Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that, Llywydd. Early discussions with the UK Government established that its Down Syndrome Act will provide people with Down's syndrome in England with the same level of support and protection already enjoyed by people in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I've always argued—and I’ve got into trouble for it from time to time—that if the people of any constituent part of the United Kingdom vote for a referendum on their future, then they should be allowed to hold that referendum. I think that that would be the case in Wales as well. If a party that stands for that at an election wins a majority of votes in Wales, then of...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I just don't see the purpose of continually re-litigating this issue in front of the Senedd. It was in front of the people of Wales a year ago, and it could not have been in front of them in starker terms. I stood next to the leader of Plaid Cymru in debates in which he attempted to persuade people that independence—breaking away from the United Kingdom—was the best way to...
Mark Drakeford: First of all, Llywydd, let me say this, that it was deeply, deeply disrespectful of the UK Government—disrespectful to devolution, disrespectful to this Senedd—yesterday to have smuggled out, in an explanatory memorandum, not even in the statement that they made, their intention to attempt to repeal pieces of legislation that were passed through this legislature. Not a word in advance,...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I think I've already answered most of those points already, Llywydd. I've explained to the leader of the opposition that, as soon as we're able to achieve a balance between outflow from the welcome centres, we will be able to reopen them to welcome more people here to Wales. I've set out for him where, in a very challenging set of circumstances, more permanent housing is being found for...
Mark Drakeford: Of course there is failure in the system, and it comes from a decade of failure to invest in these matters by your Government—people who supported them over that period. But the idea that there is a large and easily accessible stock of housing just waiting to be brought on stream—it isn't like that, and that's why the offers from families will be the backbone of the way in which we are...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, of course we want people to move on from the welcome centres as soon as it is safe for them to do so. There will be a variety of destinations for people leaving those centres. The bulk of them, I believe, will go to those families who have so generously offered to look after someone fleeing from the horrors of Ukraine, but there are other routes that are being explored. We are...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Andrew Davies for that question, Llywydd, and he's right to point to the continuing horrors of events in Ukraine. The Welsh Government has had to suspend temporarily our supersponsorship platform because of the outstanding success that the platform has been. We have had a far larger take-up of the potential offer to come to Wales, and we have already had far more people arrive in...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Joel James for those questions. The more detailed review of the learner travel Measure is happening at the moment, in the sense that the detailed planning for the review is being carried out over the next few weeks, and we've agreed with our local authority colleagues that the work with them on that review will follow in the autumn term. A strand in that review will be a more detailed...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I thank Heledd Fychan for those important points. As she herself said, we can see the cost of living increasing almost every week. Last week, the Office for National Statistics published their monthly figures, which demonstrated that the cost of living has gone up 9.1 per cent. in May, but that transport costs had increased by 13.8 per cent in that same period. So, we can see, of...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Heledd Fychan. Llywydd, primary pupils who live further than 2 miles from school and secondary pupils under the age of 16 who live further than 3 miles from school receive free school transport. An initial review of the learner travel Measure was published on 31 March, and a more detailed review will now follow.
Mark Drakeford: I think the point that Jane Dodds made is an important one, Llywydd. This is the responsibility of all public servants who come into contact with children who show evidence of themselves having been affected by the experience of domestic violence. On the objectives that I referred to of the national strategy, the fifth of the six objectives focuses on the training needs of the workforce, to...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I thank Jane Dodds. Of course, I agree with everything that she said about the work that people do on the front line, particularly those working in the challenging and difficult area of looking after children.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, as a Government, we've worked closely with the victims commissioner, Vera Baird QC. I think she has done a very effective job. She has shown a real interest in what happens in Wales. And I think that that system has so far served us well. Of course, we are always open to ways in which the system can be improved, but I think that this is one of those aspects where—. And I would pay...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I think the Member makes some important points, and he's right to say that the renewed strategy seeks to build on the progress that has already been made; it would not be possible to build on progress if progress had not already happened during the first five years. I referred in my answer to Joyce Watson to the six objectives of the renewed five-year national strategy. The third of...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I congratulate Joyce Watson on her use of the facility that the Commission makes available to Members to be able to carry out research in issues of local and, in her case, of national significance. I have my copy of the report with me, so, of course, I'm very keen that it should be widely read. It will certainly be discussed by Cabinet colleagues. It includes a series of...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I thank the Member for that question. Our five-year national strategy, published last month, sets out the Welsh Government's commitments for supporting victims of domestic abuse and other forms of violence. Its six objectives aim to ensure comprehensive support for victims, wherever they live in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. During First Minister's questions last week, I answered a question on the rail strikes. Network Rail has since shared further details about their actions during the strike. They confirmed that no staff had been relocated from Wales. I wrote to the leader of the opposition on 24 June explaining that, and subsequently, with the agreement of Network Rail,...
Mark Drakeford: We are helping to keep money in people’s pockets through initiatives such as our Council Tax Reduction Scheme and our recently announced Fuel Voucher Scheme. We are also helping people access the financial support they are entitled to through our Claim What’s Yours campaign and the Single Advice Fund.
Mark Drakeford: Welsh Government takes women’s safety very seriously. Through Impact Assessments, we evaluated potential effects of our LGBTQ+ Action Plan on women’s rights and safety.
