The next item on the agenda is the business statement and announcement, and I call on Jane Hutt.

Llywydd, I have two changes to make to today’s agenda. The Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children will make a statement on resilient communities and, after today’s debate, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs will make a statement on last week’s oil spill at Nantycaws in Carmarthenshire. Business for the next three weeks is as shown on the business statement and announcement, which is available to Members among the meeting papers available electronically.

Today it was announced that Newcastle-Gateshead will host the first Great Exhibition of the North of England, and we also know that Manchester is planning a bid for the World Expo in 2025. Can we have a statement from the Government on its plans to support a bid from a Welsh city to host a major event in order to showcase Welsh innovation? And would the leader of the house agree with me that there couldn't be a better possible candidate city than the great city of Newport?

Well, I think, Steffan Lewis, you have raised a very important point about opportunities for bidding appropriately, as I'm sure we would do so, in terms of search an event—and take on board your preference in terms of Newport.

Leader of the house, is it possible to have a statement from the transport Minister, please, in relation to lighting on trunk roads? Obviously, trunk roads are the responsibility of Welsh Government, but the pass the day-to-day management over to local authorities in many instances. I’ve noticed, particularly on the A48 through the Vale of Glamorgan, but also in other areas where the trunk road network runs, that there is a considerable number of lights now deliberately switched off. I presume there's a variety of reasons for why that is the case, but it would be good to understand exactly what criteria the Welsh Government set out as to the acceptability of these lights being switched off, which, in some instances, are on quite busy and dangerous junctions. To date, I've yet to find out what the criteria are, so, could we have that statement from the transport Secretary to clearly understand what criteria local authorities are working to under their management agreement with the Welsh Government?

Well, this is a matter for the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure in terms of responsibilities for trunk roads and guidance to local authorities in terms of maintenance and management. Of course, there are risk assessments, as you will be aware, in terms of safety for pedestrians and, indeed, for all who travel on trunk roads and, indeed, on local road networks as well. So, I will seek to clarify the position in terms of lighting on trunk roads.

Members of Haemophilia Wales have welcomed the period of specific Welsh consultation announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport last week in his written statement on payments to people affected by NHS-supplied contaminated blood, because this will give an opportunity for their own particular views to be fed into the system. So, would the leader of the house ensure that there is time, following the consultation, for the Cabinet Secretary to come to the Chamber to make a statement and to tell us about what consultation has been received, and then also on the consequent decisions?

I thank Julie Morgan for that question and acknowledge that I know the Cabinet Secretary for health would also acknowledge your close involvement and support, particularly for those who have been affected—and the Haemophilia Wales group has welcomed the statement issued last week. And, of course, it does bring an end to uncertainty, as the Member says, about the level of financial support people affected by contaminated blood will receive from the Welsh Government in the future. But, I think, as you say, the importance in terms of now looking forward to responses in terms of work that will be done and taken forward is important—those future arrangements; the seeking of further views—and I'm sure the Cabinet Secretary will want to return to make sure that this is reported back to the Assembly and Senedd appropriately.

Could I call for two statements? Firstly on fragile X. Yesterday, in fact, was fragile X awareness day, and, last week, I joined families living with fragile X, a fragile X researcher and the chief officer of the Fragile X Society to walk a mile around Cardiff Bay as part of the ‘fragileXpedition’ of 8,026 miles around the whole of the UK to raise awareness of one of the most common, yet unknown, genetic conditions in the United Kingdom. It is, in fact, one of the most common inherited causes of learning difficulties and is understood to be the underlying cause of up to one in 20 cases of autism. It affects about 600 people in Wales, as well as a further 8,000 who are carriers, yet many people have never heard of it. This has a highly detrimental impact on diagnosis, support and treatment for people with the condition and their families. Given that yesterday was the national awareness day, I hope that my request for a statement will receive an encouraging response.

Secondly and finally, could I call for clarification on the responsibility for issues affecting poverty within the Welsh Government? I had a question tabled—‘How is the Welsh Government tackling poverty in Wales?’—on the order paper tomorrow, accepted by the Table Office, but we received a response from the Welsh Government that this falls within the portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, and I’ll therefore receive instead a written answer from him. Clearly, poverty has traditionally been considered by the Welsh Government as a social justice matter, falling in the communities portfolio, with contributory factors including family breakdown, substance misuse, childcare, worklessness as an economic matter, and much more. Many of the aspects around poverty such as the tackling poverty programmes and Communities First still remain in the portfolio of the Minister, and in fact, the question I was going to raise was specifically around child poverty, on behalf of the Children’s Society. I would therefore seek clarity on this. For example, where should we in future direct questions on child poverty? Should it be to the Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, the Secretary for Communities, or otherwise? Thank you.

I thank the Member for those questions, and I also thank Mark Isherwood for drawing attention to the national awareness day yesterday for a condition that I’m sure many of us in this Chamber were not aware of—and to see that this is a condition, in terms of fragility, that affects a person’s life chances, and it affects many more people than we perhaps would have been aware of. So, I thank the Member for drawing it to our attention today in the business statement.

On your second point, of course you are quite right that, in terms of tackling poverty, this is a responsibility across the Welsh Government in terms of ministerial responsibility, but the Table Office was quite right, and you will see this from portfolio responsibilities, that the lead Minister is the Minister for economy and infrastructure. But clearly, if you are gearing your question to issues that affect children or child poverty, it would go to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children. It is absolutely clear that this is something where there is shared responsibility, but the lead for that in terms of the Cabinet as a whole is Ken Skates.

I was opposed to the legislation requiring letting agents and managing landlords to undertake training to obtain a licence from Rent Smart Wales, but that debate has been had. I have been contacted by several constituents over the past seven days who have reported to me that Rent Smart Wales don’t seem to have sufficient staff to be able to take calls and queries from members of the public. Now, given the fact that the deadline for completing the training and obtaining a licence is fast approaching, can I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary responsible for housing on Rent Smart Wales and their capacity to communicate and take calls and queries from members of the public effectively?

Well, we’re quite well aware of the fact that you were opposed to what was a very progressive piece of housing legislation that was supported across this Chamber. But it is important, of course, that it is now implemented appropriately and effectively and so of course we will take on board these issues. But clearly, there is a timeline for this in terms of the responsibilities of Rent Smart Wales, and I will ask the Cabinet Secretary to look at the issue that you raise.

I thank the Minister.