Rebecca Evans: Well, the same case has been made by several colleagues now this afternoon in terms of recognising just the sheer level of need that there is out there in terms of businesses requiring support, and we're very, very alive to that and wanting to support as many businesses as we possibly can. Obviously, the economy Minister will have heard your comments, the comments of Laura Anne Jones and...
Rebecca Evans: Welsh Government has had some discussions with the UK Government and Treasury over the past few days, and I do hope that in the coming days I will have more information from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in terms of any additional consequentials that might be coming forward to the Welsh Government as a result of the recent changes across the border in England. And, of course, if we are...
Rebecca Evans: I agree with Huw Irranca-Davies that the majority of staff—the majority of employers—really want to look after their staff. But there are a number—a small number—of employers who just aren't doing what they need to do in order to keep their staff safe, and, as a result, the rest of society safe. So, that's why the Welsh Government is strengthening the coronavirus regulations by...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Leanne Wood for raising the issues of the £500 payment to people who are required to self-isolate. As colleagues will be aware from the statement that the First Minister made a few days ago on this particular issue, there are some final details that are being concluded. And I'll be sure that a statement or a letter is sent to all colleagues with the very latest, once those final...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Darren Millar for raising both of those issues this afternoon. As you were speaking, I was just looking ahead through the future business of the Senedd, and I don't see any obvious opportunities for those to be addressed, so I will make sure that I draw the request for both of those statements—the first being on the significant flood damage and the NRW report that followed...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Llywydd. I have multiple changes to report to today's agenda. Added to this afternoon's agenda are statements on public health protection measures post firebreak, strategic assistance for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, the future of rail—details of the new arrangements—and the innovative housing programme year 4—modern methods of construction/modular special....
Rebecca Evans: The Welsh Government publishes a table showing the implementation costs of enacted legislation alongside the draft budget. The table includes an explanation if costs have changed significantly from the regulatory impact assessment estimates. Guidance states that, where feasible, the actual cost of legislation should be considered as part of the post-implementation review.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising that particular question. In terms of when we publish that detail, we publish detail alongside the draft budget every year in terms of legislation that is being enacted. We would normally stop providing that information once the Act has been implemented, because then the costs of that and delivering that just become business-as-usual costs and are absorbed either by the...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Mick Antoniw for that question and also for the useful meetings that we've had in order to hear very much from the ground in terms of the support that the local authority needs and that communities need in order to recover properly and move forward after the devastating floods. We have provided some early funding and early certainty to local authorities to allow them to get on...
Rebecca Evans: Preventing and addressing flooding is a priority for this Government. Alongside the funding provided following the devastating February flooding, by the end of this Senedd term, we will have invested £390 million in flood and coastal erosion risk management, helping to protect over 47,000 properties in Wales.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising this important issue. As Darren Millar will know, the Welsh Government has recently announced a stabilisation package for the NHS here in Wales, and that's an £800 million package of support that should allow health boards and others across Wales to be able to get to that point at the end of the financial year where they've been able to meet all of those additional...
Rebecca Evans: The Welsh Government has introduced a range of measures to support communities across Wales, including almost £300 million that has now been made available to support businesses during the firebreak. We are particularly focused on supporting businesses and working with local authorities to address the needs of people in Wales.
Rebecca Evans: I'm absolutely keen to work with Swansea council and with the health board to see what more we can do in order to ensure that local companies win those contracts. The data that I referred to in my response, of course, only referred to local authorities, because other public sector organisations, such as health boards and others, don't necessarily reside in a single area, so we haven't been...
Rebecca Evans: South Wales West procurement spend, at local authority level, in 2018-19 was £588 million with 61 per cent spent in Wales. We are working, with colleagues, to deliver national procurement frameworks regionally and to generate greater economic and well-being outcomes. The foundational economy programme is also working to identify opportunities for localising procurement expenditure.
Rebecca Evans: I'm grateful to Llyr Gruffydd for raising this particular issue, and I know that we have a meeting coming up shortly as well in which we can have the opportunity to talk about land transaction tax, but also the wider issue of second homes, because I know it's an issue of serious concern to many people. Llyr is absolutely right in the sense that you cannot read or that there is huge difficulty...
Rebecca Evans: Yes. The latest LTT data was published by the Welsh Revenue Authority on 25 September. It showed that, from 1 April to 31 August, there were 3,300 higher rate transactions.
Rebecca Evans: Well, I think it's important to recognise that the land is already allocated for development in the Vale of Glamorgan's local development plan, and that has been, obviously, already adopted and it was subject itself to consultation, scrutiny and examination throughout its preparation. As I said, the land at Cosmeston would provide a significant contribution to the Vale of Glamorgan's...
Rebecca Evans: A planning application for residential development of land at Cosmeston has been submitted. The site is allocated for housing in the adopted Vale of Glamorgan local development plan. If permission is granted, the site will be an exemplar for affordable, sustainable homes using modern methods of construction and energy efficiency.
Rebecca Evans: I thank Rhianon Passmore for that and for also giving me this opportunity to put on record my thanks to the leaders of local authorities, who have been doing incredible work supporting their communities and ensuring that their teams are able to respond to the needs of people on the ground. They have done incredible work over the whole course of the pandemic and have been wonderful partners to...
Rebecca Evans: As I say, we have put that certainty in place for local authorities in terms of the additional funding, and as I said in response to an earlier question, to date we've paid out over £127 million for additional costs, which is claimed on a monthly basis, and £59 million for lost income so far, and that's claimed on a quarterly basis. So, as you'll see, there is a significant amount of...
