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

There is one change to this week’s business. Business Committee has agreed to reduce the time allocated to tomorrow’s questions to the Assembly Commission. Business for the next three weeks is as shown on the business statement and announcement found among the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Leader of the house, could we have a statement, please, on the St Athan aerospace park? We’ve only recently had the good news around the Aston Martin development of the Red Dragon hangar, but some years ago, obviously, Cardiff Aviation set up at the aviation park, and they’ve faced some considerable commercial challenges. Welsh Government put a considerable sum of money into Cardiff Aviation locating at the aerospace park, on the pretext of creating a certain number of jobs, running into the hundreds. They have had a challenging commercial time there and trading has been quite challenging. There are also other businesses located on the aviation park that have obviously experienced difficulties with the runway being open over weekends and night-time working, in particular. So I would be grateful if you could secure a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for the economy to outline those two aspects: one, how the aviation park is now working—in particular around 24/7 working, and in particular the ability to bring planes in and out; and, secondly, with the specific request about Cardiff Aviation, considering the considerable amount of public money that went in to secure this relocation, and in particular, the jobs associated with the company, what measures is the Welsh Government taking to make sure that job targets are being met? And if there are any doubts about those job targets, what action has been taken to safeguard the public money that has been put into this company?

Thank you for those questions. On the first question, St Athan aerospace business park, of course, is part of the enterprise zone, and I’m very familiar, again, with the 24/7 working issues, which obviously is where Welsh Government has to secure the support of the Ministry of Defence and also the Civil Aviation Authority. So, I certainly will ask the Cabinet Secretary for an update on those arrangements, but obviously it’s not just Welsh Government here, in terms of responsibilities for securing that, in terms of security and aviation safety. On your second point, again, in terms of Cardiff Aviation, that is a matter that I will draw to the attention of the Cabinet Secretary.

I’m just raising the issue with regard to Juhel Miah in my constituency, my region, again. I know that other AMs have. I’ve had communication with him this week, you see, stating that he hasn’t had any response from the First Minister. The First Minister obviously wrote to the US authorities with regard to the fact he was taken off the train to America—. Train? Plane. That would be interesting—new technology. And so, he’s very concerned that he hasn’t has a response from the First Minister. Obviously, he welcomes the fact that the First Minister has made those representations, but would like to know what has come from those communications, so that he can understand what next to do. I’m going to meet him at the end of this week, but I think if he could get assurances from the First Minister before I meet with him, I would be very grateful, considering that he feels in quite a vulnerable position having been treated in this way, but not understanding why, as a schoolteacher, as a British citizen, he has been treated in this manner.

I will certainly raise that with the First Minister. I am aware that he not only, of course, as you know, wrote the letter clarifying the position, but he has also—. I think I understand that he might have had a response from that letter from the Foreign Secretary, so it is now an opportunity to update on that position. Thank you for raising it.

Last week, I held a meeting with the senior management of Barclays bank after it announced it was making 100 people redundant at its Llanishen mortgage advice centre. Many of these people have been working there for many years—20 years or more—and are highly skilled. So, it is a real body blow that these skilled workers are going to be made redundant. Would she be able to ask for a statement about what the Welsh Government can do to support workers like these, who have been working for this one company for many, many years and who feel that their skills have been thrown away?

I think this is another disappointing announcement from another major high street bank, and we’ve had them in all our constituencies across Wales—and also, indeed, Yorkshire Building Society; another one very recently. We've been aware of Barclays’s restructuring programme, and it obviously is a trend, as we've said—an unfortunate trend—in terms of the banking sector. So, the Cabinet Secretary for infrastructure and economy has written to Barclays, urging them to reconsider the decision. We want to safeguard jobs across Wales. We will, obviously, help in terms of staff facing redundancy. I think it's worth mentioning the ReAct III programme. That provides a comprehensive package of support to people in Wales affected by redundancy, and, of course, that is something where possible new employment is to be found soon after redundancy, preventing progression into long-term unemployment. So, there's been contact made between Barclays and Careers Wales and Jobcentre Plus. We've also alerted our employer contacts, including the Welsh contact centre forum, about the possibility of skilled staff coming into the jobs market over the next few years, and they're going to work, where they can, with Barclays and affected employees. Yesterday, a fast-expanding customer service venture, Firstsource, announced that it's going to begin a two-day recruitment event later this week, hoping to create a further 300 jobs in Cardiff—Discovery House, as we know, in Cardiff Bay, and Oakleigh House in the city centre. Also, we have the Vodafone announcement of 100 new customer service jobs. So, I think all these connections will be made to give some hope and prospects to those people who may unfortunately lose their jobs, particularly in terms of your constituency and the Llanishen mortgage advice contact centre.

Could I call for a single statement on police funding in the context of the apprenticeship levy? As you may know, police forces in England can access funding for apprenticeships through the new digital apprenticeship service account there, but, in Wales, the Welsh Government approach, which is different, means that Welsh forces can't. When I raised this in the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, regarding our inquiry into the apprenticeship levy with the skills Minister, I highlighted their need for access to funding for accredited courses in Welsh colleges, where they are contributing over £2 million a year to the levy, but currently can't access it. I was told that the Welsh Government would instead strike up a grant or contract arrangements in dialogue with the college policing, and that they had meetings in the diary with the police and crime commissioners in Wales. Well, last weekend, I was informed that those meetings with the police and crime commissioners had been cancelled and not rescheduled. In that context, this Assembly merits a statement to bring us up to speed so that we can ensure that officers in our police forces in Wales are not penalised and can access that funding for their vital training and apprenticeships.

Well, do I detect someone who has now converted, Mark Isherwood, to devolving policing to Wales? Because we certainly haven't got responsibility in terms of policing, and we’re not, certainly, responsible for introducing the apprenticeship levy, which we have huge concerns about. Obviously, we will look into the situation in terms of how to take the dialogue forward with the police and crime commissioners.

Can I ask the leader of the house when she thinks the Government is likely to allow time for a debate on the annual report and accounts of Natural Resources Wales, which were laid on Friday? I don’t know how many Members have had the chance to look at this yet, but if I can inform everyone that the accounts have been qualified by the Auditor General for Wales, and qualified in a very specific and heavy way—. The qualification, which details over five pages, which I won’t read out at this stage—I hope to have a debate where we can go into it. But I would say that it relates to a sawmill and timber operation worth £72 million over 10 years, and the main conclusion that stands out for me from the auditor general’s qualification of the accounts is his conclusion at paragraph 16 that says,

‘the decision to award a number of very significant contracts to the sawmill operator was, in my view, contentious and repercussive.’

On that basis, he has qualified the whole of the accounts, as well as those relating directly to the £72 million account.

Now, there are a number of issues here. For example, one of the reasons for the contract volume awarded to the sawmill operator was designed to enable it to make a major investment in its sawmill. However, the auditor’s qualification refers to information received that

‘the required contracted investment in the operator’s Welsh premises had not been made’.

The auditor doesn’t come to any conclusion on value for money, because that’s not his job when he audits accounts. However, he does say this:

‘In my view, the commitment of NRW to sell the sawmill operator a high volume of timber over a ten year period would appear to be an opportunity which other operators may have been interested in.’

The inference is that £72 million-worth of contracts were laid without a proper tendering process, not meeting state-aid rules or general rules of public law. This is very serious, and it’s compounded by the fact that the introduction to the annual report by the chair and chief executive of NRW makes no reference to this whatsoever, and doesn’t say what they’re going to learn from this process, or what steps they’re taking to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. In fact, they contend that the auditor general has—that his qualification is ‘disproportionate’ to the shortcomings identified. I think £72 million-worth of shortcomings are rightly highlighted by the auditor general, and I would like to see the Welsh Government bring forward as early a debate as possible on these accounts and the annual report so that we can hold Natural Resources Wales to account.

Thank you, Simon Thomas. If I can clarify, and you obviously raise this in your question, the qualification does relate to Natural Resources Wales’s record keeping in relation to a sales contract let in 2014. It is an issue for the Natural Resources Wales accounting officer, who is the chief executive, and this matter should be considered, I would say, by the relevant Assembly committees. In fact, NRW have been invited to appear before the Public Accounts Committee on 28 March and 2 May, so those, I think, are the first appropriate steps to take.

I would like to ask for a Government statement on the current GP contract. I’ve been told by constituents recently that one surgery is refusing to change dressings and referring patients to the hospital. Another surgery will only provide repeat prescriptions via computer request, which is exceptionally difficult for some of my elderly constituents. The same surgery refuses patients an appointment until the doctor has spoken to them. The patients aren’t able to know whether that is right or wrong, and whether the GP surgery can do it. I’m unable to tell them that, and, most importantly, when I contact Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Local Health Board, they say that GP surgeries are private contractors to the NHS, and they’re not happy to take it up with them. So, I thought someone somewhere must know what the contract is, because I think what they’re doing is unacceptable.

Thank you, Mike Hedges, for that question. I think—well, in terms of the GP contract, as you will, of course, be aware, it was agreed with the Welsh General Practitioners Committee on 4 March 2017, and, in fact, that contract—. There are important changes to the GP contract that you’re trying to clarify on behalf of your constituents. There is going to be an increase in general medical services of approximately £27 million. Now, that includes an uplift of 2.7 per cent for GP pay and expenses for 2017-18. It also includes provision for GP practices to provide new enhanced services, including care homes, warfarin management, diabetes, and the delivery of secondary care initiated phlebotomy tests to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

As we announced, and as the Cabinet Secretary announced, this is about negotiating an improvement and updating the contract, but it’s about modernising it to better meet the needs of the public and the profession. So, that obviously—. In terms of the experience, this is not yet—this is for 2017-18, so, within the next few weeks, it will be implemented.

Can I request a statement please on Welsh Government making payments to suppliers in a timely manner? I am aware, from bus operators that have raised the issue with me, that late payments are, of course, causing cash-flow problems for some bus operators, particularly smaller operators. I’m aware that the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, last week, during the statement on bus services, said that this issue is a local government issue. But it is very much a Welsh Government issue. So, I would very much welcome a statement confirming that the issue of late payments from Welsh Government in this regard will be addressed.

Obviously, this is an issue that Welsh Government needs to be made aware of, and in terms of the role of local authorities as well. Certainly, this can be brought to the attention of the Cabinet Secretary. I think that there’s a lot of interest at the moment in the opportunities for bus services in terms of the bus summit that was held on 23 January.

I declare an interest because this matter does relate to Cardiff council. It’s an important matter and relates to transport. The cabinet member for transport on Cardiff council is refusing to act on dangerous routes to school. Two roads come to mind: Heol Isaf in Radyr, where cars speed at up to 70 mph, and Caerau Lane in Caerau, where the road heads towards Mary Immaculate High School and children have to cross over, hundreds of them, a busy road, which is really dangerous. [Interruption.] With the greatest of respect, I’m trying to ask the Minister for a statement and I would like your attention, please, instead of heckles.

Carry on with the question, Neil McEvoy.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Your colleague is quoting the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 to defend his position, because, technically, he is legally correct, but, morally, I would say he is wrong, because there’s a world of difference between the aspirational routes in the Act and where children actually walk and how they actually get to school.

So, will your Government write to the council reminding them of their responsibility to keep our children safe? I would like some kind of statement about this matter, because safer routes to school are extremely important, and, for a very, very small amount of money, we can keep our children safe. Diolch.

Well, the Welsh Government is responsible for a very pioneering and important policy in terms of Safe Routes to School, providing funding for local authorities. Of course, they apply for that funding and present proposals for safe routes to school and safe routes in those communities. The council, of course, is well aware and clear about their statutory obligations in relation to the learner travel Measure.

Leader of the house, on Friday evening, an ambulance crew was attacked while trying to care for people. Unfortunately, this is not the only case, and recent figures have shown that there’s a rise, year on year, in the numbers of staff who are attacked across Wales. Friday was another unacceptable and deplorable attack on our public servants while trying to do their job. Can we have a statement on what support the Welsh Government can give to safeguard our front-line ambulance staff and indeed all our emergency services who come to work to save lives and provide care and assistance, often under difficult, traumatic circumstances?

I respect the fact that the Member has brought that to our attention and I think it does bring to light again those totally unacceptable incidents of violence against—. We have zero tolerance to violence against our staff. These are staff who are working under huge pressure. This is an issue that, of course, we take very seriously in the Welsh Government in support of the Welsh ambulance services trust. It is important, of course, again, that the local health board also is aware of that and it is followed up and, if necessary, action taken to protect the staff.

I thank the leader of the house.