Vaughan Gething: Yes. On both the first points, yes, I am very pleased to continue my stated support for Wrexham's bid to be the UK City of Culture. I know that the Member, and indeed the one-time director of Wrexham Supporters Trust, the constituency Member for Wrexham, have been very clear in their support for the bid as well, as indeed are people across the region and outside. It enjoys cross-party...
Vaughan Gething: Well, we'd like to be able to do just that. It does require, though, not just a level of honesty but a level of practical ability to work together, and that can't be on the basis that the UK Government decide what's going to happen and then demand that the Welsh Government falls into line. Now, in the Mersey Dee area you've got local authorities on both sides of the border who are having that...
Vaughan Gething: On 8 March, I launched the plan for employability and skills, and you'll recall that I also gave an oral statement in this Chamber, at which you were able to ask questions. I outlined our priorities to help more people in Wales to upskill, access and, hopefully, thrive in work, for a more equal economy that works for everyone.
Vaughan Gething: There are challenges in this area that I'm discussing with the Minister for education and lifelong learning, and our joint engagement with the further education sector in particular. It's both about the way that funding is still up in the air—and we've had this discussion more than once about people's ability to engage in skilled work—and replacement EU funds aren't being fully matched...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question and the reminder of some of the significant challenges we have, and the £1 billion shortchanging in Wales in replacement EU funds will make a big difference to what we're able to do and the speed at which we're able to do it. In setting out our economic mission and the employability and skills plan, we're focusing on what we can do, so that's why we're going to...
Vaughan Gething: Our strategy, 'Welcome to Wales: Priorities for the visitor economy 2020-2025', sets our vision and ambition for the sector. We also, of course, have the shaping the vision recovery plan published a year ago. In the budget for 2022-23, we've indicated an allocation of £47 million over three years to deliver on those priorities.
Vaughan Gething: Well, there was significant comment on exactly this subject yesterday with my colleague the Minister for Finance and Local Government, and in questions elsewhere. Look, I've actually met the visitor economy forum today and this is a subject they've raised. There are concerns around a number of areas. The challenge though is the balance in what we're trying to do, and the balance in what we're...
Vaughan Gething: Welcome back. The health and well-being of workers is a priority for this Government. Last month, the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being and I announced £1.4 million of funding over the next three years for the Time to Change Wales programme to continue. We also work together on the Healthy Working Wales programme as well.
Vaughan Gething: No, we're not at that point. We are having a conversation about what is a healthy balance in the way that the world of work has changed during the pandemic, and how much that change is going to be permanent. And actually, some of the challenges about the surveillance of people when they're working remotely—it's a matter that, of course, Sarah Murphy, the Member for Bridgend has consistently...
Vaughan Gething: Well, actually, the broader point about mental health is that it's something for all of us, in having some balance in what we do and to be able to be successful in work and outside work as well. It's not just a question of those people who are struggling with their mental health; maintaining good mental health is a matter for all of us. And actually, rather than having a specific point about...
Vaughan Gething: COVID has accelerated the trend we're seeing, with the change in the use of town and city centres and in particular, during the height of the pandemic, it obviously reduced demand for high-street retail. That's why, in January 2020, we launched the Transforming Towns programme to help support town-centre businesses, and that is now being led by my colleague the Deputy Minister for Climate Change.
Vaughan Gething: So, business rates reform is a matter for the Minister for Finance and Local Government. When it comes to the rates relief system, of course, we've announced rates relief for a range of businesses and we'd encourage businesses to make sure that they take up their entitlement to the 50 per cent rates relief. Now, having had, essentially, no business rates in a range of those areas to then...
Vaughan Gething: Our vision is for a well-being economy that drives prosperity, is environmentally sound and helps everyone to realise their potential. The principles of our groundbreaking Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 shape the decisions that we make in supporting our economic initiatives.
Vaughan Gething: Well, of course, every local authority will have its own mandate in the near future, and I hope to be working with an even greater number of Welsh Labour leaders in the future. But, as we have seen during the last two years, we've worked effectively with leaderships of varying political shades. In the Cardiff capital region, there's a Conservative leader, some independents and Labour leaders....
Vaughan Gething: Our £136 million Transforming Towns programme focuses on the diversification and sustainable growth of town and city centres, through interventions that include the reuse of derelict and empty buildings, increasing the variety of and access to services in towns and cities, and an emphasis on flexible working and living space, mixed-use space, improved green infrastructure, and, of course,...
Vaughan Gething: Well, I welcome the Member's consistent call for land valuation to replace business rates, and, of course, as I've said earlier, the reform of business rates or otherwise is a matter for the Minister for Finance and Local Government. But I continue to take an interest in the practical reality of where we are now and where we could be in the future, and that's why we have worked alongside...
Vaughan Gething: As the Member will know, the UK Government has bypassed the Welsh Government and the Senedd on the way that this fund has operated in its pilot phase. It fails to address persistent regional inequalities across the UK as it is currently formed. I continue to have discussions with partners—not just Ministers within the Government, but outside of the Welsh Government—on how best to mitigate...
Vaughan Gething: The reality is that we may not be able to ensure that universities, and, indeed, the further education sector, who also were significant beneficiaries of European funds, don't lose out. That's because of the choice that has been made. It's a clear-sighted choice not to include the Welsh Government and not to meet the clear manifesto pledge to replace every single penny of former European...
Vaughan Gething: My officials and I are considering the judgment, including the Welsh Government's position with regard to a possible appeal from the High Court judgment. The Welsh Government is very mindful of the stress and uncertainty that customers of the energy park have experienced. We will continue to work with all relevant parties to try to secure a solution that protects the environment, public...
Vaughan Gething: If workers do find themselves without a job, we have a range of support measures that we can take and have taken in the past. What we're actually trying to do, though, in a range of the steps that we're taking is to try to avoid a significant loss of jobs as a result of the proposed action to cut off the power supplies. What the judgment did say was that all businesses will have their power...
