Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'd like to thank Jenny Rathbone for bringing forward this debate today. Of course, I share her concern that everyone should have access to a good quality and affordable home, regardless of whether they buy or rent, regardless of whether their landlord is a social or private sector landlord, and regardless of where they live. The private rented sector...
Rebecca Evans: I didn't say that the UK Government was more able to administer welfare, I was saying the Welsh Government doesn't want to be administering the UK Government's Tory cuts.
Rebecca Evans: Yes, of course.
Rebecca Evans: I completely agree that it is important that we encourage—well, more than encourage—we create the climate for SMEs to be able to build homes, which is one of the reasons we increased our property development fund under the Wales development bank from £10 million to £30 million. This fund is for SMEs to be able to access finance when they might not be able to access it from other sources...
Rebecca Evans: Our Valleys housing is an important legacy, one which we as a Government will continue to protect and enhance. It has its own special character, one that comes from the distinctive pattern of settlement, as David Melding described in his speech, and the architectural design of the houses themselves. Valleys houses are an important part of our heritage and a testament to the rich social and...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. I do welcome this debate, and it was indeed a real pleasure to listen to. And I do wholeheartedly agree with you that Valleys housing is a heritage worth investing in and to be enthusiastically celebrated, as David Melding said.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for those questions. I will certainly give you an undertaking to explore, alongside the issue of the impact assessment that Jayne Bryant mentioned, the other impact assessments that you have suggested and also the costs of the move. Certainly, I'll work with Julie James in order to get the kind of information that we now require, and either I or Julie will write to Members...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for that question. I'm not aware of any equality impact assessment that has been undertaken by the UK Government, but I'm sure that this is something that the leader of the house will be pursuing with them now that the news has finally become formal regarding the proposed closures and the move of jobs. I just give you a guarantee that we'll work across Government to see what...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for those questions and, actually, one of the deep ironies of this is the fact that some of the places where jobs will be moving from are actually strategic hubs within our Valleys taskforce. So, it is just a completely nonsensical argument that the UK Government is in any way trying to support what we're trying to achieve for our Valleys communities. You're right as well that the...
Rebecca Evans: I think that finding alternative roles for people who have found that their jobs have been moved to a place that is just completely impractical for them to get to would be the very least that a responsible employer could offer. There are going to be certain transport challenges, no doubt, in terms of people getting to the new site in Treforest, which is one of the reasons why Julie James was...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much, and, again, completely agree that we need people living and working in our town centres to ensure that they are very much vibrant places. So, again, I completely agree with those comments and concerns that you have raised, about the impact that losing so many jobs from a town centre location could have on the ability of small businesses, for example, in the area to remain...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for those questions and I couldn't agree more about the importance of having these kinds of jobs in our town centres, in terms of footfall in town centres and ensuring that we do have vibrant town centres. So, this news has come as a great disappointment. I completely agree with your comments about Better Jobs Closer to Home, and it's actually something that Julie James...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. The leader of the house, as the Welsh Government lead Minister for Better Jobs Closer to Home, has made repeated representations to the UK Government, and in particular the Minister for employment, both in writing and in person, setting out the Welsh Government's serious concerns about this proposal.
Rebecca Evans: Well, I think this speaks, really, to a fundamental disagreement between ourselves and between our parties about the place of Wales within the UK, because this is, of course, a United Kingdom that allows us to pool the risks and to share the benefits. And it is the case that the approach to the devolution of welfare benefits in Scotland has transferred that risk associated with the demand of...
Rebecca Evans: The Welsh Government does not support the devolution of welfare benefits or their administration to Wales. As a matter of principle, we should all be entitled to an equal claim from our welfare state. The needs of citizens within the UK, wherever they live, should be equally met.
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for that question. I would say that there is always value in learning and the experience of university, but we do need to be doing more to ensure that there is parity of esteem between academic and more practical skills as well. So, there's certainly work to do there in terms of perceptions about careers in construction and other areas, and I can confirm that I have been working...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for that question. We're very keen to replicate the success of Melin Homes and to provide RSLs with the opportunity in order to undertake the kind of work that Melin Homes has been doing. This is one of the reasons why passing our registered social landlords Bill yesterday in the Assembly was so important, because it does allow RSLs to continue their work, which isn't just about...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you very much for that question, and I can confirm that rent within the social housing sector is one of those specific issues that we've asked the review of social housing to look into. As far as setting rent levels for next year is concerned, Welsh Government has asked Heriot-Watt University to undertake a piece of research in order to advise us, and I specifically asked the...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. I think this final debate has shown just how robust the scrutiny process has been throughout the passage of the Bill so far and the level of interest there's been and the seriousness with which Members have taken their roles in terms of scrutinising this Bill. I very much welcome that. So, I would ask Members to support the motion and support the Bill, which, as David...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to move the motion and to open the Stage 4 debate for the Regulation of Registered Social Landlords (Wales) Bill. I'd like to thank Assembly Members for the cross-party support for this Bill, and for the scrutiny that has taken place throughout the passage of the Bill. I'd like to thank the sub-committee of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation...
