Mark Drakeford: I thank Llyr Gruffydd for the question. I want to see an NHS that can respond to need in a clinically timely way and that is available to all who choose to use it. The NHS provides almost all of the primary and emergency care provided in Wales. Where patients choose to use the independent sector, they are, of course, free to do so.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, where to start? If I was the Member, I would have crossed out the line she was given about coalition, having heard the discussion on the floor of the Senedd this afternoon. What you've seen is the co-operation agreement work as it was always intended to do—that, where we are able to agree on things, and there are 47 very important things that we were able to agree on, we work...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Hefin David for that, Llywydd. The expert group that was established as part of the co-operation agreement has carried out its work. Its report has been received; we published it on 10 November. We're very grateful to the members of that group for the very detailed consideration they gave to the challenging circumstances of social care. It's undebatable, I think, Llywydd, that the...
Mark Drakeford: Well—[Laughter.]—I thank Hefin David for raising the standard of debate here in the Senedd this afternoon. By working together, we have made real progress on a range of joint commitments that have a direct impact on people's ability to manage during this cost-of-living crisis. These include free school meals, the expansion of free childcare, and measures that help people to live in their...
Mark Drakeford: I powerfully welcome the Gordon Brown report, and I powerfully welcome its very specific commitment that the devolution of criminal justice will begin with the next Labour Government. And let's be clear, Llywydd: only a Labour Government will ever be able to set off on that journey and complete it. The Tories won't do it, Plaid Cymru can't do it, only Labour. Only Labour is able to deliver...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I'm more of an optimist than the leader of Plaid Cymru, but I'm always more of an optimist about Wales than Plaid Cymru is on almost every point. [Interruption.] Yes, I know. They hate it when you point out to them that every time they get to their feet, it's always to give us the most pessimistic view possible of what Wales can achieve. Llywydd, I'm well enough aware of the...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I don't agree with the final point that the leader of Plaid Cymru raised. I don't think that people in Wales will be willing to support the point that he made, and I think that the most important thing about the Welsh language is to maintain the support of people in Wales for everything that we're trying to do. We've succeeded in doing that. There is a strong feeling for the Welsh...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, let me give the Member just two examples of the actions we can take in the immediate term. One—and there'll be a statement on this next week by the Minister for Health and Social Services—will be to increase the bed capacity of the NHS over this winter, and that's both bed spaces in hospitals, but community services as well, so that people who are in hospital today can be back...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I do understand that the headline numbers disguise the fact that many of those people will not be working full time and that patterns of work in the health service have altered. But even if you look at those full-time-equivalent figures, there are nearly 10,000 more staff working in the NHS today than there were just three years ago. So, while it is true that work patterns are...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I want to distinguish between two things. And I thought it was a brave statement by the new leader of the BMA to recognise that, on many occasions in the past, the word 'crisis' has been used by the BMA, and that has devalued that term. The two things I want to distinguish are these: I absolutely accept the struggle and the stress that there is in the Welsh NHS, that...
Mark Drakeford: Can I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for that? He makes a very important point. The Gordon Brown report yesterday does indeed propose a legal duty of co-operation between the four nations of the United Kingdom. That legal duty would be something that would be capable of being tested in a court of law, and it would, I believe, act as a very significant brake on the sorts of actions, I'm afraid, we...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that question. I think what is absolutely beyond doubt is the fact that Wales has offered a very generous welcome to people from Ukraine. When we opened the Welsh platform, we anticipated 1,000 people coming to Wales as a result of it. We now have 3,000 people who've been welcomed to Wales by that route. The Member is right—that puts stresses and strains into the...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, it's always been a mystery to me as to why student visas are always reported as part of that global immigration total. If you look at all the surveys of public opinion, even parts of public opinion that have anxieties about immigration are not anxious about students coming to study here in the United Kingdom. So, to include them in that global figure always seems to me highly...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, our commitment to Wales being a nation of sanctuary is undiminished. We work with others to welcome those who arrive in Wales, but, regrettably, many of the UK Government’s immigration policies, such as the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, hamper our efforts to foster integration and community cohesion.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I thank the Member for those further practical suggestions. As I said in my answer to the local Member for Ynys Môn, the Welsh Government continues to be open to discussions at official level, and with people on the ground, to make sure we have the best available data and can see whether further action could be taken. I do know that action has already been taken to make sure...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for that supplementary question. Of course, we're thinking about local businesses that have seen an impact following the closure of the bridge. And when Lee Waters was in north Wales, he announced a number of things that we can do now. But we are still co-operating with the local councils, and data is being gathered. There will be an analysis of that data...
Mark Drakeford: Good afternoon, of course. On his visit to Menai Bridge on Wednesday of last week, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change announced a package of support to ease the transport pressures on people travelling to and from Anglesey. This included traffic flow solutions and access to active travel routes.
Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government’s policy objective is to avoid the continued extraction and consumption of all fossil fuels, bring to a managed end the extraction and use of coal, and ensure a just transition for those employees and communities affected by this change.
Mark Drakeford: Wales is experiencing the biggest fall in living standards since records began. This is particularly detrimental for those who are already vulnerable, including elderly people. We are targeting support to help them keep warm this winter and ensure they are receiving all the financial support to which they are entitled.
Mark Drakeford: We are taking a Whole System Approach to protecting children and young people’s mental health. We have invested significantly in mental health support from early intervention to specialist services. We have also introduced statutory guidance to embed mental well-being in schools and we are implementing the NEST/NYTH Framework across Wales.
