21/11/2017 First Minister's Questions

Good afternoon.

Welcome to the programme

and our weekly coverage

of questions to the First Minister.

Carwyn Jones is expecting questions

on issues as varied as unemployment,

dementia and the housing supply.

We'll also see if the party leaders

continue to press him about claims

of bullying within his government.

We're on Twitter of course.

You can find us @walespolitics.

Well, business in the Siambr has

already started so let's take a look

at today's questions

to the First Minister.

I call members to order. The first

item on our agenda this afternoon is

questions to the First Minister.

Neil Hamilton. Will the First

Minister make a statement on an

appointment rates in Mid and West

Wales?

In 2017 the unemployment rate

was for %, below the Welsh and UK

averages.

He will know that the

Swansea travel to work area includes

large part of Carmarthenshire and

therefore the announcement by Amazon

that they were creating 2000 jobs

for the Christmas trade will be very

welcome. But less welcome is the

fact that they are doing a lot of

their recruitment through a company

called the Central European

recruitment of contract services,

that is basically do best in people

from Hungary rather than from

Carmarthenshire. One of my

constituents have contacted me to

say that she has been contacted by

this company wanting to know if she

had residential rooms to rent which

could be hot bedded in three shifts

for these workers. Does this tend to

undermine the purpose of the grants

which Amazon has received from the

Welsh Government for their

warehousing facility in Swansea?

Those grants will have been given

some years ago, certainly before my

time as First Minister. I am

interested in looking further at

what he has raised. If you can write

to me with the details.

Unemployment

in mid Wales is very row budgie VAP

ahead lags behind cities like

Cardiff and Swansea -- but GVHD. A

potential growth deal for mid Wales

is one of the ways to ensure that we

foster the right skills and training

for businesses to thrive. As part of

a potential growth deal, do you

agree with me that the university

status facility within Powys could

provide the stimulus needed to

ensure that mid Wales has the right

mix of skills for the future in

order to bring about higher salaries

and deliver a more prosperous

economy in mid Wales? This it's an

interesting suggestion.

There is a

university in Aberystwyth, which is

not in Powys, but he makes the point

about Powys. It is a matter for

discussion between the further

education provider and any

particular university. He is right

to say that the way to drive it is

through investment in skills. We

know productivity is a problem in

the UK and Wales and we know that

the more skills people have, the

more productive they become. If

there were such a proposal to be

made, it would be something that

would be helpful to the local

economy.

Simon Thomas.

One thing

which would transform the economy in

West Wales would be to see a tidal

lagoon being allowed in Swansea Bay

in terms of employment, skills and

in transforming the way we deal with

energy in Wales and also creating

pathways for people so that they can

stay in West Wales and stay in Welsh

communities. Wednesday is

realistically perhaps the last

opportunity for the Westminster

government to give the green light

for this project. Have you contacted

them recently? Are you still putting

pressure on the Westminster

government to make this announcement

on Wednesday in the budget that the

tidal lagoon should proceed and that

they should be an agreement on the

way it is going to be paid for and

the way which will benefit the Welsh

economy?

I have a number of times. I

raise this personally with the Prime

Minister of the United Kingdom about

three weeks ago when I met her,

telling her how vital the lagoon was

and how important it was not only to

the economy of the bay but much more

broadly than that and I have kept

the pressure on. That includes the

Secretary of State, because it

appears that he has more influence

in order to ensure that this project

goes ahead for the benefit of the

West and its economy.

Lynne Neagle.

Will the First Minister make a

statement on the Welsh Government's

efforts to make Wales a dementia

friendly country?

We are committed

to making Wales a dementia friendly

nation. We are developing and

implementing a new national dementia

plan. We hope to have that agreed

with stakeholders by Christmas and

publishing it as soon as possible in

the New Year.

Last month I was

really proud to present a primary

school with a dementia friendly

award, the first school in Gwent and

one of the very first in Wales to

receive the award. Every single

class in the school has taken part

in the initiative, from reception to

year six, with older pupils also

visiting patients at County Hospital

and participating in an innovative

scheme where they decorated and

personalised Zimmer frames so that

people with dementia could recognise

their Zimmer and use it more often.

Will the First Minister join me in

congratulating the primary school on

the fantastic achievement of

achieving this award and also on the

brilliant intergenerational work

they are pioneering, which we know

can make such a huge difference to

the lives of people living with

dementia.

Very much so. I think it

is incredible, the innovation that

has been shown. Ways in which most

people would not think of. It is

hugely important that, it is not a

phrase generally, but

intergenerational understanding is

promoted, so that young people

understand what the effects of

dementia are, how they can help

people with dementia, and that they

are able to help what families and

individuals face. It is a fantastic

idea, fantastic concept and I very

much congratulate the school.

Mark

Reckless.

As well as Wales ageing as

a nation, the trends are quite

different within different parts of

Wales and the valleys, for example,

have a much greater demographic

ageing trend than the nation as a

whole. Are you confident that our

provision of dementia services is

sufficiently decentralised and also

the resourcing of it is sufficiently

aimed at those areas with the easing

-- ageing trend is most severe?

I

am. If there was any difficulty in

that regard, I would expect it to be

part of the discussions taking place

with stakeholders over the dementia

action plan and I expect that to be

reflected in the plan if that is

identified as a challenge. What I

can say is we have been working with

the task unfinished group, which has

been working with the Alzheimer's

Society, and the older prisons

Commissioner as well, -- older

prisons Commissioner as well. We

hope to be in a position where we

can agree the plan by the end of

this year.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

First

Minister, though one issue that

comes up time and again when I speak

to families of those who have

dementia of the problem in Wales of

having a specific contract worker

for families who want someone to

turn to whenever they wish to do

that. Having that kind of pledge and

ensuring that such a worker is

available would allow Wales to be

innovative in the care it provides

to people with dementia and their

families. Does the First Minister

share my view that we need that as

part of the final strategy and is he

confident that it will be part of

the strategy?

Well, this is

something that will have to be

considered as part of a

consultation. May I say that the

plan itself is built on the basis of

acknowledging the fact that these

people suffering with dementia have

rights and therefore in what way can

we ensure that those rights are

respected? This will have been part

of the discussion which has taken

place to date and it will be part of

the discussion on the plan itself.

May I also say that the plan itself

will also be considered by an action

group in order to make sure that the

plan works in the way that it

should.

According to health in

Wales, dementia affects over 42,000

people in Wales alone and it is

estimated that in just a few short

years this could increase by at

least a third. It is therefore vital

that Wales becomes a dementia

friendly nation as soon as possible

to ensure that those living with

this terrible condition, and their

families, are supported at every

stage. First Minister, what is your

government doing to increase

awareness about dementia and how to

reduce the risk of developing this

devastating condition?

At the heart

of our approach is the need to

ensure that people can remain as

independent as possible for as long

as possible and that means working

with organisations to promote

dementia friendly environments. We

have heard an example from Lynne

Neagle on how that can be done in

schools. It is important that people

understand that dementia is not

something that affects everybody in

the same way and at the same rate.

We know that people's needs will

change over time. It is hugely

important that people understand

that. Part of promoting a dementia

friendly Wales, increasing people's

understanding of the condition is an

important part of that.

Questions

now from the party leaders. Leader

of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood.

In the

next week we are expecting a vote to

convene a session on scrutiny of

bullying in the Welsh Government and

whether or not this Assembly has

been misled. You have denied that

you received allegations of bullying

specifically but you also said that

any issues raised with you were

dealt with. If you didn't deal with

issues of bullying, can you tell us

what issues were dealt with and how

you dealt with them?

Members

understand that if I choose my words

carefully or appear over locally in

my answers, I am not being evasive,

it is because these are important

times. People are grieving, the last

thing I want to do is make matters

worse. But I understand these

questions are scrutiny and I have no

difficulty with that. We set out

what my explanation is for the

perceived discrepancies. I am aware

of the comments that have been made

in the press. All I can say about

those comments is, in relation to

them, no specific accusation of

bullying was ever presented to me

either formally or informally. Nor

was that word bullying ever used in

that way. But if you want me to be

clear about what the issues were, I

can say, people were sometimes

unhappy with the way things

happened, with their competing

priorities, of course they were.

People felt others were more favour?

Of course they did. In politics it

is felt more intensely than in other

workplaces. People feel very

passionately about what they believe

in and that will be the situation.

At the heart of our democracy is the

notion of competition. There will

always be tension and everyone in

this chamber will recognise that. I

will continue to deal with those

dentures in as fairer way as

possible and regardless of what

political -- tensions in a

straightaway as possible, regardless

of what political side they come

from. But my door is opened. If they

prefer not to approach me, they can

go to the secretary.

First Minister,

this was your opportunity to clarify

this situation. It looks as though

you've given two contradictory

answers. You say no allegations were

received but also that they were

issues and that you did deal with

them. I will ask you again, what

were the issues that were raised

with you and how did you deal with

them?

As I said, sometimes people

were unhappy with the way things

happened, people felt others were

more favoured, but that happens in

any organisation. I dealt with them

as and when they arose. When you are

dealing with the Cabinet, you have

people who are very talented, they

feel very strongly about what they

are promoting, and it is impossible

to reconcile these things when they

arise. If you ask is it the case

when cabinets are always harmonious

when everyone agrees all the time,

no, and it would be unrealistic to

say otherwise.

You are not answering

the question. There were specific

allegations about bullying which you

have denied yet you have said that

they were issues and you did deal

with them. You haven't explained to

us what those issues were. Or how

they were dealt with. Or whether or

not they were reports produced. Will

you now give us the clarity which

this Assembly deserves, explain to

us what issues were raised with you

back in 2014 and what exactly you

did to deal with those issues? If

they weren't issues of bullying,

that's fair enough, what were they

as Chamakh please be clarifying on

this now.

They were issues of

competing priorities, of people

feeling that some people were

listened to more than others, people

feeling that they want to see you as

First Minister to explain their

position. These are all the normal

processes of Cabinet government. It

would be very odd if any Cabinet was

in place when nobody ever disagreed.

It would be very odd if they Cabinet

was in place where people were in a

position where they didn't feel that

they wanted to make their views

known in a particular way. As First

Minister, that is the way I have

always dealt with government. We

delivered all our manifesto promises

in the years to 2016 and we are

continuing to deliver that now.

There are always tensions in any

Cabinet. Surely any party leader

will recognise that. What's

important is that patients don't get

in the way of good governance. --

tensions.

I am grateful for the way you have

engaged with the question so far

this afternoon in contrast with the

way you engaged last Wednesday with

the question I put you in the

topical questions. But there is this

issue where there are two narrative

is running here. There is the

narrative that you acknowledge, and

I was grateful for you acknowledge

and that in First Minister's

Questions last week, that you did

have issues raised with you in

November 2014 and you dealt with

them. Then there was the issue of

the written question that Darren

Millar put down and the difference

in the answer said there had not

been any issues at that time. Can

you understand how people can get

confused by those two answers? Were

issues of bullying raised

specifically with you in October,

November 2014, and did you deal with

them?

I will just repeat what I said

to make it clear. I'm aware of

comments that have been made in the

press. No specific allegation of

bullying was presented to me in

relation to those comments, formally

or informally. No evidence was given

to me, nor was the word bullying

used in that way. I can't go beyond

that other than to reiterate what

was said earlier.

I still lack an

understanding of how difficult it is

to answer this question. I put it

reasonably to you - were allegations

of bullying put to you? That is the

assertion that has been put by two

senior figures from your government

at the time and others. It is not

unreasonable for us to ask the

questions of youth is First

Minister, because the accusations

levelled at your office and your

role as First Minister. Can you be

crystal clear in confirming whether,

and I appreciate you have the

written notes in front of you, but

most people would remember if

specific allegations around bullying

were put to them to be dealt with. I

just want to be clear - were

allegations related to bullying put

to you in the time frame that has

been identified by your former

senior special adviser and your four

former cabinet minister?

There were

no specific accusations of bullying.

They were not presented to me. The

word was not even used in that way.

OK. There is going to be a motion

next week put before the assembly to

have an investigation into this.

People will have listened to the

answers you have given. I think the

two options I gave you were

straightforward yes or no answers.

You chose not to give a yes or no

answer. Is it the case that you will

be supporting the motion that will

come before the assembly next week

to allow detailed scrutiny of this

interest? There is huge particular

interest in this matter. There are

conflicting stories here. It is not

unreasonable to want to get to the

bottom of this and if we can't get

to the bottom of it in this

institution, then what is the point

of this institution? First Minister,

will you supporting the motion that

comes before the assembly next

Wednesday?

There are a number of

ways that this issue can be done

with. We reserve our position in

terms of the vote next week until we

have studied carefully the breath of

the terms of reference of that

motion. Nevertheless, I accept that

this is an issue that will need

further scrutiny. I am not afraid of

that scrutiny. It is a question of

finding out what is the most

effective way of that scrutiny being

exercised.

Leader of the Ukip group,

Neil Hamilton.

I hope the First

Minister will feel that he owes the

chamber a duty of candour on this

issue, but we will clearly get no

further on it today and will have to

wait till the debate next week to

make progress. I would like to turn

to another issue. The First Minister

said he would like to see air

passenger duty devolves to Wales so

that he could abolish it for long

haul flights. I welcome the First

Minister to the ranks of tax cutters

and tax abolishes in the assembly.

It makes a change from the other

taxes that he wants to introduce.

But this is of course a way of tax

avoidance that he is in favour of,

because it will give Welsh apples a

small but significant advantage over

airports on the other side of the

border in England which will still

have air passenger duty applying to

them. So can the First Minister

explained to me how it is that he

can reconcile his views on air

passenger duty with his other views

that the tax system should not be

used for tax competition within the

UK or with other countries?

Because

there already is tax competition.

Scotland already controls air

passenger duty. There is an element

of reduced our passenger duty in

Northern Ireland. It makes no sense

that Wales is denied the same

advantages as those elsewhere in the

UK. We have presented evidence to

the UK Government that makes it

clear that this is no threat to

Bristol. This is about developing

long haul flights from Cardiff. We

believe Cardiff is in a good

position to do that. And we want to

develop other regional airports to

link into Cardiff as a hub. The UK

Government have dismissed that

evidence without offering any

evidence of their own.

I hope the

First Minister doesn't misunderstand

me. I am in favour of what he

proposes and I am in favour of the

devolution of taxes to Wales so that

we can cut them up or abolish them

and give us an advantage over other

parts of the United Kingdom to

compensate for these Doric or

disadvantage is that we have to

fight against. -- to compensate for

historical disadvantages. But I am

interested in the inconsistencies in

the Labour Party's position. The

purpose of air passenger duty is was

originally to cut greenhouse gas

emissions, so abolishing it doesn't

fit with the other enthusiasm is of

the Labour Party in relation to the

protection of the environment. How

does the abolition of air passenger

duty on long haul flights, how can

it be reconciled with the Labour

Party's views on green energy and

the need to cut carbon emissions?

It

is simple. There are many people in

the south-west of England who are

travelling to Heathrow at Pleasant

to fly long haul flights. If they

travel a shorter distance, their

carbon footprint is lower. It makes

sense to put them in a position

where they are not increasing their

carbon footprint by giving them the

option to fly closer to home.

The

First Minister knows that is pure

sophistry. There is another aspect

which is worth considering. He will

have seen that Monsieur Barnier, in

his latest pronouncement about

Britain's future trading relations

with Europe said a couple of days

ago, there will be no ambitious

partnership without fair

competition, state aid and tax

dumping. Of course, tax dumping is

the way that French politicians

referred to tax competition between

nations and they are very much

against it. The whole trend of the

European Union is to harmonise taxes

so that there is no possibility to

do what the Irish have done in

relation to corporation tax, giving

them a significant benefit to their

economy. Does the First Minister not

see that leaving the EU does give us

the freedoms that we in Wales could

use to increase the output of the

Welsh economy and provide the Welsh

government with more money to

provide the other good public

services that we want?

That is a

naive approach, because as he knows,

if we are looking to export to

market and those markets feel that

we have unfettered competition, they

will impose tariffs against us. It

is not as if the UK has a free hand

in all this. The UK is a

medium-sized country. It is not in a

position to dictate terms of trade

to others. I refer him to what Aston

Martin said that we, that they hard

Brexit would cause them to stop

manufacturing cars. These are not my

words, they are the words of a

company which is a significant

employer in Wales and I suspect we

will see more of that, which is why

we need to understand where the UK

Government is, and we need to see

their plan. We are not in a position

where businesses can see that there

is a way forward by the new year,

and then I fear we will start seeing

negative announcement as far as the

economy of Britain is concerned.

What action will be Welsh government

take to increase the supply of new

houses during the fifth assembly

term?

House-building in Wales is a

priority for this government,

reflected by our 20,000 affordable

homes target. Statistics show an

increasing trend in the number of

new homes being completed, which we

will continue to support with our

successful programmes.

Last year,

the home builders Federation stated

that poor planning and the higher

cost associated with building homes

in Wales has compromised investment.

Now house-builders expressed concern

that the lack of detail over the

potential tax and vegan development

land could further discourage

investors from developing Wales.

Does the First Minister agree that

increasing the regulation on

house-builders will not increase the

supply of new homes that Wales

desperately needs?

If he is talking

about the sprinklers, can I remind

him that his own party didn't oppose

the introduction of the sprinklers

legislation. We always look to

strike a balance between appropriate

regulation... He was in a different

party at the time, that is correct.

So I have to revise the point I

made. He supported the sprinklers

regulation, I believe. We look to

drag a balance between appropriate

regulation when encouraging

house-building. We have made sure we

are not losing council houses

through them being sold, to make

sure they are kept in the public

housing stock. We have made sure

that there are options available for

people to buy houses that they would

not otherwise have. We have a good

record on housing and we are on

track to meet our target.

It is

important to address housing need, I

would argue, more than housing

demand. Housing need is the people

on lowest incomes who are not

recognised on the demand curve.

Local development plans hopelessly

failed to address housing need and

instead deliver expensive executive

accommodation in areas like

Caerphilly in my constituency. They

don't deliver affordable housing.

Will the First Minister accept that

more needs to be done to deliver

affordable housing and work with

local authorities and social

landlords to deliver it in the

northern reaches of communities that

I represent, and recognise that LBPs

are failing to do that?

Well, LDPs

have to be up-to-date. If a local

authority has a development plan

where the five-year housing supply

is no longer relevant, it is

important that there is a good

development plan in place. But it is

important to have a proper balance

between houses and the availability

of housing according to what people

can afford. That is why local

authorities can retain the money and

build new council homes. We have the

affordable housing grant, which

looks to help people to buy or get

accommodation that is affordable.

And of course, making sure people

don't become homeless in the first

place. We have to be successful in

that. But it is right that local

authorities should be aware of the

development plans and the need to

secure the right balance of housing.

It can't all be housing at one end

of the market, that is true.

I would

like to make a statement on cyclist

safety.

We have allocated thousands

of pounds to local authorities to

deliver cycle training to 15,000

people. We are also working with the

Department for Transport to review

the national standards for cycle

training over the next few months.

It is road safety week this week,

and we would commend all measures to

promote road safety. We in south

Wales also unfortunately have to

reflect on two fatal accidents in

October and we send our condolences

to the families of the victims. I

wonder if it is now time for a much

more integrated and ambitious

approach to these matters along the

lines that we see in the

Netherlands, Germany and Denmark,

where you have 20 mile an hour zones

in urban areas in much greater use,

clear designation of off-road and on

road bicycle paths, priority traffic

signals in key places. We really

need to have a joined up approach to

this important matter.

I agree. One

of the incidents he refers to

happened not long ago when I was

travelling on the same road. I

didn't see it. It is right to say

that great care needs to be taken

when cyclists and cars used the same

road. Colours of course have the

prime responsibility, to my mind, to

consider the safety of cyclists --

cars have the prime responsibility.

That said, if we are to encourage

more people to cycle, there will

always be people who are too nervous

to cycle in traffic. There are some

who are not, but others will say, I

would like to recycle more, but I am

not keen with mixing with cars on

the road. That is why we need

dedicated cycle lights. We have the

active travel infrastructure and we

are making funding available to

local authorities

are making funding available to

local authorities. There as the

active travel guidance to provide

clear standards that the

infrastructure must meet. We will be

updating the guidance to incorporate

best practice and the Cabinet

Secretary will make announcements

soon on the local transport fund for

the coming financial year.

Can he Rathbone.

I am delighted that

you mentioned the guidance because

it has been lauded by the Welshman

is a government -- Westminster

government. We have got these

excellent design guidance but what

monitoring has the Welsh Government

and of how much attention local

authorities are paying to the design

guidance when they are delivering

the active travel bans that they

need to deliver in order to address

some of the issues that David

Melding has raised around combating

the levels of accidents that happen

particularly at junctions.

Local

authorities must comply with the law

but as part of the updating of the

guidance that will take place, as

part of that guidance, we will have

an idea of what has been happening

around Wales in order for the

guidance to be strengthened. The

member is absolutely right to say

that we have the act in place but it

is important that it is observed and

there is still a great deal of scope

in many of our city and town centres

to do more when it comes to cycle

lanes, particularly. That is

something we will be considering.

Gareth Bennett.

There are issues of

cyclist safety, as have been raised

by the last two members, and we do

need to make steps to encourage safe

cycling. Unfortunately, when

cyclists come off the road and onto

the pavement, they can also become a

danger to pedestrians. In

Peterborough, the councils are

currently issuing notices which are

public space protection orders to

stop dangerous cyclists. 1000

cyclists have been fined in three

months. We do have powers to issue

these orders in Wales as well.

Should we encourage Welsh councils

to use similar notices to tackle the

growing problem of dangerous

cycling?

This is something I know

the UK Government is considering.

The current law dates back to the

furious driving of horses and carts

in Victorian times which has not

been updated. I do get concerned. It

is important for us to understand

that just like most drivers, most

cyclists are responsible cyclists

who are well illuminated as well at

night. But I have seen cyclists on

pavements, I have seen people

cycling at night with no lights and

they are invisible practically.

There is nothing on them that could

identify them to cars. I think what

is hugely important is that we

continue to emphasise that for

cyclists' own safety, it is

important that they have lights on

at night, they don't wear it

entirely dark clothing so they

cannot be seen, for their own safety

and to enable cars to see them. But

we are talking about a small

minority of people. There is a duty

on car drivers to consider the

safety of cyclists but it is

important as well that cyclists take

steps to ensure that they can be

seen.

Mark Isherwood.

How is the

Welsh Government maximising the use

of preventative services to help

vulnerable groups in Wales?

Prosperity for all sets out our

commitment to strong and safe

communities that protect and support

the vulnerable. What we look to do

is to tackle inequality and support

vulnerable people.

Housing related

support funded through the

supporting people programme and

delivered through the housing

associations and third sector bodies

has been improving lives and saving

significant sums for statutory

sector providers, health boards,

local authorities, for many years.

In your deal on the draft Bridget

with Plaid Cymru, you agreed you

would ring fence the funding for two

years, the £124 million, but a

letter to a local authority Chief

executives on the 24th of October

revealed that seven local

authorities will be given 100%

spending flexibility and the other

15 15% spending Flex ability across

supporting people and for other

non-housing related grants. How do

you respond to concerns that this

effectively removes the ring fence

in 2018-19, meaning that supporting

people funding is not guaranteed to

be protected at these levels and the

lack of existing budget line for

supporting people gives no

assurances that the funding will be

protected in 2019-20.

We expect

local authorities to comply with the

law and the housing Wales at says

that local authorities have a duty

to prevent homelessness and by and

large they have performed well in

lamenting that legislation. Progress

has not been as consistent as we

would like and we will continue to

monitor progress to make sure that

some progress continues in the

future.

Can I also support the

importance of preventative services

but across all of our public

services. For example, in one local

health board they have been piloting

free health checks for the over 50s

and as a result they are picking up

early signals of health problems

that allows for cost inventive

preventative actions. Will the First

Minister agreed that this type of

work is vital to improving our

health and wider public services as

well as ensuring the most effective

youth of public funds?

It is hugely

important we are able to do that. I

hear from the Conservative benches

that is not enough but after several

years of austerity they are no

position to criticise. If they are

so concerned about increasing

funding in every single area,

perhaps they could prevail on their

colleagues in the UK Government to

provide more money or to provide the

£1.67 billion equivalent that

Northern Ireland has had. They are

in no position to complain given

they are so ineffective at lobbying

their own colleagues in Westminster.

Will the First Minister make a

statement on the Welsh Government's

International policy.

The focus of

our international work is to create

a more prosperous and sustainable

Wales.

He is aware of my view that

there needs to be a new competitive

international policy for Wales that

income is everything from trade to

international development and I

believe that there are many lessons

we can learn from other substate

nations. I know he is reluctant to

do so at the moment because of the

ongoing uncertainty around our

separation from the European Union

but doesn't he agreed that as a

first step to a new copper rancid

international policy for Wales we

need to ascertain our country's

global reputation. -- a new

all-encompassing international

policy. Will the First Minister to

see Wales included on the global

brand indexed so that we have a

first step in to ascertaining our

global reputation that could then

inform the future policy of our

country.

We are not waiting to see

what happens with Brexit Indians of

developing our international policy.

We know we need to increase our

staff presence abroad, working with

the UK Government to ensure that we

can work with them. But I know that

we will need to increase our

presence in different countries

around the world and that work is

ongoing. I hope to be in a position

to make an announcement about that

in the very near future. Regarding

the brands index, we have taken part

in that survey in the past. It is

expensive. The question was, what

does it deliver for us? What I will

do is write to the member with more

details to inform you of the

reasoning of that decision in order

for him to understand why that

decision was taken and whether there

is scope to look at rejoining the

index at some point in the future.

Russell George.

I have just heard

your previous response. Do you agree

with me that we ought to be looking

at appointing trade envoys to boost

exports to countries outside of the

EU and that will of course raise

Wales' commercial presence and

international profile.

We look to

trade with any country we can around

the world within reason. But the

reality is that most effective

market is the European single market

and that can't be replaced

overnight. We constantly expect to

export dairy produce to the US

because of the issues that exist

there, nor should we try and ignore

our biggest market which is on our

doorstep. But it doesn't mean we are

not proactive in developing markets

elsewhere. The Middle East is one

example. The very fact that working

with the airport we have established

a link to the Ohio from next year,

the fact that we have been working

to gain investment from Middle

Eastern countries, we have a

situation where Welsh lamb is the

market leader in the United Arab

Emirates, something that I and the

Presiding Officer would fall for

that to happen. It is not the case

that we only focus on Europe but

Europe is our most important market

by far. It is not realistic to think

it can be replaced by anything else

in the short term.

Vikki Howells.

How is the Welsh Government

prioritising support for mental

health services in the name two

during this Assembly term?

It is one

of five priorities specifically

included in Prosperity for All. We

have provided an additional £40

million for mental health services

over the next two years. I am really

glad that quoting deliberate --...

We have the highest percentage of

people taking antidepressant

medication. I recently met with an

organisation that I have been

championing since I was elected as

Assembly Member for name two and

they are carrying out a pilot based

on offering alternatives to

medication but they are concerned

that funding for the project will

not be carried forward. Can the

Welsh Government commit to continue

funding for this project for an

adequate period to enable it to

promote a non-medication

alternatives. I can say that I do

understand that the health board is

working collaboratively with the

programme and my officials are in

discussions with the health board

over its ongoing work with the

programme. I hope that a resolution

can be achieved soon.

David Melding.

I was very pleased to hear that

Health Secretary, Cabinet Secretary

and Education Secretary announced

additional investment for services

in schools. I hope we will see some

of this benefit in places like

Aberdare.

Every secondary school has

a school counsellor but there is a

reluctance among some to go and see

that counsellor for fear that others

will find out. I think that is an

issue that... I am aware that that

is an issue. So being able to extend

the reach of services beyond its

traditional areas to do preventative

work is hugely important. Given the

pressures that teenagers are under,

when I was a teenager, what I

happened at school didn't follow you

at night to your home, but it does

now. I have seen it. The stuff on

social media. That is why it is so

important that we have a system in

place which is needed to provide

teenagers with support in school and

outside.

Will the First Minister

make a statement on local

development plans in North Wales?

There are five local development

plans that have been adopted in

North Wales and we expect two other

authorities, Wrexham and Flintshire,

to adopt their plans by the year

2020.

It is five years since the

planning Inspectorate insisted that,

or rather rejected Wrexham's bid and

told Denbighshire and Connolly that

they weren't sufficient housing in

their development plans. That

decision was based on the population

forecasts of the government but now,

of course, the sensors has

demonstrated that those projections

were erroneous and that we didn't

need to increase the number of

houses in those plans. The original

LDP was quite close to the mark in

terms of the numbers but the cost of

having to redo the LDP in Wrexham

alone has been over £200,000. So who

in your view should be compensating

Wrexham Council for that process for

forcing them to return and rerun a

process that was clearly

unnecessary, a complete waste of

time.

Well, there is a process

which, according to the law, has to

be followed. If I remember rightly

it is possible for local authorities

to bring their own figures forward

as regards to housing. If they

believe the target they have been

set by Welsh Government is

inaccurate. I believe that is still

true now. But Wrexham is in a

position, if I understand the

situation properly, where they are

targeting 2019 for the adoption of

that plan. It is important that they

do adopt the plans.

We have got

issues in Aberconwy now as a result

of your government's policy as

regards to this, where planning

officers are actually interpreting

that it has much stronger weightings

than any other of the tans. It is

not even in our LDP, some of the

land, and it is making a mockery of

the town council depositing its

money with the Welsh Government.

Will you look at this because it

really is impacting on our few

remaining greenfield sites. Frankly,

developers are looking to be able to

land bank, to the detriment of our

local communities. We haven't got

the health services or the education

facilities. The whole thing is a

fiasco and I would ask you, as your

responsibility as First Minister, to

really look at this and provide this

chamber with some ways forward.

Tan

one is being looked at the moment.

These are matters largely for the

council.

Tell your planning

Inspectorate that.

The council isn't

obliged to give planning permission.

They have to take responsibility

themselves for the decision they

take. However, she did mention tan

one and the Minister informs me that

it is being examined at the moment.

Paul Davies.

Will the Minister

outline what the Welsh Government is

doing to support the agriculture

industry in Pembrokeshire? For

example, thousands of people in

temperature are signed up to Farming

Commence -- Farming Connect to learn

more about the environmental

performance of their businesses. We

would still urge the United Kingdom

government to make sure they will

not be any barriers to the ability

of the farmers of Pembridge and

selling in the single market.

One

way to support the agriculture

industry in temperature is not to...

Given the negative impact that such

a quality could have on the

agriculture industry, can you give

us an update on Welsh Government

plans for nitrate vulnerable zones

in Wales and can you confirm that a

statement on this issue will be made

to this chamber and when will that

happen?

There were very many

representations made. Over 2500.

Sorry, over 250. I apologise. They

are very detailed and a summary of

all those will be published. The

review of this is statutory under

the nitrates directive. Of course,

that has to be considered in the

context of pollution as well so

striking the balance is what's vital

here and we must ensure that

everything that is done ensures that

we do strike that balance between

reducing pollution and of course

ensuring that any changes are not

excessive.

Simon Thomas.

Your

Cabinet Secretary for finance and

local government told the external

affairs committee yesterday that you

were close to agreeing a framework

for agriculture as we exit the

European Union. Farmers in

temperature and elsewhere will be

very interested in understanding

what that framework is and what that

agreement entails. When will we hear

those details rather than just

rumours in the committee?

Well, once

the framework is in place, I will

announce it to the Assembly. It is

no secret what our position as a

government is, namely that the

powers should come to the rightful

place, namely disassembly. And,

secondly, nothing should change

without an agreement to change. And,

thirdly, we must ensure the same

amount of money is available to make

the payments as at present is and

they should be made to the Welsh

Government in the same way as at

present. It would not be right if

those payments came through the

Barnett Formula. It would be a huge

cut to the budget. That is the

stance we have taken and that is the

stars that has steered us through

these discussions.

Thank you, First

Minister.

There we are, that was

First Minister's Questions.

Don't forget about the latest

edition of our new political

programme, Wales Live.

That's tomorrow evening over

on BBC One Wales at 10:30pm.

If you want more coverage

of the National Assembly

you can go online

to BBC Wales news' page.

But that's it for First

Minister's Questions.

From all of us on the

programme, goodbye.