Browse content similar to 16/05/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Welcome to the programme and our weekly coverage of questions | :00:18. | :00:21. | |
As usual, we're expecting Carwyn Jones to field questions | :00:22. | :00:30. | |
Today is no exception, with questions on residential care, | :00:31. | :00:47. | |
air pollution and the importance of professional sport, | :00:48. | :00:49. | |
On't forget we're @walespolitics on Twitter, where you can see all | :00:50. | :00:53. | |
the latest on the General Election and Assembly politics too. | :00:54. | :00:56. | |
Well, business in the chamber has already begun, so let's cross | :00:57. | :00:58. | |
to today's questions to the First Minister. | :00:59. | :01:00. | |
I call the National Assembly to order, the first item on the agenda | :01:01. | :01:06. | |
this afternoon is questions to the First Minister, and the first | :01:07. | :01:12. | |
question is this. Is there a strategy for tackling air pollution | :01:13. | :01:18. | |
in Wales? Yes, in a number of ways including local air quality | :01:19. | :01:20. | |
management, industry regulation, the planning regime and the promotion of | :01:21. | :01:25. | |
active travel. Thank you, First Minister. We know that appellation | :01:26. | :01:29. | |
kills more people than get killed in road traffic accidents and UK | :01:30. | :01:33. | |
Government even admits it is the largest environmental threat to | :01:34. | :01:38. | |
public health in the UK. A cross-party group in the House of | :01:39. | :01:40. | |
Commons called it a public health emergency. The air quality | :01:41. | :01:48. | |
management areas include an area of Newport Road where I have three | :01:49. | :01:51. | |
primary schools running the longer it and they are breeding game toxic | :01:52. | :01:58. | |
levels of air at the moment. And the latest plan published by the Tories | :01:59. | :02:03. | |
this month is no more than an option, there is nothing in it that | :02:04. | :02:07. | |
even approaches a strategy. One option is to have clean air surveys | :02:08. | :02:12. | |
where polluting vehicles pay to enter them. And this would be best | :02:13. | :02:18. | |
thing to make the biggest impact on cutting pollution. But the Tories | :02:19. | :02:25. | |
have passed it back to local authorities, which shackles on. They | :02:26. | :02:27. | |
are not allowed to do anything along these lines until for example all | :02:28. | :02:33. | |
bosses have been converted from diesel to cleaner area -- to cleaner | :02:34. | :02:45. | |
energy. What the Welsh interpret government -- government interprets | :02:46. | :02:49. | |
from this plan and what it is doing to ensure communities like mine are | :02:50. | :02:53. | |
relieved of this appalling thing? Some of the levers of fiscal | :02:54. | :02:59. | |
measures are to diesel vehicles which are not devolved, and the UK | :03:00. | :03:02. | |
Government level is unclear but as evidence of our desire to do all we | :03:03. | :03:08. | |
can add a Welsh level, we have said in the UK plan that within 12 | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
months, we will consult on the detail for a clean air zone | :03:14. | :03:16. | |
framework for Wales. I commend that study because if you look at | :03:17. | :03:23. | |
Germany, clean air zones have been hugely successful in reducing | :03:24. | :03:26. | |
emissions from exhausts by more than 50% in billing for instance. These | :03:27. | :03:32. | |
policies require behavioural change, encouraging cycling and so on. | :03:33. | :03:38. | |
Access to city areas and free parking for cleaner vehicles, and | :03:39. | :03:42. | |
better use of existing -- existing infrastructure. We designating some | :03:43. | :03:47. | |
rates for pedestrians and for cyclists. And I do think we should | :03:48. | :03:53. | |
have the ambition to declare Cardiff a cleaner air zone and I encourage | :03:54. | :03:57. | |
you to do that as soon as possible. We are encouraging local authorities | :03:58. | :04:02. | |
to create more cycle routes and the proposals for a Metro that would | :04:03. | :04:05. | |
lead to better and quicker journeys on public transport, people -- | :04:06. | :04:10. | |
taking people out of their cars, while the Metro would reduce | :04:11. | :04:13. | |
emissions from the diesel rolling stock. Future Emmons -- future | :04:14. | :04:20. | |
evidence demonstrates clean air zones brings about compliance, and | :04:21. | :04:27. | |
we will set out measures to ensure the effective implementation of such | :04:28. | :04:34. | |
zones. Thank you, it has been confirmed that it is the Welsh | :04:35. | :04:38. | |
Government's intention that these air quality management zones do | :04:39. | :04:43. | |
produce air particularly in terms of the very small particulates that go | :04:44. | :04:50. | |
deep into the lungs and are particularly dangerous to children | :04:51. | :04:54. | |
and young people who walk or cycle to school, and will there be | :04:55. | :04:58. | |
specific targets within your plans for these air quality zones? This is | :04:59. | :05:06. | |
something being considered at the moment and it is part of the | :05:07. | :05:10. | |
consultation that will take place as has been noted. In the British plan. | :05:11. | :05:20. | |
Will the First Minister make a statement about professional sports | :05:21. | :05:25. | |
to Wales? It brings about important benefits, allegedly to Swansea and | :05:26. | :05:30. | |
no doubt the member will ask about Swansea City and their successful | :05:31. | :05:33. | |
campaign this year to stay in the Premier league. Professional sport | :05:34. | :05:36. | |
is a catalyst not just to increase participation in sport, but it also | :05:37. | :05:40. | |
gives people in cities and nations a feel-good factor. And the Euros of | :05:41. | :05:47. | |
last year were an example of how that can happen in Wales. Can I | :05:48. | :05:51. | |
thank the First Minister for that response and highlights the | :05:52. | :05:53. | |
importance of sport for promoting the identity of an area and | :05:54. | :05:58. | |
generating wealth in an economy? I would stress the importance of | :05:59. | :06:01. | |
Swansea City staying in the Premiership for the economy of the | :06:02. | :06:06. | |
region and tourism and for name recognition of Swansea. Will the | :06:07. | :06:09. | |
First Minister join me in congratulating Swansea of staying in | :06:10. | :06:14. | |
the Premiership which benefits Wales? Yes, it is hugely there are a | :06:15. | :06:18. | |
team that gets into the Premier league and which stays in it. And | :06:19. | :06:23. | |
importance to note the successful campaign by Newport County to stay | :06:24. | :06:27. | |
in League Two and we saw the scenes when the final goal was scored a | :06:28. | :06:30. | |
minute before the end of normal time. I can see the member for | :06:31. | :06:36. | |
Newport East when I mention that. It is true to say professional sport is | :06:37. | :06:38. | |
a hugely important economic catalyst. We know that Swansea's | :06:39. | :06:46. | |
presence in the Premier league has been hugely important in creating | :06:47. | :06:49. | |
tourism for the area in terms of improving hotel rate occupancy and | :06:50. | :06:54. | |
improving spent by visitors to the city and beyond. First Minister, | :06:55. | :07:02. | |
grassroots training in football is often crucial to future development | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
of young players to professional level. Three of our four Welsh | :07:07. | :07:12. | |
police forces are now investigating allegations of historic child sexual | :07:13. | :07:16. | |
abuse at this level, with the FA chairman Greg Clark calling this the | :07:17. | :07:20. | |
biggest crisis in football. In North Wales, there are several accusations | :07:21. | :07:26. | |
of an historical nature that must be investigated. Steve Walters of the | :07:27. | :07:31. | |
side trusts and one of my own constituents PC Mike Smith, both who | :07:32. | :07:36. | |
have suffered, leading calls for the FA W to launch an enquiry into this | :07:37. | :07:41. | |
matter, will you work with your Cabinet Secretary to support that | :07:42. | :07:44. | |
and provide an environment where children looking to fulfil their | :07:45. | :07:48. | |
ambitions in the sport to a more professional level are able to do so | :07:49. | :07:54. | |
safely? We know this and I'm it is crucial for children and young | :07:55. | :07:58. | |
people to enjoy sports and standards were not as good at one time as they | :07:59. | :08:03. | |
are now. This is primarily for the FAW and police but it is hugely | :08:04. | :08:08. | |
important as much assurance can be given that any allegations in the | :08:09. | :08:11. | |
past or the present will be investigated fully so that we can | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
ensure our children and young people continue to have a safer environment | :08:16. | :08:21. | |
now and in the future. Thank you very much. I was delighted that the | :08:22. | :08:28. | |
Senate unanimously supported Plaid Cymru amendments to the Public | :08:29. | :08:31. | |
Health Bill which will mean that there will be a government strategy | :08:32. | :08:35. | |
to tackle obesity on the face of the bill and I am grateful to all | :08:36. | :08:38. | |
members and the Government for supporting that. Does the First | :08:39. | :08:42. | |
Minister agreed that our clubs and professional sporting organisations | :08:43. | :08:47. | |
as well as grassroots sport, have to be dimmed to create that strategy, | :08:48. | :08:51. | |
to ensure that we have a strategy that can truly help? Yes, that is | :08:52. | :09:01. | |
right. All those sports in the community is vital to ensure people | :09:02. | :09:06. | |
are active within the community, professional teams can give an | :09:07. | :09:09. | |
example, especially to young people. They see their heroes talking to | :09:10. | :09:14. | |
them and telling them how important healthy living years, so there is a | :09:15. | :09:20. | |
vital role for professional clubs to ensure that we do address obesity. | :09:21. | :09:28. | |
Swansea City and Newport County SC, they are both important purposes in | :09:29. | :09:33. | |
their communities and community morale will rise as a result of | :09:34. | :09:40. | |
those successes. The problem we have with professional clubs is sometimes | :09:41. | :09:43. | |
they tend to be foreign-owned. Two of the three football week. The it | :09:44. | :09:50. | |
is not a EU thing. Sometimes, they do become distant from their fan | :09:51. | :09:55. | |
base whereas at the same time, they are also important assets in the | :09:56. | :09:59. | |
community. Is there any way in which the Welsh Government can help to | :10:00. | :10:02. | |
preserve them in their role as assets in the community? | :10:03. | :10:06. | |
Swansea City did that successfully and Cardiff City are back in the | :10:07. | :10:12. | |
Premier league next year. Before long, I will have to go all around | :10:13. | :10:15. | |
Wales and mention several clubs and wish them success. Wrexham and other | :10:16. | :10:20. | |
football clubs in Wales and sporting clubs playing at any level, the best | :10:21. | :10:25. | |
of luck for next year! Is right that it is hugely important fans are | :10:26. | :10:31. | |
given the opportunity to own their club. Bayern Munich is an owned and | :10:32. | :10:35. | |
is a model used quite regularly in Germany. -- is owned by fans. I do | :10:36. | :10:41. | |
worry that with a lack of commitment by some owners and I do not mention | :10:42. | :10:46. | |
the Cardiff City, but in some clubs, the question is, are the owners | :10:47. | :10:50. | |
committed to the clubs in the way that fans could be? Is Swansea City, | :10:51. | :10:56. | |
we saw the resurrection of the club because of the supporters willing to | :10:57. | :10:59. | |
put the minion and that club is strongly embedded in the community | :11:00. | :11:04. | |
as a result. -- to put into that club. | :11:05. | :11:09. | |
Thank you, residing officer, could I welcome back the Cabinet Secretary | :11:10. | :11:16. | |
for oral affairs? I wish you well for getting over the recent fall you | :11:17. | :11:22. | |
had. He said at the end of April that Jeremy Corbyn needed to prove | :11:23. | :11:25. | |
himself if he were to become the Prime Minister at the end of this | :11:26. | :11:29. | |
general election. The relationship between the First Minister of Wales | :11:30. | :11:32. | |
or Scotland or Northern Ireland and the Prime Minister is a very | :11:33. | :11:36. | |
important relationship and intergovernmental relationship as | :11:37. | :11:39. | |
well. Last week at the campaign launch, you failed to mention his | :11:40. | :11:42. | |
name. Last week when the men of Buster was leaked to the press, you | :11:43. | :11:47. | |
put out a press release to say it was not your manifesto -- the | :11:48. | :11:52. | |
manifesto was leaked. And in a couple of hours, that was changed. | :11:53. | :11:56. | |
Do you believe that Jeremy Corbyn will be the Prime Minister on June | :11:57. | :12:02. | |
nine? It is what I want to see, I have dealt with Theresa May and I | :12:03. | :12:06. | |
see no evidence of strong leadership from her, she cannot answer is | :12:07. | :12:09. | |
straight question. Leadership is about leaders debates and leadership | :12:10. | :12:15. | |
is about talking to people rather than going to stage-managed events | :12:16. | :12:19. | |
and questions, that is what true leadership is about. There are | :12:20. | :12:23. | |
several in this chamber who have had experience and note that is what | :12:24. | :12:28. | |
leadership is about. I want to make sure we have somebody willing to | :12:29. | :12:30. | |
engage in the public and not somebody who shuts herself away from | :12:31. | :12:33. | |
the public. Giving a straight answer is probably | :12:34. | :12:38. | |
not your strongest card! Is anybody who has asked you a question in this | :12:39. | :12:43. | |
chamber can attest to. In the Labour Party manifesto today, it talks of | :12:44. | :12:47. | |
abolishing tuition fees, but your education spokesperson as Cabinet | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
Secretary at said it is not tuition fees that is the problem, it is | :12:53. | :12:57. | |
living costs. And she said to eight press spokesperson Jeremy Corbyn | :12:58. | :13:01. | |
would not be the Prime Minister. How on Earth can you have joined up | :13:02. | :13:05. | |
thinking in your government when you have a dislocation between a message | :13:06. | :13:08. | |
in the manifesto and the spending commitments you are signing up to | :13:09. | :13:14. | |
date in, day out? Is it not the case that if people vote for Jeremy | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
Corbyn on June 8th, you will have a coalition of chaos, rather than the | :13:20. | :13:22. | |
strong and stable leadership of Theresa May? | :13:23. | :13:30. | |
Well, I wonder if the leader of the Welsh Conservatives believes Theresa | :13:31. | :13:35. | |
May to be a strong leader given the rumours that we have heard of his | :13:36. | :13:42. | |
deselection. She said, he is the leader of the Welsh Conservatives. | :13:43. | :13:47. | |
Well, stunningly true as a fact! We are proud of the manifesto that we | :13:48. | :13:50. | |
are standing on, it offers great hope for our people. One thing we | :13:51. | :13:57. | |
know is that the Diamond review has put people in Wales ahead of those | :13:58. | :14:01. | |
in England. And we also know that if the Tories win the general election, | :14:02. | :14:05. | |
we will be hammered even harder, students in England will be hammered | :14:06. | :14:10. | |
even more. Students in Wales real never be in a position where they | :14:11. | :14:16. | |
are better off under the Conservatives. As per usual, you cut | :14:17. | :14:20. | |
out the bit of the quote where she went on to say what a good job I'm | :14:21. | :14:25. | |
doing! If you look at what the offer is on the 8th of June, it is an | :14:26. | :14:32. | |
offer from the Welsh Conservatives today to deliver a shot in the arm | :14:33. | :14:36. | |
of ?100 million to the Welsh economy. ?100 million, against the | :14:37. | :14:41. | |
fiscal illiteracy that we see coming out of Labour, and I notice the | :14:42. | :14:45. | |
First Minister has not signed up to that or committed to that today, yet | :14:46. | :14:52. | |
he sat in a meeting on the national executive last week and put his hand | :14:53. | :14:54. | |
up to spend billions of pounds that this country has not got. It is a | :14:55. | :15:00. | |
fact that if you want to get rid of Severn Bridge tolls, and put ?100 | :15:01. | :15:03. | |
million into the Welsh economy, you need to vote for the Welsh | :15:04. | :15:07. | |
Conservatives, and the strong and stable leadership of Theresa May, | :15:08. | :15:10. | |
unlike the coalition of chaos that Jeremy Corbyn represents. I am | :15:11. | :15:16. | |
generous to the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, I want him to stay as | :15:17. | :15:22. | |
their leader. Theresa May doesn't! You're right, I want him to stay! | :15:23. | :15:25. | |
But Theresa May doesn't, and that's chaos for you. He stands there with | :15:26. | :15:32. | |
the chutzpah, I think the word is, to claim that abolishing the Severn | :15:33. | :15:38. | |
Bridge tolls is his parties idea, how many years have we in this | :15:39. | :15:41. | |
chamber, demanding the end of tolls for the Severn Bridge and we were | :15:42. | :15:45. | |
told by his party that it was too expensive! We saw estimates of ?120 | :15:46. | :15:54. | |
a year, it would cost. -- ?120 million. I welcome their conversion, | :15:55. | :16:01. | |
but at the end of the day, the Conservatives would not have been | :16:02. | :16:04. | |
saying this if it was not for the strong action and position taken by | :16:05. | :16:09. | |
this Welsh government. STUDIO: Leader of the Ukip group. So | :16:10. | :16:20. | |
Keir Starmer, the Shadow Chancellor, was in Wales and he said that | :16:21. | :16:23. | |
Conservative Brexit negotiations pose a danger to the hugely | :16:24. | :16:27. | |
successful campaign to recruit more doctors in Wales. Can the First | :16:28. | :16:32. | |
Secretary tell us how many extra doctors from the EU this campaign | :16:33. | :16:36. | |
has managed to recruit? We do know that 5.8 of our medical staff are | :16:37. | :16:40. | |
from the EU, we know that there is interest from the UK and abroad. | :16:41. | :16:45. | |
Anyhow system anywhere in the world operate on a world market. It is | :16:46. | :16:49. | |
folly to think that the UK can train and recruit all of its own doctors. | :16:50. | :16:54. | |
I think what we need to see are fewer doctors and nurses from | :16:55. | :16:58. | |
abroad. It is vitally important that we are still seen as a welcoming | :16:59. | :17:01. | |
place to get the best and the brightest in the Health Service. I | :17:02. | :17:06. | |
agree with that, but the actual figure it is, seven actor doctors | :17:07. | :17:08. | |
have been recruited this year, compared to last year, not all of | :17:09. | :17:14. | |
whom, that's none of whom, will have come from the EU, therefore this | :17:15. | :17:18. | |
seems to be rather irrelevant to the question of the Brexit negotiations. | :17:19. | :17:21. | |
But what Keir Starmer seemed to be trying to do was to instil some sort | :17:22. | :17:26. | |
of fear in the minds of those who might be susceptible to his words, | :17:27. | :17:32. | |
that after Brexit, we're going to turn away potential doctors and | :17:33. | :17:35. | |
nurses from the United Kingdom. I'm sure the First Minister knows in his | :17:36. | :17:39. | |
heart of hearts that this is a preposterous idea, and that | :17:40. | :17:42. | |
Australia, for example, has a very strict immigration system based on | :17:43. | :17:48. | |
points, which are awarded in order to fill skills gaps in their | :17:49. | :17:52. | |
economy, and the United Kingdom will be just the same. So, why doesn't | :17:53. | :17:56. | |
the First Minister get on board with the Brexit negotiations and try and | :17:57. | :18:00. | |
make it a success instead of trying to be an obstacle to progress all | :18:01. | :18:04. | |
the time? Can he not see that handled badly, doctors and nurses | :18:05. | :18:07. | |
will get the impression that the UK does not want them. It is already | :18:08. | :18:13. | |
there, because of the issue of mutual recognition of residency | :18:14. | :18:16. | |
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, | :18:22. | :18:26. | |
everybody wants that but there is no agreement on that yet. In my view, | :18:27. | :18:29. | |
we need that before any negotiations over Brexit can begin. It is | :18:30. | :18:34. | |
important that we are able to recruit from abroad. My great fear | :18:35. | :18:39. | |
is that we end up with a cap on immigration, a cap in each sector, | :18:40. | :18:44. | |
that the City gets the lion's share, in order to protect finance, and we | :18:45. | :18:48. | |
end up unable to recruit doctors and nurses into Wales. That I think | :18:49. | :18:54. | |
would be foolish. It is inconceivable that any cap which is | :18:55. | :18:57. | |
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 | :19:02. | :19:05. | |
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 | :19:22. | :19:25. | |
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 | :21:44. | :21:48. | |
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 | :22:03. | :22:07. | |
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. |