Mark Drakeford: I thank Joyce Watson for that, Llywydd. Can I begin just by paying tribute to everything that she does throughout the year, and around the White Ribbon period as well, to highlight the issues that she has referred to again today? She's absolutely right that the points she raises are very important ones to the Welsh Government and very vigorously taken forward by the Minister for Social...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Joyce Watson for that, Llywydd. We are strengthening our violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence strategy to include violence and abuse in public and in the workplace, as well as in the home. A public consultation on the strategy will be launched next month. This is a societal problem that requires a societal response.
Mark Drakeford: I agree with Adam Price because the democratic deficit is clear for everyone to see when they read what the press in London has said about almost everything that goes on here in Wales, and they did the same yesterday as well. At the end of the day, Llywydd, as we both mentioned yesterday, it will be in the hands of the people of Wales to make those decisions after the agreement. If the people...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, Adam Price is absolutely right to point to the way in which, ever since devolution, it has been possible to create agreements between progressive parties here; parties with ideas, parties with a willingness to take on the responsibility of being in Government. The very first summer that I worked in the then Assembly, Llywydd, the summer of the year 2000, every week I met with the...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, by the end of this Senedd term, it'll be 25 years in the wilderness for the Welsh Conservative Party, and as we've heard overnight and heard again today, they work very hard to deserve that position. I'll just point out—they won't like it again; I can see them shaking their heads from here—straight after the election, we had a debate here on the floor of the Senedd; much...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, amongst his more offensive remarks, the Member did manage to squeeze a sentence out to recognise the high quality of care provided for his constituents in north Wales. I discussed the whole business of an inquiry with Michael Gove, the Minister responsible for this matter in the UK Government last week. I received further assurances from him of the commitment of the...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I take full responsibility for everything that I did and decided when I was health Minister, in the many, many questions that I was asked on the floor of this Senedd and answered at the time. I visited the Hergest unit while I was the health Minister, partly in response to the correspondence that I was receiving about it. I found a beleaguered but very committed staff,...
Mark Drakeford: Well, as the Member said, Llywydd, the report is eight years old, and many lessons have been learnt since then. I was myself heartened to see that the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report on the Hergest unit in 2018 found evidence that the unit then provided safe care, and that when HIW undertook a quality check at the unit in May of this year, it once again confirmed that considerable...
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much to Rhys for that question and for being in the vanguard in this field.
Mark Drakeford: I shared a platform with the Prime Minister at COP26. He devoted his address in a way which, I could not help but feel, left 40 international leaders in front of us slightly baffled on the importance of better mannered cows in addressing climate change. So, he clearly has a long-standing interest in the contribution of farmyard animals to political debate. [Laughter.] The importance, however,...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, the Member was doing very well until the final part of his question, because he was making a series of very important points and pointing to opportunities that there are for us here in Wales. The need to develop alternative protein sources is necessary here in Wales, but is absolutely necessary around the globe. And here in Wales, we have active interests in plant-based...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, Wales needs a sustainable agricultural sector and food chains that work towards achieving net zero. Developing new technologies and creating alternative protein sources will contribute towards further reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions.
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that. The Welsh Government will provide funding of nearly £0.75 million to fund Conwy County Borough Council's contribution to refurbishing the bridge and to provide for a significant upgrade in its facilities. As we have heard, it is a very popular local amenity and has had to be closed in recent times. Not only will it assist those people who just want to be walking...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd, and for the constructive suggestions that she's put forward. I know that my colleague Lesley Griffiths, as Minister for north Wales, is meeting with Transport for Wales tomorrow on transport issues in the north, and will be able to take up some of the points that the Member has made. The Welsh Government continues, Llywydd, to invest in...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. The provision of new rail rolling stock and the instigation of new, innovative demand-response Fflecsi bus services are amongst the actions being taken to improve public transport in the Member’s constituency.
Mark Drakeford: Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cynnig ystod eang o gymorth i fusnesau er mwyn eu helpu i leihau eu heffaith ar yr amgylchedd. Mae hyn yn cynnwys cynghorwyr effeithlonrwydd adnoddau Busnes Cymru sydd wedi cefnogi 167 o fusnesau yn sir Benfro ers 2016 i wella eu strategaethau cynaliadwyedd amgylcheddol.
Mark Drakeford: Our long-term programme of education reform remains ambitious but achievable as we move into a key implementation phase for the Curriculum for Wales and a new system of additional learning needs support to improve the lives of all children and young people in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Amongst the actions being taken by the Welsh Government are creating resilient ecological networks to safeguard species and habitats, restoring peatland, creating a national forest and supporting the Member’s work championing biodiversity in roadside verges.
Mark Drakeford: We support mental health services in north Wales through the targeted intervention framework, and through a substantial package of strategic support. This includes £12 million a year up to 2023-24 to support implementation of the health board’s mental health strategy, and to build capacity and capability in the organisation.
Mark Drakeford: I thank Joyce Watson for that, Llywydd, and for drawing attention to World Prematurity Day tomorrow. One in 10 babies in Wales will need neonatal care, and I think many people would be surprised to learn that in 2020, 2,800 babies in Wales were admitted to neonatal care. I'm very grateful to organisations such as Bliss for the support they offer to families in those circumstances, and I'm...
