Carwyn Jones: Well, I know that the Cabinet Secretary has a very strong personal commitment to the pupil deprivation grant. She's already announced a doubling of support from £300 to £600 for the early years pupil development grant to eligible three and four-year-olds in the foundation phase, and it's a clear demonstration of our long-term commitment to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Carwyn Jones: We use evidence from a wide range of sources to shape our approach to delivering a fairer, more prosperous and more secure Wales.
Carwyn Jones: Well, we've done exactly that, of course, through the protections we’ve put in place for schools. We are seeing new schools being built across Wales—something that didn't happen when I was at school in the 1980s. Nothing was ever built in the 1980s; things fell apart. We see more and more of our school students in buildings that are appropriate for them. The Member is absolutely right:...
Carwyn Jones: The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure is currently considering the findings of his task and finish group on this matter. He will meet the chair and chief executive officer of the garden towards the end of this week to discuss those findings.
Carwyn Jones: The garden will receive £581,000 in revenue funding this year and £90,000 in capital funding. Having said that, it is important that the garden continues to consider methods of raising funds in a commercial way. This has been a problem since its inception because the garden hasn’t been able to raise sufficient income on the actions that they take there and the activities that are...
Carwyn Jones: Llywydd, at 9.15 a.m. on 21 October 1966, Wales changed forever. When the Merthyr Vale No. 7 tip slid through the mist of the morning in a 40-foot wave and engulfed Pantglas junior school and the surrounding buildings, it had a profound effect on the community, of course, but also on the wider world. My mother was a young schoolteacher, pregnant with me, when she first heard the news from...
Carwyn Jones: Diolch, Lywydd. Can I thank Members for their contributions to this debate and also acknowledge the ground that UKIP has shifted? I put that in terms that are entirely neutral for a party that, at one time, was not in favour of devolution. Today, we heard UKIP saying that the Bill was not sufficient and truly saying that this institution needs to have more clarity and more powers. And that I...
Carwyn Jones: This year we have supported a range of sporting and cultural events in mid Wales, including the Machynlleth Comedy Festival, the Hay Festival, the World Alternative Games, the Tour of Britain, and the Wales Rally GB.
Carwyn Jones: I can say that I am aware that a request for funding has been made to support the event next year and officials will be in touch with the organisers shortly.
Carwyn Jones: Well, of course, there are a number of organisations, such as Sustrans and the local authorities, working on the creation of cycle tracks. We’ve supported them in the past and we are looking to support other good schemes. Of course, we are also working with the mid Wales tourism forum and the councils of Powys and Ceredigion in order to develop these opportunities.
Carwyn Jones: The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 ensures everyone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless gets the help they need. Statistics show homelessness was successfully prevented last year for 65 per cent of all households threatened with homelessness.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I do oppose homelessness. Vagrancy hasn’t been a crime for a while. We’re not branding people anymore, as was the case many years ago. But the point is this: prevention is the key here, and the fact that 65 per cent of all households threatened with homelessness were helped before they became homeless is important. It’s hugely important to have social housing. That’s why, of...
Carwyn Jones: We have a successful record on that. If memory serves, some 6,000 homes have been brought back into use through the empty homes initiative. And the Member’s quite right to say that, whilst there are houses that are empty and people who need homes, then that situation needs to be rectified. And the fact that so many thousands of homes have been brought back into use is a sign of that.
Carwyn Jones: Well, consistency is important—that much is true. Of course, we want to see local authorities working together so that we can see the best practice possible in this situation. There is no doubt that the legislation has made a great different in ensuring that fewer people are facing homelessness, and in ensuring that they are not in a position where they lose the roof over their heads in the...
Carwyn Jones: Well, the question I always ask is what would legislation add—that’s an open question. And, as the Minister has already indicated, the door is still open in terms of consideration whether legislation would improve the situation for people.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the Minister has already said that the door is open. What needs to be examined is whether a law would make a difference. If there’s a law on autism, should there be a law on cancer, should there be a law on other services as well? That’s the balance that has to be struck. There’s no doubt we want to see an improvement in services provided to people. I know full well how difficult...
Carwyn Jones: Well, we need to consider further what a law would add, as I’ve said. I take the point about services improving. Money doesn’t necessarily follow the law; England, I think, offers plenty of examples of where that hasn’t happened. So, what we want to see is an improvement in services—that’s true—but further work needs to be done in order to examine whether a law would make the...
Carwyn Jones: The devolution of teachers’ pay and conditions offers us a great opportunity work with the profession in order to provide a comprehensive package of terms and conditions and pay. It’s exactly what the Scots have done and it’s exactly what we need to do in Wales, and get away from the idea that, somehow, Government and the profession have to be in conflict. I don’t see it that way, and...
Carwyn Jones: Not follow what the Government in London is doing, because, clearly, it isn’t working in terms of recruiting and pay and conditions. We want to make sure we have a tailor-made package for teachers in Wales, both in terms of training and in terms of the way that they develop in their profession. We’ve noted the approach that was taken in Scotland, and that is an approach that we will...
Carwyn Jones: I would be cautious about using the view of somebody who is clearly disgruntled, who has just written a book and wants to sell it, and is, therefore, making statements in order to sell that book. So, I don’t accept what Dr Philip Dixon is saying. I don’t think that the department has any kind of problem. We have seen, over the last few years, a consistent improvement in standards,...
