Rebecca Evans: Well, I'm familiar with the first issue you raise, which is that of the case of your constituent, Twm, and I can understand how deeply unsettling and upsetting this is for Twm and for his family as well because of course it's the expectation that people should be treated as close to home as possible and that they should have access to that expert service that they require. Clearly, we...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch. I move the motion to approve the Non-Domestic Rating (Multiplier) (Wales) Order 2019. The Order sets the multiplier for non-domestic rating purposes for 2020-21. In 2011, the Welsh Government set out its intention to change the measure of inflation used to calculate the multiplier in Wales from the retail price index to the consumer price index from 1 April 2018. For 2018-19 and...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. The multiplier is a key component of the NDR system and it determines the level of each non-domestic rates bill and thus the overall yield generated by the system, and it's really important to recognise and reflect on the fact that non-domestic rates do provide a significant contribution to the funding of local services in Wales, so over £1 billion a year. So, we...
Rebecca Evans: There is one change to this week's business: the time allocated to tomorrow's questions to the Assembly Commission has been reduced. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Rebecca Evans: I think investment in ensuring that hospitals, particularly, are clean and safe is money well spent, and I know that pest management strategies are really important in terms of the proper upkeep of public places, and particularly those places where members of the public will gather, such as hospitals. I would encourage you to write to the health Minister, because that is quite a specific...
Rebecca Evans: I thank Leanne Wood for raising two crucially important issues in the Chamber this afternoon. The First Minister had the opportunity in his monthly press conference yesterday to set out his initial views on the situation that you see in Iran, and he was very clear that a peaceful solution and talking and dialogue and discourse should be the way forward. We have been in contact with the UK...
Rebecca Evans: Well, I always thoroughly enjoy Huw Irranca-Davies's interventions in the business statement because they're always so full of passion for the heritage and the communities that he represents. I know that there is a lot of interest, especially in the 100-year anniversary with regard to 'Calon Lân'—I know Mike Hedges has had some discussions locally about how it can be recorded and how it...
Rebecca Evans: I'll certainly ensure that the Minister with responsibility for farming and rural affairs is aware of the request for a statement today, and particularly that she hears your concerns about support for uplands in Wales.
Rebecca Evans: Well, they don't call me Rebecca Evans for nothing. [Laughter.] I do like to exercise the vocal cords occasionally, so I'll be happy to join in any of the singing. But I will say, on the serious point of the litter and the littering, Welsh Government's working really closely with local authorities and communities across Wales in terms of tackling littering, and this does include the...
Rebecca Evans: Winter plans are always put in place early on in the year, and then they are submitted to Welsh Government, and Welsh Government provides an element, then, of robust challenge to ensure that those winter plans are further developed to learn the lessons of the previous year, and also to consider challenges that might be forthcoming through the course of this winter. This winter, we were able...
Rebecca Evans: I know that the RCN, along with other clinical leads, are meeting with the chief executive of the NHS tomorrow to discuss the winter pressures that are being felt across the NHS. So, that will be an opportunity for those particular individuals to have that conversation, and I know, as I say, that Welsh Government is in constant contact with all of the health boards with regard to their winter...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Jayne Bryant for raising those three issues today. On the first, with regard to the 50 mph speed limits, I do know that the Minister for Economy and Transport has been having some discussions with the police about how this might best be enforced, and I hope that those discussions will come to a successful resolution as soon as possible. With regard to the Ebbw Vale to Newport...
Rebecca Evans: I thank David Rees for raising these issues, and, of course, the Deputy Minister has heard your request for the update on the contemporary art museum, and I know he'll be able to either provide you with a verbal update or he'll certainly write to you with the very latest on that. You're absolutely right that the workers at Tata have certainly done their bit. Ken Skates had the opportunity to...
Rebecca Evans: I'm pleased to have this opportunity to make a statement on the Welsh Government's draft budget for 2020-1. On 16 December, I laid the Welsh Government's draft budget before the Senedd. The decision to lay the draft budget in recess was taken with the agreement of the Business Committee and Finance Committee, and I'd like to put on record my gratitude for the co-operation of both committees...
Rebecca Evans: We have always looked to protect local government from the worst impacts of austerity. Delivering on the commitment for the best possible settlement, local authorities will receive an extra £200 million through the revenue and capital settlement next year. This brings total investment from the Welsh Government in core revenue funding and non-domestic rates to spend on delivering key...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I welcome the debate that we've had this afternoon and most of the comments and representations that we've had from colleagues. And as I outlined in my opening statement, this is a budget that's taking place amidst uncertainty and evolving circumstances, and it's also a budget set in the long shadow cast by a decade of imposed austerity by the UK Government and despite claims...
Rebecca Evans: And I will come on to the issues of health and education as I move through my response to the debate, but I'll start off by saying that Welsh Government is really keen to do what we can to keep money in people's pockets. Some of the measures that we're taking across Government to ensure that we're tackling poverty actually mean that people in certain circumstances could be £2,000 better off...
Rebecca Evans: That's absolutely right. All of these things that we're doing to ensure that people keep money in their pockets are political choices that we have made about the way in which we spend our budget, and the kind of draft budgets that we put before this Assembly year on year. So, other examples would be the education maintenance allowance—£30 a week for 16 to 18-year-olds living in low-income...
Rebecca Evans: There have been questions as to what we expect to achieve from our additional funding from the NHS. Well, of course, we continue to expect NHS Wales to make progress in reducing waiting times, and ensuring that the focus really is on those people who are currently waiting the longest. I know that NHS organisations are due to submit their budget plans for 2020-1 at the end of January, and...
Rebecca Evans: I welcome the opportunity to bring forward these amending regulations today, and I'd like to thank the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee for its report on the regulations. The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 amend the 2013 council tax reduction scheme regulations. The scheme provides direct help to...
