Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Llywydd. I’ve listened carefully to today’s debate, but the Government will be opposing both the motion and the amendment as laid. I must start by setting the record straight on the actions and powers of the Welsh Government, and some of the contributions that were made in the Chamber today. Responsibility for prisons lies with the UK Government. The Welsh Government was...
Carl Sargeant: The details around that would be a general principle that there are mitigation measures that all businesses can react to in terms of flood plains and flood developments, and it is certainly not unusual for us to provide opportunities of land usage for all businesses, as I said. That choice is by the developer then, if they wish to pursue to develop or otherwise. The Ministry of Justice...
Carl Sargeant: One second. The Government is not playing a role in developing the prison or a role in the community. We may comment on the proposals when they become available. Llywydd, we have granted the Ministry of Justice two licences to carry out work on that land. These include ecology mitigation measures and, again, this is normal practice. Developers want to know what the make-up of the land is...
Carl Sargeant: What I said was we have been asked by the Ministry of Justice to discuss an options agreement about the land, but we have not sold the land or discussed an agreement on the sale or the value of the land.
Carl Sargeant: No, we haven’t. I’m happy to take an intervention.
Carl Sargeant: Sorry, I think that the play on words or interpretation of what I said—. If I may clarify that position, as I have just done today, we have offered 20 sites across the south Wales region, as we would do for any business or any other developer. That is not unusual for the way Governments do business. I think—. Dai, did you want to intervene?
Carl Sargeant: Okay.
Carl Sargeant: Well, respectfully, these are matters for the Ministry of Justice. This is not in our ownership—[Interruption.] This is not our project. This is of the Ministry of Justice. What we do welcome is the Ministry of Justice’s intention—[Interruption.]
Carl Sargeant: I’m very grateful, Llywydd. I took about five interventions. We welcome the Ministry of Justice’s intention to hold a two-day community event that will give visitors and residents the chance to see and comment on the proposals before a formal planning application is made. And I’ve heard many contributions from Members in the Chamber this afternoon, which are all valid conditions around...
Carl Sargeant: Respectfully, to the Member, I think what we should remain to do is stick to the facts. We are making many assumptions about what’s happening here. The two-day event held by the Ministry of Justice with your community is an important process where you can ask those questions effectively, which, I hope, will be answered accordingly by the Ministry of Justice. Llywydd, the issue in regard to...
Carl Sargeant: I’m very grateful for your advice, Llywydd. Just in regard to the flooding issues, it would be up to the Ministry of Justice to make a case through a flood consequence assessment as that process moves forward. The motion and amendments, in different ways, invite you to endorse misleading accounts of the role and actions of this Welsh Government. We’ve not chosen the site. The proposal...
Carl Sargeant: Well, the Member clearly didn’t listen. You said earlier on that this isn’t about politicising this, which is exactly what you and your colleagues have started to do. This is—[Interruption.]
Carl Sargeant: I’m very grateful for your advice, Llywydd. The issue for us is if an offer comes into that land base, as I said during my contribution, it’s still open for offers from other businesses. We haven’t fixed an opinion on whether the prison should go ahead or whether other business should go ahead. That is completely normal business.
Carl Sargeant: Advice services are vital in helping those who are struggling financially as a result of welfare reforms. These reforms have hit hardest low income earners, families and those who are poorest. Welsh Government remains committed to ensuring that those who need advice can access high quality services.
Carl Sargeant: Housing is a key cross-cutting priority for the Welsh Government, which was reflected in the national strategy launched by the First Minister yesterday. Over the next year we will launch new schemes, invest in established schemes, respond to emerging priorities and continue our legislative programme.
Carl Sargeant: We will continue to provide funding of £16.8 million this financial year for an additional 500 community support officers in Wales. These CSOs contribute to the policing of our communities by being highly visible on patrol and providing reassurance to citizens in making our communities safer.
Carl Sargeant: Attacks on firefighters are sporadic but always serious. We, the fire services and the police are working together to tackle them. The number of attacks on firefighters has decreased from 64 to 39 over an eight-year period.
Carl Sargeant: The Welsh Government continues to support the implementation of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, which is the most progressive homeless legislation in the UK. We are already supporting local services through funding and guidance, and I will shortly be releasing a further £2.1 million to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness.
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Llywydd, for the opportunity to make this statement on the Regulation of Registered Social Landlords (Wales) Bill, which I introduced yesterday. This Bill addresses issues as a result of a classification decision by the Office for National Statistics. The decision to reclassify registered social landlords as public non-financial corporations effectively brings RSL private borrowing...
Carl Sargeant: The alternative is to take action to enable ONS to reverse their classification decision, which will maintain the current funding arrangements and this is why I have introduced the Regulation of Registered Social Landlords (Wales) Bill. ONS has made similar decisions in respect of social landlords in other parts of the UK. The Scottish Government has already introduced compatible legislation,...
