Carwyn Jones: Of course, one of the things that the Wales Act will give us is power over speed. On some roads, it would be worth, in my view, considering whether the speed should be reduced in order to safeguard cyclists. There is a risk in cycling, because, obviously, a cycle isn’t as large as a car, but, obviously, we don’t want people to be at an excessive risk. Others would not agree with me on...
Carwyn Jones: We believe that they should properly portray the diverse communities and culture of Wales. We did ensure that the new BBC charter included a much stronger public purpose to deliver that content.
Carwyn Jones: As we are reviewing the charter, the BBC will be obliged to reflect the diverse communities of Wales and the other nations and regions of the UK. It will now have to set out how it will develop upon those new duties, including improving services for Wales. It’ll be required to report in detail on how it’s doing that. That is a new development and one that we believe will help to stem and,...
Carwyn Jones: There is a problem in some parts of the BBC where there isn’t a great deal of understanding of Wales. One of the things that we have discussed with the BBC is whether we should have our own ‘News at Six’ and also our own ‘News at Ten’. This is something that we’ll have to consider ultimately as to whether this is something we would wish to see and how that should be done. It’s...
Carwyn Jones: It’s an important point that the Member raises. It is something that we’re considering at the moment. What I can say is that the Assembly will now have powers to scrutinise the BBC—it’s not happened before, of course—to call it to appear before the Assembly and to hold it directly to account, which puts it on a par with the UK Parliament. In terms of the issue that the Member...
Carwyn Jones: One of the things we’re doing, of course, is to create a minimum of 100,000 all-age apprenticeships during this Assembly term, and that will continue our focus on raising overall skills.
Carwyn Jones: It’s an issue that cuts across much of the work that we are doing. I know that the Minister has been involved in many discussions with the UK Government on this. It is an area where—. I don’t believe many businesses know about it, actually, because, when I’ve raised it with many businesses, they’re not aware that the levy is coming and what it would mean for them in terms of cost...
Carwyn Jones: This will be something that will be discussed during the preparations before the plan is published, but we wish to ensure those working with children when the children are at an earlier age have the skills required in order to ensure that the best pathway is followed by those children.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the intention is, of course, that it’s all-age. I think the question here is making sure that we work with those people who want to come back to work. Some might be retired. They may feel that they are financially comfortable. And, of course, for many people who are retired, they are the basis for the volunteers that we have across Wales. One of the issues that we face as a society, I...
Carwyn Jones: ReAct has been very, very successful, and it’s certainly—. The example that the Member has given illustrates that. From our perspective, we’ll continue to ensure that schemes like ReAct and others that have been so successful over the years continue to work for the benefit of people in terms of them acquiring the skills that they need to enter the workforce.
Carwyn Jones: Yes. Improvements to the planning system are being delivered through the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 and the wider positive planning improvement programme.
Carwyn Jones: Well, it will seek to ensure that—if we look, for example, at the local development plan process—that is done in suitable time. It will look at certain developments and remove them from local authorities in order for them to be considered more speedily, not in terms of less detail but in terms of them being considered in an appropriate timescale. Also, of course, it will ensure that, as...
Carwyn Jones: There is an opportunity, of course, for local authorities to produce their own figures, if there is evidence for doing that. So, where they say that the figures are incorrect, it is possible for local authorities to say, ‘Well, we have our own figures and they are figures that are supported by evidence. Therefore, these are the figures that we want to use’. Then it’s a matter for the...
Carwyn Jones: We already, of course, through the planning system, require developers to reserve a certain percentage of housing developments for affordable housing. One of the issues that we have to look at, I believe, is whether there is scope for intervening in the local market in the future in order to ensure that there is sufficient housing available, particularly in villages where, at the moment,...
Carwyn Jones: None, at the moment.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I don’t believe that the problem lies with the TAN. The problem lies with the boundaries, where we can’t deal with anything in excess of 350 MW—and in marine energy nothing more than 1 MW. Of course, TAN 8 was not considered by Ministers in London. So, it’s not the TAN that’s the problem but the artificial boundaries. We welcome the fact that 350 MW will be the boundary...
Carwyn Jones: Ireland is our fourth largest export market, with Welsh exports to Ireland worth just over £1 billion in 2015.
Carwyn Jones: There are a number of problems. I actually alluded to this before the vote. Nobody wants to see a hard border between Northern Ireland and the republic, but nobody at present knows how that can be avoided. If some kind of system was put in place where you had to show your passport to fly from Belfast to Glasgow or Belfast to Cardiff, the unionists, or the DUP and the UUP, would be completely...
Carwyn Jones: The metro phase 2 project has been estimated at £734 million and the final cost will be determined during procurement negotiations. Funding includes match funding from the European regional development fund that we expect the UK Government to guarantee.
Carwyn Jones: Given the Secretary of State for Wales’s enthusiasm for the metro, I would expect him to be able to demonstrate enough influence amongst his Westminster colleagues in order to deliver the £125 million worth of funding that we will lose as a result of the loss of European funding.
