Rebecca Evans: Well, I think this speaks, really, to a fundamental disagreement between ourselves and between our parties about the place of Wales within the UK, because this is, of course, a United Kingdom that allows us to pool the risks and to share the benefits. And it is the case that the approach to the devolution of welfare benefits in Scotland has transferred that risk associated with the demand of...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. The leader of the house, as the Welsh Government lead Minister for Better Jobs Closer to Home, has made repeated representations to the UK Government, and in particular the Minister for employment, both in writing and in person, setting out the Welsh Government's serious concerns about this proposal.
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for those questions and I couldn't agree more about the importance of having these kinds of jobs in our town centres, in terms of footfall in town centres and ensuring that we do have vibrant town centres. So, this news has come as a great disappointment. I completely agree with your comments about Better Jobs Closer to Home, and it's actually something that Julie James...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much, and, again, completely agree that we need people living and working in our town centres to ensure that they are very much vibrant places. So, again, I completely agree with those comments and concerns that you have raised, about the impact that losing so many jobs from a town centre location could have on the ability of small businesses, for example, in the area to remain...
Rebecca Evans: I think that finding alternative roles for people who have found that their jobs have been moved to a place that is just completely impractical for them to get to would be the very least that a responsible employer could offer. There are going to be certain transport challenges, no doubt, in terms of people getting to the new site in Treforest, which is one of the reasons why Julie James was...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for those questions and, actually, one of the deep ironies of this is the fact that some of the places where jobs will be moving from are actually strategic hubs within our Valleys taskforce. So, it is just a completely nonsensical argument that the UK Government is in any way trying to support what we're trying to achieve for our Valleys communities. You're right as well that the...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for that question. I'm not aware of any equality impact assessment that has been undertaken by the UK Government, but I'm sure that this is something that the leader of the house will be pursuing with them now that the news has finally become formal regarding the proposed closures and the move of jobs. I just give you a guarantee that we'll work across Government to see what...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for those questions. I will certainly give you an undertaking to explore, alongside the issue of the impact assessment that Jayne Bryant mentioned, the other impact assessments that you have suggested and also the costs of the move. Certainly, I'll work with Julie James in order to get the kind of information that we now require, and either I or Julie will write to Members...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. I do welcome this debate, and it was indeed a real pleasure to listen to. And I do wholeheartedly agree with you that Valleys housing is a heritage worth investing in and to be enthusiastically celebrated, as David Melding said.
Rebecca Evans: Our Valleys housing is an important legacy, one which we as a Government will continue to protect and enhance. It has its own special character, one that comes from the distinctive pattern of settlement, as David Melding described in his speech, and the architectural design of the houses themselves. Valleys houses are an important part of our heritage and a testament to the rich social and...
Rebecca Evans: Yes, of course.
Rebecca Evans: I completely agree that it is important that we encourage—well, more than encourage—we create the climate for SMEs to be able to build homes, which is one of the reasons we increased our property development fund under the Wales development bank from £10 million to £30 million. This fund is for SMEs to be able to access finance when they might not be able to access it from other sources...
Rebecca Evans: I didn't say that the UK Government was more able to administer welfare, I was saying the Welsh Government doesn't want to be administering the UK Government's Tory cuts.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'd like to thank Jenny Rathbone for bringing forward this debate today. Of course, I share her concern that everyone should have access to a good quality and affordable home, regardless of whether they buy or rent, regardless of whether their landlord is a social or private sector landlord, and regardless of where they live. The private rented sector...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. Dame Judith's report, although focused on England, provides a robust basis from which to work here. We've moved quickly to take this important work forward and I've today announced my intention to establish an expert group to develop the recommendations into detailed and practicable changes for Wales.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for those questions. I agree with you that the report is an extremely sobering read in terms of the changes and the breadth and depth of changes that we need to be making in terms of the regulatory system for high-rise buildings here in Wales. Although the report was very much focused at England, we take it very much in a Welsh context too, because of the very clear...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for those questions. You started off by saying that concerns weren't adequately addressed, and it's absolutely right; it seems that the concerns of the residents of Grenfell weren't listened to, and they were raising those concerns over a long period, which is why it's so important that, in the Hackitt review, the voice of residents comes through very strongly as...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you very much for that, and I would absolutely commend Newport City Homes on the work that it's undertaken immediately following the tragedy at Grenfell and since. They've taken robust action in terms of the building itself—so, introducing that sprinkler system, for example, but they've also been very clear in terms of tenant communication. I know that they knocked on every single...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Shortly before recess, I published the summary of the responses to our consultation on the park homes commission rate and outlined my intention to reduce the maximum rate. I am pleased to be able to provide Members with further details about the pace and rate of change and of the wider actions I propose to take to support the park homes sector. I'd like...
Rebecca Evans: The regulations to achieve this will be subject to the scrutiny of this Assembly by the affirmative procedure, and I will bring forward regulations at the earliest opportunity in the new year. I believe that this approach strikes a reasonable balance in protecting the interests of all parties. Reducing the commission rate gradually will help reduce the risks to the viability of some sites by...
