Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I thank Ken Skates for that question. I remember very vividly a visit that he and I made to the headquarters of the Development Bank of Wales in Wrexham, and it has been one of the outstanding success stories of the last decade. The half-year results, as Ken Skates says, were published in the last week or so. They show a continuing strong trend in direct investment that the bank is...
Mark Drakeford: Well, the phosphates issue is a genuine one, Llywydd. I was able to meet the major players in this area at the Royal Welsh Show earlier this year, and there's a follow-up meeting with all of those players planned for early in the new year. That is to make sure that all those organisations that have a part to play in resolving the phosphates issue are able to do that, and that nobody spends...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, to be threatened with homelessness at any time of the year is enormously stressful, as anybody in this Chamber who does casework regularly will know. But to be faced with that over the Christmas period, when you're fearful that services may not be available, is even more challenging, I'm sure, for anybody. There are two aspects to this, Llywydd, of course. There is the demand...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. The Welsh Government's commitment to ending homelessness remains unwavering at all times of the year. Our total investment in homelessness prevention and housing support is over £197 million this year, helping ensure no-one is left without the support or the accommodation they need.
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: Llywydd, just to be clear, for accuracy, the loan of the Welsh Government was £18 million, and it was with the Welsh Rugby Union, not with the regions. The way that the money is used is for the Welsh Rugby Union to determine, and they are responsible for making sure that the loan repayments are made. It was a matter of serious debate within the Welsh Government as to whether or not it was...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the health, social and economic value of sport is widely recognised, which is why we are investing more than £75 million over the next three years, through Sport Wales, to deliver on our shared aims and objectives.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, can I first of all agree with what Luke Fletcher said about the very disappointing announcement last week? I've long argued myself that we need something akin to the United States Community Reinvestment Act 1977, which would oblige banks, when they remove from communities that have supported them for decades and decades, that would oblige them to invest in those communities to...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, as I explained on the floor of the Senedd last week, responsibility for financial services, including banking, is not devolved to the Senedd. While the Welsh Government cannot, therefore, ensure banking availability, we are working with those who are able to do so. This includes provision of innovative services, such as shared banking hubs and our own plans for a community bank.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, Mike Hedges reminds us of some important ways in which council house building was possible in the past on a bipartisan basis. People forget that Aneurin Bevan was the Minister for housing as well as the Minister for health, and he put more housing legislation on the statute book than he passed health legislation. And the housing Minister who presided over the largest number of...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, we're committed to delivering 20,000 new low-carbon homes for rent in the social sector and have allocated record levels of funding, including more than doubling Swansea's funding since 2020-21. The first statistical release demonstrating progress towards this target is expected early next year.
Mark Drakeford: Well, thank you for the question, of course.
Mark Drakeford: In many ways, the core of the problem was set out in the question, which is that dentists are private businesses; they are contractors. They cannot be made to work for the NHS. And we have seen, to a very small extent, in fact, some dentists in Wales move out of the NHS and into private practice. What is the Welsh Government doing about it? Well, I've set this out on the floor a number of...
Mark Drakeford: Well, my advice to them is to seek advice from their clinician and then to make an assessment that only they can make. There's no possible advice that either the Member or I can give to people standing here. They should get clinical advice, and then they should make their minds up.
Mark Drakeford: The Member knows that it's impossible for me to respond to a case when I'm hearing the details for the first time in the Chamber. As I said in the original answer, I want to see an NHS in Wales that can provide services to people in a timely way, in every regard and in every part of the service.
Mark Drakeford: And while it's very difficult to hear the sort of case that the Member has outlined this afternoon, it's still important to say that, even if you take the figures that are published by the private sector themselves—and, of course, they are there to make the case for their sector—but if you take their own figures on the use of the private sector in Wales, then, in planned care, 5 per cent...
