Mark Drakeford: I thank Russell George for the question, Llywydd. We have provided over £71 million to flood risk management activities across Wales for this financial year. This represents our biggest budget ever. The £39.5 million provided to NRW for flood risk management works includes specific provision for schemes in mid Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I think it was the BMA that described the Welsh NHS as the NHS closest to the founding Bevanite principles of the health service of any of the four UK nations, and that is a position that I would wish to see us maintain. The impact of the pandemic meant that we have made greater use of private sector facilities than we would have prior to that, and there was no criticism of...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, the Government will carry out our negotiations with trade unions with the trade unions. That is the right way for these matters to be resolved, and that, actually, is the way that I think is respectful to our trade union colleagues, that we discuss these matters directly with them, rather than by proxy on the floor of the Senedd. And that's what we will do. We will, in doing...
Mark Drakeford: Well, there are political choices here, Llywydd, and there are also hard facts, and it is simply a hard fact that you cannot spend one-off money to pay for recurrent bills. Now, the Welsh Government has written to our trade union colleagues making sure that we are able to go on talking to them. We've put a package of measures together. I'm glad that we will have a meeting with our trade...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the advice deals directly with ensuring that people are not discharged in circumstances that would lead to their rapid readmission. It talks about people who are, for example, waiting for an assessment, and suggests that it is better that someone might wait for an assessment at home, rather than waiting in a hospital bed—a hospital bed that is then not available for someone who is...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the advice was not rushed out in any way; it was given out on 30 December. The 27 December was the single busiest day in the 75-year history of the Welsh NHS. On that single day, 550 patients were admitted to a bed in the Welsh NHS. Five per cent of the whole of the bed capacity of the NHS used in a single day, and still with ambulances having to wait to discharge patients into A&E...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I completely reject the characterisation that the leader of the opposition has made, and he should know better. It is utterly irresponsible of him to misrepresent the advice not of the Welsh Government, but of the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Wales and the Chief Nursing Officer for Wales. I have their letter in front of me and it does not in any way bear out the accusations that...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Alun Davies for that question, Llywydd. He reminds us of how fiercely Aneurin Bevan was opposed by the Conservative Party at the time. There never would have been a national health service had that party had its way. Where he is certainly true is this: Llywydd, if you look at satisfaction levels with the national health service, they were at their height in the year 2010, and they've...
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...
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: 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: 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: 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: Prepayment meter usage is concentrated amongst the least well off. Responding to the escalating cost of energy by forcing more households to rely on this form of supply will add further to fuel poverty in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: We continue to engage with the steel sector at a very senior level to secure a sustainable future. We created Net Zero Industry Wales to work with all industry to develop and deliver pathways to net zero. This will be reflected in the refreshed manufacturing action plan.
Mark Drakeford: We work closely with local authorities and other stakeholders to understand the ongoing impacts of the cost-of-living crisis at a local level. The Welsh Government will continue to prioritise its spending and target action to support the most vulnerable households through this difficult period.
Mark Drakeford: The 'All Wales Standards for Accessible Communication and Information for People with Sensory Loss' directs health boards to ensure accessible healthcare for people with sensory loss. Our programme for government commits to eliminating inequality; underpinned by our long-standing commitment to instil the social model of disability.
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: 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.
