Carl Sargeant: I’m not going to take any more interventions from Members because—[Interruption.] Well—
Carl Sargeant: The issue here, Llywydd, is making sure that what we do here is fit for purpose, protecting our most vulnerable in our communities. Plaid Cymru have obviously brought to the table a thoughtful consideration for the Chamber—
Carl Sargeant: [Continues.]—but they haven’t fully thought that process through, particularly on the costs around this.
Carl Sargeant: Of course I will, yes.
Carl Sargeant: Let me tell you that I’ve been to London and I’ve talked with Lord Freud about the very issues that your colleague mentioned, particularly about women’s issues and the way that claims are made. But what the Member should really consider—[Interruption.] What the leader of the opposition—. What the leader of Plaid Cymru, I should say, should consider is that, actually, her...
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful, Llywydd. What we don’t recognise here is that, actually, a claimant who fails to turn up to one of the meetings, for whatever reason—illness or, as the Member said earlier on, going to work—actually is sanctioned. Well, maybe we should start those sanctions with the MPs who didn’t turn up in Parliament, the Tory MPs who didn’t vote in the universal credit debate....
Carl Sargeant: The Member is right in what he says. We are pressing the UK Government in that space. What we do know is that a failure to—[Interruption.]
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd, and I thank Members for their contributions in this debate. I share Members’ concern regarding the devastating impact the roll-out of universal credit is having on vulnerable people here in Wales and across the UK. We are deeply concerned about the UK Government’s relentless welfare cuts and how they’re having an impact on low-income families, particularly...
Carl Sargeant: It’s £200 million upfront that they pay and £66 million each year just for the administration costs paid to the DWP. That’s the issue I have with the administration process here. We should be doing something very different. They should be doing this automatically, not charging Scotland or us to do that. That’s the challenge we face.
Carl Sargeant: Thank you. Just for clarity, are you aware how much it costs the Scottish Government to implement just the administration process of this; not the benefit end of it—just purely the administration, providing the ability to do this?
Carl Sargeant: Formally.
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful, Llywydd, for the opportunity to respond to the committee report. I’m thankful to the committee for their report, and grateful to all those who’ve given written and oral evidence. While there were differences of interpretation and emphasis, the Government was able to accept most of the committee’s recommendations, as the Chair made reference to. Llywydd, the decision to...
Carl Sargeant: The guidance issued to local authorities and partners is very clear about the working together of the principles developed under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The issue of partnership agencies working alongside local authorities is one that will gain support by the team who will be assessing the bids that come in through the programme. They will gain more points for...
Carl Sargeant: Last Friday, Llywydd, I announced a new targeted regeneration investment programme for Wales. The aim of the programme is to support projects that promote economic development, with activities focused at individuals and areas most in need, whilst serving the aims of wider sustainable development.
Carl Sargeant: Really important questions raised by the Member. The Member will be aware from the statement that we issued a bidding programme around the property development fund for SMEs across Wales, which is now £30 million for giving financial fluidity to the programme. Some of the developments that we are taking forward are box-based solutions, so movable walls and doors so it works for today and we...
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful for the Member’s question and thank her for her positive contribution. Two important points: the financing of this has been part of the business models that have been brought forward to us. We are trialling new examples of how, from investment to delivery of a model, that’s coming out. We’ve broken the traditional mould and we’re trying to break the myth of why we...
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful for the Member’s questions, but I would ask the Member to have some ambition, have some enthusiasm, in terms of this great programme that we’re launching today. This is—. You’ve even got the Conservatives telling us we’re doing a good job—there’s something quite amiss there. [Laughter.] The fact is, £10 million on innovation for new, quality housing is something...
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful for the Member’s contribution. She has for many years championed the issue of sustainable housing and I’m grateful for her comments. We do have to break the tradition, and we have to break the myth, of why we have to have the same old type of home being built, in Wales or anywhere else. I also recognise that while we are developing new products, we have to have a transition...
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful for the Member’s comments. As soon as data is available with regard to a position statement on the 20,000 homes, I will come to the Assembly and let Members know about that. We are having great success already, but I will give the further details as soon as they become available to me. The number of homes under this scheme is 276. This is twice the number that we thought we...
Carl Sargeant: I’m very grateful for the positive contribution that the Member makes and thank him for his kind words. A couple of points, I would—. This was really quite difficult at the start of this process, because tradition is hard to break. We talked to the team and they said, ‘So, what are the parameters around innovation?’ which is sort of self-defeating. I said, ‘There are no parameters...
