This business statement and announcement is next. I call on Jane Hutt.

There have been several changes to the business statement for this week’s business, Llywydd. Today’s business now also includes oral statements on building on our recycling success for a circular economy, apprenticeships in Wales, volunteering week and a report on the working group on the Welsh language and local government. Additionally, the Business Committee agreed to the reordering of tomorrow afternoon’s debates. Business for the next three weeks is as shown on the business statement and announcement found among the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Can I request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health on the ‘Together for Mental Health’ consultation, which closed shortly before dissolution? The document covers a wide range of important mental health issues, but it is the proposals on a dementia-friendly nation that I want to focus on. Having led the short debate in January calling for a comprehensive and fully resourced national dementia strategy for Wales, I responded to the consultation echoing the goals and actions I consider vital: dementia training, support workers, public awareness campaigns, to name just a few. Given that this consultation is now closed and a new Government and Minister are in place, I’d be grateful for a statement with an update on progress so far, setting out priorities and timescales going forward.

I think Lynne Neagle has consistently raised these issues and played a full part in terms of responding to the consultation, seeing it in the context of ‘Together for Mental Health’, the delivery plan. Of course, as you say, the formal consultation is now closed. So, we are committed to developing a new dementia strategic action plan for Wales, working closely with key stakeholders. The final version of that delivery plan will be published in the summer.

Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I would like to raise two issues with you, and I do hope that the Government will be able to respond with statements on these issues.

First of all, we today commemorate the massacre in Orlando with a minute’s silence in this Chamber, and it was noted that the flags of the Assembly and the Welsh Government were at half-mast today and yesterday, with the rainbow banner among them, of course. Can we therefore have a further statement from the Government on its policy on flags? You will recall that I raised this with you last when the Welsh Government actually raised its flags to half-mast to commemorate the death of the King of Saudia Arabia, which was an insult to the people of Wales in my view. Now, the First Minister said at that time that there would be a review of the policy, and rather than slavishly following the advice of the Foreign Office, the Welsh Government would develop its own policy. What, therefore, has been the outcome of that review? Can we have a statement from the First Minister explaining the guidance now in place for Government, in order to decide when flags should be flown at half-mast?

The second question I’d like to raise with you is that this Assembly has a reputation for being innovative in legislating in two languages, and the Government is working in the same way. It was a disappointment, therefore, for me to see that Chris Grayling, the leader of the other House, had rejected calls for the use of the Welsh language in the Welsh Grand Committee in that other place. Those demands, to be fair, had been led by Chris Bryant. Now, the Welsh language can be used at that committee when it meets in Wales. We knew that because I did so myself in Cwmbran some years ago, and it’s about time that the same right should be made available when the committee meets in the House of Commons itself. Could you, therefore, as the business manager in this place, lead the way in providing practical support for the Commons to actually overcome the prejudices that they have against the use of the Welsh language, to provide advice from Government so that that can be achieved, and to report back in the appropriate way to this place?

Diolch yn fawr, Simon Thomas. Certainly, I think on your first point, it’s worth just spending a moment recognising the tragedy and the massacre at Orlando and the fact that we did bring together a lot of people yesterday outside the Senedd—members and allies of the LGBT community, people of different faiths, joining Wales with other nations in that show of strength and solidarity for all those who are affected by the tragic and deeply saddening attack in Orlando. Of course, we were able to have that moment of silence, very appropriately, at the beginning of this session today. As you said, the First Minister did say he would review that policy, and I’m certainly happy to follow that up. It was very good to see the rainbow flag with the Welsh dragon, and the recognition of that in the way that we as an Assembly had pulled together in support. I think that was very welcome last night. But I would also say that, of course, this is about how Welsh Government, the Assembly and Stonewall Cymru work so closely together to tackle LGBT inequality.

I want to say on your second point that I was also very disappointed. I will certainly be happy to not only approach the Leader of the House of Commons, but also to work with the shadow leader, Chris Bryant, on this issue. Again, it not only is disappointing, it’s disrespectful in terms of the Welsh Grand Committee, not just in terms of those entitlements and rights, but the respect for the way in which we here, of course, work together with our two languages.

Leader of the house, I’d be grateful if you could please ask the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to bring forward a statement clarifying the Welsh Government’s new approach to dealing with bovine TB. As has already been said in this Chamber today, recently published official Government statistics show that there has been a huge year-on-year increase of 78 per cent in the number of cattle slaughtered in Pembrokeshire as a result of bovine TB. Now, in last week’s business statement, you said, in response to the Member for North Wales, that this will be an issue for the Cabinet Secretary in terms of one of her early considerations of the situation. Given that the Welsh Government has suspended the vaccination programme, it’s quite clear that the Government does not have a current policy to eradicate bovine TB. In the circumstances, can you please encourage the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to bring forward a statement on this issue as soon as possible so that Welsh farmers can understand exactly what the Welsh Government’s approach to dealing with bovine TB actually is?

Paul Davies, I’m very happy to repeat, I’m sure, the same words that I used last week in terms of questions on the business statement: the Welsh Government is committed, led by the Cabinet Secretary, to deliver that science-led approach to the eradication of bovine TB. Our comprehensive TB eradication programme—that is our policy, led by the Welsh Government—includes annual testing of cattle, strict biosecurity measures and movement controls. This approach, of course, is aimed at tackling all sources of infection. I again repeat those statistics: between May 2011 and November 2015—that’s the latest period for which we’ve got results—the trend in new TB incidents in Wales fell by 19 per cent. There is no sign that the supply issue regarding the BCG vaccine will be resolved in the short term. Of course, when it does become available, we will make a decision on the way forward with vaccination in Wales, and continue in terms of implementing the policies. A new TB Order came into force on 1 April, changing the way farmers are compensated for cattle slaughtered for TB, and those changes do aim to reduce the risk of the disease spreading by encouraging best practice, and that does follow a full consultation with the industry. Of course, it is a question of discussing with the farming community, which the Cabinet Secretary is undertaking, to ensure that they are fully aware of our commitment in terms of the positive approach that we’re taking with our TB eradication programme.

I’d like to thank the Minister for Government business for her statement. We have five statements today—four newly announced. I just wondered if the number of statements reflect the fact we’ve come through a recess, Ministers have been recently appointed and are perhaps finding their feet following the election, and there are more statements than one might normally expect, or has there been a particular decision, with the self-denying ordinance, I believe, on legislation for the first 100 days, to use the opportunity of Government time to perhaps give statements on a wider range of issues than would be the norm?

Mark Reckless, I’m very glad you welcome the fact that there are oral statements from a number of Cabinet Secretaries today. It is vital that Welsh Government and our Cabinet Secretaries do have the opportunity to update the Assembly. Of course, questions on my Business Committee statement always raise other issues that I know you would like Cabinet Secretaries to make statements on, and, of course, they will appear in due course. This is an opportunity, and I’m sure the statement this afternoon will receive robust scrutiny from across the Chamber.

There is a substantial need in Wales for good-quality housing, not least in Swansea East. I would like to ask for a statement by the Minister with housing as part of their portfolio on how they intend to increase the availability of social and co-operative housing, including support for councils such as Swansea building new council houses?

Well, I know that the Minister is very committed indeed, with former responsibilities for housing in previous portfolios, to progressing not only investment in social housing, but also in the more innovative ways in which social housing can be delivered through the co-operative approach. Of course, there have been pilots that were undertaken by the former Minister with responsibility, Lesley Griffiths, in terms of co-operative housing as one route to ways in which we can provide that affordable housing, with new ways in which they can be managed as well.

I call for a single statement on support for Wales’s armed forces veterans, following the ‘Call to Mind: Wales’ report, published at the beginning of this month, which showed that much more needs to be done to support the mental health needs of veterans in Wales. Only a fraction of the estimated 10,000 Welsh veterans living with mental illness of some form are being referred to NHS Wales. The report was commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust, but based on interviews with veterans and their families and people working in the voluntary and independent sector. It called for increased Veterans’ NHS Wales capacity; increased data to inform, commissioning and service provision; more to support family and carers; and it highlighted the work needed to progress and to identify the need for involvement, liaison and action with people in the armed forces, serving and/or at transition into civilian life, and proposes that veterans and family members’ mental and related health needs are considered in the new legislation introduced at the end of the last Assembly, such as the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

So, could I call for a statement? We need a statement detailing the Welsh Government’s proposals and the new health Minister’s proposals to make assessment of, and provision for, the mental health needs of Wales’s veterans a priority of this Welsh Government.

This Welsh Government will be very happy to provide that statement, Mark Isherwood. Of course, as you say, although led by the Minister for communities and children, this will also involve other Ministers, including the Minister for health, and it provides an appropriate opportunity for me to respond today, in answer to that question on the business statement, that we will progress with a statement, as you called for.

I’d like to ask the leader of the house about a point of practice about the issuing of statements to opposition parties in advance of their being read out in this Chamber. I appreciate the courtesy that this is, and it is important, I think, that debate and scrutiny should be informed, for that debate and scrutiny to be best. Today, I received copies of these statements at 13:20, so that didn’t leave any time at all before coming down to the Chamber to read them. I appreciate that today’s statements are not exactly controversial, but there will come a time when they are controversial, and they may require a bit of research in order to respond to them properly. So, I’m wondering if the leader of the house would undertake today to ensure that, in future, the Welsh Government does give opposition parties proper notice of statements, so that they can prepare for debate.

Well, I’m very happy to provide the leader of UKIP, Neil Hamilton, the clarification of how we do manage this, how we have managed this in this Senedd, and to offer you every courtesy, as I do to all business managers. Hard copies of our oral statements are circulated to party business managers through their offices, as close to 1 o’clock on Plenary days as possible—I think business managers will recognise that—and they, obviously, have to be subject to ministerial clearance. And it is for individual business managers to pass those copies of the statements to the relevant spokespeople within their parties. So, in accordance with that, I know the hard copies were passed to Mark Reckless, in line with that established and long-standing practice. But, of course, then electronic copies of the oral statements are e-mailed to all Members, once the Minister has started to deliver them. I hope that that, again, will progress as customary practice.

I thank the leader of the house for her statement. The Government in the fourth Assembly welcomed the conclusions and recommendations of the Welsh Co-operative and Mutuals Commission, chaired by Andrew Davies. Will the Government bring forward a statement outlining what steps it will take in the fifth Assembly to take those recommendations forward?

Well, I know Jeremy Miles’s interest in the work of the Welsh Co-operative and Mutuals Commission, of course chaired by Professor Andrew Davies, a former Member of this Senedd. It reconvened last year, in February of last year, to take stock of how the recommendations are being implemented. All Ministers then, obviously, had to respond. They reported on their findings earlier this year—in February of this year. There has been progress in those 18 months, since the publication of the first report. It is crucially important to ensure that we see how new co-operative ways of working and doing business are becoming the norm, not the exception. Perhaps a couple of examples: the publication of the alternative delivery models action plan—that came out of the review undertaken by Keith Edwards, ‘Is the Feeling Mutual? New Ways of Designing and Delivering Public Services in Wales’—and also a new support facility, Social Business Wales. Now, interestingly, as far as Social Business Wales is concerned, that was a European regional development fund project. We provided funding towards this £11 million European Union-funded project, and that’s going to, of course, support EU-funded Social Business Wales enterprises and co-operatives.

Could I raise two matters with you, leader of the house? The first is: could we have a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for local government on the obligation that he believes local authorities have to maintain council roads? It seems, across the whole of the south Wales region, councils seem to have given up filling in potholes and maintaining the surfaces of the public highway. And the amount of constituents I have raising this issue—and I can see certain Members sniggering at this, but, actually, for most Members it’s quite an important issue, and for a lot of constituents, who suffer the blight of potholes and dangerous surfaces, it’s most probably one of their biggest priorities when they come to see their elected Members. I’d be grateful—where there is an obligation placed on the local authority to maintain those surfaces, what is the expectation of the Welsh Government in them fulfilling that obligation, and, indeed, when the Minister makes money available to local authorities, does he make sure—and categorically make sure—to those local authorities that they have a duty to maintain the fabric of the highway in their respective areas?

The second point I’d like to make is to add voice to the concerns already raised about the bovine TB strategy—and I do declare an interest as a livestock farmer—that the Welsh Government do have. Yes, there are many controls in place at the moment, but one of the central planks of the strategy was the vaccination policy—and we can argue the merits of that strategy, but, obviously, that was what was put in place by the previous Government, and I presume it is the policy of the current Government to maintain that—and it is a fact that the vaccine supply has ceased to come forward now. So, one of the central planks of the Government’s strategy to eradicate bovine TB here in Wales has been removed, and it is critical for livestock farmers to understand exactly how the new Government will come forward with a comprehensive strategy that is joined-up and isn’t just mere window-dressing. Ultimately, in many parts of Wales, this terrible disease is driving many businesses out of existence by the excessive costs that they have to face and the emotional trauma that they go through when the blight of bovine TB visits that particular business.

Andrew R.T. Davies, I completely understand the concerns that constituents and residents have about the state of their roads and their local roads. We know that that’s an issue that’s raised with all of us as Assembly Members. I’m very proud of the fact that it’s a Welsh Labour Government that worked with local government to develop the local government borrowing initiative, which enabled us to actually then support and assist the borrowing of local authorities, which we didn’t have and they have got, to undertake a comprehensive investment in improving road structure across the whole of Wales, involving all of our 22 local authorities. Of course, that meant thousands of construction jobs and demonstrably better environments, particularly in some of our more deprived communities. Now, of course, we would like to continue with those kinds of initiatives if we, of course, had a better financial settlement from the UK Government, under your party’s leadership, because these are key issues, which local government, alongside the Welsh Government, want to tackle.

I have responded earlier to the questions about our Government’s commitment to the eradication of bovine TB. Of course, this is one of the top priorities of the Cabinet Secretary.

Following the massacre at Orlando and the vigil outside the Senedd last night, would the business Secretary consider tabling a debate to give the opportunity for Members to highlight areas of policy where further progress could be made in ensuring that discrimination suffered by members of the LGBT community could be tackled? At the vigil last night—and I know the Minister was there—speakers were highlighting issues of concern in Wales, and that included hate crime, homophobic bullying, which we have discussed in this Chamber, I know, on a number of occasions, and inequalities in giving blood. In light of the dreadful experiences in Orlando, would she agree that we should assess our performance in Wales in tackling discrimination and promoting equality? Perhaps having a debate in the Chamber would give us all an opportunity to share those views.

I thank Julie Morgan for raising that again, following Simon Thomas’s questions to the business statement earlier on, and, again, how important it was that we were there—members of the Government as well as Assembly Members—to listen to those powerful messages and to hear from those who have been affected by that hate crime, and also to see a very good article in the ‘Western Mail’ today by Andrew White: stand together against hate and look to a brighter future. Also, can I say how Jeremy Miles, Hannah Blythyn and Adam Price spoke so powerfully yesterday at the vigil and put on the record how you have made that stand and for us to be held to account for how we can then take this forward in terms of tackling discrimination and barriers to the equality of LGBT people in Wales. Of course, as I’ve said, it is about us working closely together. Also, I think it’s about activities in schools, as well as workplaces, the community working along with our public services in tackling hate crime.

And finally, Nick Ramsay.

Diolch. Leader of the house, I wonder if I could ask you for an update from the new Cabinet Secretary for infrastructure and transport on the development of the south Wales metro scheme. Members of the previous Assembly will remember that I was most concerned when the town of Monmouth dropped off some of the south Wales metro maps, reappeared on others and dropped off subsequent maps. So, I’d be grateful for an update on where we are with making sure that the south Wales metro does reach all areas of the south Wales network it is supposed to, including some of the more far-flung rural areas, not just the urban areas.

Secondly, could we have an updated statement from the Cabinet Secretary for local government and finance on where we are with the devolution of taxation and specifically the development of a Welsh treasury function and Welsh Revenue Authority? In your previous role, you were heavily involved in this, leader of the house. I know you’ve handed the reins on now to the Member for Cardiff West. I think it’s very important, with time pressing on, that we make sure that we are moving towards the structures that we need when the devolution of certain taxes happens, so that this Welsh Assembly and Welsh Government is able to hit the ground running at that point in time. Time is pressing on and I think we do need to know where we are with the development of those functions.

I thank Nick Ramsay very much for those questions. Of course, he’s been a strong advocate for his constituency of Monmouthshire and Monmouth in recognising the importance, particularly to Monmouthshire, of the metro. You’ve raised this on many occasions and we’ve had updates or statements to the Assembly, and of course in due course the Minister for economy and infrastructure will want to come to the Chamber and, of course, as we then move into the committees that we’re establishing, there will be further opportunities, and indeed tomorrow, of course, questions to the Cabinet Secretary, which would be very appropriate.

On your second question, of course, my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government is also hitting the ground running in terms of moving forward, making good progress with the preparation of the introduction of devolved taxes. We’ve had Royal Assent for the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016, which I was very glad to take forward, with further legislation on land transaction and landfill disposals taxes due to be introduced later in this year. But also crucially important, Nick Ramsay, are the talks that are under way with the UK Government, seeking agreement on the fiscal framework underpinning our future funding arrangements.

Thank you, Minister.