Carwyn Jones: The difficulty is that if you revise the revaluation or go back to the former valuation, you end up with people having to pay more as a result of the fact that they pay less now. There are always people who pay more and there are always people who pay less. We've known that through revaluations over the years. What we look to do then, of course, is to provide support for those who need it...
Carwyn Jones: Through Business Wales and the development bank, we are committed to supporting entrepreneurs, of course, and small and medium-sized enterprises across Wales. And our focus remains on innovation-driven entrepreneurs, jobs and the economy.
Carwyn Jones: Discussions are ongoing between the Cabinet Secretary, Julie James, and those in the health sector to see how 5G can benefit the health sector. As I said earlier on, we quite often see technology as something that primarily benefits the economy. It does, there's no question about that, but we know that there are opportunities in both health and education and other sectors to make sure that...
Carwyn Jones: Well, some of that is outside of our control, but he asked the question properly: what are we doing as a Government? Would I can say to him is that Innovation Point have been working closely with local authorities to develop credible bids and they have done that with the Swansea and Cardiff city regions. The deadline is the twelfth of this month, but that work is ongoing, so it's not just...
Carwyn Jones: We have appointed Innovation Point to advise, stimulate and develop activity on 5G in Wales, including opportunities to secure funding from the UK Government 5G test bed and trials fund.
Carwyn Jones: Well, as I said earlier on, we do fund Victim Support Cymru, and I said earlier on when that funding would continue until—at least 2020. Can I join with her in deploring the daubing of racist slogans on buildings, particularly, but not exclusively, in Newport? I know that she will share my strong condemnation of that. When it comes to reporting crimes, of course, there are two ways of...
Carwyn Jones: Well, one of the things that we're looking at is whether we should update the community cohesion plan for the summer of this year to take account of recent rises in hate crime and the new challenges to community cohesion in Wales. I can confirm that we plan to publish the community cohesion plan and the tackling hate crimes delivery plan, so that as those plans are taken forward, they will...
Carwyn Jones: Can I thank the Member for his question? He is right to say that we have a long-standing position of supporting the devolution of policing and, of course, the commission on justice will be looking at further issues. It is important, of course, devolution or not, that we work with the police. We do that, whether it's through the civil contingencies forum, whether it's through other groups, for...
Carwyn Jones: There are four objectives that we will pursue: firstly, building community cohesion at a national level; secondly, cohesion support at a regional level for isolated groups; thirdly, integration of new arrivals; and, fourthly, mitigating tensions and tackling hate crime.
Carwyn Jones: Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Well, let's just examine that. As I've said—[Interruption.] As I've said—[Interruption.] I mean, you've got to admire his brass neck. You've got to admire his brass neck more than anything else, and his ability to ignore the chaos that his party has created in London, and the fact that Cabinet Government as we know it doesn't exist, actually, in Whitehall under...
Carwyn Jones: I can't believe that he's chosen this ground to ask questions. Let's see, for example, the situation that happens in Whitehall? If you want to see a lame duck leader, have a look at Whitehall. What do we have there? We have factions briefing against each other in public. We have people like Boris Johnson openly criticising the Prime Minister about Brexit policy without any kind of penalty....
Carwyn Jones: We don't have a position on a second referendum. If you want my view, I do not believe a second referendum on the issue of Brexit is merited. There's been a referendum. Although, his party wanted a second referendum on devolution in 2005—I remember that—because they thought the result was too close. But I don't take the same view in that regard. So, we don't have a position as a...
Carwyn Jones: Just over two years ago, we all sat in this Chamber and watched Plaid Cymru actively canvass the support of the Tories in order for the leader of Plaid Cymru to become the First Minister. [Interruption.] And now she lectures us about working with the Tories. Memories are incredibly short on the Plaid Cymru benches. If she asks me, 'Am I happy with every element of the last Wales Act?, the...
Carwyn Jones: Talking Wales down—talking Wales down yet again. Of all the people who have commented yesterday, the only party who have said 'This is a bad idea. It's going to be a second-rate network' is Plaid Cymru—it's The Party of Wales, apparently, who are saying this. Now, there are legitimate questions, I understand that in terms of the way it works, but saying it's a second-rate network is...
Carwyn Jones: Well, there are, of course, commercial matters that the leader of Plaid Cymru will be aware of. What I can say, however, is that for £150 million, KeolisAmey will deliver a rail franchise for Wales and the borders below the current cost of £185 million. It's a total investment of £738 million as well on phase 2 of the metro, and what we will see is, for the first time, a rail system that...
Carwyn Jones: We would encourage, of course, there to be as much sourcing of Welsh steel as possible. She has also raised two other important points in terms of steel tariffs and also the tidal lagoon. I can inform Members that I have written today to Greg Clark and suggested to him that the UK Government should make an offer in terms of the contract for difference to the tidal lagoon on the same terms as...
Carwyn Jones: Fifteen million pounds has been allocated to improve accessibility, and every station on the franchise network will be made accessible.
Carwyn Jones: There are structural issues on the Conwy valley line, given the fact that it often floods, and we've seen that over the—. Well, not often; it has sometimes flooded over the past few years, and that is something for Network Rail to deal with in order to avoid that in the future. She asked, 'What will the rest of Wales see?' Better services on every railway line in Wales; more frequent...
Carwyn Jones: We don't anticipate that at all. The last franchise was let on the basis that there would be no growth in passenger numbers. There was an enormous growth in passenger numbers, and we see now the overcrowding that takes place on so many services not just on the Valleys lines, but across many services that run on the Wales and the borders franchise network. We have built into the agreement the...
Carwyn Jones: Yes it will. I can also say that Transport for Wales, with support from the ODP, will also be procuring a bus service as part of an integrated approach to improving connectivity across the Vale of Glamorgan, connecting Barry and the airport, and that will be available no later than 1 January 2024.
