Carwyn Jones: I believe that is happening. The city region board know full well that the key to attracting investment is making sure that skills are available so that that investment can take place. One of the questions I’m often asked by potential investors when I go abroad is, ‘Do you have the skills that we need in order for us to prosper in your country?’, and we are able to provide them with...
Carwyn Jones: Yes, of course. I know that Sir Terry Matthews and the board have developed an initial proposal for a city deal, which has been submitted to both us and the UK Government. It’s seeking a sum of around £500 million over 20 years, and, indeed, the proposal outlines the transformational power of digital connectivity to accelerate growth in the region, and across Wales and, indeed, the rest of...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. The Swansea bay city region board continues to lead regional alignment and collaboration to deliver shared aspirations for jobs and growth.
Carwyn Jones: Well, he has had this tussle before. I’ve made no such announcement ever, as a Minister or, indeed, as leader of any party, and he knows that full well. He raises an important point. It’s a point that’s raised, indeed, by my colleague, Hefin David, as well, the Member for Caerphilly, and that is that it’s not realistic for local development plans to be developed in isolation of each...
Carwyn Jones: Yes, I will. I know that local government has had enormous challenges in dealing with the cuts that have been imposed on us from Westminster, and they have sought to serve their communities well. There are, of course, areas where there can be greater collaboration, in my view, and areas where there can be greater strengthening of consistency across local government in Wales, and I know that...
Carwyn Jones: Well, I think these things are best kept on a formal basis, but I thank the Member for that invitation, nevertheless. Well, yes, those discussions will now begin. There seems to be general agreement that there is a need to move forward with reform of local government, but, of course, there are varying different views as to what form that should take. And, of course, the Cabinet Secretary will...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. Over the next few weeks and months, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will be meeting local government leaders and other stakeholders to listen to their views, before considering the long-term approach to local government reform, and a statement will, of course, be made in due course.
Carwyn Jones: Autism sits in two portfolios. In terms of provision, that sits within health and well-being. In terms of education provision, that would sit within education itself. I hear what she says: one of the issues that we have examined is whether the ALN Bill could be adapted to include provision for autism—I see no reason why that cannot be done—rather than there being a separate Bill and that...
Carwyn Jones: Can I very much thank the Member for his comments? He will know that I’ve taken an interest in this issue for some years given the underperformance that we know of looked-after children in the education system. The difficulty is, of course, that looked-after children need support from many areas, whether it’s through social services, whether it’s through the education system, whether...
Carwyn Jones: First of all, I think the Member will be surprised at the amount of transparency that exists in this place compared to Westminster [Laughter.] He will certainly become aware of the freedom of information requests that we receive as Government and, indeed, the transparency under which Members operate in this place and have done for many, many years. There’s no secret in terms of what has...
Carwyn Jones: A number of questions there. Firstly, on the agreement with Plaid Cymru, yes, there are some issues like the national infrastructure commission where there are different views as to what that might look like, but that’s what the discussions will be about. There are three committees that have been set up. Their objective is to identify issues such as legislation early on to see where there...
Carwyn Jones: First of all, in terms of the first question, yes, collective responsibility applies. Where there are disagreements, they will be dealt with in the ways that they were when there was a coalition with her party, or indeed with the Liberal Democrats in years gone by. There will be machinery in place to make sure these issues are identified early, in order for there to be agreement. That’s a...
Carwyn Jones: Thank you, Llywydd. I was very pleased last week to announce my ministerial appointments, following the approval of my nominations by Her Majesty the Queen. May I, therefore, list the names, and their responsibilities? Lywydd, rwyf wedi cydgysylltu'r economi gydag isadeiledd. Mae gennym agenda uchelgeisiol i symud Cymru ymlaen, a bydd Ken Skates yn mynd i’r afael â’r heriau hynny yn...
Carwyn Jones: Well, this is one of those pension funds, few though they are, that has been so successful that it’s provided more money than was anticipated for the UK Government. And that clearly can’t be right. We will be guided by the NUM, because they have called for a review, and rightly so. I know that they will be meeting soon with the scheme’s trustees as well to re-examine this. But, no,...
Carwyn Jones: Yes, we know that congestion is a daily problem on the M4 and the Brynglas tunnels. It isn’t going to go away. It does need to be addressed, and it is a significant cause of air pollution as cars idle, both in the tunnels and waiting to go into the tunnels. That does have, of course, a detrimental effect on air quality. So, removing those traffic jams will be hugely important in improving...
Carwyn Jones: No representations, but we are aware of the issues and we support the National Union of Mineworkers in their call for a review.
Carwyn Jones: I can say that we established, as the Member will know, a ministerial Syrian refugee taskforce in November of last year. That is supported by an operations board to help co-ordinate the response, and a children’s sub-group of that board has been established specifically to ensure co-ordination for resettling refugee children and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children across Wales. We take...
Carwyn Jones: We’re drawing up proposals to refresh the system of local air quality management in Wales, and public services boards have a key role in ensuring that.
Carwyn Jones: Immigration is a non-devolved matter, but the UK Government has recently announced a scheme to resettle some children from camps in Europe, and we’re working with local authorities across Wales to prepare for this.
Carwyn Jones: Indeed, and the Member will know that waiting times for diagnostic tests have plummeted. It was not acceptable that they were so long, and there’s been a significant decrease of 20 per cent in a very short space of time, and that is something that we intend to continue with, in terms of that trend continuing in the future. But it’s important as well that, for many people who go and see...
