Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Welsh Government's policy is that set out in the co-operation agreement between my party and Plaid Cymru, and that is to make sure that, during the period of that agreement, we are able to provide a free school meal for every child in primary-aged classes in Wales. I'm very proud of that commitment, and it will be a commitment that requires a great deal of effort on behalf of our...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, there are a series of reasons why councils hold cash in reserve. A great deal of that money will be earmarked reserves. In other words, it's not money available to the council just to spend. It's there because they have a twenty-first century schools programme, for example, and that money is allocated already to make sure that that programme can go ahead. There is money that,...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. We do so by prioritising local government services in the Welsh Government budget. Local authorities will receive £5.1 billion from the Welsh Government in core revenue funding and non-domestic rates for investment in key services in this financial year, plus an additional £1.8 billion in specific revenue and capital grants.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I agree entirely with what the Member said. This was a fund announced in 2017, in a Conservative Party manifesto. It took until the start of this month—April 2022—before we've had any substantive discussions with UK Ministers about the way in which they intend those funds to be used in Wales. And all of that compressed into two weeks because of their determination to rush out an...
Mark Drakeford: —absolute guarantee that Wales would not be a penny worse off. Well, £1 billion is not the whole of it, Llywydd; it's just part of the way that we will be losing out.
Mark Drakeford: Well, of course, Llywydd, we are happy to explain how we've got to those figures, and we are happy to publish the figures too, because they are clear—they are clear—and there is no doubt whatsoever about these figures. We will lose £0.75 billion because of the system used by the UK Government to replace the structural funds. And we will lose £243 million from the funds that would have...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, Vikki Howells makes an important supplementary point about the way in which the reduced amounts that will come to Wales are, in any case, being top-sliced by the UK Government for its own projects, which it will seek to run here in Wales. So, the Multiply programme will be the most obvious example of that—over £100 million that should be in the hands of Welsh decision-makers...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the fund fails to address economic inequality because of a series of fundamental flaws. It breaks a key Conservative promise that Wales would not be a penny worse off. It allocates its reduced amounts through a formula that deliberately under-represents concentrated inequality and it removes decision making from Wales to Whitehall.
Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government sets the planning policy and legislative framework for the planning system. Transparency and community engagement are reflected in all aspects of planning, from local development plans through to planning applications.
Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring our communities are safe, which is why we continue to fund police community support officers throughout Wales. We work closely with the police, local authorities and other partners to ensure the people of Wales are and feel safe within their communities.
Mark Drakeford: Our north Wales metro programme will transform rail, bus and active travel services across north Wales. We have also announced a north Wales transport commission that will be responsible for taking an evidence-led approach to develop recommendations for multimodal, integrated transport solutions.
Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government continues to hold discussions with a wide range of rights holders not only on sporting but also business and cultural events. Some discussions are already in the public domain, such as the bid for Euro 2028. Other discussions need to be conducted on an in-confidence basis.
Mark Drakeford: We have provided substantial financial support to help higher education institutions deal with the impact of the pandemic. This year's total allocation of funding to HEFCW amounts to over £274 million. This funding, together with our student support system, provides a good foundation for maintaining the sustainability of Welsh higher education.
Mark Drakeford: Dirprwy Lywydd, I thank Russell George for those questions. I needed to travel through the Member's constituency in just a few days after the flooding of 20 February and was able to see for myself the scale of it and the impact that it had had on communities in his constituency, so I absolutely understand why he raises these points on the floor of the Senedd this afternoon. As I said, Dirprwy...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, on 15 March, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change announced our largest ever flood programme, totalling £71 million in the next financial year alone. That investment includes specific provision for schemes in mid Wales.
Mark Drakeford: What I think the response tells you, Llywydd, is that it's the Conservative party that will never work for Wales, because here is a Conservative Chancellor who went about the spring statement on the basis of trying to burnish his own credentials as a tax-cutting Chancellor in order to improve his chances in the leadership election that he expects to fight any time soon. So, the Chancellor's...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Delyth Jewell for that, Dirprwy Lywydd. In Wales, we have already provided a support package worth more than double the consequential funding we have received, as we seek to play our part in helping people who need that help the most. We will continue to press the UK Government to join us in doing so.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, they are certainly out of touch with those people, particularly in rural areas. We know that 28 per cent of households in rural areas in parts of Wales are reliant on heating oil to heat their homes and to have access to hot water. The idea that the market is serving them well flies in the face of everything we are hearing about the way the market is currently operating....
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, good afternoon to Jane Dodds. The Welsh Government continues to press the UK Government to support households who, through no fault of their own, are facing an energy and cost-of-living crisis. The cost of heating oil was last discussed with UK Government officials last week, on 23 March.
Mark Drakeford: Well, I thank Cefin Campbell for that question. I agree with him, of course, on the possibilities that exist in west Wales. I remember being in Pembrey with the leader of the county council when we worked together to open the Tour of Britain, back in 2018, when Geraint Thomas was leading the tour. And I remember, growing up in Carmarthen, using the velodrome in the park there almost every...
