.:35:28.

and hallelujah the UK Government is converted, I welcome that as well,

:35:29.:35:32.

but it shows how important it is to have a strong team here in the Welsh

:35:33.:35:37.

Government to keep on pushing a Tory government so they deliver things

:35:38.:35:41.

such as the ending of the Severn Bridge tolls which we have called

:35:42.:35:48.

for four years! In terms of the three stage process

:35:49.:35:53.

for assessing new railway stations in Wales, you are no doubt aware

:35:54.:35:56.

some campaigners have called for the reopening of certain stations which

:35:57.:36:01.

failed to make the second stage and they feel aggrieved, and in the

:36:02.:36:09.

interests of transparency, will your government to be prepared to share

:36:10.:36:11.

the results of the cost benefit analysis moving from stage one to

:36:12.:36:17.

stage two? I see no difficulty with doing that, it's usually important

:36:18.:36:26.

people can see the methodology. Bold the First Minister make a

:36:27.:36:31.

statement on the Welsh medium stream Brecon high school? I cannot comment

:36:32.:36:35.

further on those proposals for change because there is a potential

:36:36.:36:40.

for the Welsh Government and that position cannot be divulge. I thank

:36:41.:36:42.

the First Minister for that reply which I understand. This is the

:36:43.:36:49.

opposite to the situation which we faced where there was parental

:36:50.:36:53.

opposition to the changing of the status of the school to a Welsh

:36:54.:36:59.

medium school. There is a feeling in a locality in Brecon that this

:37:00.:37:05.

proposal for closure has become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy

:37:06.:37:10.

because it has for many years had a proposal to close it down and

:37:11.:37:16.

divided we transferred for alternative schools, so it is not

:37:17.:37:20.

surprising parents who want to have their children taught in Welsh are

:37:21.:37:28.

exploring other opportunities. I have the First Minister will agree

:37:29.:37:32.

that I tried to be honest, if no other issue, and helpful. So what I

:37:33.:37:40.

would like to ask the First Minister, in addition to get

:37:41.:37:44.

knowledge policy which I think is correct, for the Minister for

:37:45.:37:51.

lifelong Minister, bringing parents with us, is it not the case that

:37:52.:37:55.

where parents want to have their children taught in Welsh, we have to

:37:56.:37:59.

make it as easy as possible for them and requiring children to go on a

:38:00.:38:03.

bus journey of over one hour in each direction is not likely to bring

:38:04.:38:07.

more parents into the net of wanting to have their children taught in

:38:08.:38:13.

Welsh. Without commenting on this individual case, what can the First

:38:14.:38:16.

Minister do to make it easier for parents in this situation in Brecon

:38:17.:38:21.

to have their wishes satisfied? If I can speak generally, the leader of

:38:22.:38:27.

Ukip is correct that in many parts of Wales, the length of the journey

:38:28.:38:31.

time to get to a Welsh school pots of parents and that is particularly

:38:32.:38:35.

true in parts of Wales where there is a premier school and a

:38:36.:38:38.

substantial journey to secondary school. It is a long way from their

:38:39.:38:45.

and steps must be taken to make sure they are able to access secondary

:38:46.:38:50.

education particularly more locally. Generally, local authorities have to

:38:51.:38:56.

reduce their local strategic plans and if they are judged to be

:38:57.:39:00.

inadequate, we do not approve those plans. And it is for local

:39:01.:39:04.

authorities across Wales to show they are providing sufficient access

:39:05.:39:07.

to Welsh education for those plans to be effective.

:39:08.:39:14.

The Welsh Government has ambitions to see a million Welsh speakers by

:39:15.:39:21.

the year 2050. In order to reach that target, we need to get as many

:39:22.:39:25.

children as possible starting their education through the medium of

:39:26.:39:29.

Welsh. And as you have said, it is difficult for you to discuss this

:39:30.:39:33.

individual issue. As a matter of general principle, do you

:39:34.:39:37.

acknowledge that in those rural areas, it costs more to get children

:39:38.:39:43.

to go to those schools and is there any recognition of this within

:39:44.:39:47.

government to make this possible? We want to reach that target, and we

:39:48.:39:52.

have to make it as easy as possible so that those parents do not see any

:39:53.:39:57.

barriers in their way. Well, generally, of course, the further

:39:58.:40:04.

that children have to travel to be educated, the greater the obstacle.

:40:05.:40:10.

And that is true specifically of secondary schools and that is part

:40:11.:40:15.

of the consideration we are giving. As regards the target of a million

:40:16.:40:19.

Welsh because by 2050, I will not be in this post at that point, if I may

:40:20.:40:26.

say that. The final document will consider a relationship between the

:40:27.:40:29.

language and economic development, and that is something which will be

:40:30.:40:33.

published this year and of course the situation of education will be

:40:34.:40:37.

considered carefully as part of that process.

:40:38.:40:41.

I have raised these issues in correspondence with the Minister and

:40:42.:40:45.

I have not yet received a response, I very much hope that I will do soon

:40:46.:40:50.

back because issues of school transportation have been raised. The

:40:51.:40:54.

one thing that is problematic if you are trying to provide bilingual

:40:55.:40:59.

education in rural areas is how you hold events outside school time to

:41:00.:41:04.

ensure transport is available is to stage arts, sports and so on

:41:05.:41:11.

activities. In terms of that difficulty, ensuring there is a fair

:41:12.:41:16.

option in terms of ensuring good Welsh education. One weight of

:41:17.:41:21.

ensuring there are more activities available is to ensure that you have

:41:22.:41:27.

more branches. In my area, there is one Welsh medium secondary school,

:41:28.:41:33.

not very central to the county. But every child in the county, it even

:41:34.:41:43.

those from outside, go there, and it does hold lots of activities so, the

:41:44.:41:48.

children do not have to go into town and every time. That ensures that

:41:49.:41:55.

children have access to a Welsh ethos outside the school without

:41:56.:41:59.

having to travel too far. How is the Welsh Government

:42:00.:42:02.

supporting Armed Forces personnel in Wales? The responsibility for

:42:03.:42:09.

serving armed service personnel lies with the UK Government, we have made

:42:10.:42:14.

clear our commitment to serving armed personnel and their family so

:42:15.:42:17.

they are not disadvantaged by their service. My question is more about

:42:18.:42:22.

the wider Armed Forces community. Earlier this year, at their request,

:42:23.:42:29.

I met a group of women veterans all of whom have suffered injuries on

:42:30.:42:34.

servers and who said they were also doing with mental health issues in

:42:35.:42:38.

consequence of their service. How do you respond to the concerns

:42:39.:42:43.

expressed and I am quoting, with more and more veterans returning

:42:44.:42:47.

from Iraq and Afghanistan, it is now taking three months to get an

:42:48.:42:50.

appointment with veterans NHS Wales and three, six months to see a

:42:51.:42:54.

specialist, and they can only deal with mild or medium trauma because

:42:55.:42:58.

there are no acute services. They have to travel to England for

:42:59.:43:01.

treatment for mental health and they rely on charities. If the member

:43:02.:43:05.

contacts me with more detail, I will investigate, but we have introduced

:43:06.:43:11.

in welcome to Wales booklet for serving personnel and it gives

:43:12.:43:13.

information on the support and services available. It includes a

:43:14.:43:21.

fast-track referral pathway for specialist health care, and hands to

:43:22.:43:26.

flexible childcare is and set -- access to education, and we work

:43:27.:43:30.

closely with organisations such as the Royal British Legion to give the

:43:31.:43:36.

veterans who have given so much what they need when male living in Wales.

:43:37.:43:41.

This Minister, the children of service personnel who have been

:43:42.:43:46.

posted overseas are in danger of receiving a patchy education. In

:43:47.:43:53.

postings where there is no school provision, these children are sensed

:43:54.:43:56.

international schools who may not follow a set curriculum. As a

:43:57.:44:01.

result, the children may be ahead in some areas and behind in others.

:44:02.:44:05.

What is your government doing to ensure the children of service

:44:06.:44:09.

personnel who have attended international schools are fully

:44:10.:44:12.

assessed and receive additional support if needed?

:44:13.:44:20.

This project has been funded from the European social fund and it has

:44:21.:44:27.

produced a guide for parents of service children. The latest results

:44:28.:44:35.

to be produced by this project is the digital storage resource, which

:44:36.:44:37.

was launched at the end of last year. In addition, the MOD has an

:44:38.:44:42.

education support fund, although we understand that funding will come to

:44:43.:44:54.

an end next year. What policies were the Welsh government following to

:44:55.:44:59.

encourage and support sporting success in Wales? Our policies in

:45:00.:45:03.

sport are concentrated on taking Wales forward. Sport Wales focuses

:45:04.:45:10.

on encouraging participation at all ages and ensuring sporting

:45:11.:45:14.

infrastructure is in place so that talented sports men and women can

:45:15.:45:17.

achieve their potential. Thank you for that answer could call I believe

:45:18.:45:21.

it is really important, for reasons I think all members here would

:45:22.:45:28.

recognise, that we support sport and physical activity at an elite and at

:45:29.:45:33.

a grassroots level in Wales. I would like to turn briefly to Newport

:45:34.:45:36.

County's success, because I believe it is very important. We had a local

:45:37.:45:43.

boy, Michael Flynn, as manager, taking over 1811 points adrift at

:45:44.:45:46.

the bottom of the table, completely turning it around with a dramatic

:45:47.:45:51.

winner in the 89th minute of the last match of the season to retain

:45:52.:45:56.

professional football for next season in Newport, showing the

:45:57.:46:01.

importance of local input into the team, and, of course, it is a

:46:02.:46:06.

supporters' trust. We will now have Premier League funding for

:46:07.:46:10.

grassroots community and sports activity around football, long into

:46:11.:46:14.

the future, I hope. And at the same time, we've seen Newport rugby club

:46:15.:46:22.

shareholders voting for a Welsh Rugby Union takeover which will keep

:46:23.:46:26.

original rugby in Newport and also nurture the game at the grassroots

:46:27.:46:31.

level. So I think professional sport and raw fruits sport is looking

:46:32.:46:36.

strong in Newport at the moment, and I wonder if you will join me in

:46:37.:46:40.

paying tribute to all of those people in making that -- involved in

:46:41.:46:44.

making that a reality, particularly the grassroots support? Absolutely.

:46:45.:46:48.

I saw the scenes at the end of the game, the scenes of joy, when the

:46:49.:46:52.

second goal went in against Notts County, so I am more than happy to

:46:53.:46:59.

congratulate Newport County. I think the Dragons have a bright future as

:47:00.:47:01.

well now the east financial stability. I fully recognise the

:47:02.:47:09.

importance of sporting development, the national football centre, of

:47:10.:47:15.

course, has been transformed and now has a training facility in place

:47:16.:47:19.

where there was none before. And in terms of the importance of

:47:20.:47:22.

individual physical activity, I know how important this is and I have

:47:23.:47:30.

failed to follow that advice for the last 18 years! To make a statement

:47:31.:47:36.

on Welsh government support for the manufacturing industry. We continue

:47:37.:47:41.

to take a broad range of actions to support the manufacturing sector

:47:42.:47:44.

across Wales. Figures released last week show that UK industrial trunk

:47:45.:47:49.

for a third month in a row meet the manufacturing sector falling and the

:47:50.:47:54.

UK trade visit Dublin to more than ?10.5 billion. Here in Wales, with

:47:55.:47:59.

our proud industrial and manufacturing past, the proportion

:48:00.:48:05.

of apprenticeships in manufacturing fell from 6% in 2006 to 2% in 2014.

:48:06.:48:16.

Those are from Stats Wales, in case the First Minister wants to accuse

:48:17.:48:19.

me again of misrepresenting the fact is. Does he agree with me that it is

:48:20.:48:25.

detrimental to did for more than a year over a new economic plan for

:48:26.:48:28.

this country? And what is the future, when we are not providing

:48:29.:48:32.

the next generation with the skills to deliver? It is a key commitment

:48:33.:48:35.

of this government that we will fund 100,000 apprenticeships over the

:48:36.:48:39.

course of this Assembly. It is something we think is hugely potent.

:48:40.:48:43.

He is right to point out that manufacturing is of greater

:48:44.:48:46.

importance to the Welsh economy than it is to the UK as a whole. I do not

:48:47.:48:53.

accept what he says about dithering. We brought Aston Martin into Wales,

:48:54.:48:58.

we brought Qatar Airways into Wales. At the moment, the advanced

:48:59.:49:03.

materials and manufacturing sector team is working with 88 companies

:49:04.:49:08.

looking to expand in Wales. Rather than dithering, we have been hugely

:49:09.:49:14.

active. Will the First Minister make a statement on the roll-out of a

:49:15.:49:19.

superfast programme in Montgomeryshire? The scheme has

:49:20.:49:24.

today date facilitated the roll-out to more than 46,000 homes and

:49:25.:49:30.

businesses across Powys, delivering average speeds of 87 megabytes per

:49:31.:49:36.

second. Thank you. We are now much months away from the corrupted date,

:49:37.:49:40.

when the Superfast Cymru Project Reaches Its Planned

:49:41.:50:02.

Date. I Have Been Contacted By One Constituent Who Has Now Been Told

:50:03.:50:05.

That The Situation has changed and that the technology is now to be

:50:06.:50:12.

fibre to the Cabinet and that he is now too far away from the Cabinet to

:50:13.:50:15.

benefit from the upgrade. I hope you would agree this situation is

:50:16.:50:19.

unacceptable. One minute he's told that he's going to receive up to 300

:50:20.:50:24.

megabytes, and then the goalpost has changed to find out that he's not

:50:25.:50:28.

going to benefit at all. Back in February, there would have been

:50:29.:50:30.

other solutions which we could have taken forward rich are no longer

:50:31.:50:35.

available. Would you agree with me that it is important that people

:50:36.:50:38.

should be given the right information in the first place?

:50:39.:50:40.

Perhaps the member should write to me with details of his constituent

:50:41.:50:43.

Sheila problem and I will investigate. Was first ministers

:50:44.:50:47.

Jens for this week. If you want more coverage of the Assembly, and, of

:50:48.:50:52.

course, the general election, you can go online to our BBC Wales news

:50:53.:50:55.

page. For now, goodbye from us.

:50:56.:51:00.

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