Mark Isherwood: This month's Finance Committee report, as you've heard, on the Welsh Government's third supplementary budget for 2020-21 reports that this allocates almost £1.3 billion additional fiscal resource and almost £837 million in capital, with the main increases in economy and transport, housing and local government, and education. The backdrop is the £5.2 billion provided by the UK Government to...
Mark Isherwood: After more than two decades of Labour budgets since devolution, Wales still has the lowest wage and employment levels and highest proportion of low-paid jobs in Britain and the lowest prosperity levels and long-term pay growth and highest poverty rate of all UK nations. We needed a budget to fix the foundations and build a more secure and prosperous economy for the future. Instead, what we...
Mark Isherwood: 5. Will the Minister make a statement on the use of greener fuels in Wales? OQ56391
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Well, in last week's UK budget, the Chancellor announced more than £93 million of investment to turbo-charge a green recovery in Wales and accelerate the creation of nearly 13,000 jobs here. This includes accelerated funding for the north Wales growth deal, which includes the Morlais tidal demonstration zone off the coast of Anglesey, and extra funding for a new hydrogen hub at...
Mark Isherwood: Speaking in the House of Commons last month, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales said the amount of money that's going to be spent in Wales when the shared prosperity fund comes in 'will be identical to or higher than the amount of money that was spent in Wales that came from the European Union', and that the UK will continue to engage with the Welsh Government as they...
Mark Isherwood: I call for an urgent Welsh Government statement on support for outdoor education providers in Wales. A sector representative e-mailed me yesterday stating, quote, 'I wanted to make you aware of this issue that is affecting rural Wales and, indeed, north Wales most severely. I ask that you take the matter forward to the Welsh Government. The situation has reached a critical point and, quite...
Mark Isherwood: 4. What consideration did the Minister give to the financial services sector in Wales when allocating the 2021-22 final budget? OQ56431
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. This month's Wales fiscal analysis report on the implications for Wales and the Welsh budget of the UK budget 2021 states that the Welsh Government, 'left £610 million of unallocated day-to-day spending in Final Budget plans. With additional consequentials from the UK Budget and changes to projected devolved revenues...this means the Welsh Government currently has...
Mark Isherwood: I'm very happy to debate the comparative performance during the pandemic of Governments on health issues, but my question was about support for businesses and the apparent gap between your statement, that full use of the consequential funding for Wales had been made, when the figures from Wales Fiscal Analysis suggested that the figures were far greater. After the Welsh Government issued...
Mark Isherwood: No, precisely, and the question wasn't about directing local authorities; it's simply acknowledging that they have the discretion for them to exercise. So, thank you for confirming that. In a question to you last month, I stated that although the Welsh Government initially allocated £6.3 million for the hospice emergency fund, this was less generous than equivalent funds in all other UK...
Mark Isherwood: Hospice.
Mark Isherwood: Well, Purple Shoots is a charity that helps people in Wales who can't otherwise access the affordable finance they need to start a business. They also work with self-reliant groups, creating opportunities for people furthest from employment or work. They're supporting or have supported many hundreds of small businesses right across Wales. However, they advise that although just £2 million of...
Mark Isherwood: I'll speak, if I may, as the son, brother, husband, father and grandfather of women and girls who I care about and love passionately. The recent tragic cases of Sarah Everard and Wenjing Lin have highlighted the issue of violence against women in a truly shocking way. We in this Welsh Parliament are united, I believe, and determined to make our streets and communities as safe as possible for...
Mark Isherwood: Community safety in Flintshire and across north Wales requires joined-up multi-agency working with communities themselves and the role of North Wales Police is central to this. With community safety being a devolved matter, Welsh Conservatives would continue to support and fund police community support officer numbers in Wales, working alongside the UK Conservative Government programme to...
Mark Isherwood: As we heard, these regulations specify an extension to the current temporary variation to the land transaction tax and LTT rates and bands that will apply to purchases and certain residential property transactions, commencing on 1 April and ending on 30 June 2021, with the rates and bands reverting back to those in force prior to 27 July 2020 after that date. We, of course, support this...
Mark Isherwood: 6. How is the Welsh Government supporting the arts sector in North Wales? OQ56477
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. I'm glad you mentioned that, because Theatr Clwyd's capital redevelopment project in Mold is designed to secure Wales's biggest producing theatre for future generations. As Arts Council of Wales states, Theatr Clwyd is crucial to the well-being of people in north Wales, through its high-quality and appealing programme of shows and its excellent outreach work in areas like dementia and...
Mark Isherwood: Yes, I had thought it was on. I apologise.
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. This proposed amendment to Standing Orders, I regret to say, can only be described as nasty, high handed and domineering, exercising arbitrary and overbearing control over others. As the Business Committee's report on this states: 'This proposal does not have the unanimous support of the Business Committee. The proposal was made by Rebecca Evans MS (the Trefnydd) and supported by...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. As our report states, the Wales Act 2014 provides the legislative framework to devolve tax and borrowing powers to the National Assembly for Wales, as it then was—now Senedd Cymru or Welsh Parliament—and the Welsh Government. These powers provided the Welsh Government with further tools to vary the level of tax and spending in Wales. In December 2016, the Welsh Government and UK...
