Carwyn Jones: On a day when blame should rest in Westminster, where the decision has been made, Plaid Cymru are trying to turn this into an exercise in presenting themselves as being relevant when, in fact—[Interruption.] It is First Minister's questions. First Minister's questions doesn't involve answering questions about what happens in Westminster. That's one of the things that are absolutely clear....
Carwyn Jones: This is like watching somebody playing darts and deliberately trying to aim at the wall to the side rather than the dartboard itself. On a day when people from different parties have expressed concern—they've expressed it in different ways, of course, which they have to do, according to which party they're a member of—on a day when people have expressed concern at the decision of the UK...
Carwyn Jones: On a day when people in different parties have been united in expressing their concern at the UK Government's decision, Plaid Cymru start moving the blame elsewhere. There is a fair question and that is: what plans do you have for the future? And that is a fair question, but today, what I have to say is that Wales has been let down by a decision of the UK Government in London. That's...
Carwyn Jones: I'm not responsible for the way votes go in Westminster, as I've said many, many times, but I do share her very great concern—and that's probably an understatement—with the failure to go ahead with the Swansea bay tidal lagoon. It is a huge disappointment for the Swansea bay area and it's a disappointment that's shared, in fairness, by Conservatives as well in this Chamber. They've...
Carwyn Jones: Well, farmers, of course, can look at schemes such as the existing agri-environment schemes. There is the small grant scheme that Members will be aware of, and also, of course, Farming Connect, which can help farmers to become more sustainable in terms of their businesses. So, there are a number of options available for farmers in order to make their practices more sustainable and, of course,...
Carwyn Jones: I can tell the Member that European Commission regulations were recently changed in order to ensure a window in terms of payments, and that means that Glastir payments will be made between 1 December this year and 30 June next year. For the first time, there will be a window, and during that window farmers can expect payments.
Carwyn Jones: The Welsh Government has consistently delivered Glastir payments to claimants in a timely manner, and done so consistently. To date, over £39 million has been paid to Welsh farm businesses during this year. Further Glastir small grants windows will open this year and in 2019 to promote the restoration and creation of vital habitats.
Carwyn Jones: Well, this ultimately is a matter for the UK Government, although it is taking a great deal of time, I have to say. March 2015, as the Member rightly says, was when the inquiry was announced. It potentially will take eight years before it actually reports, for reasons which are not clear. The inquiry itself will be looking at the deployment of police officers in undercover roles. It has...
Carwyn Jones: Can I first of all congratulate the Member for hosting tonight's event and raising a very important issue that I suspect many members of the public are still not yet aware of? Now, it's some time—five years it seems—before the report will be prepared. In the meantime, however, it is important to provide services to those who have been affected. What I can say is that we do fund, of...
Carwyn Jones: It is important that women affected by this issue receive the help and assistance that they need. I understand that the inquiry that the UK Government has put in place is not due to report until 2023.
Carwyn Jones: —have it in the autumn so the elections are out of the way.' [Interruption.] If I've got time, Llywydd.
Carwyn Jones: The reality is David Cameron bears a lot of responsibility, I'm afraid, because I said to him, 'Don't hold it in June, hold it in September.' He thought he could win the referendum as he had in Scotland. That was the problem. He was still riding on what had happened in Scotland and, as a result, there was complacency there. It was something that I did say to him at the time. I have to say to...
Carwyn Jones: Can I say quite simply this to him? He will remember, as I will, although not everybody in this Chamber will, the series Fawlty Towers. There comes a point where the Major in Fawlty Towers makes the mistake of looking for Germans and Basil Fawlty has to say to him, 'War's over.' And the war is over. The EU is not a hostile power. The EU is not sitting there in Calais looking at the cliffs...
Carwyn Jones: No, because you would have to be in the EU to be in the customs union; that's the whole point. The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are in the customs union; they're not in the EU. If you look, for example, Turkey is in the customs union; it's not in the EU. The two things are not coterminous; that's the whole point, and here we are back again with the crux of the problem that in 2016, there...
Carwyn Jones: The fundamental problem with the question of Brexit is this, isn't it, Llywydd, that, back in 2016, people were asked to vote for an idea and not a plan? We had a referendum in 1997, we had another referendum in 2011, where if people so chose, they could look at a document that would tell them what would happen if they voted 'yes'. There was no question about it, there was no ambiguity—it...
Carwyn Jones: In our White Paper agreed with Plaid Cymru, 'Securing Wales' Future', we set out a Welsh plan for Brexit. We set out clearly how the right Brexit for Wales requires agreement for participation in the single market and a customs union. That was our position 17 months ago and no evidence has emerged to challenge our conclusion. Llywydd, in that document, we were clear that this might involve...
Carwyn Jones: Llywydd, I welcome this opportunity to open this Government debate, bearing in mind that two years have passed since the referendum and the vote to leave the European Union. I think it’s true to say that 23 June 2016 is considered an extremely important date in the history of this nation. That, of course, is when the decision was made to change our relationship with the European Union.
Carwyn Jones: We are not in this Chamber, Llywydd, this afternoon to debate that decision. As I've always said, it's our responsibility to focus our efforts to deliver the right form of Brexit, not to argue over the fact of Brexit. So, this afternoon, Llywydd, I want to open this debate by discussing the right form of Brexit for Wales. We've spent a lot of time in this Chamber and in detailed...
Carwyn Jones: The difficulty is that it's not licensed for use at the moment. Now, medicines licensing is not devolved. Once a medicine is licensed, the use of it then is governed by NICE and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, but, of course, for GPs, GPs are governed—I know Dai Lloyd is over there—as I understand it, by rules that tell them what they cannot prescribe, not what they can prescribe....
Carwyn Jones: Currently there are no medicines containing melatonin licensed in the UK for the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders in children and young people. We are guided by the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group.
