Carwyn Jones: Yes.
Carwyn Jones: His observations are quite correct. I can’t explain their reasoning, but certainly it is right to say that there is no—. Despite what they have said in public, there is actually nothing in writing in the Bill that suggests a temporary basis for what they are proposing, and that, of course, is of great concern to us. The UK Government will argue that this does not constrain our freedom to...
Carwyn Jones: No, that would cut across what we’ve always said, which is that the powers should come to Wales and then all Governments should agree that those powers should be frozen, but, by consent, until such time as new frameworks are developed. The key principle here is consent, not imposition. So, ‘no’ is the answer. It wouldn’t be sufficient. The joint ministerial council, whose job it is to...
Carwyn Jones: Thank you, Llywydd. Listening to Simon Thomas there, he gave some very concrete examples of what can happen—what will happen, indeed—if the Bill remains as it is. Much of what the Bill contains, I would agree with. Much of what Mark Isherwood said I agree with, in terms of what he was advocating: namely, no change; certainty—I agree with; making sure that there is not a sudden change...
Carwyn Jones: We welcome all contributions to this important consultation. We have already received over 700 responses and these will be used to ensure any future legislative change is the most effective it can be for the people of Wales. The consultation will run until the end of this month.
Carwyn Jones: Well, we want that to continue, of course, and that’s why it’s so important that Powys and other CHCs respond to the consultation, so that we can take forward legislation with the broadest consensus possible.
Carwyn Jones: We have to remember, of course, that CHCs are not an inspectorate. We have a health inspectorate that does that. They have a role, of course, in terms of acting as patient voice and in many other ways. I can say to Members that there has been a very positive meeting with the CHC board. There’s a lot of common ground in the White Paper itself. There are some issues that will need to be...
Carwyn Jones: Our £3 million investment in the new hospice in Malpas that opened last week demonstrates our commitment to end-of-life care in the south-east of Wales. The updated end-of-life care delivery plan, published in March 2017, also sets out the actions we are taking to deliver a collaborative approach to improving end-of-life care throughout Wales.
Carwyn Jones: Yes. It’s an excellent example of partnership working, because the investment has enabled the St David’s hospice care team to deliver a palliative care model that is universally recognised as being a good example of first-class care. Now that the new building is complete and open, the charity, of course, will now be able to support more people who need their help at the end of their...
Carwyn Jones: The Member raises an important issue. It was remiss of me not to congratulate him, of course, on his recent wedding, and his dedication in coming back here. I believe that was not a choice he faced, but, nevertheless, he is here. But my congratulations, obviously, to him and his new wife. Motor neurone disease is a devastating illness. It is usually very progressive. Sometimes, it moves more...
Carwyn Jones: No. Ron, of course, had the opportunity to shape the direction of the National Assembly, but we know, of course, his unfortunate story. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved over the past 20 years. When I look back at what Wales was like in the 1990s: a country lacking confidence, where young people wanted to leave, a country that really had no strong profile abroad—that wasn’t happening....
Carwyn Jones: Well, far from it—I don’t think Scotland is the Shangri-La that is portrayed. There have been real problems in the Scottish education system. There are still issues over the attainment gap, which we have closed and they have not. If we look at health, and we look at the 1990s, it was normal in the 1990s, in the days of a Tory Government, for people to wait two years for an operation. That...
Carwyn Jones: Well, it’s not me she wants to convince; it’s the electorate, and she’s not convinced them of that. There’s no point complaining to me about the lack of success of her own party. I do not accept there’s a gap between us and Scotland. I don’t accept that there’s a gap between us and Scotland in education. Scotland’s unemployment rate is regularly higher than ours. It’s not as...
Carwyn Jones: It’s a complicated picture, and I understand the grief that the family has faced. There were three allegations; that’s correct. No action was taken by the police with regard to those allegations, and so no criminal proceedings were taken. That said, it is highly important that there is an investigation by Healthcare Inspectorate Wales into not just the lessons that can be learned, but the...
Carwyn Jones: It is absolutely crucial that the investigation is independent. It’s not for me then to tell Healthcare Inspectorate Wales what they should and shouldn’t do, but I think it’s proper for me to say that I would expect them to gain as much evidence as broadly as possible in order for their final findings to be as robust as possible.
Carwyn Jones: The answer to the question is ‘yes’, of course. We want to make sure that the investigation itself is (a) independent and (b) robust. I’m not sure whether he is saying that, in the past, not enough people were interviewed, or whether that’s happening now, but whichever way, I’ll make sure that that is looked at to make sure that that issue is dealt with. But it is obviously...
Carwyn Jones: Immigration should be tailored according to the needs of the UK. Targets—. It is artificial. What is the point of targets? Let’s examine that situation. Let’s say, for example, we wished to recruit more doctors to the Welsh NHS but were told, ‘Sorry, we’ve reached the quota for this year’. That’s nonsensical. Why on earth would that be a sensible policy for any Government to...
Carwyn Jones: I think the game was given away by the leader of UKIP when he said that immigration is something that we suffer. I have to say to him that the proportion of EU citizens in Wales is very, very low—well below 5 per cent of the population. It is the case that people work in Wales; that’s true. But he needs to speak to businesses, who will tell him that they need to be able to recruit people...
Carwyn Jones: First of all, I am surprised to hear him say that he did not stand as a Conservative candidate in 1997 on a manifesto commitment not to oppose a minimum wage. I seem to remember that that was the case at that time, conveniently forgotten now. Secondly, as he knows full well—or is being mischievous—the Welsh Government is not the prosecuting authority when it comes to minimum wage...
Carwyn Jones: They have not wished to have any discussions, though we have sent them the document.
