Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Llywydd. The Member raises two particular points, which were the reporting points of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, the first being the point about unusual or unexpected use of powers by Welsh Ministers. Fundamentally, the powers conferred on the Welsh Ministers by section 36(8) are to deem that a scheme of the descriptions specified in those regulations is...
Rebecca Evans: I'm responding to the question this afternoon in place of the First Minister, who is in London for meetings relating to Brexit. We note today's judgment from the High Court, which provides clarity on what has been a complex process. We will now consider the next steps in relation to the investigation in the light of today's judgment.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for raising these issues this afternoon, and giving us the opportunity to discuss in the first instance the judgment that has been made. We thank the court for providing us with the clarity that we have now on what's been a very complex process. Clearly, we will be discussing and considering the next steps in light of today's judgment, but I do want to say at the very...
Rebecca Evans: Well, Presiding Officer, there are many aspects of the questions that the leader of Plaid Cymru has raised with me this afternoon that I'm simply not in a position to answer because this is the first involvement that I've had with this particular issue, given the fact that I now have the Trefnydd role—I had no involvement in it previously. So, many of the aspects that you have described,...
Rebecca Evans: In the first instance, I think the important thing will be to study the judgment that we have before us today, and, as I say, we've made it available for Members in the library in order to ensure that all Members are able to study it too. But certainly the next steps will involve discussion with the family in the first instance in terms of determining the best way forward. We'll clearly do so...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. There are two changes to this week's business. The Counsel General and Brexit Minister will make a statement shortly to update the Assembly on EU negotiations. Additionally, the Business Committee has agreed to seek a suspension of Standing Orders tomorrow to enable the Standards of Conduct Committee report 01-19 to be debated. Draft business for the next three weeks is set...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for raising the issue, particularly of clinical oncologists. I would suggest that the earliest opportunity for you to raise that with the health Minister would be this afternoon in the statement on 'Train. Work. Live.', which is the Welsh Government's efforts to ensure that we do have the appropriate staff within the NHS with the skills that we need for the future. And,...
Rebecca Evans: Welsh Government continues to remain an enthusiastic supporter of the proposal for a Swansea bay tidal lagoon, and we're pleased that there are other options and other ways of funding that being looked at at the moment. There's no lack of enthusiasm here, and we are still keen to ensure that Wales can be a world leader in marine and tidal technology. I think that the enthusiasm certainly is...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for raising both of those issues, and, of course, it's the Ministry of Justice that oversees the youth offending teams in the three local authority areas run by Western Bay. It must take urgent action as a result of the findings set out in the HMI probation report. We want to ensure that services are in place to support young people who are at risk of entering the criminal...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising that. Of course, you'll be aware of the statement that the First Minister made in September regarding the National Procurement Service and Value Wales and the importance that we put on good procurement practice across Wales. You mentioned the state of NHS finances, and the current NHS forecast represents a material improvement from the 2017-18 outturn, and, again, we...
Rebecca Evans: With regard to the first query relating to your correspondence with the Deputy Minister on the Welsh independent living grant, I understand, as you say, you sent the letter in the middle of the month, so, perhaps if we let the standard 17-working-day response time elapse and if you haven't had a response within that time, I'd be certainly pleased to ensure that you do receive a timely...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising your concerns about leasehold and also the issues facing many people who own freehold properties that are subject to management fees on various estates across Wales. I know it's something that you've raised many times in this Chamber. As a result of some of the discussions that we had early on, I was able to take some early action in my previous portfolio to deal with...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. On the first issue of the dietetics work, it sounds very interesting and certainly extremely encouraging, so I'll discuss with my colleague the Minister for health in terms of the best way to better understand that and the potential that it has for people affected by diabetes and the prevention of diabetes across Wales. I know it's the intention of the health Minister to...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising this issue again. I think, as the Minister was able to outline in her response to the debate, it is an extremely serious and concerning situation, and it's a situation that many people across Wales feel extremely passionately about as well. The Minister did set out that it would be for the Assembly to send any letter on behalf of the Assembly. It wouldn't normally be the...
Rebecca Evans: I'd ask you to look again at the response that the First Minister gave to the leader of Plaid Cymru when he asked a question on this precise issue just earlier on this afternoon. The First Minister set out that he is currently considering the judgment that was made and taking some further advice with a view to updating the Assembly in due course.
Rebecca Evans: I did have the opportunity to discuss this briefly with my colleague Jane Hutt just this morning. Clearly, there are very concerning issues within the report that do need to be responded to. Welsh Government officials are, as I said in response to David Rees, in contact with their counterparts, and I know that Jane Hutt wants to take this up directly with the Minister in the Ministry of...
Rebecca Evans: We have called on the UK Government to release funds to tackle its self-imposed chaos. As well as allocating £34 million through the European Union transition fund, we have been actively increasing preparations for a 'no deal' exit, including the Preparing Wales portal, redeploying staff resources, and co-ordinating work across public services.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. There's very little that I could disagree with in the statement that you've provided this afternoon, which does demonstrate the level of expense that the Welsh Government is making in terms of investing to ensure that we are as best prepared as we possibly can for a Brexit of whatever type that might take. But what I have to say as well is that the funds that we're...
Rebecca Evans: Well, all of those items that I've just described have been funded through the EU transition fund, which was funded with the money you describe, alongside funding for training and upskilling the workforce in Wales's automotive and aerospace industries, and funding for Welsh universities to drive international partnerships and promote Wales as a study destination. I'd be more than happy to...
Rebecca Evans: We continue to prioritise funding for the NHS in Wales, and the 2019-20 budget approved by the Assembly in January provides £7.4 billion for core NHS funding, representing record levels of investment in the NHS in Wales.
