Rebecca Evans: Unfortunately, I missed the start of your question, Delyth—in fact I only picked up from 'considered'. I think there was an issue with the sound. But if you're asking if I think further austerity should be avoided and is a bad thing, then absolutely, I would agree with you on that count. In terms of what should be further devolved, of course, Welsh Government has had that programme of work...
Rebecca Evans: I'll start with the issue of hospices in Wales, which you've described. You're correct that the amount that we have allocated to hospices in Wales is less than the amount that we received as a Barnett consequential, but that is simply a reflection of the fact that we have fewer hospices here in Wales. So, we have worked closely, actually, with the hospices to find a way in which we can fairly...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for those questions. It's always nice to see you as well, Mark Reckless. The £500 million spend that we put in place for the economic resilience fund was brought together as a package of funding from different parts of Government. So, it included financial transactions capital, for example—£100 million of that. It also included funding that we were able to free up from elsewhere...
Rebecca Evans: So, those questions, I completely agree with Mike that Barnett consequentials is the minimum and there's no reason why we shouldn't have additional funding, and that fact was, I think, well recognised by the fact that the UK Government has said that it will provide additional funding to help us deal with the February floods, for example. So, that recognises that there will be special...
Rebecca Evans: The shared prosperity fund and the city deal—both city deals—will be crucial in terms of the recovery as we move out of the immediate impacts of the crisis, and those discussions of course are ongoing. The Federation of Small Businesses today published an important document about how we can support small businesses, and they recognise actually the huge potential of the shared prosperity...
Rebecca Evans: I have regular discussions both with my counterparts in the other devolved nations and then also on a quadrilateral basis with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and at our most recent meeting we all talked about the importance of flexibilities, and the Chief Secretary agreed that he would give serious consideration to the proposals that we put forward. So we're having those discussions...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for those questions. The first related to borrowing, and of course Welsh Government has very, very limited borrowing powers in any case, so the kind of flexibilities that we're asking UK Government to think about would be to just increase our borrowing on that annual basis—so, potentially not even looking to an aggregate increase in our borrowing, which stands at £1 billion, but...
Rebecca Evans: I'm grateful for that set of questions, and Nick Ramsay is right that I did have the opportunity to meet with the chairman of Debenhams yesterday. But, just to provide the background to the thinking on the Welsh Government's decision to limit rate relief to those businesses with a rateable value of under £0.5 million, we did so because we're very keen to ensure that that funding, which freed...
Rebecca Evans: Unemployment in Wales will certainly rise sharply, despite the measures that have been put in place by both the UK and Welsh Governments. The most disadvantaged—those on low pay, in insecure employment, and people with poor health—will be most at risk. Young people entering the labour market will face a particularly tough time, and the evidence from previous recessions shows that this...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. It was on 3 March that the 2020-21 final budget was passed by the Senedd, and so much has happened in the 10 weeks since then. We had already faced an unprecedented set of circumstances in setting our 2020-21 budget plans against the backdrop of ongoing UK-driven austerity, continued Brexit uncertainty and the devastating impacts of the recent flooding. The delayed UK Government...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to this week's agenda. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Leanne Wood for raising those really important issues, and of course recognising the role that volunteers will have in terms of the response to coronavirus. So, of course, the First Minister referred to a meeting that will take place tomorrow, bringing together the third sector and others who are able to mobilise that kind of response that you described. And I know that there...
Rebecca Evans: There will be a meeting tomorrow, as the First Minister indicated earlier, which brings together the third sector and others who will be absolutely vital in terms of our response to the coronavirus. I'll ensure that colleagues are updated following that meeting in terms of actions arising from it.
Rebecca Evans: Yes, I will explore the best way to update colleagues following the Chancellor's statement in terms of what any announcements might mean for Wales. The point about the Barnett formula no longer being fit for purpose, I think, is well made, especially when we consider the additional funding provided through the recent coronavirus package in the budget, which just doesn't take into account our...
Rebecca Evans: Yes, there will be the opportunity for that on several counts. Tomorrow, of course, the Minister does have oral questions in the Chamber, and I know on the order paper there are several questions relating to coronavirus. I know that she's also in discussion with committee in terms of potentially having a bespoke session on the coronavirus and education with that committee, and I understand...
Rebecca Evans: I thank Andrew R.T. Davies for raising this issue, and he will see that the Minister does have a coronavirus update on the agenda for next week's Plenary. Obviously, she'll be giving some thought as to how to respond to that particular issue, and I know that she'll be in discussion with her officials and taking the views of the farming unions and others in this.
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. There are multiple changes to this week's business. The Minister for Health and Social Services, the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, and the Minister for Housing and Local Government will all make statements on the coronavirus COVID-19. As a result, the planned statements on the Bus Services (Wales) Bill, the homelessness action group's report and a...
Rebecca Evans: Mike Hedges's suggestion almost sounds attractively authoritarian, but I'm not sure that it is the view—. [Laughter.] I'm not sure that it's for the finance Minister to set targets across Government, but I do think that where they are appropriate, they should be developed by those Ministers and monitored closely by the individual Ministers as well. So, there are some examples in our Welsh...
Rebecca Evans: The budget strategy is agreed by Cabinet at the start of the year. Prioritisation is guided by the bilateral discussions I have with Ministers and wider engagement with the four statutory commissioners and external stakeholders. The budget improvement plan outlines our approach to improving the budget process over the longer time frame.
Rebecca Evans: Well, the changing places fund wasn't one of the items that was mentioned in the Chancellor's speech itself, but I'm sure I'll find the detail set within the spreadsheets that accompany the announcement. So, I'll be taking the opportunity to explore in depth what has been offered through those spreadsheets and where those consequentials fall. So, at the moment, I don't have a full picture...
