Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member. Local authority performance data for 2015-16 were published on 7 September. They showed that performance had improved for 65 per cent of comparable indicators over the previous 12 months. The gap in performance between authorities had also narrowed for over half of the indicators.
Mark Drakeford: If the Member is suggesting that there is no inevitable connection between the size of a local authority and its performance, then he’s obviously right. Large authorities do well on some things and small authorities do well on some things. There is no inevitability about it. That’s not to say, I think, that there are not some aspects where being able to draw on a wider population and a...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that. The Welsh Government has provided procurement guidance to local authorities for waste management contracts within the municipal waste infrastructure programme. Advice regarding the procurement of waste collection services for local authorities is also available in policy documents such as the municipal sector plan and the collections blueprint.
Mark Drakeford: Well, thank you, Llywydd. I was in the Chamber yesterday when the Member raised this with the First Minister, and I know that he’s undertaken to write to provide details, and I will certainly undertake to share in any response to the particular circumstances that he outlines. Since the matter was raised yesterday, I have made some very initial enquiries with my officials on this matter....
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much for the question. As set out in the supplementary budget, which was approved in July, £276 million in revenue funding and £107 million in capital funding have been allocated for the budget this year in the environment and rural affairs portfolio.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I don’t have the accurate information immediately to hand and I wouldn’t want to do anything other than to make sure that the Member got the best information that he’s asking for. I’m very happy to write to him to provide the answer to the question that he’s raised this afternoon.
Mark Drakeford: A report published by the Public Policy Institute for Wales estimates that Wales needs around 8,700 new homes every year, of which 60 per cent should be in the market sector. Our target of delivering 20,000 additional affordable homes during this Assembly term will make a significant contribution towards this.
Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government is committed to transforming the expectations, experiences and outcomes for all learners, including those with additional learning needs. The forthcoming introduction of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill will be a key milestone in the transformation journey that is already under way.
Mark Drakeford: Wide-ranging support is available towards economic development, including, Business Wales, road and information and communications technology infrastructure improvements and the Haven Waterway enterprise zone. We are enhancing Pembrokeshire’s attractiveness by creating the right infrastructure for businesses to flourish and improvements in the transport network, particularly along the A40.
Mark Drakeford: I set out in ‘Taking Wales Forward’ last week my Government’s commitment to ‘take further action on the living wage’. This is part of constructing a fair society and will build on our achievements during the last Assembly.
Mark Drakeford: The ‘North Wales Conversation—delivering a healthier North Wales’ is delivering on our commitment to engage with people throughout North Wales on the future of the health service in the region to ensure it delivers improved outcomes.
Mark Drakeford: Our programme for government makes clear our total commitment to support the armed forces and veteran community in Wales
Mark Drakeford: We are exploring a legislative solution to the issue of reclassification. Housing associations can be confident it will be resolved in a timely manner.
Mark Drakeford: We are continuing to analyse the economic and other impacts of various post-Brexit models drawing on both internal and external expertise.
Mark Drakeford: Since 2011, Nest has provided advice and support to over 85,000 households, with over 23,700 of these households receiving free home energy improvements. The Nest contract is due to end in August 2017 and we are currently consulting on the design of a new scheme to start in September 2017.
Mark Drakeford: Our regeneration investments continue to deliver important change to communities across Wales through the Vibrant and Viable Places programme. The recent establishment of the Valleys taskforce will build on this successful work by further addressing the needs and challenges of the region.
Mark Drakeford: Thank you, Presiding Officer. And thank you for the opportunity to make a statement today on the proposals for the reform of local government. Local government plays a vital part in the lives of every citizen in Wales. Councils provide the services that educate our children, look after our elderly, dispose of our waste, and light our streets. They go on doing so, moreover, during a period...
Mark Drakeford: The pressures that austerity produces are real, and there is real need also to build new resilience into local authorities. That is why reform is a requirement and not a choice. As far as reform is concerned, of course, there was much in the Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill that was published during the last Assembly that was welcomed by local authorities and their partners. However, as...
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much for those questions, and I thank the Member for what she said at the beginning about the discussions that happened over the summer with local authorities and other stakeholders in the field. Wrth gwrs, rwy’n cydnabod yr hyn y mae hi'n ei ddweud am yr hyn a oedd ym maniffesto Plaid Cymru; byddwn yn gwybod hynny o’r nifer o arweinwyr cynghorau Plaid Cymru a ddywedodd...
Mark Drakeford: Thank you for the questions. I won’t spend a lot of time going over previous history, but there are a series of things in the draft Bill that was published that were very much welcomed by local authorities—the general power of competence, the new local government performance framework, the strengthening of the role of local councillors and so on. So, there is quite a lot to build from....
