Carwyn Jones: We continue to work with secondary schools and employers to help prepare young people for the world of work. This includes funding the Business Class project, delivered by Careers Wales in partnership with Business in the Community, which has established 81 school-business partnerships across Wales.
Carwyn Jones: As I understand it, Gwynedd and Anglesey have taken the decision to withdraw from offering work experience placements for pupils. In other parts of Wales, schools and local authorities have worked together to find new solutions in response to the change of services provided by Careers Wales in 2015.
Carwyn Jones: We encourage schools to look to create those links with employers. I think it is important for some youngsters to get that experience first in a more controlled environment that makes them more comfortable, and then, of course, look at getting work placements in the future. But there will be examples—the Member for Aberavon has already mentioned some—where schools are working proactively...
Carwyn Jones: Ddim o gwbl. Y cynghorwyr, yn fy marn i, sydd i fod i redeg awdurdod lleol, nid swyddogion, ta beth. Ond dim ond Gwynedd ac Ynys Môn sydd wedi cymryd y penderfyniad hyn. Rwy’n gwybod bod awdurdodau eraill yn edrych ar ffyrdd newydd i sicrhau bod yna lefydd ar gael.
Carwyn Jones: Most schools will want to do that anyway. As I said, most local authorities in Wales are working—and they’ve had plenty of notice—to see those links strengthened. They knew the changes were coming in 2015, but, despite that, of course, local authorities have been working proactively to maintain those links.
Carwyn Jones: We always look at good practice to see whether that practice can be extended across the whole of Wales. It’s right, of course, that young people have the opportunity not just to gain qualifications, but also to understand what the world of work requires and have a broad outlook on life. That’s what the Welsh baccalaureate is intended to deliver as well. But we always look at examples of...
Carwyn Jones: Well, the first stage of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 has been completed, and a number of active travel routes have been identified in Montgomeryshire.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I understand Powys will be launching the new Llanfyllin Safe Routes in Communities facility on Friday. That was made possible through allocated funding from the Welsh Government—an example of that funding being made available to Powys. The two Powys local transport fund schemes are at the top of our reserve list for 2017-18, as part of our wider work associated with the Newtown...
Carwyn Jones: The Member should not get the idea that there is a plan to merge Montgomeryshire with Carmarthenshire—at this stage. The point that the Member makes is important, and he has been consistent in his view that it’s absolutely crucial to promote cycling as more than just recreation—that it is seen as an integral part of the transport system, if I can put it that way. That’s what the...
Carwyn Jones: Well, what we do know from the election is the hard Brexit that is espoused and promoted by UKIP is dead. People were asked to vote on a particular version of Brexit—specifically asked to vote on that—by Theresa May, and she did not get that mandate. So, what happens next? We have put forward, together with Plaid Cymru, a White Paper that suggests a way forward as far as Brexit is...
Carwyn Jones: The greatest threat to people’s wages is continued austerity—that is the greatest threat. I wonder if he would make it clear what his position was on the minimum wage, for example—whether he supported its introduction by a Labour Government, and whether he supports the need for greater focus on policing the minimum wage, and whether he would see an increase in the minimum wage to the...
Carwyn Jones: First of all, again, he misses the point about border control. If you want to have border control, you have a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. There is no other way of doing it, unless you want to put British border agency officials in the Republic’s airports and ports, and that is a strategy fraught with problems, if I can put it diplomatically. That situation has...
Carwyn Jones: Yes, I am. There are issue that arise every year from the boards, but they’ve been given a three-year timescale within which to operate when it comes to producing their budget. But, of course, we would always want to see more funds made available to the Welsh budget through the ending of austerity in Westminster.
Carwyn Jones: Yes, they are. Four organisations out of 10 were unable to meet their three-year duty. We’ve been open about the particular challenges those organisations are facing, and it’s why they’ve all been escalated under our NHS intervention arrangements.
Carwyn Jones: No services have suffered as a result of these deficits. We have ensured that these organisations have sufficient cash to meet their normal commitments, and we manage their deficits within the overall health budget, subject to audit confirmation. The overall health budget was balanced in 2016-17. Now, through the intervention arrangements, we are working closely with those organisations to...
Carwyn Jones: One of the messages of the general election was that people didn’t want the Welsh Conservatives. I mean, I’m fairly surprised he actually raises it. I do wonder how much more he can take of being replaced as a leader on programmes, but he asked a question about cancer key workers. That is something that we’re still working towards to make sure that everyone has that key worker. He will...
Carwyn Jones: I believe I did give a serious answer, and like him, I’ve lost people close to me, and indeed, I’ve seen my wife deal with cancer. It affects so many of us, but the cancer implementation group, which is responsible for the delivery of the cancer delivery plan, has identified the key worker role as a priority. As such, work is being undertaken currently to develop a set of standards and...
Carwyn Jones: Well, I can’t go beyond the answer I’ve already given to him, namely that that work is ongoing. He asks the question, ‘When will that work be complete?’—I will write to him with a date on that—he’s asked me that specific question—but this is something that we want to see implemented in the future.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the zones have been set up in the majority of Welsh local authorities. We are committed to making our communities safer and I would encourage local authorities to continue to introduce ways to stop cold calling to protect the most vulnerable people in society.
Carwyn Jones: Well, we did provide funding in 2013 to increase the number of cold-calling zones in Wales. That’s helped to protect vulnerable people from scams. I know that some local authorities have also carried out that work. My own local authority in Bridgend, for example, ran a very successful campaign a few years ago informing people of what scams looked like—not just postal scams but online...
