Carwyn Jones: Yes. Local authorities are expected to comply with the principles of the Wales procurement policy statement to help maximise the economic benefit of procurement for Wales.
Carwyn Jones: He raises an important point on behalf of a business in his community. If he would write to me with further detail then I’ll give it, of course, the attention to detail that the question deserves.
Carwyn Jones: Of course. I know those local authorities, some have been better than others over the years: Carmarthenshire, for example, historically, has been very strong when it comes to procurement, at one point employing seven professionals just in the one county. Other local authorities have not been as proactive in terms of employing procurement specialists. We would expect the public sector in...
Carwyn Jones: It’s absolutely right that local authorities should look at un-bundling contracts; that was one of the problems years ago where local companies could not bid. We saw it in the health service where there was a combination of trying to get in big suppliers and, at that time, Welsh suppliers weren’t in a position to supply the health service; they were unable to. That was resolved. Far from...
Carwyn Jones: I think I’ve answered part of that question, but she needs to be careful about what she wishes for, because it would also mean that companies from Wales and the rest of the UK would be blocked from bidding for contracts in the much larger market of the European Union, which is not something that we would want to see. That said, it’s hugely important that we can develop a procurement...
Carwyn Jones: I thank the Member for the question. Bridgend is a popular reference point this afternoon I can see, but I’m glad to hear what she heard earlier on today. The point she makes is an important one. Fruit and vegetables are difficult; we don’t produce that many in Wales. We probably couldn’t supply all our schools in Wales because of the nature of our topography and our climate; we tend...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. We’re committed to supporting public libraries as we recognise the vital contribution they make to the well-being of people in Wales. Since 2007, we’ve invested some £14 million to modernise over 100 community libraries, including £1 million to modernise and co-locate six libraries in the course of this financial year.
Carwyn Jones: These are issues that are still being considered by the Minister. Of course, it happens digitally already, in terms of digital lending, where many, many local authorities participate in the one central resource, but the work is still being looked at to see whether an all-Wales library card to borrow physically would be workable. I suppose from the local authority’s point of view, they would...
Carwyn Jones: Of course, the local government funding formula has been agreed with the Welsh Local Government Association; there are no plans, currently, to instigate a widespread review of that formula, because inevitably, there will be winners and losers.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I think I answered that question in terms of what we’ve done to help 100 community libraries. She will be aware of at least two new libraries that have opened in the area where we both live—in Bridgend and in Pyle. They’re relatively new facilities that have opened in the past few years, which the local communities are very proud of. They are examples of libraries that have been...
Carwyn Jones: Absolutely, and we would seek to point them towards others who have run libraries successfully, and help in terms of working with third sector organisations and the advice that they can give. We’ve seen many, many groups—it’s been mentioned twice now in the Chamber—that have taken over libraries, have taken our advice and are making those libraries a success.
Carwyn Jones: Since the recent closure of Lewis Coaches, we have been working closely with local authorities to ensure that key bus services to west Wales are reinstated as quickly as possible.
Carwyn Jones: We expect the service to be reinstated within weeks. I remember the TrawsCambria service in the 1980s and went on it a number of times, but there is a long-term question here. This Assembly will receive powers over buses in 2018. You, just as I have, have seen a number of bus companies going to the wall, and that is not sustainable. After the restructuring of bus companies in 2018, we hope...
Carwyn Jones: We are considering, as part of the budget process, what’s appropriate in terms of the bus services support grant. What is clear, however, in the answer I gave earlier—. I have been in this Assembly for 17 years. Many, many times, bus companies have collapsed and their services have had to be replaced. The question must be asked as to whether that’s a sustainable system, to have bus...
Carwyn Jones: Something close to my heart, in principle, and others’; I know that. The Carmarthen-Aberystwyth line disappeared as a passenger line in 1964. It was in place, in the main, until 1975. I remember trains coming through Bridgend station having come down from Aberaeron and Newcastle Emlyn on the spur, carrying milk in those days. In an act of utter stupidity, the line was taken up very, very...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. We have seen some real progress over the last few years. We are seeing a downward trend in new TB incidents. The latest statistics show that, in the last 12 months, there were 740 new herd incidents reported in Wales, compared with 884 in the previous 12 months. That’s a decrease of 16 per cent.
Carwyn Jones: It would be for the Minister to make that statement, and she will be keeping the Assembly informed of that. But, as I said, the number of breakdowns has gone down. Testing is up. We know that there are no difficulties in terms of international trade, as far as bovine TB is concerned. In fact, the eradication programme, which is jointly owned by England, Wales and Northern Ireland, has...
Carwyn Jones: One of the things that I know about England, as I remember, during the Krebs tests, was that things worsened because of the fact that they were culling the badgers from the centre outwards. Of course, with perturbation, the disease was spreading because of that. I know that many people think that there’s an easy solution to TB and that if you cull, eradicate or get rid of the badgers, then...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. We’re on target to deliver the devolved Welsh taxes, and collection and management arrangements. From April 2018, we will be able to do so, but that will depend, of course, on the agreement of a fiscal framework for Wales, which is hugely important.
Carwyn Jones: There will be a communications plan, as ever. We did this, of course, with the human transplantation Act—and we saw the effects of that—where the vast majority of people were aware of the legislation and aware of its contents. The Welsh Revenue Authority will be hugely important, of course, in terms of being able to collect a tax that is fair, robust and, above all, can be collected and...
