Same stuff; different week. You know the drill.
FMQs, 1st November 2016
Party Leaders
Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood (Plaid, Rhondda), returned to the controversy over the rejection of an Autism Bill by the Assembly recently, which “flew in the face of what campaigners want” and has cross-party support. With autism sufferers being let down, and with funding often following legislation, could the First Minister see why it was being pushed? Would be change his mind if a new motion appeared?
The First Minister said it was an “open question” as to what a law would add, and whether if there's a law for autism, should there be a law for cancer etc. The Public Health & Social Services Minister recently said the “door was still open” for an Autism Bill, but further work needs to be done and money doesn't necessarily follow laws; though he accepted services need to improve.
Conservative Leader, Andrew Davies (Con, South Wales Central) underlined some of the challenges facing Wales on teacher recruitment and retention. There's been a 50% increase in the number of teachers quitting after 5 years, a 16% increase in teachers taking early retirement as well as a 9% decrease in applications for training places this year alone. Was the First Minister confident the Education Department can turn these figures around?
The First Minister believes the recent announcement that teachers' pay and conditions will be devolved will allow the Welsh Government to offer a comprehensive package – as done in Scotland; there's no reason for the profession and government to be in conflict. He has “every confidence” in the Education Department and rejected the idea it was in any kind of trouble, believing the story stems from one of the union leaders, Dr Philip Dixon, trying to sell a new book.
In probably the most entertaining exchange of the afternoon, UKIP leader, Neil Hamilton (UKIP, Mid & West Wales) said everyone has reason to be cheerful following recent good news stories on the economy, including Nissan at Wearside and economic growth figures. If we approach Brexit negotiations optimistically, we'll achieve more; but the First Minister only sees problems when there's no reason major industries couldn't remain competitive. He also cited the recent major gains by an anti-emigration party in Lithuania as a sign that we should work with other countries to stem migration.
Carwyn was blunt; “Brexit hasn't happened yet”. Economic improvements have also been driven by services, not manufacturing. He welcomed the Nissan announcement, but believes the UK Government have revealed their negotiating strategy to Nissan before the UK Parliament – which displays a “troubling piecemeal approach”.
The First Minister directly asked Theresa May to rule out any trade deal that results in tariffs (See also : What type of Brexit suits Wales?) - he was told no. This is because nobody agrees with each other, which is a “complete and utter shambles.” A free trade agreement with “the wrong country” (like Mexico) could also destroy manufacturing here, while there was a need for a sensible and humane approach to freedom of movement.
Backbenchers
Nick Ramsay AM (Con, Monmouth) asked about levels of business rates. There's a massive level of uncertainty in rural areas as a result of a business rate re-evaluation. There will always be winners and losers in such things, but many businesses in Monmouthshire are facing an 11% hike which could send some to the wall.
Business rates will raise just under £1.06billion for 2017-17, and in response to the re-evaluation, a £10million transitional fund will be provided by the Welsh Government. The First Minister was confident the scheme will help businesses (it was mentioned some pubs are facing a 200% hike), even if such schemes are almost always temporary. In other sectors, like the steel industry, the data shows re-evaluation will result in the ratable value falling – which will help them – but they're still waiting for action from the UK Government on pensions and energy prices.
With Bonfire Night approaching, Jayne Bryant AM (Lab, Newport West) asked what powers the Welsh Government held in relation to regulation of fireworks? Over the last few weeks there've been incidents in the Pill area of Newport where the emergency services were attacked by youths who were using larger commercial fireworks as missiles. How can we protect the public from such fireworks?
The First Minister said fireworks are regulated by a mixture of health & safety, consumer protection and explosives regulations – none of which are devolved, so it's questionable as to whether the Welsh Government can change legislation and it's no clearer in the Wales Bill. He see's no reason why members of the public are able to buy large fireworks, and there are questions as to whether some fireworks are in the right category, with category 4 fireworks (normally) restricted to pyrotechnic professionals.
I'm going to have something on this at the weekend. The Assembly and Welsh Government's position was unclear, but turned out to be exactly what I suspected. (Vice Nation : Fireworks)
Best of the rest:
- The Welsh Government have supported a number of major events in Mid Wales, including the Machynlleth Comedy Festival, Hay Festival, Alternative Games and World Rally GB. The Bob Jones Memorial Air Show has made a request for funding, and officials will be in touch with the organisers - to Russell George AM (Con, Montgomery).
- The Standards Commissioner is discussing with other UK legislatures as part of an assessment of lobbying rules in other parliaments; the Welsh Government will “respond positively” to any recommendations coming from that. The Commissioner doesn't believe it's been a problem, but there was a need to consult as widely as possible so consultations aren't restricted to “the usual suspects” or people who can afford public affairs consultants. Government Ministers speak at events organised by lobbyists, but they don't have formal meetings with them - to Gareth Bennett AM (UKIP, South Wales Central).
- As part of plans to support renewables in the Fifth Assembly, there'll be a statement on energy priorities next month. It was “unfortunate” what happened to Tidal Power Ltd, but it was always more a research than business project. It would be useful to see progress on the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, while the Flexis project in Neath Port Talbot is an excellent example of universities working together on this – to Angela Burns AM (Con, Carms. W & S. Pembs.).
There were four urgent questions asked relating to: government support to Main Port Engineering in Pembrokeshire, paediatric services at Withybush Hospital, the recently-announced third runway at Heathrow and the UK Government's rejection of an inquiry into police tactics during the 1984-85 miners strike's “Battle of Orgreave”.
For the sake of keeping the word count down I've skipped them today, but as many of these subjects have wider-ranging implications I'll try and do a separate post for tomorrow.
Written Question of the
Dai Lloyd AM (Plaid, South Wales West) asked for information on complaints made against the Wales Ambulance Service Trust and how they've changed since the introduction of a new urgent call system in October 2015. It limited “red calls” - where an ambulance has to respond within 8 minutes – to serious, life-threatening emergencies. Previously, all 999 calls had to be responded to within 8 minutes (see also : Why are Welsh ambulance response times so poor?).
Information provided by the Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething (Lab, Cardiff S. & Penarth), showed the total number of complaints fell from 498 in 2012-13 to 384 in 2015-16 (-23%).
A vast majority of complaints in 2015-16 (240) related to delays, access, discharge etc. There were also 35 complaints made about the attitude of staff, though the only area which has seen an increase in complaints relates to ongoing reviews of care.
However, the Secretary was unable to provide the number of complaints by call category (red, amber, green) as information isn't recorded that way.
Statement of Opinion of the
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There has been a genuine development here. Llywydd, Elin Jones (Plaid, Ceredigion), has introduced a new 5-minute segment on Wednesdays where three AMs will be given 90-second slots to make topical statements – based on something similar in the Australian and Canadian parliaments.
If there's one thing you can say about AMs it's that many have no concept of brevity and love the sound of their own voices. Based on that, 90 seconds will be challenging for them and Elin will eventually get frustrated trying to police it.
An alternative would be to move the short debates to earlier in plenary and reduce them to 15 minute slots (allowing two a week); but it'll be interesting to see how the new slot is used and what impact it has.
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