11. 8. Debate: Government Priorities and the Legislative Programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:53 pm on 4 October 2016.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 5:53, 4 October 2016

The business case is still being assessed, but we do understand that there is a need to modernise and upgrade facilities in Gwent, in the Aneurin Bevan area. That’s something that the Minister is fully aware of, but we need to make sure that the project is, of course, robust from a financial perspective, that it can move forward, and ensure that the circumstances exist where that can happen. That’s the objective.

In terms of education, we’re seeing more and more improvements in GCSEs. He mentioned O-levels; I’m surprised he can remember them—I do, I know that. We’re happy with the way that GCSE results are improving across Wales; we expect that to continue. He mentions detail; if you want detail, look at our manifesto. There you’ll see the suggestions that we put before the people of Wales, and we will keep to them.

In terms of what was said by two Plaid Cymru speakers—time is short I can see, Presiding Officer. Well, we know that it’s hugely important: she and I are on exactly the same page and we don’t want to see powers filched away from this place and taken to Westminster. We’re not seeing that now with European funding and I welcome that, and I look forward to working with the leader of the opposition on legislative proposals. We are fully aware, given the arithmetic of this place, that any proposals have to be capable of support across the Chamber, and we look forward to working with her on that.

In terms of some of the issues that Simon Thomas raised, there are two issues there to be addressed very quickly. In terms of a national infrastructure commission, he will know that I am quango averse. It is especially difficult, I think, to spend tens of millions on quangos when that money could be better used elsewhere. That needs to be examined very, very carefully. Also, of course, I saw the proposals today that were put forward—I read them with interest—from Adam Price, but it would mean a revenue commitment of £700 million a year from the Assembly’s revenue budget, which is a not insubstantial sum if those proposals were taken forward.

On waste, this is the real problem. Waste arisings can be dealt with because they’re in Wales, but in terms of packaging, of course, how do you monitor that? You can do it in shops. It’s much more difficult if you’re doing it as people buy things from abroad. So, I agree with him that minimising waste as it arrives in Wales is a hugely important issue, but dealing with it has been trickier. Of course, once it’s already here it is dealt with, and we’ve seen our recycling figures improve. I heard what he said about the autism Act and moving forward in terms of reasonable chastisement.

If I can turn to what my colleague Jenny Rathbone said. Emissions reductions are important to us. I’ve already mentioned the target by 2050. I do hope to be here. Not in this job—you heard it here first—but certainly alive in 2050. So, I suppose, at that point, I will be asked my view on it, no doubt, if I’m able to give such a view. In terms of food, Britain will never be self-sufficient in food. The war taught us that. Fifty-four per cent of the food that we consume is produced in the UK. Because of our topography and where we lie on the globe, it’s not possible to produce many vegetables and fruit without actually some quite energy-intensive methods of doing so. It’s true that Iceland produces tomatoes—it has geothermal energy. If we were to go down the same line, a lot of energy would be consumed in terms of producing those fruits and vegetables. So, we have to look at how that stands in terms of the need to reduce emissions globally.

Very, very quickly, because I can see that the time is running out. I heard what Nick Ramsay had to say. I have to say that there are challenges, of course, in getting robust taxation legislation that is also fair in place. We’re up for that task. It is a great shame that air passenger duty hasn’t been devolved. I still can’t work out why the Secretary of State for Wales sees it fit to defend the interests of airports outside Wales and not an airport in his own constituency, which is the great irony. No reason has been given as to why APD shouldn’t be devolved, other than the fact that it was given to Scotland, that was a mistake and so Wales shouldn’t have it. That is the level of debate that we have had in that regard.

Finally, my friend and colleague John Griffiths. It’s absolutely true; we are moving forward this autumn with the development of the goals further in terms of putting more flesh on the bones—we understand that. The active travel Act is absolutely important. As someone who was on national route 4 on Sunday, on my own bike, I know how important it is to make sure that cycling is seen more and more as a mode of transport as well as a form of healthy recreation. That means that our local authorities, in getting to grips with the active travel Act, have to ensure that more and more safe cycle rules are made available so that people can travel to work. We know that for many, many occasional cyclists they don’t want to mix with cars on the roads, and they need to have the facilities to be segregated from cars and then travel to work safely.

I’m over seven minutes, Llywydd. I hope I’ve dealt with most of the issues that have been raised. Of course, I fully understand that, with the programme now having been put before the Assembly, it is up to us as a Government to deliver it.