Mark Drakeford: I do hope the Member finds time to put what he's just told us into a letter that he can send to the Minister responsible for these matters, who is a Minister in Whitehall, not in Wales. As I tried to explain as simply as I could in my original answer, responsibility for these matters lies with the UK Government. It is not a matter devolved to Wales. The Welsh Government has stepped in to...
Mark Drakeford: Responsibility for telecommunications lies with the UK Government. According to Ofcom, 5G outdoor coverage from at least one operator currently stands at over 23 per cent of premises in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: I believe it is right and proper, and indeed inescapable, that the independent inquiry will indeed focus on this issue alongside a series of other matters that families have raised. As the Member knows, I've met myself with representatives of bereaved families here in Wales. I undertook then to write on their behalf, in the response that we have made to the latest round of consultations on...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I try to provide an honest answer every time I speak at this dispatch box. That doesn't mean to say that I'll give an answer that the Member would like me to give. That's not a test of honesty. He shouldn't imply that it is. He said a moment ago that the High Court found that, at the point when decisions were being made, there wasn't scientific certainty that asymptomatic...
Mark Drakeford: Well, just again to be completely clear with the leader of Plaid Cymru, that is not an observation that the High Court has made in hearing anything at all about decisions that were made in Wales. The Member can try if he wants to try and imply that because it made a general observation that must, somehow, apply here in Wales. I don't think he's entitled to do that. This was a hearing about...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, the Member could not be more mistaken. He answered his own question in his very first set of remarks: an independent inquiry focused only on Wales would never be able to make sense of exactly the sorts of decisions to which he has pointed. Had he been actually following what the High Court said, he would have seen that the High Court referred to the advice that was available to...
Mark Drakeford: To be clear, the court has found nothing illegal as far as Wales is concerned, because Wales was not a participant in that High Court case. It took no evidence from Wales, it looked at no documents according to Wales, so, let's be clear for the record: when the Member says that the policy was illegal, what the court discovered was that it was illegal in England, where his party was in charge....
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the High Court case was a case that did not concern the Welsh Government; it was a case brought against authorities in England. We will nevertheless study the judgment carefully and respond to it in the evidence that we will submit to the independent public inquiry into the experience of coronavirus across the United Kingdom.
Mark Drakeford: We've heard a very traditional Plaid Cymru slogan here this afternoon. Their message on the doorstep in RCT appears to be, 'Vote Plaid Cymru in RCT. Isn't it awful?' They don't have a good word to say for the places that they seek to represent, and they're at it again here this afternoon. It's just a run-down of the places where they seek to persuade to vote for them. They tried it last year,...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, let's offer a few facts. RCT council has £8.5 million in its general reserve. That's 1 per cent of its GRE outturn last year. As I explained on the floor of the Senedd last week, local authorities hold capital in reserve because they have a pipeline of projects, whether that is in school building, whether it's in highway restoration, and, in RCT's case, in order to deal with the...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I thank Buffy Williams for those very important points, and I commend RCT council for everything that it has done to support its residents in recent times and now again with the cost-of-living crisis. I read with interest the manifesto on which the Labour group in that council will fight this election: 10 more PCSOs paid for out of the council's own resources, over and above...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, we work closely with the borough council in a range of different ways to improve the lives of people in Rhondda. To provide just one example, over 600 children in the borough now take advantage of the Welsh Government's childcare offer, leaving more money in the pockets of those hard-working families.
Mark Drakeford: Well, it's long been an irony-free zone on the Conservative benches in this Senedd—[Laughter.] Llywydd, I didn't hear the words 'Blaenau Gwent' once in the question that I've just been asked, and yet, as far as I can tell, the question on the order paper is about the cost of living in Blaenau Gwent. Residents there will find that 5,500 of them have now received £200 from the Welsh...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, Alun Davies makes a series of really important points there. BP profits have more than doubled in the last three months. Because of the impact of rising gas and oil prices, energy supply companies are making additional profits of £745 every single second. Just imagine that. The Prime Minister says they've got to keep all that money because they need to invest in the future of...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, our £380 million cost-of-living package is putting money back into the pockets of households in Blaenau Gwent and helping families there struggling with soaring prices. We continue to call on the UK Government to take urgent action, including uprating benefit payments and taking steps to reduce fuel household bills.
Mark Drakeford: Over 3,000 unpaid carers in Bridgend and Porthcawl are eligible for a £500 payment from Welsh Government. Last year, £240,000 was allocated to the local authority for additional respite and COVID-related support for unpaid carers. Bridgend and Porthcawl unpaid carers will also benefit from our new £9 million short-breaks fund.
Mark Drakeford: We have been reviewing the 120 responses received to the public consultation and I anticipate that the finalised violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence strategy will be published before the first meeting of the new national partnership board on 23 May.
Mark Drakeford: The draft regional economic framework highlights how Welsh Government and its partners will continue to attract major investment to the Newport area.
Mark Drakeford: Building on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, 'Planning Policy Wales' and 'Future Wales' set the framework for development plans and determining planning applications. Officials maintain regular dialogue with local planning authorities on how sustainable development should be implemented at the local level.
Mark Drakeford: I'm afraid the Member simply misses the point. There are many legitimate criticisms that are there to be made of the UK Government, but the claim that the UK Government is to be responsible for the public inquiry is simply not one of them. As I explained in my initial answer, responsibility for the inquiry has moved into the hands of the independent judge who has been appointed to lead it....
