Rebecca Evans: Okay. So, this is an important issue that the leader of the opposition also had the opportunity to question the First Minister about during First Minister's questions this afternoon, but I will be sure to have this discussion with my colleague the Minister for economy and transport, because the response to coronavirus is very much a cross-Government response and, equally, it's something that...
Rebecca Evans: Again, thank you to Dai Lloyd for raising this particular issue. I will certainly explore it myself to better understand the issue. I know that you'll also be making those important representations to the Home Office in respect of their deportation processes and so on, but I'll certainly gather some further information.
Rebecca Evans: As the First Minister set out in First Minister's questions earlier on, our first actions have been about giving that initial and immediate response to the impacted households, businesses and communities. But, as we look forward and have the opportunity to reflect on the flooding, there will be these larger questions that we need to explore. With regard to insurance, there is a scheme called...
Rebecca Evans: I'm grateful to Mark Isherwood for raising those issues. The first was the issue of prostate cancer and those MRI tests. I know that there is an intention by the health Minister to bring forward a statement in due course on the cancer strategy, and there'll also be an opportunity to raise issues tomorrow with the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services during the cancer debate. So,...
Rebecca Evans: Llywydd, the Minister is obviously here to hear your request this afternoon. I only have the information in terms of what's been laid on the business statement and announcement today, but we will certainly be listening to the request that you've made this afternoon.
Rebecca Evans: Again, I would highlight the important potential of Flood Re as a potential way forward for people who have found it difficult to get flooding insurance because either they've been flooded in the past and the insurers won't take them on, or because they're on a property that is deemed to be at risk of flooding. It is a Government and industry partnership in order to deliver that, to ensure...
Rebecca Evans: Health boards are working with partners throughout the clusters to adopt and adapt the primary care model for Wales, with its focus on support for self-care and delivering a seamless 24/7 service that prioritises the sickest people, making effective use of the multiprofessional workforce. And of course, this year, the Welsh Government has provided an additional £10 million for clusters to...
Rebecca Evans: We have raised our position of 'not a penny less, not a power lost' with the UK Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Wales and other UK Ministers. Yet, with10 months until EU funding tails off, there is still no clarity on its proposals.
Rebecca Evans: The Welsh Government ensures that all loans are regularly monitored to assess progress against their original application. A full evaluation is held following completion to ensure value for money has been obtained. We continue to explore how monitoring arrangements can be improved from previous successful applications.
Rebecca Evans: The chief digital officer's role is to deliver the Welsh Government's agenda for digital, data and technology. The role provides leadership across the organisation to ensure the effective delivery of digital and technology transformation, cross-Government working on data issues, and growing staff skills in digital and data.
Rebecca Evans: Welsh rates of income tax of 10p per band were introduced last year and apply to income tax payers resident in Wales. On 3 March, the Assembly voted by 43 to one in support of Wales's rates remaining unchanged in 2020-21.
Rebecca Evans: The static costing of a potential rate change is relatively straightforward. For illustrative purposes, a 1p increase or reduction across all three bands in 2020-21, or in a future Assembly, would increase or reduce revenues by approximately £220 million, with the vast majority of revenues, of course, being generated through the basic rate. So, that would be the effect of a 1p change. I...
Rebecca Evans: I do think that any decisions should obviously be based on the best possible evidence, and this is one of the areas that we can explore in further detail in Finance Committee tomorrow, where I'll be giving evidence on what the potential impact might be of different exchange rates over the side of borders in the UK. But of course, we don't have much or any evidence, really, within the UK at...
Rebecca Evans: I have regular discussions with the Minister for Housing and Local Government, covering a range of matters within her portfolio, including those relating to empty houses. This includes investment in our property loans programme, targeted regeneration investment through our empty property thematic fund, and our town centre loan fund.
Rebecca Evans: Welsh Government's property loans programme has available a mix of capital grant and repayable loan financing worth over £42 million, available through local authorities to owner-occupiers to improve properties and to bring those empty properties back into use. Of this, £11 million has been allocated to the six authorities across north Wales to help those owner-occupiers and landlords bring...
Rebecca Evans: Yes, there is a variation in success in terms of bringing those empty homes back into use. Hopefully, the work on the CPOs, which I've just outlined, will prove useful to local authorities that have thus far struggled in this area, because we know that some local authorities have felt that they don't have either the capacity or the confidence to engage in that particular area of work. Council...
Rebecca Evans: I have been having these discussions with my colleague the health Minister in terms of how we deal with COVID-19, and there are also discussions that I've had with colleagues from the other devolved nations, and also with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. We're clear in Wales that funding is not going to be a barrier to the NHS being able to deal with the coronavirus. We were also clear at...
Rebecca Evans: I was pleased to make the case to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury yesterday that there should, in this budget, be a package of support for business, and I was pleased to see that delivered on. So, as you mentioned, there will be some things in there that will help support people in the immediate crisis. For example, the sick pay will be paid from day 1 rather than day 4; the Prime...
Rebecca Evans: Well, you'll certainly see, very shortly, published, the document that we commissioned, which does look at the implications of land value tax and what that would mean for Wales. This is part of a suite of research that we've commissioned that looks at various aspects of local taxation, both for non-domestic rates and for council tax. We've also had a piece of work that looks at what the...
Rebecca Evans: Well, I've got bad news for the opposition spokesperson, of course, because austerity certainly isn't over. If you look at the documentation that supports the UK Government's budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility paints a pretty gloomy picture of prospects, even before taking into account COVID-19. And that's not surprising, given the UK Government's reckless approach to trade...
