Mark Drakeford: No.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I don’t regret the 10 per cent level in Wales. I don’t regard it as absurdly high. I think, given that we have some relatively small electorates in some councils in Wales, a 10 per cent threshold of the electorate to trigger a referendum meets our needs and circumstances.
Mark Drakeford: A political structure, including a directly elected mayor, is an option available to all principal councils in Wales, either as a result of the council deciding to pursue it, or in response to a public petition. In both cases, a local referendum is required.
Mark Drakeford: Yes. The finance system for local government will need to change to support the wider reforms I am considering and to make councils more sustainable and self-sufficient.
Mark Drakeford: My vision is a strong Wales within a reformed United Kingdom. The governance of the union must reflect the reality that it is a voluntary union of four parts working together for mutual benefit. It must be a union of equals underpinned by fair funding.
Mark Drakeford: We continue to make the case to the UK Government to guarantee all EU Structural Funds for the 2014-2020 programmes.
Mark Drakeford: I have regular discussions with a variety of stakeholders and colleagues on financial issues, including priorities within the Communities and Children portfolio.
Mark Drakeford: I will announce the provisional local government settlement for 2017-18 on 19 October, the day after the draft budget.
Mark Drakeford: With the fastest growing digital economy outside London, Welsh Government recognises the value of the tech sector. By supporting the commercial exploitation of digital and other technologies we continue the development of a modern economy that nurtures further growth in this important sector.
Mark Drakeford: My vision is a strong Wales within a reformed United Kingdom. The governance of the union must reflect the reality that it is a voluntary union of four parts working together for mutual benefit. It must be a union of equals underpinned by fair funding.
Mark Drakeford: As I have already announced, we are delighted to host a homecoming event for Welsh competitors and medallists who took part in the Rio Olympic and Paralympic games. A free public event will take place outside the Senedd on Thursday 29 September between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Mark Drakeford: We are tackling air pollution in a number of ways, including through local air quality management, industry regulation, the planning regime and the promotion of active travel. Addressing air pollution requires a collaborative approach and we recently launched a public consultation seeking views on what more we can do.
Mark Drakeford: We welcome the current investment in rail infrastructure in Wales. However, we continue to press for confirmation of the timetable for electrification to Swansea.
Mark Drakeford: Maybe for the last time.
Mark Drakeford: The Member is wrong to put it in those terms. The position of the Welsh Government is that we have to evolve the position that Wales takes in response to the developing debate. I’ve been the Minister of health in this Assembly. I don’t need anybody to convince me that our ability to go on providing core services for people in Wales depends on our ability to attract people from around the...
Mark Drakeford: Of course, anybody would be willing to look at that research. We will never know, in a definitive ranking sense, what were the reasons that motivated people to vote the way they did on 23 June. My own more sobering experience of knocking doors in parts of Cardiff—
Mark Drakeford: There’s more than one sort of evidence, Dirprwy Lywydd, and evidence of what people say to you directly when you’re in conversations with them is not to be dismissed. On the doorstep, when I am trying to persuade people to vote for Wales’s future to be in Europe, then I can assure you that issues of immigration and free movement were very, very regularly and very prominently reported to...
Mark Drakeford: Yes, of course.
Mark Drakeford: Well, I think the First Minister made it clear yesterday, Dirprwy Lywydd, that in the run-up to the referendum the Welsh Government unambiguously put in front of the Welsh people our belief that Wales’s future was best secured within Europe, and the terms of trade in Europe are that you have free movement of goods, services and people. Those terms have changed. The vote on 23 June means...
Mark Drakeford: Diolch yn fawr, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Can I begin by thanking all those who’ve taken part in what has been, I think, a thought-provoking and constructive discussion, which will be helpful to us all as we struggle together to think our way through the circumstances in which we find ourselves in Wales in the post-Brexit era? I’ll begin by thanking Adam Price for his contribution. I enjoyed the...
