Carwyn Jones: Can I thank my friend and Member for the Vale of Glamorgan for her comments? We were promised that we wouldn't lose out on a single penny of funding, and that's a promise we intend to hold the UK Government to. I think one of the lost opportunities here was that the Prime Minister very much took the view before the general election that she was the one who would take this forward and did not...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. It was certainly very much an issue in the aftermath of the referendum that we saw a spike in hate crime. One of the things that I did was to go and visit communities around Wales—a Polish community in Llanelli, of course, and I went to a meeting in Swansea—just to reassure people that the Welsh Government and the people of Wales are welcoming, and that it wasn't the case, as some...
Carwyn Jones: We're delivering a range of actions, including the establishment of the Valleys taskforce, to support a stronger, fairer economy, and to allow businesses to develop, to grow and to prosper not only in Merthyr and Rhymney, of course, but across the whole of Wales.
Carwyn Jones: Well, that's a particularly tricky question that I've been posed there by my colleague, but I do thank her for her comments and, of course, what she has said. It shows our commitment to investing in all parts of Wales. We've seen a tremendous change in the economy of Merthyr and Rhymney over the past decade, I'd argue, with Merthyr now being seen particularly as a place of investment and...
Carwyn Jones: Well, there have been occasions, of course, when we've worked with the UK Government—the city deals are an example of that. But if we look, for example, at unemployment in Wales, it is at a level that is at the UK average. Economic inactivity is at a historic low, employment rates are at a historic high, 18,000 young people were able to benefit from Jobs Growth Wales, and, of course,...
Carwyn Jones: Officials are in regular discussions with National Grid on a number of issues, including the proposed north Wales connection project, which is currently going through the development consent Order process. The Welsh Government has submitted its representations to this process.
Carwyn Jones: I agree completely with that. One of the problems that we’ve had in Britain over the years is that no sufficient consideration has been given to ensuring that, if one project proceeds, another project can take advantage of that. One is the Severn bridge and the fact that only cars can cross the bridge. There’s no rail deck there. But, with the Menai crossing, I think it would be important...
Carwyn Jones: Well, can I thank the Member and others for their kind wishes? I think I have taken 320 First Minister's questions and been asked 3,000 questions and more. I'll leave others to judge whether I answered most of them, indeed, any of them. I'm sure everyone will have their view on that. I am aware, of course, of the press speculation regarding Hitachi's investment. It is press speculation. It...
Carwyn Jones: Well, you always learn. You always learn. There is never a time when you know everything, clearly. What advice would I give to my successor? I've said it before: it's hugely important to balance the job against your life, because it's important to have time to think, and working day and night every single day is not a good way and not a sustainable way of working. But it's been a great honour...
Carwyn Jones: Well, he will know, of course, that the manifesto commitment that we gave as a party in 2016 was that we would not change the rates of income tax. But, of course, we have ensured that we have pushed forward with a fairer society. He mentions the fact that fewer people pay tax, but we still have poverty, we still have people using foodbanks—we have people in paid work using foodbanks. That's...
Carwyn Jones: Well, that's very kind. The one thing I will say—just to pull his leg—is I think that's the first time in four FMQs that he hasn't used the word 'shambles' [Laughter.]. But I do thank him very much for his words. He will know, of course, that robust debate is necessary in this Chamber. We, all of us in this Chamber have a different view of the world and it's in this Chamber that that...
Carwyn Jones: It was crucial to secure the jobs of the Tata Steel workers, and I’m extremely proud that we did that. It’s also important that you can attract investment from abroad and from the rest of the United Kingdom, and we’ve been very successful in doing that. If I understand it, the point the Member is making is what therefore are we doing for small businesses and what are we doing to promote...
Carwyn Jones: Well, first of all, I can point to what we’ve done to secure a reduction in child and family poverty, for example, and what we're doing with with childcare. It’s very important to very many families, but, of course, we’ve no control over the welfare system or the taxation system. The period of austerity has had an impact on families, of course, and we’ve seen a change in the credits...
Carwyn Jones: Well, of course, mischievously, there is a temptation to commit to anything in your last FMQs, but I better not do it. [Laughter.] The Carmarthen-Aberystwyth line is a project that is close to my heart, though clearly there is an immense cost. The line itself mainly was taken up in 1975, although a section of it was out of use from the 1960s onwards, and there are significant gaps in the...
Carwyn Jones: Ten. [Laughter.]
Carwyn Jones: I think the one challenge that is left, and I’ve said this publicly, is local government. I do think that we’re not there in terms of local government. It’s a matter, of course, for the next Government to decide how to take things forward, but we know that regional working has been hugely successful, and we cannot take a back step when it comes to that. We’ve seen the results in...
Carwyn Jones: Well, as I said in the programme, what counts for any policy or any legislation is that they will be noticed positively by people out there. Of course, the process of honing that legislation is important, but the public don't notice it. What is important is that, when we do something here, people say, 'That's made a real difference to our lives.' Now, I'm not going to go through a list as I...
Carwyn Jones: As set out in 'Taking Wales Forward' and our national strategy 'Prosperity for All', support for children and families across Wales is a priority. It's exemplified, of course, through programmes such as Flying Start and Families First, alongside our childcare offer and the 'Parenting. Give it time.' campaign.
Carwyn Jones: Can I thank the Member for raising the issue of the WAVE Trust? I do support the work of organisations like the WAVE Trust. Of course, they are committed to eradicating child maltreatment. Like many other third sector organisations operating across Wales, the trust's approach complements a number of programmes that we currently run and are developing, for example Flying Start and Families...
Carwyn Jones: Can I thank the Member for his comments? Of course, it is right to say that when politicians are off to spend more time with their families it's a euphemism for being sacked. [Laughter.] So, hopefully that's not the case yet today. Of course, if we look at the Families First programme, we've invested over £290 million in that programme since it was introduced. That is designed to provide a...
