Carwyn Jones: With regard to?
Carwyn Jones: As we’ve said many times to them, we expect the money to be there. If the money is lost through the loss of European funding, at official level, there’s very, very regular contact in terms of how we move forward, especially given the fact that so many of the levers that are required to deliver the metro are not devolved. So, there’s a great deal of official-to-official contact that...
Carwyn Jones: Well, of course, at the moment, we are going through the bidding process, and the less said about that, the better, given the fact that it has to go through a proper process. Once that bidding process is actually finalised, then we expect to see phase 2 begin. Much of it depends, of course, on the franchising in terms of the Wales and borders franchise, but as soon as possible after the...
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.
Carwyn Jones: Well, quite simply, the metro won’t be able to proceed at the same pace, and with the same ambition as would otherwise be the case. There will still be a metro, but obviously, if there’s £125 million less money involved, then the reach of the metro, and the speed of its expansion will be less. But given the fact that we have heard from those who wish to leave the European Union that...
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: Who can disagree with the powerful testimony that the leader of the opposition has given us? I’ve no reason to disbelieve what has been said. In an atmosphere of desperation, predators will thrive, and it seems that that is the case in Calais. Last week, I met with the Welsh Local Government Association’s responsible elected member for refugees, Dyfed Edwards, the leader of Gwynedd, and...
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: Ireland is our fourth largest export market, with Welsh exports to Ireland worth just over £1 billion in 2015.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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, 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: 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: 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: 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...
