Carwyn Jones: I regret the fact that the leader of Plaid Cymru didn’t listen to the answers that I was giving her, answers that I thought were reasonable and not in any way hostile. [Interruption.] And now she shouts. The point that I have made is that she and I are not very far away, but she must understand—I know she understands—that perception is important, and where people believe something to be...
Carwyn Jones: All social landlords, including Swansea council, are on track to meet the standard by 2020. The latest annual statistics show that in March of this year, 79 per cent of existing social homes now meet the standard—an 8 point rise over the course of the year—and nearly 18,000 households now live in better-quality homes than in the previous year.
Carwyn Jones: Yes, we’re very keen to make sure that more councils are able to build council houses, and we’re interested, of course, in looking at every innovative way to increase housing supply. The 20,000 affordable homes target includes local authority on-lending to housing associations to enable them to develop. The advantage of that, of course, is that the local authority can borrow from the...
Carwyn Jones: Of course. As a Government, we expect housing associations to ensure not only that they build, but that they maintain houses as well, and ensure that the houses are in a good condition. Sometimes, there are complaints. I’ve had the same thing as she has, and the complaints, in my experience, are dealt with in quite a fast way. But we are keen to ensure that the quality standards are put in...
Carwyn Jones: We expect the affordable homes target to be met in a variety of ways, whether that’s through local authorities, through housing associations, through partnerships, of course, between the two, and other ways, to see where it’s possible to intervene in the local market to make sure that there’s a sufficient supply of housing, particularly in rural areas. All these things are under...
Carwyn Jones: Rail infrastructure is not devolved. Following years of underinvestment, we are taking steps to address this where we can through our procurement of the Wales and borders franchise and the metro. But it’s true to say that the UK Government must do more to invest in Wales or devolve power and funding so that we can.
Carwyn Jones: Yes, the metro will be a mixture of light rail, heavy rail and faster bus services. There will be some lines that will be more appropriate for light rail than others. I need to add at this point that we have made absolutely clear to the trade unions that if we move towards light rail in some Valleys lines, that is not a reason to cut jobs or terms and conditions. We absolutely know that...
Carwyn Jones: I think it’s pretty fair to say that we’ve been relentless in that regard. We have 9 per cent of the track. We don’t get 9 per cent of the investment. Another issue that we have been pursuing with vigour with the UK Government is the situation that currently exists in the Wales Bill where it will not be open to the Welsh Government to consider a public sector agency to run the railways,...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. As I indicated in the Chamber last month, we do acknowledge the need for proper, safe and well-managed arrangements for this pension scheme. Pensions are not devolved, but we have pressed the UK Government on this, and we continue to do so.
Carwyn Jones: A letter was sent in June of this year to Amber Rudd. We were in contact with UK Government officials this morning. Their position is, essentially, unchanged. The difficulty is that the trustees haven’t raised any issues with the UK Government about wishing to change the current process. So, there’ll be a need to ensure that the trustees are happy with any changes as well as, of course,...
Carwyn Jones: There is a duty, I believe, on the trustees to make sure that they explain to the pension scheme’s members exactly what they are doing, so that members in the scheme feel content and feel that the scheme’s treating them fairly. So, there is an emphasis on them to do that, but we will, of course, continue to press the issue with the UK Government, as we have been doing since June, at the...
Carwyn Jones: Well, those inquiries were made this morning, as I’ve said. The UK Government has taken note of the view of this National Assembly. The particular arrangements that revolve around the pension scheme mean that, yes, indeed, it's right to say that the UK Government does get the benefit of any periodic surplus in the scheme funds, and we have made the point that we believe that that surplus...
Carwyn Jones: International connectivity via Heathrow is important to Wales’s economy. In early 2016, Network Rail consulted on plans to improve rail links to Heathrow. In response to this consultation, we welcomed the journey time reductions the proposed rail link would offer.
Carwyn Jones: Well, indeed. Heathrow is by far the busiest airport in the UK, and it'll continue to be that way. Its geography demands that it will be that way; Gatwick is just too far from most communities in the UK to get to the same level as Heathrow. But it's hugely important, building on the theme from earlier on, that people feel that there are viable and seamless public transport options for them....
Carwyn Jones: Well, we've looked at the memorandum, and I'm not sure exactly what it delivers, actually. There are words in it, but in terms of actions, it's not clear at all. I mean, it's not possible in terms of procurement to designate a certain amount of money for procurement to Scottish firms. That goes straight against the procurement rules. So, it's not entirely clear what it means. From our...
Carwyn Jones: Yes, through the development directive for arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, we continue to raise awareness and support people to reduce their risk of these conditions and, where they do occur, to assess, diagnose and provide ongoing care as locally and as quickly as possible.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I have to say, in 2015-16, where there is the latest available data, there were just under 94,000 rheumatology outpatient attendances across Wales; 24,000 were new attendances and the remainder were follow-ups; and 2,300 outpatients didn’t attend their appointment, which is never, obviously, helpful in terms of being able to organise the service. At the end of October there were 14...
Carwyn Jones: It is true that rheumatoid arthritis can strike anyone at any age. It’s not something to do with things wearing down but the body attacking itself—it is an autoimmune disease, therefore. We have to be careful here. I don’t want to see people having to come from Anglesey to Cardiff, for instance, to a national centre. So, the geography of Wales indicates to me that it’s important that...
Carwyn Jones: Much depends, of course, on the throughput of patients as to whether the unit could be specialised enough. It’s the old question we always face to be effective. But what I’ll do, both as far as the Member for Ynys Môn’s concerned and the regional Member, is to write with further details about paediatric rheumatology to explain why the situation is as it is.
Carwyn Jones: Well, job creation, closing the education attainment gap and improving skill levels are our key priorities and they represent the most effective levers at our disposal to tackle poverty in Wales.
