Speeches by Jones.

“The shadow Minister is talking about public services in Wales. Would she care to reflect on the 14 years of austerity and the damage that the Conservatives, along with the Liberal Democrats, did as the architects of austerity to Welsh public services, which we are rebuilding?”

“Just moving the discussion on to discretionary housing payments, what role do they have in addressing housing insecurity and keeping people in their accommodation? Linked to that, what changes, if any, would you like to see in the way they are administered?”

“To follow up on that, if DHPs were not required to help with regular rental costs, as you have outlined and as many of them are now, what more could local authorities do to address the broader homelessness challenges in their local areas?”

“We have touched on this, but I want to drill down a bit on awareness. Would you outline how your Departments will ensure that policy teams are aware of the Covenant duty and sufficiently informed of the needs of the armed forces community in order to be able to meet their duty?”

“Following the discussion on one-bed properties, I have a question specifically for Dr Steffan Evans. You have said that the social security system is creating demand for more one-bed properties. I think I know where you are going with that but, for the record, can you give us some detail as to your rationale?”

“Could you talk about the particular challenges that veterans face in each of the devolved nations?”

“Welcome to you both. It is fair to say that there is patchy coverage and awareness of various aspects of the Covenant. What are your thoughts on the extension of the Covenant and how that can improve outcomes for veterans? I am particularly keen to hear about the Welsh dimension—I see James Phillips is back with us, wh…”

“To delve into a couple of those areas, there does not seem to be an overwhelming appetite among the Welsh public for policing to be devolved in Wales. The Home Secretary has said that now is not the time for that to happen. Do you see a time, certainly during this Parliament, where that would change at all?”

“It is good to hear that. Now, we are moving away from the police and crime commissioner model. Despite some individual good work from individual PCCs, the model has not proved to be well supported by the public, and it is going. There will need to be a model of holding police forces to account in Wales, and across the …”

“This is the last question on this topic. The next question is about the make-up of Wales’s police forces. Do you think that Wales would be best served by a single police force or multiple forces? How do you feel the future would work best?”

“I just wanted to ask about deindustrialisation and the south Wales valleys. In the inquiry that the Committee held on the environmental and economic legacy of Wales’s industrial past, we heard evidence that the south Wales valleys, in particular, experience lower job density, slower jobs growth and poorer health outcom…”

“The shared prosperity fund was hugely popular among local authorities. The revenue commitments of some of those projects have been problematic in terms of moving forward to the new arrangements. On that, Ann mentioned the call for a transitional year. I understand there are ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government…”

“I have some questions around policing in Wales. The Home Office recently announced the police reform White Paper, which has implications for policing in Wales. Could you tell us a little bit about the engagement that the UK Government had with the Welsh Government in advance of those proposals being announced?”

“The Home Secretary’s proposals will allow for a new focus on community policing and engagement, which was proven to work under the last Labour Government. By far the biggest issue that I come across is the lack of feedback to victims of crime. With the proposals that she has announced and with technology improving all …”

“As we all know, in lots of towns and villages that passion for rugby is there at all levels. The structure that is currently in place is relatively recent, so could you describe why there is such an attachment to it?”

“If we get to a situation where a new structure is established—under the current proposals, the four will be reduced to three—do you feel there is a real risk that fans in the disbanded region will lose interest in the sport? That is about young fans in particular, but fans generally.”

“I think that was part of the discussion: those big derbies of the past and whether those would be more attractive, both to match-going fans and to television audiences—and obviously there is an income source from that. That is certainly something that has been put forward as worth exploring.”

“Some supporters’ representatives have said that they would rather that professional teams competed in the English league rather than the URC. Is that a realistic ambition, and is it something that the WRU intends to explore?”

“Okay, well we will go with the initial question first, and then we will come back to the rest.”

“I want to talk a little bit about structures. You have said previously that competition income does not cover the cost, and that the overheads for professional clubs are high. I suppose the primary question is: is the URC the right competition for clubs in Wales? As a supplementary question—we are short of time, so I w…”