Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, we are strengthening our violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence strategy to include stalking and harassment of women and girls in public spaces as well as in the home. Tackling misogyny and male violence lies at the heart of our approach.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, can I thank Rhianon Passmore for her series of very important points? I agree entirely with what she said about the importance of the BBC here in Wales. Ninety two per cent of adults in Wales use the BBC every single week, whether that is for sport, for news or for culture, or in the way in which BBC Cymru supports the Welsh language. And the expansion of the BBC operation in Wales...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Welsh Government will continue, vigorously, to make the case for independent, publicly funded public service broadcasting. With a recently signed tripartite memorandum of understanding in place between the Welsh Government, the UK Government and the BBC, we expect to be fully involved in discussions on the BBC charter.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I thank Mike Hedges for that, and I agree with him that river pollution is an urgent matter. I think we discussed last week in First Minister's questions the report of the Environmental Audit Committee of the House of Commons into conditions on the River Wye. These are matters that require urgent attention, and I can assure the Member that, in addition to the things that we...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, Dŵr Cymru has a programme of action and investment to tackle pollution from its treatment works on the River Tawe. Other forms of pollution, including agriculture and abandoned metal mine pollution, are addressed through Natural Resources Wales. All relevant bodies must make their contribution to addressing river pollution for those efforts to succeed.
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for drawing attention to the fantastic conjunction at Prestatyn of the coastal path and north-south route as well. He will know that the path has been consistently featured in national awards and leading international travel guides—the Lonely Planet, the Rough Guides—and, as a result of work that the Welsh Government has done to mark the tenth anniversary, we are pretty...
Mark Drakeford: I completely agree with John Griffiths, Llywydd. It is a fantastic national asset. I well remember his involvement at the very beginning and, 10 years on, the Welsh Government want to build further on the achievement of the path, and we've asked Huw Irranca-Davies to lead a review of everything that the Wales coastal path has achieved so far and how we can make sure that its next 10 years are...
Mark Drakeford: I thank John Griffiths, Llywydd. Plans for the Wales coastal path anniversary are well advanced. In all parts of Wales, new ideas to reach new audiences will celebrate this iconic achievement of the devolution era, including, of course, new opportunities for walking by people of all ages and abilities.
Mark Drakeford: Let me begin, Llywydd, by agreeing with something that Adam Price said, because I don't think—. I didn't meant to characterise this discussion as though the Welsh Government's mind was closed on all of this, because he is right that knowledge is developing all the time. Research studies are reporting all the time. There are 19 high-quality COVID studies currently under way, and Wales is...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I think there are many downsides to that strategy. I don't have the evidence that the Member refers to; I don't know what he means by many people going private, and I certainly don't recognise the view that it is generally held by patients that GPs are not the right people to provide the help that they need. The English centres are now so overwhelmed by referrals that there are waiting...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, that would not be a matter for Ministers, I think, to take such a decision without the advice they would need, and I've seen no advice directly of that sort. But I do agree with what Adam Price has said about the importance of long COVID. The Office for National Statistics figures that I think he was relying on do indeed show 58,000 people living in private households in Wales...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I've answered this question from Members from the Conservative Party time and time and time again, and I'm not intending to just repeat what I've said to them on those many occasions. What would it take for us to have a Wales-wide inquiry would be for me to lose faith, as he clearly has already, in the Prime Minister's ability to deliver the inquiry that he has promised. Now,...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, what Paul Davies said at the beginning points to the whole dilemma here, doesn't it? Hospitals continue to have to deal with very significant numbers of patients who have contracted coronavirus—over 1,000 beds still in the NHS are in that position—with hospitals having to divide themselves into red zones and green zones, with staff still having to wear personal protective...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I think the health Minister is right that, in the short run, we're yet to see in the figures published so far the impact of the omicron wave and the need to divert health service resources to the vaccination programme carried out during December. So, I think the health Minister, through the modelling that is carried out, was simply warning people that the difficult position that will...
Mark Drakeford: Yes, diolch, Llywydd. I thank the Member for that question. Of course, I do welcome very much the growth in Welsh-medium provision in the county of Monmouth and congratulate those who are involved in fostering that growth. It's not that long ago the National Eisteddfod was held very successfully in the county, where Laura Jones's colleague Peter Fox did a great deal to promote that...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I thank Delyth Jewell for that supplementary question. And it's wonderful to have such a question on the day where we are celebrating the centenary of the Urdd, which, of course, has done so much work to promote the Welsh language among young people. As I've heard when I've been in conversation with officials working on the Welsh in education strategic plans, they have developed the...
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much to Delyth Jewell for that question, Llywydd. Demand for Welsh-medium education remains high in the region. The local authorities are about to present to Welsh Ministers their 10-year plan, setting out how they intend to grow Welsh-medium education locally in response to the ambition set out in 'Cymraeg 2050'.
Mark Drakeford: I thank Ken Skates for that, Llywydd. He makes an important point—that tree planting is part of the natural flood defences that we are keen to promote as a Welsh Government. I thank him for drawing attention to our scheme to encourage tree planting by every citizen here in Wales. Ken Skates will know, Llywydd, that the scheme has two components: households will be able to choose a tree...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Darren Millar for that question, Llywydd. He raises a number of important issues. He's right, of course—Conwy County Borough Council is the flood risk management authority for those stretches of the coast, Kinmel Bay to Llanddulas, and the other stretches that he mentioned. As I said in my answer to Llyr Gruffydd, one of the reasons we have increased the revenue side of our budget...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I thank Llyr Gruffydd for those questions. One of the reasons why we have provided more revenue in the system is to help local authorities to prepare bids for funding to carry out work where that work is necessary. And we recognise the fact that local authorities have had difficulty in bringing everything together and submitting their bids to us. For example, I'm not familiar...
