Carwyn Jones: We, along with Scotland, have written to call for changes in teachers’ pensions, and that should be funded from the UK Government. It’s they who have created this situation, and the same is true in Scotland, as I understand it, and so we have written jointly to say, ‘You have insisted on imposing this additional cost on local authorities, therefore you should fund it’.
Carwyn Jones: It is the responsibility of the Valuation Office Agency, independently of the Welsh Government, to determine whether each property in Wales is liable for council tax or for non-domestic rates, and these decisions are made according to criteria set out in law.
Carwyn Jones: The Chancellor's funding decision does not give us three years of funding, nor is it anything like the figure that he suggested of £555 million. In fact, we estimate it's around about £50 million or £60 million of revenue in this year, and £2.6 million in capital. So, a great deal of spin has gone into that announcement. What I can say is, having spoken to the leader of Bridgend, and...
Carwyn Jones: I share the concerns of others in the public sector that the proposed changes to public sector pension schemes risk diverting further funding from front-line services. The UK Government is responsible for these changes and we have made it clear that they must fund the increase in pension contributions.
Carwyn Jones: Well, we have already made it clear that local authorities are first in the queue, although there is a queue in terms of funding, but that depends on whether we do get consequentials. What is not fair, nor is it right, is a situation to arise where the UK Government imposes extra costs on local authorities that the Welsh Government is then expected to fund. That clearly can't be right. So,...
Carwyn Jones: I think it is correct to say that there have been funding difficulties as far as local government is concerned. What we seek to do and what we will continue to seek to do is to work with local government and other providers to ensure that there are no gaps—and there are gaps. It is true to say that coverage is not even across Wales. That is not something that we can rest easy with. We will...
Carwyn Jones: The problem is the lack of devolution, because, of course, secure welfare provision is currently managed on an England-and-Wales basis through a network of 15 secure children's homes. We do look to work with the UK Government's Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice as to how best to reconfigure youth justice provision, but this is another example of why justice needs to be...
Carwyn Jones: We made clear our commitment, and we've demonstrated through our policy and funding decisions, our support to the most vulnerable in our society and, of course, to ensuring that everyone lives in a home that meets their needs and supports individuals and families to flourish.
Carwyn Jones: Our policies to support the economy across Wales, including Bridgend, are set out in the 'Prosperity for All' national strategy and in the economic action plan.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I spoke to their government affairs person on Thursday. I asked her a number of questions. She provide me with assurance that this is a temporary issue. It's out of Ford's hands and to do with Jaguar Land Rover, and much of it is to do, ultimately, with Brexit at the end of the day. So, Ford are major suppliers of JLR. Because JLR are in the position that they are in, then Ford...
Carwyn Jones: And the Member knows full well that picking out one consequential doesn't give the full picture, because our consequential comes as part of a block. As part of that block, there will be some things that will be additional and some things that will be removed, because of a consequential cut in funding in the equivalent department in Whitehall. So, we have to deal with what is there in the...
Carwyn Jones: Decisions on the allocation of additional funding will be made by the Welsh Cabinet in the usual way.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the reality is the UK Government controls the market. The UK Government controls the strike price, it controls contracts for difference. We control none of those things. The UK Government could have committed to Swansea bay, but it failed to do so, as it did with electrification to Swansea—it didn't do that even, though it was able to find £1 billion to give to Northern Ireland. This...
Carwyn Jones: There is a taskforce, and we have representation on that taskforce, and a bid has been received for additional funding from the taskforce itself in order to consider another study as regards the way forward, and of course we are considering that at present to see whether it is possible to fund another study to see which model would be best for the area.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the Minister will be making a decision shortly. If I could write to him with a date to give him some idea of what the timescale might be, I will do that. But the Minister will be making a decision about the need for an EIA at the Barry biomass plant—perhaps if I write to the Member then with more details in terms of the timescale.
Carwyn Jones: Well, we continue to be open to ideas to find an alternative way to see tidal lagoon technology delivered in Wales. The Swansea bay city region has established a taskforce to find an alternative funding model for a private sector-led tidal lagoon product.
Carwyn Jones: Well, there'd have to be a scientific basis for doing that—as to why 500m would have a beneficial effect. But what I can say, of course, is that incineration and co-incineration are subject to the stringent protective requirements of the industrial emissions directive. They've been incorporated into Welsh legislation for a number of years and they include requirements that there should be...
Carwyn Jones: 'Planning Policy Wales' and technical advice note 21 on waste provide a comprehensive framework for assessing proposals for waste management infrastructure in Wales. And we, of course, support the implementation of overarching waste management policy that's contained in 'Towards Zero Waste'.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the concern we have about the World Health Organization guidelines is that they are based solely on scientific conclusions about public health aspects of air pollution. So far, so good. But they don’t consider the technical feasibility or the economic, political and social aspects of achieving that. And this is where we have to have a balance as a Government. There is no doubt at all,...
Carwyn Jones: Well, on 24 April, the Minister announced the package of measures that will improve air quality throughout Wales. We have the clean air Wales programme, the clean air plan for Wales, the Welsh Government supplemental plan to the UK’s for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide emissions, with a clean air zone framework for Wales as well. All these are issues that will help Cardiff council in...
