Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I am pleased to make a statement on the 2022-23 draft budget laid on 20 December—the first multi-year budget since 2017. As we stand at the start of a new year, I want to reflect on the circumstances that shaped our preparations, alongside looking forward to what this budget will deliver. The ongoing impacts of the UK leaving the EU, the pandemic, including the emergence of...
Rebecca Evans: Yes. I think we have some excellent examples of work taking place, so Cwm Taf PSB, for example, that undertook a live lab exercise with the office of the future generations commissioner, and it focused specifically on addressing adverse childhood experiences, to try and work out how those partners could best respond to children and young people experiencing adverse childhood experiences. And...
Rebecca Evans: Local authorities, along with their other statutory partners, are seeing benefits from working through public services boards. Their annual reports provide evidence that local authorities are committed to working with their public services board partners to improve well-being in their area.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, and Altaf Hussain is correct that we have provided significant additional funding to this sector over the course of the pandemic, recognising the points that he and John Griffiths have described. We've provided over £1.2 million in dispersed community-based accommodation for those for whom refuge provision isn't suitable, and for move-on accommodation. I think this has been really...
Rebecca Evans: I thank John Griffiths for raising this issue this afternoon and recognising, really, the important work that organisations such as Barnardo's do, and I'm very interested to hear about the project that you've described. We have provided additional funding through the course of the pandemic, recognising, as John Griffiths said, the fact that staying at home more makes it more difficult for...
Rebecca Evans: The Welsh Government is clear about its ambition to end violence against women and girls. The pandemic has created exceptional challenges for victims and survivors of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence and the services supporting them. Over £4 million of additional funding was subsequently made available to the sector to deal with the impact.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. I have regular discussions with the Minister for Health and Social Services to ensure that NHS organisations do have the funding that they need to respond to the pandemic. My belief is, at the moment, that the NHS does have the funding it needs, both in terms of providing the correct kit, but also in terms of all the other work that it needs to do to respond to the pandemic and to...
Rebecca Evans: In 2021-22, the HSS main expenditure group received an additional £1.1 billion of revenue COVID funding. Of this, over £820 million has been allocated to support the NHS and test and trace. To date, we've allocated over £38 million to the NHS and are currently forecasting a spend of around £58 million on PPE.
Rebecca Evans: I thank Joel James for raising this this afternoon. This is something that I'll go away and give some further consideration to in the light of his comments this afternoon. But just while I have it, I'll take this chance to thank everybody who gives up their time to be town and community councillors, because through the course of the pandemic, we have really seen the value of those in terms of...
Rebecca Evans: Every community council must have a clerk; they are essential to the good governance of community and town councils. The Welsh Government values their contribution and we work with external partners to provide support to encourage them to develop their professional skills.
Rebecca Evans: Diolch. I'm really pleased that this is an area that is within the co-operation agreement, exploring how we can keep this value here in Wales. I think it really does build on some good work that was undertaken over the summer, which was a discovery exercise creating a digital road map for e-procurement. It means that we will be looking at much more transparency throughout the supply chain, so...
Rebecca Evans: This is something of particular interest in ensuring that the money we spend through procurement in Wales has that social value, which is partly achieved through supporting the foundational economy and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises here in Wales. We have, over the course of this year, published a number of Wales procurement policy notes, which are there to support the...
Rebecca Evans: Following consultation, the Wales procurement policy statement was updated and published in March 2021, setting out high-level principles to support the delivery of our economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being goals through procurement. On 25 November, we published an action plan setting out how we will observe the statement.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for the question and for setting out the challenging circumstances that local government has found itself in in Wales. Despite the good last couple of years of settlements, it doesn't really take away 10 years of austerity by any sense of the imagination. We will ensure that changes that are made through laws in Senedd Bills or secondary legislation include an assessment of the cost...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising that, and, of course, the Bevan Foundation report was a difficult read, really, in terms of ensuring that we do understand the level of pressures that many families are facing, and these pressures are only getting more difficult with the cost of living increases, the cost of fuel and so forth, and all of the challenges that surround families during the pandemic. So,...
Rebecca Evans: Yes. I just want to reiterate the points, really, that I made in response to Peter Fox, that our officials are working really, really closely with treasurers to understand the precise sum of money that local government will need in order to undertake all of the social care work that they need to—in adult social care and children's services. And, whilst that work is going on, I'm seeking,...
Rebecca Evans: Funding is provided through the unhypothecated local government settlement to support the delivery of services all year. This increased by 3.8 per cent this financial year. The Welsh Government is also providing funding through the local government hardship fund and has announced social care pressures funding of £42 million.
Rebecca Evans: I think that the Senedd is always at its best when we find areas where we can all agree on and, previously, we have been able to find some cross-party and cross-Senedd support for various issues when we’ve needed to press the Treasury, and certainly within the context Brexit. So, I think there’s a lot we can do together to press these points about fairness, about ensuring that the...
Rebecca Evans: Yes, absolutely. So, I think it would be absolutely unacceptable if we found ourselves in a position, as we were when we introduced the firebreak previously in the pandemic, where the UK Government didn’t provide additional financial support, but as soon as it needed to take similar measures, all of a sudden furlough was there and available. That situation is absolutely unacceptable. We...
Rebecca Evans: Absolutely. Apologies if I wasn't clear. We are currently thinking, today, about what additional funding might be necessary for businesses to support them through this immediate period ahead. So, prior to coming to this session, my most recent meeting was with the First Minister, talking about what support businesses might need, and then we've got further discussions planned with the Minister...
