Item 2 on the agenda this afternoon is the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Minister for Finance and the Trefnydd—Rebecca Evans.

There is one change to this week's business. The First Minister will deliver a statement: update on EU negotiations. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out in the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

I would really like the Minister to provide a statement on the horrendous flooding that occurred in north Wales and other parts of Wales, actually, this weekend. We were really hit badly in Aberconwy and I saw things I've never seen in any other flood prior to. The A470 was closed the whole length of the Conwy valley and the reinforced railway at Llanrwst is now dreadfully damaged and it will be several weeks before that is in use again, after having some money spent on it only recently. Houses and businesses were flooded in Dolwyddelan, Betws-y-coed, Maenan and, indeed, Llanrwst, where again the Dutchdam did not work—and that is a flood alleviation scheme, quite an expensive piece of kit that was put in, and it's not the first time that it's failed, so I would really ask that a statement is given on that. To the west, Gwydir castle and gardens, the only grade I listed gardens in Wales, saw its sandbag defence give way and a terrifying fast-flowing torrent.

Trefnydd, this incident this weekend absolutely caused so many problems for me in Aberconwy and my residents. We had young people being rescued from the roof of a car—it's in all the national newspapers. And, frankly, there's a huge contention now that the flood alleviation scheme that has been put in place some years ago—whilst it's benefiting some, it's actually having an adverse effect on others. I've called a public meeting for 5 April—that's all I can do at the moment as an Assembly Member. I am really imploring this Assembly—this Welsh Government—to please make a statement and provide some reassurances for my residents, for people now. My businesses are facing thousands and thousands of pounds' worth of damage; some are not even able to open. There needs to be further support, and there needs to be a new look at the flood defences in Conwy. Thank you.

Thank you very much for raising this issue. And it does give me the opportunity to express our thanks to all of those in Natural Resources Wales, the local authorities and the emergency services, who worked so tirelessly over the weekend to respond to the flooding events across the country.

We had a statement on flooding and flood defences just last week from the Minister, who outlined a £50 million programme of investment for flood and coastal risk management across Wales. And that means that, over the lifetime of this Government, we'll invest over £350 million in flood and coastal erosion risk management in Wales. I think we can say that we have received reports of assets working well over the course of the weekend, including in Llanrwst, Conwy valley, St Asaph and Bangor-on-Dee, where the flood schemes in place did reduce the number of properties flooded. We know that around eight homes were flooded, and around 40 properties have had their gardens flooded as well. And, clearly, our thoughts are with those people, because it's a terrible experience for anybody to go through. We know that NRW have reported defences and procedures in place at Bangor-on-Dee performed well, protecting 381 properties within the flood warning area. Conwy County Borough Council report that telemetry systems it installed on culverts, using Welsh Government funding, have also worked well and allowed them to view and identify areas where debris was blocking water courses, to enable them to send out teams to those areas to remove those blockages quickly. And, of course, the remote cameras installed at Plas Isaf in Llanrwst worked well during the flood event, providing council staff with a warning of potential blockages to water courses, allowing them to have the time to send teams to clear the area, ensuring that the risk of flooding to properties was removed.

So, I think that the evidence does seem to be that, certainly, defences did work well, protecting a large number of properties. It will be several days of course before the full impacts have been identified, and I will ensure that the Minister writes to you ahead of your meeting on 5 April, so that you do have the very latest on Welsh Government action in this area.

Trefnydd, I call for two statements. The first: Estyn and the school organisation code of the Minister for Education have both noted the need to look at the possibilities of federalising thoroughly before schools such as Felindre, on the outskirts of Swansea, are closed. Now, as the governing bodies at Felindre and Lôn Las school, nearby, have unanimously agreed on the principle of federalisation, isn’t it the role of the education authority in Swansea to assist Felindre school in every way possible to bring this about? Now, there’s no mention of this in the cabinet papers of the city and county of Swansea this week. So, is it possible to have a statement on what oversight the Welsh Government has in terms of ensuring that our counties follow national guidance, such as the school organisation code, and what sanctions are in place if they fail to do so?

And, secondly, Trefnydd, you will be aware that last Friday the independent review into the Swansea bay city deal was released. That review, conducted by Actica Consulting, was commissioned, of course, by both the UK and Welsh Governments. What flows from this report is a number of recommendations for change in order to improve governance and speed up delivery. It is clear from reading the report that there are frustrations from both the UK and the Welsh Governments' perspective and from the regional local authorities in terms of how the city deal is progressing. It raises a number of questions as to the effectiveness of the structure of the Swansea bay city deal. What strikes me is that there is much improvement to be made in terms of the working relationship between the Welsh and UK Governments and the local authorities. When the first recommendation looks to encourage, and I quote, 'direct and regular face-to-face' talks, you know that something is not quite right. In a scheme of this magnitude, you would expect direct and regular face-to-face talks to be a prerequisite.

What is also striking is the slow pace at which cash is being released by Welsh and UK Governments. Recommendation 7 makes reference to the fact Welsh and UK Governments should ensure that funding is released immediately for Yr Egin, Carmarthen, and the Swansea waterfront projects. The theory behind the city deal structure in Swansea bay is that funding should be provided by both Governments early on to front-load the funding profile of projects, enabling them to be delivered. However, we have a farcical situation whereby Yr Egin development in Carmarthen has been built, has been officially opened last year, and is nearly fully occupied, yet the UK and Welsh Governments have still not released the funding. People are rightly asking, 'What is going on here?' Now, I appreciate that there's an informal briefing to AMs arranged for tomorrow morning, but a number of Assembly Members will clearly not be able to attend that session due to the need to attend committees here. With that in mind, could I ask the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport to bring forward a statement on the Swansea bay city deal in this Chamber so that we can discuss in public the next steps for the city deal? Diolch yn fawr.

Thank you for raising both of these issues. As you say, the Deputy Minister has offered a briefing to Assembly Members tomorrow on the Swansea bay city deal and the independent review that was undertaken. I realise that some Members won't be able to attend that, so I will speak to the Deputy Minister to explore whether there's another opportunity for Members to have that opportunity to have a face-to-face discussion with him in the first instance to go through that report. And, of course, the economy Minister will be taking questions in the Chamber tomorrow afternoon, so this would be another opportunity to raise that issue there. 

I'm very well aware of the issues facing Felindre school, but also Craigcefnparc school, both of which are in my constituency, and I've certainly, in my AM role, made representations on behalf of the community. I would encourage you to write to the education Minister if there is any lack of clarity in terms of the role of Welsh Government in the decision-making process and the advice that we provide to local authorities in these kinds of circumstances. 

The biggest killer of young women is cervical cancer, and I think there's a great campaign going on at the moment across the UK to get young women to overcome any embarrassment they have about their bodies and to come forward and have cervical screens, which can save their lives in many cases. But I'm dismayed to read that, in England, there is absolute chaos in the laboratories, where they're amalgamating laboratories from 50 to nine, and that's producing huge delays in the rate at which people get the result of their screens back. I just wondered if you could give us an update on what the state of the laboratory testing is in Wales, and whether we've been protected from such chaos that has been developed by the UK Government. 

Thank you for raising this issue. We're certainly in a very different place in Wales to the position that England is finding itself in, because, of course, we're the only country in the UK to offer high-risk HPV testing as the primary test to all people attending for cervical screening. This is a more sensitive and more accurate test, and its use will prevent more cancers than the previous test, which is still the test used across the rest of the UK. We know that over 99 per cent of cervical cancers are caused by high-risk strains of HPV. Public Health Wales, which delivers the cervical screening programme, successfully rolled out our approach in September. Cervical Screening Wales prepared for the implementation of the new screening for several years, so they've ensured that they maintain staff and sustain the service throughout that transition to the new test. So, we haven't had the same issues that they're seeing across the border. 

I'm glad that you mentioned the new campaign, which is being launched currently. It's called #loveyourcervix. It's just been launched this week, I believe, and it's to encourage young people particularly to go for their test, because we know that, even though we have a good story to tell in terms of how quickly we can give people their test results, actually we are seeing a decline in the number of people showing up for screening, particularly younger women, who are the demographic of most concern to us. 

Organiser, could I seek two statements, or certainly one statement and some confirmation from you? Confirmation, in the first instance: when on earth will we get the decision from the Welsh Government around the environmental impact assessment on the Barry incinerator? I seem to stand up here every month, and I think we're into month 13 now. The Member for the Vale of Glamorgan and the Deputy Minister is sitting there; the First Minister is sitting there. The Welsh Government gave a commitment in February of last year that it was minded to instruct that an environmental impact assessment would be required for the incinerator in Barry. We are now in March 2019. Last week, NRW issued a notice to say that they were content for new conditions to be applied for the discharge from the plant. I don't blame NRW, because, from my meetings with NRW, they have no role to play in this decision, they don't, as to whether an EIA is required or not. So, can we today at least have some confirmation of when that might be with us? Because when people hear other Members in this Chamber talking about the future of this institution in Barry, they most probably do question what is the worth when commitments are made in this Chamber and they're not seen through. And can we have a 'yes' or a 'no' at the very least, please?

Secondly, could I seek a statement from the Deputy Minister for transport in relation to the developments around the improvements to junction 34 from Sycamore Cross in the Vale of Glamorgan? Some people would call it 'improvements', some people would call it 'vandalism of the countryside'—you can be anywhere in between. This is about the proposals to deliver a new road linking junction 32 to Sycamore Cross on the A48. There are works being undertaken at the moment on certain sections of that road, and I think an updated position of what the new Minister's position and view is about Welsh Government support for this project would be most welcome. As I said, there is a new Minister in position now and, if this project is to go forward, it would have to have Welsh Government support, both financially and politically, for this project to be delivered. So a statement of intent would be appreciated to understand. 

Thank you very much. On the Barry incinerator, I'm afraid the position remains as it has thus far in that, as soon as the legal advice is available to us, then we will be able to provide that decision. Unfortunately, I'm unable today to give you a date for that. 

On the issue of your query regarding junction 34, of course, there's the opportunity for you to raise this matter directly with the Minister during his questions tomorrow. Alternatively, if the opportunity doesn't arise, I would certainly recommend writing to the Minister for that clarity. 

On Thursday, we'll observe the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and it comes just after the horrific race-based far-right attack that killed 50 people and wounded just as many as they were worshipping in New Zealand. And yesterday, of course, there was another terrorist attack in the Netherlands. Many people are feeling nervous, understandably, in the current climate, so what can the Government do to reassure people, especially those Muslim citizens of Wales who may be feeling especially exposed, that their concerns are going to be taken seriously? This is particularly important in the light of populist politicians and others joining in with hate speech against them. What also can be done with the social media companies who've been held responsible for fuelling and multiplying this hatred? I'd like to see a statement in response to those questions. I'd also welcome some sort of agreement in principle of an open and united show of solidarity to indicate that, as citizens of Wales, we are all one and that we abhor racism, supremacism and hatred in all of its forms. So, will you agree to that in principle?

Today's publication of a House of Commons committee report describes how some women have found themselves having no other option other than to turn to prostitution as a result of the Tories' benefit reforms, which have been, of course, driven by austerity. It's no wonder that many women have found themselves pushed into this predicament. The House of Commons Library estimates that, looking at all the changes to taxes and to benefits from between 2010 and 2017, 86 per cent of the reduction in Government spending is spending on women. The fact remains that all women, no matter what job, background or circumstances, but especially those women working in the sex industry, have the right to be safe. Our aim, surely, should be towards working towards a world where all women are free from abuse, sexual violence and assault. Sex workers' voices must be heard and they must be included in that vision. And that's why I've given my backing to the Make All Women Safe campaign. What plans does the Welsh Government have to look into this matter in detail in Wales, which is clearly affecting more and more people as welfare reform doubles down?

Thank you for raising both of those issues, and I'd certainly agree with you that any kind of race-based discrimination, or discrimination of any kind, but particularly in the context of what's happened over the past few days, has absolutely no place at all in Wales. And you'll be pleased to see that the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip has just today provided a written statement that outlines Welsh Government's approach to this issue, particularly the discussions that have been had with the police and other services in order to ensure that the Muslim community in particular is supported not to feel vulnerable and fearful at what is clearly a very, very difficult time.

On the House of Commons report, of course, later on today we have a debate on the impact of welfare reform and, as you say, many women are finding themselves pushed into sex work as a result of finding themselves in poverty as a result of welfare reform. Welsh Government has been engaged on this issue. I was at an event with Julie James in her previous capacity, when she was in charge of equalities, which was an event alongside the police and other organisations looking to support sex workers, particularly in that case in Swansea, but I know a lot of good co-operative and collaborative work goes on across all sectors to support women who find themselves in that position.

Further to my recent request for a statement on rip-off prices for through train tickets via Bridgend, can I repeat that call? I had an interesting Twitter exchange yesterday between me, my constituent and, fair play, a very engaged Transport for Wales Twitter account operator, and it revealed that (a) the same ticket from Maesteg to London, compared to Bridgend to London is £31 more expensive, when a ticket from Maesteg to Bridgend is £2.60; secondly, that disparity didn't exist, my constituent insists, prior to TfW, although TfW refute this; but thirdly, TfW say that this is Great Western Railway pricing policy over which they have no say whatsoever. Now, that's fascinating, because we are only two or three stops up the line for a £31 difference. So, could we please have a statement from the Minister that clarifies the responsibilities of TfW and GWR on through ticket pricing through Bridgend, and whether it's acceptable that passengers on the Llynfi valley line are, due to their auspicious ostentatious wealth, their yachts and second-home apartments in downtown Manhattan, expected to pay for the privilege of subsidising poor inter-city travellers from Bath or Bristol or even Bridgend in their wealthy mansions down there?

Secondly, could we have a debate on climate change, following the protest by young people under the climate strike banner? Now, this would allow the Minister, who's here today, to set out her ambitions for Wales to lead the way by turning Wales into a nation where it is genuinely an active travel nation, where it is more natural to cycle and to walk and to take public transport rather than to slump behind a steering wheel; where we respond positively to the Institute of Welsh Affairs report to move to 100 per cent renewables by 2030 and create 20,000 green jobs per year in renewables every year; where all new homes are zero carbon or positive energy; where we accelerate our programme of retrofitting older homes, creating more green jobs; and where we halt and reverse the decline in biodiversity and so much more? Now, some people will criticise these young people for taking a day skiving off school, but I have to say that I thank them for reminding us of our privilege and our responsibility as politicians to tackle global warming and for Wales to lead the way, even if the UK has lost its way. Wales now needs to live by the adage 'Be the change you want', and a debate would allow the Minister to hear ideas of how we could do this and to set out her stall on how Wales can be that global leader.

Thank you very much. On the issue of train ticket pricing, I know that the Minister for Economy and Transport will write to you shortly on this matter, but it is a historical issue that goes back to the point of rail privatisation in 1998, and journey flows allocated to rail franchisees were allotted to the primary operator, which is normally either the operator whose services are direct over the specified route or the operator whose service operates over the greater part of that route, which is why, in some cases, it will be GWR and, in others, it will be Transport for Wales. So, the issue is highly complex and I'll certainly make sure that you do get a full response to that query.

With regard to climate change, clearly it's one of the greatest threats facing all of us, but I certainly encourage young people to be having their say and to be shaping the debate and to engage with Welsh Government in order to bring about the actions that we need to strengthen our response to climate change. You'll be pleased to know that the First Minister is launching our first low-carbon delivery plan on Thursday of this week, and this sets out the actions we'll take to meet our first carbon budget. These actions will cover key emissions sectors, such as transport, agriculture, land use, buildings, power and waste. As part of that launch, we have included young people and they'll be speaking at our launch event as well. So, once that plan is published and Members have had the opportunity to look at it, we'll bring it back to the Assembly after the Easter recess for a chance to discuss it.

Trefnydd, could I ask for two statements, please? I'm aware of a peak-hours embargo on abnormal load movements, including abnormal load movements of carrying caravans, on almost all roads in the greater Manchester police area. From 1 April, vehicles will be stopped and not allowed to continue their journey during peak hours, as I understand this. This will affect a number of holiday parks in mid and north Wales because Hull is a centre for the UK caravan manufacturing industry, and timely and effective distribution of caravans is, of course, essential for the viability of the sector. So, I'd appreciate it if the economy and transport Minister could liaise with greater Manchester police and a statement could follow to clarify the impact on Wales in this regard, as, clearly, there is a significant impact in regard to these movements affecting the tourism sector here, and, as I understand it, there hasn't been any consultation. So, I would be interested if the Welsh Government has been consulted on this particular issue.

Secondly, the recent high river levels and flooding downstream of Clywedog has been a concern. I did hear your response to Janet Finch-Saunders and recognise a statement was issued last week, but my specific concern centres on the management of the draw-down from the two dams in my constituency and I would be grateful—. It would be helpful to receive a statement on the Welsh Government's current position on the management of water levels at Welsh dams and, in particular, of course, the two that I'm interested in, Clywedog reservoir and Lake Vyrnwy. 

Thank you for those issues. On the first, I'll certainly ensure that the economy Minister writes to you with regard to any discussions that we have had with Manchester police or the local authority there in order to ensure there is smooth movement of traffic so that it doesn't affect our tourism industry in your part of the world particularly.

And may I suggest that you write to the environment Minister on the issue of the draw-down from the two dams that you're particularly concerned about?

Trefnydd, further to the points raised by my colleague Leanne Wood, I'm very grateful to the Deputy Minister for equalities for her written statement in response to the dreadful occurrences in New Zealand and now, of course, in the Netherlands. However, I would ask Government to reconsider whether we could, in fact, have this presented as an oral statement to enable us to scrutinise and to further challenge the Government on what actions are being taken to counter far-right extremism and extremism of any kind.

Of course, the written statement sets out a lot of the existing work that's already going on and that's work that, certainly, all of us in Plaid Cymru would strongly welcome, but the Deputy Minister in her statement refers, of course, to the vigil that was organised on Friday by the Muslim Council of Wales. I was very pleased to see the First Minister and other senior politicians there. I was very glad to represent Plaid Cymru. The Deputy Minister, I'm sure, will remember us being very strongly challenged by one of the young Muslim speakers, saying, 'You have to do better'. And I'm afraid that I rather feel that what we've got in the written statement is a statement of what has already been done, and it is good, but I think it's incumbent upon us across the political spectrum to provide reassurance, but also to look at other additional actions. I, for example, would be very interested to see the Government committing to funding some research to look at what are effective strategies for dealing with extremism of all kinds and to counter its growth, because we know that some of the current strategies being taken, for example through the Prevent programme, are not always successful.

So, I would ask if you could possibly reconsider—. I mean, ideally, a debate in Government time would be best because we can contribute fully, but, failing the time for a debate—and I appreciate how much time pressure there is in this Chamber—and if a debate is impossible, I would ask the Deputy Minister to bring the written statement as an oral statement so that we can ask further questions. 

Thank you very much. Of course, the Deputy Minister was here to hear your contribution. I'm sure that she will give it some further consideration.

May I start by joining the leaders from across the Chamber and the First Minister in congratulating the Welsh rugby team on their fantastic win this weekend? They should be incredibly proud of what they've achieved over the last weeks, and I'm looking forward to seeing them coming back from Japan at the end of November with the World Cup and bringing the tourism trade with them, as the First Minister's already alluded to previously.

Llywydd, I know that the Member for Blaenau Gwent has taken a keen interest in the Irn-Bru Cup, and that's why I hope he, along with the Trefnydd, will wish Connor's Quay Nomads all the very best for their final versus Ross County on the weekend. Everyone in Deeside is fully behind the team, and I look forward to making the journey up to Inverness this weekend and meeting with a fan who's flown from Australia for the game. That's how important it is to the people of north Wales.

But, Llywydd, don't worry, the sport doesn't stop there, there's more to come. At the end of the month, I'll be lacing up my boots. I'll be coming out of retirement and playing for the Offside Trust versus the cast of Hollyoaks. But on a more serious note, Deputy Llywydd, will the Trefnydd make a statement and arrange for the relevant Minister to make a statement on what's being done to support charities like the Offside Trust who support victims and survivors of child sex abuse so that we can ensure we do stamp out abuse in sport once and for all? Thank you.

Thank you very much to Jack Sargeant for raising what is a really serious and important issue. I remember, when I was in the sporting portfolio, I was very keen to explore how we could best work with the governing bodies to ensure that children and young people were safe when they were taking part in sport. I know that the current sports Minister will write to you with an update on those kinds of discussions. And, of course, I take every opportunity to wish the Connah's Quay Nomads the best, as I do most teams—[Laughter.]—and I thank Jack for raising this again.

Could I request two statements, please, particularly if they're not raised in topical questions tomorrow? The first is one on the situation with Dawnus construction, and while I thank Welsh Government for the short written statement that was received at the end of last week, I think it would be very valuable for Members to have the opportunity to ask questions, for the collapse of such an important company to the Welsh economy is definitely worth an oral statement, I think.

Secondly, I would just endorse Dai Lloyd's request for a statement on the Swansea bay city deal. While I share his frustrations regarding the speed at which some of the money is being released, that's hardly surprising when you consider that there have been some serious questions raised about risk management, possibly in conflicts of interests across the city deal governance structure. If we could have an oral statement on that, I think that would be extremely important because the future of this is serious and it's such an important opportunity for our region, which, of course, includes your constituency, that it would be a shame if we don't get a chance to discuss it fully. Thank you.

Thank you very much. You'll remember that Ken Skates did make a written statement on Dawnus immediately following the news at the end of last week, and officials are monitoring the progress of administration proceedings. We'll certainly be working with the administrator, once appointed, to ensure the best possible outcome for everybody who is affected. Officials are also working with partner agencies in the private sector to support direct employees who have been affected by the news. And we realise, of course, that this is a very upsetting time for everyone concerned, and we'll seek to support the individuals affected into new and secure long-term employment.

Welsh Government has also engaged with the Construction Industry Training Board to try and ensure that there can be new placements identified for apprentices so that they can complete their training programme. And, of course, there will be some significant impacts to the Welsh supply chain, so we're working with the Development Bank of Wales to support those businesses who have been affected.

Obviously, there will be some significant ongoing Welsh public sector contracts that are affected, and we will work with the administrator to ensure that the delay, disruption and any additional costs are kept to a minimum. I've spoken about this issue to Ken Skates this morning, and I know that he will welcome the opportunity during questions tomorrow to provide further information and to keep the Assembly as up to date as possible.

I, too, would like to ask for two statements from the Government this afternoon, firstly on the media and access to news in Wales. We've heard in recent weeks that two commercial stations serving Wales are withdrawing their locally produced breakfast shows, and we heard last week that Radio Wales is withdrawing Good Morning Wales and replacing that in May. Taken together, this is a significant issue for a country that is already very short of access to news and current affairs about not only the governance of Wales, but what happens in this country. And I hope that the Government will be able to take a view on these matters and provide an opportunity for Members to discuss and debate these issues and then look forward to how we might address the very real issues facing us in terms of a news and current affairs deficit in this country.

The second statement I'd like from the Government, if possible, is to follow up the motion that the Welsh Government laid in front of Members some weeks ago that included a commitment to start to prepare for a public vote to allow the public to have a final say on any negotiations or any deal with the European Union. Now, I'm aware that the First Minister is making a statement on the negotiations around the European Union crisis, if you like, later this afternoon, immediately after this statement. But I would like to hear from the Welsh Government on what Ministers have been doing to deliver on the commitment made both by Welsh Government and then supported by Members across the whole of this Chamber to begin preparations for such a vote to take place. It would be useful for Members, I think, to understand what actions individual Ministers have been taking and what actions the Welsh Government has been taking in order to promote this policy and in order to ensure that a public vote takes place to enable all of us to have a democratic final say on issues around Brexit and the European Union.

Thank you very much. In relation to commercial radio in the first instance, obviously, the sector makes a vital contribution when we consider the importance of ensuring plurality of services in Wales. As a Government, we certainly don't want to see the further relaxation or removal of the current localness rules on commercial radio. We've regularly emphasised this to Ofcom, and in addition, we've raised this issue in the context of the Assembly's Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee's inquiry into radio in Wales. We appreciate that commercial radio operations must be financially viable in order to be sustainable, but we do urge Ofcom to engage with the industry to identify other options to support the sustainability of commercial radio, without relaxing those localness rules, especially in relation to local news provision.

With regard to the issue of BBC News, BBC Cymru or BBC Wales's breakfast provision in future, I understand that there have been proposals to change that, and I would suggest that you raise your concerns directly with the relevant Minister, who will be able to make representations on your behalf.

And, as you say, we do have a statement from the First Minister on Brexit as the next item in the Chamber this afternoon, and I would suggest that you raise the issue during that statement.

I call for two statements. First, on apprenticeship funding, a week ago, in the Chamber, the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport delivered a statement on apprenticeships and investing in skills for the future. During his contribution, he said, that there is

'a conjuring trick taking place by the UK Government on the funding of apprenticeships, because we were not given additional funding to reflect the levy. The levy is...a tax on businesses and we've not had the funding passed on—£120 million or so was cut by the Government in England on public sector apprenticeships, and, lo and behold, £120 million appeared in our budget to fund this scheme.'

However, a letter dated 20 July 2018 from the UK Home Secretary to Eluned Morgan, who was then Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, said that the amount of money being passed to the Welsh Government under the Barnett formula has been guaranteed in the spending review. The sum uses £128 million in 2017-18, rising to £133 million in 2018-19 and £138 million in 2019-20. So, could we have a statement clarifying (a) how much the Welsh Government received under the previous system, (b) how much public services in Wales are having to pay into the levy, which the Welsh Government then has to compensate with the amount it receives from the UK Government, and (c) confirming that it is actually receiving the figures covered in that letter from the Home Secretary last July, or otherwise if you have evidence to the contrary?

Secondly, could I have a Welsh Government statement, please, on support for standard gauge heritage railways in Wales? And I'm sure that many of us love our heritage railways. I've been asked to bring to the attention of elected representatives an article in the Denbighshire Free Press earlier this month on Llangollen Railway's Corwen project. This said that volunteers building the link between two Denbighshire towns say they need £10,000 to finally complete the project. They've completed 10 miles of the line between Llangollen and Corwen since trains stopped running 45 years ago, a platform has been created, but a gap remains in the embankment between the new station in Corwen and the rest of the line, and the aim is to fill that gap. The project for the terminal is costing about £1 million. Approximately £600,000 has been down to the work of volunteers, and they want to, hopefully, complete this before the summer season, because attracting people to join the train at Corwen is essential and the town will benefit from the additional visitors too.

If I could call for a statement on support for our standard gauge heritage railways—because we know the Welsh Government does support our narrow gauge heritage railways—and applaud and see how we can support that massive volunteering effort, which is not only delivering heritage projects, but also offering so much to the tourism and broader economies of areas that so much need that stimulus.

Thank you for raising that. I will certainly write to you with the clarity you require relating to the apprenticeship levy, and I will also make sure that the appropriate Minister writes to you regarding the standard gauge heritage railways, but I will take this opportunity to join you in congratulating the volunteers on the work that they do in order to preserve this part of our heritage and our history, and also to promote and enhance tourism. 

And finally, Mohammad Asghar.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for health on the recent findings with regard to cervical screening in Wales? Cervical Screening Wales said that a third of women under 30 years of age are snubbing invites to be tested for cervical cancer, which is really a dreadful disease. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among young women. As with all cancers, the earlier the disease is diagnosed, the better the outcomes for the patient that can be achieved. Can we have a statement from the Minister on what action he intends to take to increase the number of young women having this vital screening in Wales?

And the second statement I would like to have in this Chamber is on community cohesion and safety. In the light of what happened in New Zealand, I hope this country will set an example as the most loving, understanding and for cohesion among the communities and the well-being of everybody who lives in this part of the world, and debate it in the Chamber regularly, to guide the world on how we live and how we improve our standard. Thank you.

Thank you very much. On the issue of cervical cancer, I refer you to the answer I gave to Jenny Rathbone earlier on this afternoon, but recognise, as you say, that earlier diagnosis is extremely important, which is why the turnaround times for cervical test results in Wales—we work very hard to ensure that we exceed our target of 95 per cent of results being received within four weeks, with actually 99.2 per cent of women receiving their test within the standard time, so I think that that is a testament to the work that's going on in that area. But as I said earlier, we're certainly not complacent, and would encourage Members to get involved with the #loveyourcervix campaign, which is particularly aimed at young women, who are currently the group who are least likely to attend for their screening.

I can only agree with and echo your point about Wales being a loving, understanding and welcoming country, and I hope that that was reflected in the written statement that the Deputy Minister put out earlier on today.

Thank you very much, Rebecca Evans.