Mark Drakeford: I have raised the issue of replacement funding for structural funds with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. The UK Government have not yet shared any details of their proposals. Our position of full replacement funding and autonomy is clearly set out in our paper Regional Investment after Brexit.
Mark Drakeford: Progress is being made to progress the deal towards the next phase of delivery. Work is under way to develop the proposed projects into full business cases and to finalise the governance arrangements of the city deal.
Mark Drakeford: The non-domestic rates liability for each property is calculated by taking its rateable value, which is determined by the independent Valuation Office Agency, and multiplying it by the multiplier which is set annually by the Welsh Government in accordance with primary legislation.
Mark Drakeford: Against a backdrop of continuing cuts to our budget, we continue to face difficult choices and decisions. We need to look at every funding stream. We are working with National Park Authorities to explore ways of diversifying the funding base.
Mark Drakeford: The 'Code of Practice on Ethical Employment in Supply Chains' commits organisations that sign up to consider paying the Living Wage Foundation living wage. Of the 74 organisations that have signed up to the code, five are also living wage employers.
Mark Drakeford: The Government’s location strategy maintains our commitment to a Welsh Government presence across Wales while ensuring that we optimise the efficiency of our estate and reduce our operating costs and environmental impacts.
Mark Drakeford: What I have to tell the Member is this, that, at times when budgets are under very significant pressure, we have to continually review the estate that the Welsh Government occupies. We occupied 75 properties in 2010, and we occupy 28 properties now, and that has released significant savings, which allows us to invest in public services. We remain committed, however, to a well-dispersed,...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Member continues, absolutely properly, to champion the cause of Caernarfon in relation to the Welsh Government's presence there. I'm able to offer her a guarantee that the current changes in Welsh Government presence in Caernarfon is not a move from Caernarfon. It is simply a relocation to alternative new accommodation in the town at Caernarfon dock, and the Welsh Government...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for the question. Recent meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee on European Union negotiations have been more constructive than hitherto. The machinery remains, however, defective in both design and delivery. Further steps are needed to ensure that Welsh interests are taken into account in shaping any future relationship with the European Union.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I entirely agree with the Member that the really challenging issues that are there in negotiating the UK's future beyond the European Union are not helped by the inability of the UK Government to organise itself in a purposeful and reliable way. When the JMC on European negotiations next meets, it will have its fifth chair in the 15 months in which it has been in operation. It is...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is represented from time to time at the JMC on European negotiations, and is normally represented at the JMC on Europe. That does provide us with an opportunity to discuss directly with UK Ministers the way in which diplomatic representation will be organised the other side of Brexit. We take every opportunity we have to impress on those...
Mark Drakeford: I entirely agree with Leanne Wood that we must have more than warm words from the UK Government on this matter. We have to make sure that they act on the promises that they have made, and she is quite right to say that they have made very explicit promises in this area. The Secretary of State for Scotland said on the floor of the House of Commons that the UK Government would come forward with...
Mark Drakeford: Can I thank the Member for that supplementary question—the first, I'm sure, of many in which he will represent the vital interests of his constituency? And he's absolutely right to point to the fact that Deeside has a whole series of major industries that rely on our membership of the European Union for their success and current way of operating. So, we press, as we always do upon the UK...
Mark Drakeford: Well, in general, it’s increasing, Llywydd.
Mark Drakeford: Let me say this to the Member, Llywydd: there's no difference at all between us in an ambition to see the percentage of public procurement spend in Wales that goes to Welsh companies grow and to grow across the different opportunities that there are there. We are reviewing the future of procurement policy in Wales, particularly in the light of Brexit, to see whether there will be more...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, geography is not the determining principle of our capital programme. The determining principle is best value for the investments that we make, and best-value investments happen right across Wales and the proportions of capital spend in different parts of Wales change over time, as different projects come to the fore. No part of Wales is left out of our capital programme and we will...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, we work carefully with the UK Government in relation both to Carillion and Capita. The UK Government confirmed that they're not standing up a team with Capita in the way that they did with Carillion, but that they continue to monitor Capita very closely, and the Cabinet Office are heavily engaged with Capita in addressing some of the underlying issues that that company faces. We have...
Mark Drakeford: I can assure the Member that action is happening within the Welsh Government to make sure that any exposure in Wales to Capita is fully understood, and that where discussions directly with the company would be helpful in managing through the position that they face, then we would certainly be open to do that. Capita is not in the same position as Carillion, as far as we are aware, and it's...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, the review is well under way. I expect it to conclude during this calendar year, as well as the work that is being carried out inside the Welsh Government on the review. It will be overseen by a stakeholder group, which will have a significant impact on it, and that stakeholder group will include those organisations that are the major users of the National Procurement Service....
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, even in trying to respond to the tone in which that question was raised, I can't avoid saying to the Member that I fundamentally disagree with what he has said. A 'no deal' outcome from Brexit will be catastrophic for Wales, and there is no preparation for no deal. And one of the reasons that I always say that is that it's really important to resist the notion that no deal is...
