Carwyn Jones: There are elements of—. There are issues of productivity for the whole of the UK and Wales is no exception in that regard. We have a legacy from the 1980s and 1990s of an economic policy that got rid of well-paid jobs and instead put in place jobs that were amongst the lowest paid in western Europe at the time. That’s not the economic policy that anybody—he or I—would want to see in...
Carwyn Jones: I caution the Member to look at a quarter as being particularly representative. It’s better to look at the longer term trend. So, for example, if we look at unemployment and employment rates in Wales, we see a trend that’s been in place for more than a year of unemployment dropping. You can’t take a quarter and say, ‘Well, that’s typical of the economy in terms of the trend.’ In...
Carwyn Jones: Since the mid-1970s, the EU has played an important role in protecting working people. Every worker is protected by a range of rights relating to health and safety at work, equal opportunities for men and women, protection against discrimination and, of course, the harmonisation of working conditions across Europe, so that one country doesn’t have an advantage over another simply because...
Carwyn Jones: Not the last three, if I can say that. These people are of a tradition that demands that there should be greater flexibility, as they see it, in the labour market, which means that it’s easier to sack people, casualisation, zero-hours contracts. So, no, I don’t share any kind of faith that they will be there to protect workers’ rights. We know, particularly from the economists who...
Carwyn Jones: Well, I’m a head of Government here, so no, I fully accept that we can form a Government here in Wales and, indeed, in the UK. But, the question is not an either/or, is it, because the trade unions have been working with their colleagues across the rest of Europe to ensure that there are common standards of working rights across all European countries. And that’s the way it absolutely...
Carwyn Jones: I met the First Minister of Scotland and the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland at the British-Irish Council in Glasgow last Friday, which was also attended by the Taoiseach, Ministers from the UK Government and the Crown dependencies.
Carwyn Jones: I believe that there were two who were in favour of withdrawal from the European Union: the representative of the United Kingdom as it stands at present and the First Minister of Northern Ireland, who’s said that publicly. The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey were extremely concerned about the impact on them because, in the Isle of Man, for example, they have an economic pact with the...
Carwyn Jones: I appreciate that, of course, and these are issues that we are examining. He asked particularly about the British-Irish Council; the British-Irish Council doesn’t decide common policy, but it’s a useful place to understand what others are doing. It’s a kind of mini European Commission—it’ll be abolished next week, now, you watch, now I’ve said that. It’s a body where Governments...
Carwyn Jones: Thank you, Llywydd. May I therefore formally move the motion?
Carwyn Jones: The answer is ‘no’, because, of course, as Counsel General, the Member would not be involved in any legal process regarding Orgreave. That’s a matter for the UK Government and not the Welsh Government.
Carwyn Jones: Over 99 per cent of eligible farm businesses have been paid.
Carwyn Jones: I repeat again the answer I gave to the original question: over 99 per cent of eligible farm businesses have been paid—have had a basic payment scheme payment. If there are individual farms where there are difficulties, the correct thing to do is to raise those difficulties with the Minister, so that they can be looked at for those individuals. But we consistently outperform England and...
Carwyn Jones: May I ask the Member to write to me with more details? Of course, we have been following the regulations that exist at present and, of course, we have been paying farmers much more quickly than is the case in Scotland or England. But as regards the details of the individual farmers, I’d be pleased to receive a letter in order to consider exactly what’s happened.
Carwyn Jones: Seventy-eight Syrian refugees were resettled in Wales at the end of May and we would expect more to arrive in Wales over the coming months.
Carwyn Jones: I can inform the Member that the ministerial Syrian refugee taskforce, as she will know, was established in November 2015. That is supported by an operations board. There is a children’s sub-group of that operations board, and that will ensure co-ordination of new schemes to take refugee children from the middle east and north Africa, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from camps in...
Carwyn Jones: There is no doubt that our nation is divided, and it’s important that that cohesion is re-established. I don’t believe that division has suddenly appeared. I don’t believe that, suddenly, people have changed their minds in terms of the way they perceive others. There will always be a small minority who feel that way—that’s true of almost every country in the world, unfortunately....
Carwyn Jones: Yes, the faith communities forum has been hugely useful in terms of identifying problems as they arise, and also planning for the future. And it’s a true example of those from many different faiths working together in the common interest of promoting the welfare of humanity, if I can put it that way. It’s a forum that works very well, and I look forward to it continuing in the future.
Carwyn Jones: There are 78 of them—it’s not a substantial cost, and we expect those costs to be met in whole or part by the Home Office.
Carwyn Jones: Well, it’s not the ground that I would have chosen, or the timing—I told the Prime Minister that. But it’s important that we’ve had the referendum, and the result is now known.
Carwyn Jones: Well, that’ll be part of the debate later on. But, I can say that the outcome is impossible to model. We have no idea what the final deal will look like. Until we have an understanding of that, do we know whether there’ll be access to the single market? We know that the people of Wales voted to leave the EU. Beyond that, we don’t know what kind of model we’re going to get in two...
