Mark Drakeford: Just get on with the question.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, what the Member has to say is absurd. He starts off with an accusation that turns out not to be true at all. There was never a funding application turned down by the Welsh Government because a funding application was never made. So, that's the first piece of nonsense that we should lay to rest this afternoon. Then, the absurd suggestion that investment in the airport in...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, there was no such decision.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, the union connectivity review that the UK Government established concluded that devolution had been good for transport—that when the decisions were made closer to where they would have their impact, better decisions were made. The report underlines the case that successive Welsh Governments have made for the devolution of responsibility in rail to the Senedd, accompanied...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I don't doubt for a moment that the Member does wish to see additional investment in services in his own constituency. The Welsh Government does have an opportunity to bid to a UK fund to re-establish stations where they were closed, and, indeed, we did get one positive result out of that programme when it was last determined: a new station in St Clears in Carmarthenshire,...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, as the Member has said, Wales is treated anything but fairly when it comes to rail investment by the UK Government. At the last comprehensive spending review, arbitrarily the Treasury reduced the comparability factor under Barnett for the transport department in England from 89 per cent to 36 per cent, meaning, as the Member has said, Wales loses out on billions of pounds' worth of...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. Welsh Ministers take every opportunity to raise with the UK Government their shameful neglect of investment in rail infrastructure in north Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I agree, of course, that, particularly in an area like this, it will always be much better to prevent harm from happening than to try to help children to deal with the consequences of harm. I think the Member's question would be more helpful if he relied a good deal less on assertion and provided a little more evidence to underpin what he had to say, because I heard no evidence...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I thank Buffy Williams for those important points and that additional question. The interim report of The Lighthouse service is available, but the final evaluation report will not be available until later in this year. We look forward, of course, to seeing what that evaluation says. The basic premise of The Lighthouse model is that it is better to bring services to children...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Welsh sexual assault service is led by the NHS, working with the police, social services and specialist third sector organisations. Together they aim to prevent sexual abuse and exploitation of children, to protect child victims and to support abused children into recovery.
Mark Drakeford: We are determined to build a decarbonised energy system that provides greater economic and social benefits for Wales than the system we see today. Our policies promote energy efficiency and renewable energy generation, innovation in marine technologies and smart systems, and planning the energy system of the future.
Mark Drakeford: A decade of austerity has left budgets for all aspects of Welsh public services under strain, including Natural Resources Wales. This Government’s investment priorities are reflected in the co-operation agreement signed on 1 December 2021
Mark Drakeford: Promoting business confidence and supporting the sector is a vital part of our tourism recovery plan, 'Let's Shape the Future', published in March 2021. We have made unprecedented levels of funding available to support tourism businesses through the pandemic, including the most recent £120 million economic resilience fund and non-domestic rates packages.
Mark Drakeford: The programme for government confirms our intention to introduce a clean air Act for Wales during this Senedd term. We have already published a White Paper on the clean air (Wales) Bill, setting out proposals for this legislation. Responses to consultation of the White Paper will be published shortly.
Mark Drakeford: First of all, I agree with what Rhun ap Iorwerth has said about the importance of drawing more young people into the programmes available in our schools and our colleges that focus on digital skills. Where we have done it already, we can see the success of those approaches. In the south-east, through our universities, we have developed people with the skills that have, in turn, attracted...
Mark Drakeford: Among the steps being taken to improve digital skills in Wales are the new curriculum for schools, investment in further and higher education, and the creation of higher level apprenticeships.
Mark Drakeford: Well, I thank Alun Davies for that, Llywydd. I said in my original answer that the young person's guarantee focuses on more opportunities in education, in skill acquisition and directly in employment. And I will just very briefly mention examples of all three, especially in the south Wales Valleys and in the Member's own constituency. He will know that part of the inspiration for the idea of...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Welsh Government is determined that there will be no lost generation in Wales as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Our young person's guarantee is an ambitious programme, designed to provide everyone under the age of 25 in south Wales, including the south Wales Valleys, with the offer of work, education, training or self-employment.
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much for the questions.
Mark Drakeford: There was a series of important points made by the Member there. Just to be clear, Llywydd: we do not agree with the approach of the Home Office, which seems to place the focus on women acting to protect themselves by altering their behaviour rather than changing the attitudes and behaviours of those who carry out the abuse. Now, here in Wales, we have a programme as a Welsh Government of...
