Statement by the First Minister on Cabinet appointments. And I call on the First Minister, Carwyn Jones.

Thank you, Llywydd.

I was very pleased last week to announce my ministerial appointments, following the approval of my nominations by Her Majesty the Queen. May I, therefore, list the names, and their responsibilities?

Lywydd, rwyf wedi cydgysylltu'r economi gydag isadeiledd. Mae gennym agenda uchelgeisiol i symud Cymru ymlaen, a bydd Ken Skates yn mynd i’r afael â’r heriau hynny yn egnïol. Julie James fydd yn datblygu'r agenda sgiliau o fewn y portffolio hwn, ac rydym yn parhau â'n pwyslais gweinidogol ar wyddoniaeth.

Mae’r portffolio iechyd a lles yn cael ei gysylltu'n benodol â chymryd rhan mewn chwaraeon ar lawr gwlad, er mwyn cydnabod y pwysigrwydd o wneud Cymru yn wlad iachach a gwell. Mae Cymru wedi arwain y ffordd yn y DU drwy integreiddio darpariaeth iechyd a gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, ac rydym yn parhau â'r dull hwn drwy'r gwaith ar y cyd a wneir gan Vaughan Gethin a Rebecca Evans.

Lywydd, bydd Mark Drakeford yn dod yn Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Gyllid a Llywodraeth Leol, swyddogaeth ganolog a heriol wrth i ni symud, fel Llywodraeth ac fel Cynulliad Cenedlaethol—neu fel Senedd, fel y byddwn yn galw ein hunain, yn ddiau, mewn amser—i'r cyfnod datganoledig o godi refeniw.

Lywydd, fel y gŵyr yr Aelodau, mae Kirsty Williams yn ymuno â'r Cabinet a hi fydd yn gyfrifol am addysg, maes polisi y mae hi wedi siarad amdano gydag angerdd ac argyhoeddiad dros nifer o flynyddoedd. Rydym yn gwybod bod ysgolion yn bwysig, wrth gwrs, ond nid hwy yw'r unig agwedd bwysig ar addysg o bell ffordd, ac rydym yn adlewyrchu hyn drwy benodi Alun Davies yn Weinidog y Gymraeg a Dysgu Gydol Oes.

Lywydd, mae’r amgylchedd a materion gwledig yn cynrychioli rhan sylweddol iawn o gyfrifoldebau’r Llywodraeth, gan effeithio ar bob cwr o Gymru, ac rwy'n ffyddiog y bydd Lesley Griffiths yn cyfuno ymdeimlad cryf o fudd cenedlaethol gyda phwyslais pwerus ar weithredu lleol.

Carl Sargeant fydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Gymunedau a Phlant. Roedd yr elfen gymunedau yn rhan sefydledig o’r Llywodraeth ddiwethaf, ond, y tro hwn, rydym yn nodi buddiannau plant fel cyfrifoldeb gweinidogol ar wahân. Mae hyn yn arbennig o bwysig o ystyried ein hymrwymiadau o ran gofal plant a chosb resymol.

Lywydd, heddiw, daw Jane Hutt y Gweinidog sydd wedi gwasanaethu hwyaf yn hanes y sefydliad, a bydd hi’n parhau â’i hanes rhagorol o wasanaeth cyhoeddus fel Arweinydd y Tŷ a'r Prif Chwip.

Lywydd, fel y dywedais yr wythnos diwethaf yn y Siambr hon, bydd hon yn weinyddiaeth agored, gynhwysol a thryloyw, ac rydym yn barod iawn i weithio gydag eraill er budd y genedl. Yn wir, bydd presenoldeb Kirsty Williams yn y Llywodraeth yn tystiolaethu i'r ymagwedd honno. Ond mae gennym hefyd, wrth gwrs, y trefniadau gyda Phlaid Cymru a amlinellwyd yr wythnos diwethaf. Yn wir, pryd bynnag y bydd modd datblygu consensws a chydweithrediad mewn cysylltiad â deddfwriaeth a chynlluniau gwariant, dyna fyddwn yn ceisio ei wneud. Nid yn unig y mae hyn yn llywodraethu da, ond y mae hefyd yn adlewyrchu dymuniadau pobl Cymru.

Lywydd, amlinellais yr wythnos diwethaf rai o'r blaenoriaethau ar gyfer y weinyddiaeth hon. Rwyf wedi pwysleisio ein dull gweithredu agored, ond mae'n rhaid i mi hefyd ychwanegu elfen o wirionedd. Nid oes gennym arian di-ben-draw. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cael ei harian yn gyfan gwbl gan Lywodraeth y DU, drwy'r grant bloc. Mae’r grant bloc hwn wedi ei dorri flwyddyn ar ôl blwyddyn, ac ar ein llwybr presennol, bydd yr adnoddau fydd ar gael i ni yn y flwyddyn 2020 wedi eu torri mewn termau real i lefelau 2003. Nawr, ni all ymagwedd agored a thryloyw i lywodraethu olygu rhestr siopa sy’n ehangu. Gwyddom y bydd yn rhaid talu am bob ymrwymiad newydd yn y weinyddiaeth hon drwy dorri yn rhywle arall.

Lywydd, rwy'n falch iawn â'r tîm Llywodraeth yr wyf wedi ei gasglu at ei gilydd. Mae cyfnod pum mlynedd hynod bwysig o'n blaenau. Byddwn yn canolbwyntio’n ddi-baid ar ysgogi gwelliant yn ein heconomi a'n gwasanaethau cyhoeddus, ac rwy'n ffyddiog fod gan y tîm hwn y weledigaeth a'r egni i gynnig cyfle i bawb ac i greu Cymru unedig a chynaliadwy, ar hyn o bryd ac ar gyfer cenedlaethau'r dyfodol.

Diolch, Lywydd. I don’t have too many questions for the First Minister on this, and I would like to congratulate all his appointees.

Llongyfarchiadau i chi gyd.

First Minister, you said earlier in answer to questions that all of your Members would be bound by collective Cabinet responsibility. How then will you resolve difficult questions like whether or not the M4 black route goes ahead, if there’s disagreement between members of the Cabinet on specific issues?

I’d like reassurances from the First Minister that the Welsh language has not been downgraded in this Cabinet. Previously, it was the First Minister’s responsibility, so I’d be grateful to hear what he can say to those of us who are concerned about this, to reassure us that the future of the Welsh language and its growth are important to this Government, and will not be treated as an afterthought.

I’d be grateful to know who in Government is responsible for resolving the Public and Commercial Services Union museum dispute. I wrote to you about this yesterday, having first written to your Government about it over a year ago. Now, you’ve previously said that you intend to intervene to resolve this dispute. Is it your responsibility, First Minister, or does that now fall to another Member of your Cabinet? Likewise, I’d be grateful to hear who in your Cabinet has responsibility for trade union legislation. Will the First Minister retain responsibility for steel and the EU referendum?

And, finally, can we please have some clarity as to who takes responsibility for the question of student finance? You’ve got three Ministers in your Cabinet with a role in education—one for skills, one for lifelong learning, and another for education. Three separate portfolios. Which Minister will take the final decision on the future of student finance here in Wales please?

First of all, in terms of the first question, yes, collective responsibility applies. Where there are disagreements, they will be dealt with in the ways that they were when there was a coalition with her party, or indeed with the Liberal Democrats in years gone by. There will be machinery in place to make sure these issues are identified early, in order for there to be agreement. That’s a well-established process; we had it for the four years of the Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition.

There is no downgrading of the Welsh language. It was always a matter for a portfolio Minister. That will be the case in the future, but given my background and my long-held support for the language, there’s no question of it being downgraded.

On the PCS dispute, Ken Skates, as Minister, has been involved in this. We expect to see a settlement, hopefully very, very soon, and I thank him for the work that he has done in ensuring that there is a satisfactory outcome as far as the workers are concerned. That work took place last week. On the trade union Bill, and the repeal of the sections of the Act that we disagree with, and we believe are within the competence of this Assembly, it will be Mark Drakeford, as Minister, who is responsible for taking that legislation through.

On the EU referendum, that remains my responsibility. On the issue of Tata, that remains my responsibility. In time, steel will become part of the economy and infrastructure portfolio, but I will keep Tata.

On student finance, that’s a matter for Kirsty Williams, as Cabinet Secretary for Education.

Minister, thank you for your statement this afternoon, and I too congratulate all the Secretaries—sorry; they’re not Ministers now—on their appointments that you made last week, and I wish them well in their endeavours, in fairness. They might politically be on the opposite side of the fence from me, but obviously many people are depending on the decisions that you and your officials take, and, actually, I don’t think it’s worth any of us wishing you ill because a lot of people will fall by the wayside if you do slip up. But, we will as an opposition obviously hold you to account and we will not be slow in coming forward in making sure that you are held to account for the decisions and actions that you take as a Government—indeed, as a coalition Government now, obviously with the Lib Dems sitting on the front bench there with you.

I’d be grateful, First Minister, if you could elaborate more on the agreement that you reached with the Welsh nationalists last week in relation to the consultative committees or groups. I’m not quite sure what their stature is, or what their formal role within Government is, and I don’t think many other people are, to be honest with you. And I think your comments on Sunday alluded to the fact that you too were slightly confused on infrastructure, as to exactly what Plaid Cymru were asking for when it came to the infrastructure request to your Government. So, I’d be grateful if you could outline exactly how those working groups or committees will work within Government. In particular, you’ve said that your Government would provide Ministers as representatives, and obviously the secretariat would be from the civil service. Is it to be taken that from Plaid Cymru, then, that the representatives will be Assembly Members or can they nominate anyone to sit on those working groups? And will the Government be bound by the outcomes of those committees and working groups that have been established via the agreement that you reached last week that allowed your nomination to go forward?

I’d also like to understand exactly now where Betsi stands, because obviously the Deputy Minister had responsibility for the special measures that were introduced at Betsi Cadwaladr in the north, and I presume that’s still the case, that it is the Deputy Minister, or has that transferred to the full Minister—the Secretary, should I say—the full Secretary of health in this new Government? Are you able to highlight any progress on Betsi moving out of special measures? That would give great assurance to the many people who depend on the services of that local health board.

I also welcome Lesley Griffiths to her role of rural affairs and environment. I have a special interest in that with my farming background and I do note that you talk about emphasis on local action. One of the big issues where I would suggest the farming community in particular want to see progress from the new Government is on bovine TB. I’d be grateful if you do see that as a priority area for your new Government, given, obviously, the vaccination programme that was paused in the last Assembly. I believe I’m correct in saying the word ‘pause’, because the vaccine was stopped. What clarity can you give, with your new Government now in place, as to what actions you might be taking to eradicate—and I use the word, ‘eradicate’—bovine TB from Wales?

I’d also like to understand exactly how the Cabinet office is going to work. Last week in your statement you touched on that the Government would be forming a Cabinet office, as opposed to this time in the last Assembly when there was much talk of the delivery unit. Now, as I understand it from your comments last week, the delivery unit is developing into a Cabinet office. I’m not quite sure what the difference would be, but if you could tell us, because I think we all do actually want to see greater delivery and greater clout from such an organisation. Would it be responsible to you, as the First Minister, or will it be responsible to the leader of the house, because obviously the delivery unit was reporting into you, the First Minister’s office?

I’d like to build on the comments that the leader of Plaid Cymru talked about, in particular education, because actually it stretches across four departments, I would suggest. You’ve got children with Carl Sargeant, you’ve got skills with Julie James, you’ve got the education portfolio of Kirsty Williams and then you’ve got lifelong learning with Alun Davies. In devising your Cabinet, why have you deemed it necessary to have so many functions that affect so many young people across the whole of Government? I take it that responsibilities do touch many departments, but you’ve clearly designated those responsibilities to four different portfolio holders, and I do think it’s important to understand what your thinking was in doing that, and how you believe that function will be delivered across Government so that there will be continuity and delivery of the aspirations that you’ll set out, no doubt, in your programme for government.

I will close on the final remark that I’d like to make, in that you have brought Alun Davies back into Government. I do wish him well in his endeavours as Deputy Minister, but I do draw on your comments when Alun Davies left the Government in 2014, and in particular as I’ve been one of the Members the information he was seeking from the Government records—. You said that the only conclusion was that he wanted this information to be used against those Members. When asked and pressed, you said you envisaged it being very difficult to see him coming back into Government. So, what has happened in the intervening period that you can have reassurances that there’ll be no repetition of the episode that led him to leave your Government back in 2014? Because, at that time you clearly couldn’t give those assurances and I do think it’s incumbent on you as the First Minister who’s appointed him this time around to give us the assurances that we require.

A number of questions there. Firstly, on the agreement with Plaid Cymru, yes, there are some issues like the national infrastructure commission where there are different views as to what that might look like, but that’s what the discussions will be about.

There are three committees that have been set up. Their objective is to identify issues such as legislation early on to see where there is common ground and where there isn’t, and the same with the budget. That’s, I believe, a sensible working arrangement between two parties with a view to achieving agreement in the months to come, and that is something I very much welcome. I would anticipate that the committee would be made up of representatives from different parties—that’s true. It’s a matter for Plaid Cymru who they choose to represent them on those committees, but, from our side, it will of course be a Minister.

The leader of the Conservatives talked about being bound by the outcomes of those committees. That’s not the nature of the committees. The committees are there to achieve agreement, and once that agreement is achieved then of course both parties are in a position where the parties will be able to support that agreement.

On Betsi Cadwaladr, that will stay with Vaughan Gething. He’s familiar with the situation in Betsi. It makes sense for Betsi to remain with him within his responsibilities, and he will report back in due course on progress.

On bovine TB, we will, of course, take a science-based approach. One of the first things that the Minister will be looking at is what the next stages will be in terms of dealing with bovine TB.

Yes, he is right to say that the delivery unit is no more. Some of his Members who are no longer here will claim that as a great victory—I’ve no doubt about that after the slightly obsessive approach that was taken by a former Member of this place. The Cabinet office basically is, in effect, the First Minister’s office. It is answerable entirely to me. It will have many different roles, such as, for example, co-ordinating the legislative programme, co-ordinating the Cabinet agenda and also identifying issues that need to be dealt with early on a cross-Government basis. There is no mystery about that; that’s what it will do.

On children, I’ve allocated portfolios according to what I think at this moment in time is the best fit, but, at the end of the day, Cabinet Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries don’t live and exist in silos. There is always cross-Government working and that’s why, for example, when it comes to an issue like student finance, that will be a Cabinet decision. Of course, there are portfolio Ministers who take decisions on a day-to-day basis but there are major decisions that need full Cabinet input. That’s the way it’s always been and that’s the way it will be in the future.

In terms of Alun Davies, well, Alun, what happened in the past is the past. I’ve no doubt at all that he will be an excellent Minister and somebody who will bring a great deal of expertise to the Government, as will all Ministers. All Ministers have been issued with a copy of the ministerial code and, of course, Ministers will be required to indicate to me that they’ve read it, and that’s true of all Ministers. I’m glad to have the range of expertise available to me that I have.

Like Andrew R.T. Davies and Leanne Wood, I congratulate all those who have been appointed to their offices in this administration, in particular Ken Skates, who informed me the other day that I bought him a drink in the House of Commons 20 years ago. I now look forward to toasting his success at his expense when he returns the favour. [Laughter.]

The First Minister said in his statement that this will be an open, inclusive and transparent administration. I regret to say in relation to these consultative committees that it doesn’t look quite that way on this side of the circle in fact because these committees will be closed to us. They will exclude us, and the method by which they will take decisions and indeed perhaps the decisions they come to will be exceedingly opaque. I think it’s rather unfortunate that a particular segment of Members of this house seem to be excluded now from the process of policy development to the advantage of one other minority parties. I think that, for good government of Wales, it would be to everyone’s advantage if both the Conservatives and UKIP Members in their different ways could be included in these behind-the-scenes negotiations. We will no doubt disagree on many issues, but there are many domestic issues within Wales on which we can find agreement and common cause between parties in different parts of the house, and I offer my own party’s word that we will play a constructive role in this Chamber.

I should secondly like to congratulate Kirsty Williams on her appointment as education Secretary. I’m sure she will do an extremely good job. She’s clearly a very, very capable person. I know that she has taken a great deal of interest in education and made contributions to debates in this Chamber over many years, but this does leave us with a slight democratic problem because, a few weeks ago, she was elected as a Lib Dem AM for Brecon and Radnor and 92 per cent of her constituents voted against the Labour Party, and yet the First Minister confirmed, in answer to a question earlier on, that Kirsty Williams would be bound by collective responsibility and therefore, in effect, has become a Labour AM in this Chamber. When my honourable friend, Mark Reckless defected from the Conservative Party to UKIP, he sought the endorsement of his electors in Rochester in a by-election and I believe that is the honourable course of action. I wonder whether the First Minister agrees that that would be appropriate for the constituency of Brecon and Radnor.

First of all, I think the Member will be surprised at the amount of transparency that exists in this place compared to Westminster [Laughter.] He will certainly become aware of the freedom of information requests that we receive as Government and, indeed, the transparency under which Members operate in this place and have done for many, many years. There’s no secret in terms of what has been agreed; we have published common priorities between Welsh Labour and the Welsh Liberal Democrats, and the nature of the agreement between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru is there for all to see. It is not a secret agreement; it has been published and people can see it for what it is: a way of ensuring that there is a working relationship—not agreement, we know that; we know that there will be areas of disagreement—but a working framework that can be used for the future.

I can assure the leader of UKIP that Kirsty Williams is not a Welsh Labour AM; she is very much a Liberal Democrat AM. If we took the logic of his argument to its full conclusion, then, every single Conservative and Liberal Democrat MP would’ve resigned in 2010 when the coalition was set up at Westminster. Clearly, this is an agreement that we have in place in order to take Wales forward, in order to provide stability and in order, of course, to provide a better and brighter future for our people. We have done that through the identification of common priorities with the Welsh Liberal Democrats and we have done that through the compact that we have reached with Plaid Cymru. That’s the way politics need to be done in Wales in the future. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: there is no point being tribal for tribalism’s sake. That’s not the way the public are, and so it’s hugely important—[Interruption.] Well, the Conservatives have fallen straight into the trap set for them there, but by me saying that there shouldn’t be tribalism for tribalism’s sake, that has exactly demonstrated that that’s exactly what they are.

We will continue to be transparent and we will continue to be open. Of course there will be disagreements within this Chamber—that’s the nature of democracy. But I think it is incumbent on us as a Government to work and reach out with other parties in order to deliver common priorities and in order to ensure that we can deliver the best outcome for our people, and that is the spirit in which we approach the discussions we had both with Kirsty Williams and the Liberal Democrats and also, of course, with Plaid Cymru.

First Minister, I hope I can extend somewhat less barbed good wishes to you and your Government. I think it’s in all our interests that this Government works as effectively as possible, and I look forward to supporting much of what you do. There will be many differences and I shall be most vigorous in pursuing those.

Can I especially welcome Kirsty Williams’s appointment to the Cabinet? I think this is a really good development for Welsh politics. We need to stretch the model of how we do politics in this Chamber. I don’t think many journalists were holding the front page to run a headline, ‘Shock—Liberal Democrats join with Labour in an administration’. I’ve always found Kirsty’s comments here thoughtful, relevant and clear, and, indeed, in the fourth Assembly, I think she had the role somewhat of inquisitor in chief—a role I hope you do now continue, albeit in the secrecy of the Cabinet proceedings, of course.

I welcome the fact that the interests of children have been identified as a distinct ministerial responsibility and I look forward to working with Carl Sargeant in whatever way possible to raise issues of great concern to me, particularly about looked-after children. First Minister, this week we’ve seen disturbing evidence of discriminatory action being taken by the criminal justice system, albeit inadvertently often, against looked-after children, and I hope you and your colleagues will take careful note of the Prison Reform Trust’s review.

More positively, we heard last week that the Prime Minister has formed a Cabinet sub-committee on young people in care and it is charged with drawing up cross-departmental agreements. Can I recommend this approach or something analogous that is suitable to the Welsh Cabinet is taken, because the inter-linkages—. It’s inevitably going to be the case that education, health and other areas of social care will have a vital interest for looked-after children, and you can’t just put all that into one ministerial responsibility. But, effective working multiplies the outcomes we can achieve rather than just adding them together. This is something that we really need to do for looked-after children. In this the fifth session of the National Assembly, let’s really show outstanding best practice for the advancement of looked-after children.

Can I very much thank the Member for his comments? He will know that I’ve taken an interest in this issue for some years given the underperformance that we know of looked-after children in the education system. The difficulty is, of course, that looked-after children need support from many areas, whether it’s through social services, whether it’s through the education system, whether it’s through health. Looked-after children sit within the portfolio of Carl Sargeant. That’s done deliberately so that there can be a holistic approach taken to improving outcomes for them. We know, anecdotally at least, that it is said that it is more likely for a looked-after child to end up in prison than in university. That’s something we cannot tolerate as a society. It’s something that I certainly have taken a personal interest in. It’s one of the reasons why we have a children’s Minister who will then have responsibility across the board for improving outcomes for looked-after children.

First of all, First Minister, can I thank you for your earlier response to Andrew R.T. Davies regarding the committees that the Government will be holding jointly with Plaid Cymru? I have to express my concerns that something that is important as the constitution, which includes, of course, everybody in this Assembly, is a matter for a committee that only involves two parties in this place.

But, my main question today is this: can you explain who is going to be taking primary responsibility for autism policy? Autism affects adults and children. It affects them both in different ways at different times in their lives and to differing degrees. Those differences are one of the reasons why I have my concerns that an autism Act and its ambitions will not be adequately reflected in an additional learning needs Bill. Because it affects social services, health, environment, communities even, I wonder if you can make it plain to us all who exactly will be taking primary responsibility for all autism policy, perhaps in the same way that primary responsibility has been given to one Secretary for children.

Autism sits in two portfolios. In terms of provision, that sits within health and well-being. In terms of education provision, that would sit within education itself. I hear what she says: one of the issues that we have examined is whether the ALN Bill could be adapted to include provision for autism—I see no reason why that cannot be done—rather than there being a separate Bill and that taking more time. We are open to discussions on that, I have to say. So, in terms of provision, she is right to say that it overlaps a number of areas: adults and children, education, and health and well-being. But, as ever, I expect Ministers to work together to be able to deliver a cohesive service for those who are either carers of those with autism or those who are living with autism in order to take us forward.

With the ALN Bill, if there is a significant element of dealing with autism within that Bill, then that would sit within the portfolio of Alun Davies, or within his responsibilities. But let’s see how that develops in terms of whether it’s possible to include provision for autism within a Bill that, at its genesis, was a Bill about additional learning needs. There may be a way, of course, to deal with both issues and then, of course, avoid the need for a separate Bill that might take more time.

Thank you, First Minister.