Mark Drakeford: We are committed to improving child health in Wales. Our programme for government, ‘Taking Wales Forward’ includes our Healthy Child Wales programme. The programme includes a range of preventative and early intervention measures to help parents and children make healthy lifestyle choices.
Mark Drakeford: It would be unhelpful for the Welsh Government to give a running commentary during an ongoing committee inquiry. We look forward to the publication of the final report by the Standards Committee and we are committed to working transparently and constructively to deliver for the people of Wales.
Mark Drakeford: In his oral statement in October, the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children outlined the Welsh Government’s priorities for resilient communities. These focus on employment, early years and empowerment. Following broad engagement on these priorities, the Cabinet Secretary will make another statement in due course.
Mark Drakeford: Some local authorities are still consulting on their WESPs. Once we have received them all, I will make a statement on the way forward. However, I am disappointed by the lack of ambition demonstrated by some to date.
Mark Drakeford: The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill, currently being considered by the Assembly, will replace outdated legislation and improve the support for all learners with ALN up to the age of 25. We have announced £20 million funding to support the successful implementation and delivery of the new system.
Mark Drakeford: We continue to support Mid and West Wales businesses through wide-ranging support, infrastructure investment and actions that improve business conditions.
Mark Drakeford: On the effect of establishing a UK research and innovation body, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, the Minister for Skills and Science and the chief scientific adviser met the UK Minister responsible and sought proper Welsh representation on UK research and innovation’s board. They made the same point to interim UKRI chair, Sir John Kingman. Discussions with universities on UKRI...
Mark Drakeford: I welcome the positive impact of incubators and open space for entrepreneurs. As a Government we remain committed to the vital importance of innovation-driven entrepreneurship and appreciate the importance of providing space, community and support for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Mark Drakeford: The configuration of clinical contact centres is an operational matter for the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust. I am aware that WAST has begun an engagement process with staff to consider options for the future configuration of services in west Wales. No decision has yet been taken.
Mark Drakeford: Our priority is to provide the people of west Wales with health services that deliver the best possible outcomes for patients. We will be guided by the best and most up-to-date clinical evidence and advice to deliver high-quality care that the people of west Wales deserve.
Mark Drakeford: Our water strategy for Wales sets out our long-term policy direction for water in Wales. Lesley Griffiths AM, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, meets regularly with stakeholders across the Welsh water industry to discuss all aspects of water and sewerage services.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the IFS green budget shows that the UK Government’s self-imposed austerity policy is not working, and that people in Wales face the immediate prospect of tax rises and spending cuts, with a longer term prospect of these failed policies extending into the next decade.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, there is nothing in the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ green budget that provides advice on that matter.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, Julie Morgan is absolutely right to point to the disproportionate impact on Wales of the UK Government’s welfare reform policies. And, as a Government, and, indeed, across many parts of this Assembly, we have consistently called on the UK Government to change its course in that regard. It’s sometimes said in a shorthand way, Llywydd, isn’t it—that Wales is older,...
Mark Drakeford: I agree with Andrew R.T. Davies that you’ve got to take the fiscal framework alongside the IFS green budget, because the one does have some potential to mitigate the other. The £600 million figure in the report produced by the IFS and the Wales Governance Centre is within the range of £500 million to £1 billion that we set out in our estimate of what the fiscal framework would bring to...
Mark Drakeford: Let me begin by agreeing with what Mike Hedges said. The policy of austerity is a self-defeating policy. It makes things worse rather than better, and that’s demonstrated from the practical impact that we see elsewhere. On the direct impacts of the spending cuts set out in the IFS’s green budget, what we know is coming the way of Wales is a reduction in our revenue of 8 per cent between...
Mark Drakeford: With governance arrangements agreed, now the Cardiff capital region city deal must move to identify, prioritise and agree projects, interactions and interventions that benefit the region as a whole, including the northern Valleys. I want to congratulate all 10 local authorities on ratification of the deal in a timely and effective fashion.
Mark Drakeford: I thank Hefin David for the question. I agree with him completely that there is a great deal to learn from work that goes on elsewhere. I was pleased myself to accept an invitation from Professor Karel Williams to give a lecture at the Manchester Business School recently, sharing the experience from Wales to match the experience that they are able to offer us. One of the ways in which I...
Mark Drakeford: Those are very interesting points that the Member raises and they were reflected to an extent in the Greg Clark report on growth and competitiveness across the Cardiff capital region. In the end, Llywydd, it will be for the cabinet, which will now be formed as a result of a vote that’s been held in the 10 local authorities, to make decisions that benefit the region as a whole. They will...
Mark Drakeford: I discuss with Cabinet colleagues a whole range of such matters, both in my capacity as local government Secretary, but also in my capacity as finance Minister for the Welsh Government, and the Member can be assured that those matters are regularly kept under review.
