Carwyn Jones: Why doesn't he take it up with the councils? The councils are responsible for subsidising bus services. And he is right; do I think it's acceptable? [Interruption.] Do I think it's acceptable? No, I don't; I think he's right. But the reality is, as he knows full well, we don't have control over the buses yet. Now, there's no point pretending—[Interruption.] Not even the leader of the...
Carwyn Jones: How many companies have we seen over the years go to the wall? We’ve seen many. We must reconsider the structure of bus services. That means, for example, whether it's possible to have a system of franchises—it won’t work on a local government level; I think that would be too small—to ensure that the companies have to deliver the service at the price that was agreed and that that’s...
Carwyn Jones: We cannot continue with a system where, unless services are subsidised, they can be altered or removed almost at the drop of a hat. I remember, not so long ago, in Ceredigion, where Arriva pulled out of the provision of bus services there at very short notice, and then it was left to other private operators to step in and fill the gap. That is not a sustainable way of running bus services....
Carwyn Jones: We are working with the industry and others to develop long-term sustainability by developing integrated networks such as the metro in north and south Wales. We will look, when the powers are devolved, at a better and more sustainable structure for bus services in Wales.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the answer to the question lies in the election of a Labour Government in Westminster that is committed to fairness, to social justice and to opportunity. We must be very careful in divorcing ourselves from the welfare system that exists across GB. Why? Because we’re net beneficiaries. At the end of the day, if we end up in the situation where we have to finance our own welfare...
Carwyn Jones: So, we have to be careful not to move along that path and be in a position where we end up taking on powers that we then don’t have the money to finance. That’s the issue for us. We know that the UK Government has a record of agreeing to the transfer of powers without the transfer of the finances, and that’s the question we need to answer.
Carwyn Jones: Well, it shouldn't have been messed up in the first place, should it? That's an admission that what was put in place at the very beginning wasn't thought through properly and ended up with a lot of people in debt. We still have evidence from housing associations to Citizens Advice that shows that rent arrears are still a problem for people on universal credit. There are other issues as well...
Carwyn Jones: We have provided £5.97 million of grant funding for this year. That funding will continue in the next financial year. It's for three projects: front-line advice services, Better Advice, Better Lives, and Communities First shared outcomes projects. They ensure access to free and independent social welfare advice across Wales and, as I said, that will continue into the next financial year.
Carwyn Jones: I'm extremely concerned about the severe issues with universal credit, such as the impact of the changes to payment of housing support, and the impact they're having on rent arrears. We have expressed our concerns to the UK Government, calling for a halt to the roll-out of universal credit.
Carwyn Jones: Well, I mean—. In reality, shoplifting increased when self-service was introduced, probably about 17 years ago, into supermarkets. They accept it as part of—. I mean, they obviously look to catch shoplifters, but they accept it as part of their business models. I think a variety of options should be available for people. For some people, they want to physically go through a checkout, for...
Carwyn Jones: Well, I've already mentioned two examples there of centres that have been put in place in order to deal with and meet the challenges of the future, and, of course, much of this will be driven by the higher education sector, so, many of these centres, in the future, will be run by them. But there's no doubt at all that we want to encourage cross-border economic working. It happens everywhere...
Carwyn Jones: Yes, it's a tricky one isn't it? Does there come a point where automation is so comprehensive that there aren't enough people with money in their pockets to buy what the robots make? When does that point come? Nobody knows; we've not been in the situation before. But he asks an important question: how do we look to cope and deal with and to prosper from the changes that will come in the...
Carwyn Jones: Well, automation, innovation and digitalisation form one of the cornerstones of the economic action plan, and we're focusing our investment to support businesses to prepare for the challenges of tomorrow and futureproofing our economy and workforce.
Carwyn Jones: That's what we want to do, but Shropdoc, remember, has financial problems of its own and that's the reason why this situation has arisen. One of the concerns as well is that the two English clinical commissioning groups that currently commission Shropdoc will re-tender during 2018 and, of course, it's important that both sides of the border work together in order to commission a new service....
Carwyn Jones: Well, the health board have been in discussion with Shropshire and also Telford and Wrekin in order to work with them to develop new services, if that’s the path they choose to take, and to see in what way they can support Shropdoc to be sustainable in the long term. So, those discussions have taken place between the health board and also the organisations in England.
Carwyn Jones: Well, the situation has arisen because Shropdoc itself has faced financial challenges during 2017. Those challenges do remain. As a result, the health board have been working with Shropdoc and the English clinical commissioning groups to support them while they address those challenges. I understand that the health board did establish a taskforce to assess and deliver potential alternative...
Carwyn Jones: Powys Teaching Local Health Board currently commission Shropdoc to provide GP out-of-hours services to the people of Powys.
Carwyn Jones: Yes, I agree. My understanding is that adult CHC services—the transition to those services has to commence when an individual is aged 14. LHBs have the responsibility to draw up a robust local transition policy with partner agencies. That includes local authorities. There will be some issues that will be outside the scope of the local health board—for example, the responsibility for...
Carwyn Jones: I think there is rationale in that. First of all, of course, it makes sense for there to be a standard system across a local education authority area. Of course, we have local management of schools, but it would seem strange to parents that, if a child moved schools somehow there would then be a problem with having a different account with a different balance in it or not having a cashless...
Carwyn Jones: Yes. We are setting up a multi-agency task and finish group that will consult upon and produce revised continuing care guidance for children and young people by the spring of next year.
