Mark Drakeford: Diolch yn fawr, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Can I begin by thanking the Conservative group at the Assembly for using their time this afternoon to bring forward this debate? I’ve listened very carefully to each contribution, and I’m very glad to have this opportunity to discuss the future of local government in Wales and to set out some of my own early thinking. My starting point, Dirprwy Lywydd, is...
Mark Drakeford: All of these remain important ingredients in securing effective local government for the future. As far as the map is concerned, I have been clear in my discussions with local authorities and others that my intention is to spend these early weeks talking, listening and learning. My aim will be to seek a consensus, if that is at all possible, on a way forward. It is my strong preference for...
Mark Drakeford: Climate change is perhaps the biggest threat to our future generations, and the Welsh Government is committed to reducing net Welsh emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050. Renewable energy sources such as wind power have a critical part to play in achieving this.
Mark Drakeford: The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure will be updating the Assembly on this subject, as well as the Wales and borders franchise on 12 July.
Mark Drakeford: My priority is to continue to take a broad range of actions to improve the economy, grow prosperity and deliver greater financial security for businesses and individuals in Pembrokeshire and across Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Our priorities for the UK’s presidency will be linked to the new programme for government. Areas such as strengthening the single market, jobs and growth and structural funds are long-standing European priorities for us alongside other key areas such as agriculture, fisheries, sustainable development and support for research and innovation.
Mark Drakeford: Our priority is to build on our pro-business approach, to grow prosperity, support jobs and deliver greater financial security for businesses and individuals.
Mark Drakeford: Superfast Cymru is providing access to superfast broadband to communities across mid and west Wales. The average broadband speed for those premises given access as part of the project across the region is 63.61 Mbps.
Mark Drakeford: Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. Can I thank those Members who have brought this important debate to the floor of the Assembly this afternoon? My job is to set out the position of the Welsh Government, and that position is absolutely clear. Our continued membership of the European Union is pivotal to our future in all its fundamental dimensions. Now, we’ve heard a series of contributions this...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I acknowledge what the Member says. I have heard the First Minister saying the same things over the years with regard to the importance of those traditional Welsh-speaking communities where the language is used every day. O ran y pwynt ehangach a ddiweddodd arno, bydd yn gwerthfawrogi bod y rheini yn rhan o drafodaethau ehangach yr ydym yn eu cael ac yn awyddus i barhau i'w cael. Ceir...
Mark Drakeford: Can I thank Mike for those questions? He points to one of the fantastic phenomenons of our time—the growth of Welsh-medium education. Here in the city of Cardiff, when I first chaired South Glamorgan’s Welsh-medium working group in the 1980s, the number of young people who were obtaining an education through the medium of Welsh was literally a fraction of the number that are there today....
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much to Suzy Davies for those comments. Rhodri Glyn Thomas states in the report that they didn’t just want to rake over old ground that people had looked at previously. They wanted to move the debate forward and draw lessons from the work that has already been done, but also to set down some new issues for us to discuss and also some practical steps that people can take....
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much to Sian Gwenllian for those comments. Thank you for the welcome that she has given to the report. Of course, I do agree that to strengthen the rights of those people who use services through the medium of Welsh does raise their confidence in doing so. What the report says is that the greatest challenge is to create situations where people use the language when they enter...
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Today I am publishing ‘Language, Work and Bilingual Services’, the report of the working group on the Welsh Language in local government administration and economic development. This report was commissioned in December 2015 by my predecessor, the Minister for Public Services. This was in response to concerns about the Welsh language raised by...
Mark Drakeford: I am pleased to note the national response time target has been met during every month since the introduction of the clinical response model pilot in October 2015. Encouragingly, the standard response time to the most serious type of call was just five minutes and 30 seconds in April.
Mark Drakeford: Primary care has an excellent future in Wales as the mainstay of a sustainable health system for future generations. We continue to invest further in primary care to increase the capacity and capability of the workforce, providing better access to more services within communities.
Mark Drakeford: The 2015 report on future housing need by the Public Policy Institute for Wales estimated that an additional 8,700 homes would be needed each year, of which 3,500 should be non-market housing.
Mark Drakeford: Wide-ranging support is available to support industry across Wales, including north Wales. This includes support for new and existing business through Business Wales, three enterprise zones in north Wales and investment in information and communications technology and transport infrastructure.
Mark Drakeford: The metro will be a modern, high-quality, multimodal and integrated transport system offering rapid, frequent and reliable rail services incorporating the bus network. It will link our communities in south Wales, and support the economy by enhancing connectivity across Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Investment of almost £26 million has been approved to date for Islwyn through the twenty-first century schools and education programme. The funding is earmarked for a new 1,050-place comprehensive school for the area.
