There was a varied FMQs today, with questions ranging from the M4, average earnings, the planning system and also a polite warning from the Llywydd.
Llywydd warns Senedd Windbags
The Llywydd, Elin Jones (Plaid, Ceredigion), started by saying AMs should've been informed by their party's respective business managers of her intention to be “stricter” in requiring members to make short, succinct contributions. She threatened to call to order any member who, “denies others the opportunity to scrutinise by not coming quickly to a question.”
Hallelujah. There are no single AMs who can be pointed at for doing this, but it's one of the more annoying habits in Cardiff Bay, particularly when they ramble off-topic.
Party Leaders
You're going to need some background to the first set of questions or it won't make sense.
A public inquiry in to the Newport bypass – due to start in November - was delayed until 2017 because the UK Department of Transport changed the methodology used to measure traffic data without giving the Welsh Government appropriate notice. Subsequently, the Welsh Government have had to re-calculate all their figures for the M4 through Newport.
Conservative leader, Andrew Davies (Con, South Wales Central), described the delay as “bitterly disappointing”, though he wasn't convinced the Welsh Government were as unprepared as they claim, with proof in a letter to Mohammad Asghar AM (Con, South Wales East) that they knew about the changes as far back as December 2014 – so why did it come as such a shock? Could the First Minister also commit to having a solution in place by 2021?
Carwyn described it as “a curious tale” and rejected the letter. Highways England had been told about the change two weeks before the Welsh Government, who in the end had to ask for the information themselves – normally there's a 9-12 month period of consultation. There are also flaws in the new data model that are unsuitable for Wales and benefit schemes in London, South East England and East England.
There's still an aim to have a solution for congestion in Newport in place for 2021, but Whitehall's behaviour is “unhelpful”.
Leader of the Opposition, Leanne Wood (Plaid, Rhondda) selected a number of different questions relating to migration.
Firstly, the UK Home Secretary's plan for companies to list foreign workers. Those plans have been scaled back but the data will still be collected; is there anything the First Minister can do to prevent it happening in Wales?
Secondly, the “brain drain” - where Welsh graduates leave and rarely return during their working lifetime. Leanne said there had been very little focus on emigration in discussions on migration generally. Plaid had a policy on this in the 2016 election, offering incentives for graduates to stay or return; would the First Minister do something similar?
Lastly, Leanne gave a harrowing account of the experiences of an unaccompanied 12 year old boy in the Calais refugee camp, who was deliberately introduced to heroin and exploited by traffickers. With the UK Government agreeing to take 300 children from the Calais camp, how can we be sure local authority social service departments and child protection systems are ready?
The First Minister said he wouldn't list foreign workers in the Welsh Government or sponsored bodies; suggesting non-UK passport holders are somehow not deserving or jobs or using the information against employers is dangerous and discourages inward investment.
On students, he doesn't want to discourage them from studying anywhere they want, but it was important there were enough skilled jobs for them in the first place. On the refugee problem, he said predatory behaviour thrives in an atmosphere of desperation. Carwyn recently met with the WLGA member responsible for refugees, and both he and the WLGA want to ensure children find safety in Wales.
UKIP leader, Neil Hamilton AM (UKIP, Mid & West Wales), said Wales was still languishing at the bottom of UK rankings for average earnings. We need a low-tax enterprise economy and Brexit gives us the tools to achieve greater prosperity. He was disappointed the Welsh Government's EU advisory group contained few people with practical business experience or those who backed Leave; wouldn't it be sensible to include people who see the opportunities of Brexit?
The First Minister said inequality increased markedly during the 1980s – more than any other decade. Also, employment in Wales was at a record high alongside low youth unemployment due to Jobs Growth Wales; the economy's moving in the right direction.
On tax he believed UKIP had opposed tax devolution? Neil said they oppose it without a referendum. The First Minister did think there was merit in using corporation tax breaks as it's practical and shouldn't seriously impact the Barnett formula. He also pointed to Nathan Gill AM (Ind, North Wales) as a member of the advisory group who both supported EU withdrawal and has experience in the EU.
Backbenchers
Nick Ramsay AM (Con, Monmouth) asked for an update on the timetable for the construction of a £300million Critical Care Centre near Cwmbran. There was growing concern about rate of progress in south east Wales, and Nick called for the First Minister to take charge of issue and reassure communities they'll still get this “vital piece of NHS infrastructure”.
In reply, the First Minister said there's been an independent review and the Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething (Lab, Cardiff S. & Penarth), will receive the information next week; a project of this size and scale needs to be properly considered (apologies, as you can tell I was expecting a bit more here).
Rhun ap Iorweth AM (Plaid, Ynys Môn) focused on trade between Wales and Ireland. The question of the post-Brexit Irish border has been raised, and it's a crucial issue in his constituency (as it's one of the main crossing points), particularly if there's a desire to strengthen border controls. What assessment has the First Minister made on the likely impact on cross Irish Sea trade?
The Republic of Ireland is Wales' 4th largest export market, with exports worth more than £1billion in 2015. Carwyn identified a number of problems; nobody wants to see a “hard border”, but nobody can see how it could be avoided. If a system were introduced where you needed a passport to fly between Northern Ireland and the “mainland” (though you still need some sort of photo ID), it's likely the DUP would oppose it.
Best of the rest:
- The First Minister believes broadcasters in receipt of public funds should “properly portray the diverse communities of Wales”. As part of the BBC Charter review (more here and here), the BBC will be obliged to reflect on this and set out how it intends to meet those duties. This will hopefully stem the decline in English language programming, and there've been discussions over whether Wales needs its own 6pm and 10pm news bulletins – to Rhianon Passmore AM (Lab, Islwyn).
- Improved planning processes for housing are being delivered through the Planning Act 2015. It will seek to ensure the Local Development Plan (LDP) process is done in an appropriate time scale. It's hoped this will give people a better understanding of how the planning system works, but it's also important there are different tenure models for people looking for homes, and to see if there's scope to intervene in local housing markets to ensure there's enough housing available for locals in villages - to David Melding AM (Con, South Wales Central).
- There are “no plans” to review TAN8 (the planning guidance for renewable energy, particularly wind farms). Problems with the system don't lie with the TAN itself, but in the artificial limit on the size of energy projects the Welsh Government can approve (which is being raised to 350MW in the Wales Bill). The First Minister supports Wales having the same powers over the energy grid as Scotland – to Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales).
Written Question of the Week
Janet Finch-Saunders AM (Con, Aberconwy) asked about WLGA investigations into equal pay claims against local authorities and how the Welsh Government intends to proceed with the recommendations.
Finance & Local Government Secretary, Mark Drakeford (Lab, Cardiff West), said the WLGA's investigation found there were 600 outstanding claims for equal pay, describing it as a “complex area” that has resulted in some claims taking longer to resolve than others. This includes claims from people who've left local government in the last few years and the extension of the deadline to make a claim to 6 years from the date of an alleged breach of contract.
Local authorities are responsible for their own employment matters and, to date, the Welsh Government have been able to approve all requests by local authorities to use borrowing/capital budgets to cover equal pay claims (known as a capitalisation direction).
Statement of Opinion of the Week
There were no new statements of opinion this week, so I'll state my own opinion: I listen to vaporwave unironically and it's the future of music in the internet age.
0 comments:
Post a Comment