Carwyn Jones: Well, of course, the deception is that, two years ago, at the time of the referendum, nobody said—nobody said, even those staunch leavers—'Of course, there'll be no deal'. No-one said that. Everyone said that of course there'll be a deal, the EU will fall over itself to give us a deal and the German car manufacturers will ride to our rescue—I met with some of them a fortnight ago, and...
Carwyn Jones: As he will know, I've not been opposed, in principle, to such a system. There have been no further discussions on it since it was last raised by David Davis with me. I think today is a timely opportunity to look at that once again. But I don't agree with the findings of that report. Everybody says, 'We need to attract professionals.' No-one disagrees with that. But the reality is we need to...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. There are three things that I can refer to. First of all, we are keeping a very close eye on what legislation might be needed and the timing of any such legislation in advance of Brexit. Secondly, we're working on, for example, providing support through our £50 million EU transition fund. We will launch a new business portal shortly, and, on top of that, we're expanding our overseas...
Carwyn Jones: Well, he asked me whether I'm optimistic about fair rail funding, and the honest answer is 'no', because history tells us otherwise. We've received 1.1 per cent of the investment in infrastructure, despite the fact that our population share should be far, far higher. That's England and Wales, of course, without Scotland as well. In terms of Swansea, much of Swansea's rail network, of course,...
Carwyn Jones: That data is being analysed at the moment. The output will be published so that Members and the public can see it, and that will be done as soon as possible.
Carwyn Jones: I know that NRW regulates the steelworks in accordance with the permit issued under the environmental permitting regime. We, of course, have our commitment to improving and proactively tackling poor air quality in the area. In April, the Minister for Environment set out plans to re-examine the action plan—the approach it takes and the evidence that underpins it—and I understand that the...
Carwyn Jones: A tailored programme of work is under way to independently review the clean air action plan for Port Talbot and develop a future plan of work to further improve air quality in the region. In addition, officials had a meeting this morning with Natural Resources Wales and Neath Port Talbot council.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I don't think building an economic Berlin wall is the answer, if I'm honest. The reality is that the economic and commercial flows go from west to east. That doesn't have to interfere with our identity. That's something that we should be proud of. That doesn't mean that it's a threat to Wales. If we see it that way, we're victims of our own inferiority complex. There are much better...
Carwyn Jones: Well, first of all, I have to take the decision as to whether the black route should proceed. I always look at alternatives. Some of them are not clear, from the report, as to how they'd actually operate in practice, but, as a Government, of course, we've been very, very committed to investment in public transport. We see that, of course, through the rail network and the substantial...
Carwyn Jones: Well, there is no difficulty with working cross-border. Everyone else does it. If we say we're not going to work across the border, it's a sign of an inferiority complex. And so we are more than happy to work not just with colleagues in England, but in Ireland as well and, indeed, with our European partners, who are incredibly important to us. We are an internationalist Government—we look...
Carwyn Jones: Our investment in transport connectivity, together with the economic action plan, demonstrates our commitment to more cross-border working and growing the economic links with our neighbours.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the leader of Plaid Cymru seems to think that we don't have free school meals in Wales. We do. We have free school breakfasts. That point is glossed over. Secondly, we are providing an extra £10 million a year between 2019-20 to 2022-23, providing free school meals. That's despite having no additional funding from the UK Government. The reality is—. And she points out, as she's done...
Carwyn Jones: Well, the reality is that it wasn't really extra money. We were already, of course, providing free school breakfasts. So, we were already providing free school meals in our schools. That was something that we funded ourselves. Now, we got that consequential. That money, along with any other consequentials that arrive, will form part of the budget and its development over the course of the...
Carwyn Jones: Well, first of all, the consultation's just ended on this. I don't know whether she put submissions into that consultation, but we will look at the responses to that consultation and develop policy accordingly.
Carwyn Jones: Four Members and dropping: 29. There's the answer to you in terms of popularity, and that's the answer to you in terms of where we sit in terms of public support. You start with the Muslims and then you move on to Jewish people. 'The orthodox Jews dress in a strange way; we can't have that.' Then you move on to people who wear skull caps. You know, 'Why should they dress in a different...
Carwyn Jones: Is it right that a man should tell a woman what to wear? He thinks so—he thinks so; it's typical of his position. And what on earth does what people wear have to do with politics? We are a free country. It is a very un-British thing to say that people do not have the right to wear a particular item of clothing. That belongs in a previous time in a previous country, if I can put it that way....
Carwyn Jones: Well, can I welcome the Member as the latest leader of UKIP in this Chamber? I have absolutely no idea why he has such a problem with refugees. We have a proud record of giving sanctuary to people who've been persecuted around the world, children, particularly, who have seen things that he has never seen, he has never seen—adults who have seen people killed in front of them, people who...
Carwyn Jones: First of all, there's no evidence at all to back up what he has just said. The inquest, of course, will take place—it will take place at the end of November. That is the primary procedure in this process. Secondly, I've not interfered with the protocol at all. It's been in the hands of the Permanent Secretary. I've set the terms of reference—that is true. If it is the case that that's...
Carwyn Jones: Can I welcome the Member to his position as leader of the opposition? He's asked me questions before, of course, and now he is officially in place. No doubt we will tussle in this Chamber over the next few months. The answer to his question is: I haven't vetoed anything.
Carwyn Jones: That's a matter for the investigators, not for me. There are two issues particularly that have been mentioned. One is cross-examination of witnesses—that's not appropriate for an inquisitorial process. That happens in a trial—as a lawyer, I know that. Second is the suggestion that witnesses should be compellable. Again, there's no legal basis for doing that in a non-statutory inquiry. So,...
