Carwyn Jones: The difficulty is, of course, the lack of detail as to how the fund will operate: how much money there'll be in the fund, for example; whether it'll be a fund where there will be a bidding process, which, of course, would cut across devolution; whether it will operate in the same way as the current European funds operate. In the absence of that detail, of course, it's difficult to put forward...
Carwyn Jones: I can't give a timescale on the shared prosperity fund because it's not our timescale and not our fund. In terms of the situation that she—. I should welcome her, of course, back to the Assembly—forgive me for that. In terms of what the Member has described, the Scottish Government now finds itself in court. We don't know what the outcome of that will be, but, of course, if the Supreme...
Carwyn Jones: Well, we take every opportunity to discuss with the UK Government the interests of Wales, including our devolved responsibility over regional policy, and, of course, it would be important that whatever happens in the future respects devolution.
Carwyn Jones: Well, there's been some discussion between officials, but the detail is scant. Our position remains clear that economic policy is a devolved responsibility in Wales. We should be given the replacement funding we were promised two years ago: Wales would not lose a penny of funding. The reality is that the UK Government has very limited powers to directly fund and deliver regional economic...
Carwyn Jones: But at a cost, because with administration there always comes a cost, and the costs are usually significant. I would rather see the issues dealt with in this way—instead of costs going on administration, that money being given to universal credit claimants, and secondly, of course, to see a Labour Government elected in London who will rectify the situation properly.
Carwyn Jones: Well, it's not clear whether that programme is one that we have funded directly through local authorities, but the Member will have heard the answer I gave earlier. I can say that around £3 million per annum of debt advice funding currently administered by the Money Advice Service via the financial levy will be devolved to Welsh Government when the single financial guidance body will be set...
Carwyn Jones: Well, we remain committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable people in our society have access to free and independent advice on social welfare law issues, including debt, welfare, and money management. Through our financial inclusion work, we provide around £6 million a year, which is used to fund projects that deliver advice services within all 22 local authority areas, and we know that...
Carwyn Jones: Well, I remain deeply concerned about the fundamental flaws of universal credit. I'm disappointed that the UK Government is persisting with its roll-out. The National Audit Office’s findings on universal credit highlight many issues that we have also repeatedly raised with the UK Government.
Carwyn Jones: Well, there is a difference between us and England, because we do have the well-being of future generations Act, which, of course, much more broadly includes environmental principles. But there’s no reason why we can’t consider that during the next few months, because one of the things that isn’t obvious is which Bills will be required. Will we need an agricultural Bill? Well, my answer...
Carwyn Jones: With regard to 16 and 17-year-olds, I think there's a duty on political parties—perhaps not the most objective of sources—to provide information to voters, for them to decide how they should vote. I think the issue of constitutional education doesn't end at 17; it's there for people at all ages. They don't properly understand, quite often, the way that Government works, and why should...
Carwyn Jones: I never thought I'd hear the code of Napoleon mentioned in the Chamber, but she'll be aware, of course, that the civil law systems that the continental countries have are reflected in Scotland as well. So, it's not the case that all of the UK is somehow different from the legal systems that exist elsewhere. The balance that's struck between primary and secondary legislation is primarily one...
Carwyn Jones: Can I thank the Member for her comments? She will remember the discussions that she and I and Christine Chapman had in my room upstairs. They were always discussions that led to agreement, and she will see what we deliver in terms of moving this forward now. Of course, it's about, as well, providing support for parents through a package of measures, including advice on parenting techniques....
Carwyn Jones: I think the first thing it's important to remember is that not everything can be resolved by primary legislation. There are issues there that she's identified that are important but don't actually need Bills in order for them to be taken forward. Some of them need resourcing; some of them would need secondary legislation. It's not necessarily the case that there needs to be a Bill. In terms...
Carwyn Jones: First of all, just to say that, once again, it's been suggested that council mergers are inevitably on the table; they are not. There will be a local government Bill; there's a working group that's been set up in order to look at improvements in public service delivery via local government. It's right on the voting franchise—we've put this forward because it hasn't happened yet, so it's...
Carwyn Jones: There were a number of questions there. First of all, the five Bills that we've put forward—they allow us some slack in order for us to be able to free up resource to deal with any Bills, or any other legislation, that will be needed as a result of Brexit. In terms of what the priorities will be, we don't know, because we have no idea what the UK Government wants. I was in Brussels...
Carwyn Jones: Presiding Officer, it is with pleasure that I can today announce the Bills that the Government will bring before the Assembly over the next 12 months.
Carwyn Jones: We know the year ahead will be one of the busiest in legislative terms since Wales gained primary law-making powers. As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, there will be a significant amount of work for this Assembly to undertake between now and March if we are to have a fully functioning statute book at the point of exit. This will be a challenging time and the legislative workload...
Carwyn Jones: We are providing funding to local authorities to ensure that there are 20-mph zones there already, and people see them across Wales. It’s not a legal problem but a financial one. They need to know that the funding is available, and that’s why there’s a grant available to ensure that these zones can move forward.
Carwyn Jones: It's impossible to argue with him when he puts it that way, and he is right to say that active consideration will be given to a 20-mph speed limit. He's also right to say that we want to encourage more people into other forms of transport, and that's precisely, as I've outlined earlier on this afternoon, what we're looking to do.
Carwyn Jones: Well, let's wait to see what the review says. We're not dependent on what the DfT does, for obvious reasons. Their work is of interest to us, of course, but we have our own review. Once that's published then, of course, further decisions can be taken as to then whether or not we introduce a comprehensive 20-mph limit.
