Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Welsh Government's presence at Qatar allowed us to amplify knowledge of Wales across the world and to speak up for the values that matter to us. Cultural and economic benefits will be among the products of that engagement.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I thank the Member for that further question. Let me give him two examples of ways in which we will want to follow up our presence at the world cup in the areas that he mentions. So, I said in my original answer that there would be cultural follow-up to the visit. I was able to visit the Museum of Islamic Art while I was in Qatar. It's a most fantastic museum, and one of the...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I absolutely agree with Jack Sargeant. One of the legacies of Wales's success in getting to the world cup final has to be in inspiring that new generation of young people to take part in sports of all kind, and if they're to do that, then investment in facilities is necessary. We work alongside the FAW, with significant investment through Sport Wales, both to invest in...
Mark Drakeford: Investment in infrastructure, skills and start-ups are the essential ingredients in Government action to develop our economy. The Swansea bay city deal digital district programme, part-funded by Welsh Government, is an example of how we are working together to support economic development and growth.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I thank Mike Hedges. It was very good to be in Swansea with him at the start of this month, and a chance to put on record once again: congratulations to Matt Warren, who founded Veeqo less than 10 years ago, and has made it such an outstanding success. In his contribution at that ceremony, he focused on the quality-of-life advantages that come with living in the Swansea area, the...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Siân Gwenllian, Llywydd. Intake numbers have been agreed and funding approved for 140 students per year, once the school reaches optimum capacity. A letter of assurance was sent to General Medical Council colleagues in November to allow Bangor University to continue their forward momentum through the accreditation process.
Mark Drakeford: I thank Siân Gwenllian, Llywydd. I do agree that it is good to see everything that we've done together to establish a medical school in Bangor coming to fruition in a successful manner. And, of course, as the local Member, Siân Gwenllian has ambition about drawing on the success in the context of the medical school to do more for the future. I have seen the responses that Eluned Morgan has...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Welsh Government's review of hospice care has led to an uplift in hospice funding of £2.2 million from this financial year and onwards. That includes the fantastic St David’s Foundation Hospice Care that serves the Newport area. Phase 2 of the review considers broader end-of-life care services, including those provided by health, social care and the third sector.
Mark Drakeford: I thank Jayne Bryant for what she said about the palliative care quality statement, which my colleague Eluned Morgan publicised recently. It picks up many of the points that the Member has just made, Llywydd. We're not good at talking about these things in our culture. In many ways, those conversations need to start far earlier than when people are faced with those incredibly difficult...
Mark Drakeford: Rŷn ni wedi buddsoddi dros £80 miliwn i ehangu neu agor mwy o ysgolion cyfrwng Cymraeg newydd ar draws Cymru. Dwi eisiau gweld pob plentyn yn gadael yr ysgol, pa bynnag ysgol yw hynny, yn siaradwyr Cymraeg. Dyma fydd ein ffocws dros y degawd nesaf.
Mark Drakeford: In the first 7 months of the 2022-23 financial year, 200,529 children have been treated in general dental services, and 44,003 of these are new patients.
Mark Drakeford: We continue to support new and existing businesses in mid and west Wales through the Business Wales service. We are committed to delivering a greener, more equal and prosperous economy for all parts of Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Rydym yn ariannu 26 o fudiadau amrywiol i gefnogi’r Gymraeg yn genedlaethol a lleol. Er enghraifft, mynychodd 230,000 jambori yr Urdd yn ddiweddar ac rydym yn rhoi dros £300,000 i gefnogi mudiadau Cymraeg yng Ngorllewin De Cymru.
Mark Drakeford: Rydym yn ariannu 26 o fudiadau amrywiol i gefnogi’r Gymraeg yn genedlaethol a lleol. Er enghraifft, mynychodd 230,000 jambori yr Urdd yn ddiweddar ac rydym yn rhoi dros £314,000 i gefnogi mudiadau Cymraeg yng Nghanol De Cymru.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, happy new year to you and to everyone else too.
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that question. Third sector organisations in Wales both provide vital help to others in the cost-of-living crisis and are directly affected by it themselves. We have increased funding to the sector on both counts, most often alongside our local authority partners.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I recognise the dilemma that Peter Fox points to. I want to, as he did, pay tribute to the fantastic work that voluntary organisations and the third sector carry out here in Wales. And it's not a surprise to hear that many of those organisations, where there has been some extra funding available, want to put that into expanding the services that they provide, given the significance...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Vikki Howells for that, Llywydd. It was very good last week to have an opportunity there, with three other ministerial colleagues, to highlight the work of the Cardiff and Vale credit union. There were other colleagues, I know, out on the same day drawing attention to the services that credit unions are now able to provide, and we know that, whenever credit unions find themselves in...
Mark Drakeford: Good afternoon to Dr Hussain. Llywydd, in the six months following publication of the planned care recovery programme, long waits in the Welsh NHS have fallen by 23 per cent. That is the result of significant additional investment, expanded facilities, service reform and, most of all, the enormous effort of NHS staff themselves.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I don't accept the general picture that the Member paints, of this being a condition that has always been a problem in the Welsh NHS. Waiting times in the Welsh NHS had been falling for four and five years in a row up until March of 2019 and beyond. It is the impact of the pandemic that has built up those lengthy waiting lists, in every part of the United Kingdom. As I said in my...
