Carwyn Jones: Well, we’re open to any suggestions. What’s important, of course, is that any medical school can give the full opportunity of training to a student—this is one issue, of course, that has been raised before: if this can be done in Bangor. It’s not entirely in our hands. The deanery, of course, will have a view on that, as would those responsible for medical training more widely. It’s...
Carwyn Jones: We are taking a number of actions to improve all modes of transport provision in the north, and the planned metro north Wales project will bring further improvements.
Carwyn Jones: It’s difficult, of course, to draw an absolute line, given the nature of the Wales and borders franchise. What I would not agree with is one suggestion that did come from the Department for Transport that any service that terminated in England should be run from England. That would mean that literally no service running across anywhere in north Wales, except the Conwy valley line, would be...
Carwyn Jones: Well, I believe that I answered that in the answer to the last question.
Carwyn Jones: But that is the responsibility of local authorities, not the Welsh Government. But, on a broader point, it is crucial to ensure, and it will happen, that this Assembly has the responsibility for bus services. For example, for many years, of course, a traffic commissioner based in Birmingham was regulating Wales, and that isn’t right. In getting those powers, it’d be easier for the...
Carwyn Jones: The founding principles of the NHS—to provide health services that are comprehensive, free at the point of delivery and based on equity and equality—remain at the heart of the health service in Wales.
Carwyn Jones: I can give that commitment 100 per cent. We know that where markets have been introduced in the NHS elsewhere they have led to waste and inefficiency.
Carwyn Jones: Diolch, Lywydd. It has been nearly three months since the European referendum and, while many large questions remain unanswered, it is possible to see more clearly some of the challenges that must now be faced both by the Welsh Government and the UK as a whole. The day after the referendum, I identified six key priorities for Wales. They were: protecting jobs; full involvement for the Welsh...
Carwyn Jones: There are a number of questions there from the leader of the opposition. Yes, it was my demand that the BIC should meet before—I made this demand before the referendum itself, when the BIC met in Glasgow, that we should have an emergency BIC as soon as possible, as soon as practically possible, after the referendum result, and that’s exactly what happened. Different Governments are in...
Carwyn Jones: There were a number of questions there from the Member. First of all, in relation to the Treasury’s announcement, what they have said is they will fund any projects signed off before the statement. There is a debate going on at the moment as to what ‘signed off’ actually means. So, it’s not hugely clear what the cut-off date is, although it’s clear what the commitment is. When he...
Carwyn Jones: Well, yes, I accept the point about looking at the opportunities. There are opportunities with regard to state aid, potentially, for example. If we’re not part of the current structure then, of course, the constraints that are there now are no longer there—that much is true—but we can’t ignore the risks and think that they’ll happily go away. He mentioned some of the directives that...
Carwyn Jones: I’m not sure they are deliberately open. I think they’re being kept open because of the situation in Scotland, but I certainly hope that they remain open for as long as possible.
Carwyn Jones: There’s no barrier to expressing different opinions; I’ve already done that on many, many occasions, so I can assure the Member that is the case. In terms of the four nations, what isn’t possible—certainly the indications show it—is that there is any way in which, for example, Scotland can have a different relationship with the EU whilst being outside it compared to the UK as a...
Carwyn Jones: No, not any more than I think there should be another referendum on devolution.
Carwyn Jones: I think it’s inevitable that free movement of people is controversial. I think it would be difficult to suggest that people voted in favour of free movement of people—seeing as I heard it so many times on the doorstep—as they voted to leave the EU. Part of the problem is we can’t have an exhaustive list of why people decided to leave the EU. I hear what Plaid Cymru say, but you have...
Carwyn Jones: I think the Member has to accept her party did not win the election. They’ve already lost one Member in record time. Frankly, I’m not going to be lectured by a party not all of whose Members actually live in Wales—talk about commitment to our country. There are people who don’t live in our country, and yet still want, apparently, to have to be paid to do so. That’s just totally...
Carwyn Jones: He’s now saying he doesn’t want interference from Brussels, but that there should be interference from London. I mean, where does that leave Welsh farmers? The reality is that we have an entirely different system of payment and a different computer system. Trying to bring four systems together—good luck with that one. We, for a long time, have said that we will tailor our policies for...
Carwyn Jones: Diolch, Lywydd. I'll try to add something different to a debate that's been running since yesterday afternoon and run again in an earlier debate in the Assembly. I listened carefully to what Neil Hamilton had to say. The first point that has to be emphasised is that nobody is arguing that tariffs should be imposed, but he places faith in German car manufacturers. I have to say to him that the...
Carwyn Jones: I’ll send the message now in terms of the dialogue: we want to see our funding guaranteed post the autumn statement as per the promise that was given by those who wanted out of the European Union. I warned at the time that we would end up in a situation where the Government in London would act as a brake on funding that comes to Wales automatically. Not even UKIP, in fairness, are in that...
Carwyn Jones: And that’s what makes it more complicated, which is why, of course, we had, for example, the British-Irish Council meeting here in July, something I demanded, in Glasgow, because we know there are other administrations that face the same dilemmas. Yes, we are in a different position to Scotland, but I don’t think Scotland fully understands where it wants to go next. Scotland, it’s no...
