Mark Drakeford: In favour.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I was very pleased recently to spend an evening at the Brecon barracks and to meet with some very senior, committed staff there. Llywydd, there are no issues that lie between the Welsh Government and the UK Government on this matter; it is entirely a UK Government initiative, proposed by them, announced by them, funded by them. Of course we will work with the UK Government on it, but...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the appointment of a veterans commissioner for Wales is an initiative of the UK Government, announced without any prior discussion or notification with the Welsh Government. Nevertheless, this week the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership is meeting the Minister for Defence People and Veterans to discuss this proposed appointment.
Mark Drakeford: I'd like to thank Mabon ap Gwynfor for those points. Of course, I am aware of the case of David Graves, and I sympathise with him on everything that has happened and the experiences that he's had. I've seen nothing from Donna Ockenden, if I'm honest. So, if she has made any suggestions, as I understand it, she hasn't raised that with the Government. So, I'm not in a position to support...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for his question. Supporting mental health is a priority for this Government, as set out in our 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan. We are supporting mental health services in north Wales through the targeted intervention framework and through a substantial package of strategic support.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I'd like to thank Luke Fletcher for those supplementary questions.
Mark Drakeford: We do, of course, keep the scheme under review. In the last year, prior to the pandemic—so, the last year you think would be a fair comparison—then, over 20,200 students were supported by the EMA scheme, at a cost of nearly £18 million. And, on top of that, the Welsh Government provides £6 million in the financial contingency fund, which further education colleges are able to use,...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, our commitment to the continuation of the education maintenance allowance is set out in our programme for government. Feedback from learners emphasises the importance of this support in helping them to continue their studies. EMA scheme rules are reviewed each year prior to opening the scheme to applications.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I would always want to listen to concerns raised by such voices. I did make a direct inquiry of the health board, knowing that this question would be asked of me today, and was told that concerns of that sort hadn't been raised either by the people responsible for the service or by people delivering it, although the system everywhere in Wales is under huge pressure, and we're about...
Mark Drakeford: The NHS 111 Wales service launched in north Wales for all urgent healthcare issues in June 2021. We are investing additional resources into both telephony and online elements of the service, to build resilience for the winter period and beyond, and we continue to attract high-quality staff.
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I thank Peter Fox for that. His predecessor, as the Member of the Senedd for the Monmouthshire constituency, Nick Ramsay, was also a passionate advocate of the needs of people who suffer from motor neurone disease. On the specific issue of physical adaptations, three of the four programmes that the Welsh Government now supports are non-means-tested in nature. The large-scale...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, I thank Peter Fox for the question. The Welsh Government continues to work with the neurological conditions implementation group to improve services for all those with neurological conditions, including motor neurone disease. We are also working closely with local authorities to determine what more can be done to improve the lives of people living with this cruel disease.
Mark Drakeford: I'm absolutely able to give the Member that assurance. His own constituency is I think a fine example of the investments made by successive Labour Governments here in Wales to tackle structural disadvantage. Huw Irranca-Davies mentioned Flying Start, Llywydd; what a contrast between the way in which we have sustained and continued to invest in Flying Start in Wales while the parallel...
Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government mobilises actions across our responsibilities to tackle the structural determinants of health, social and economic disadvantage. To quote the Member in a recent Senedd debate, however, we're always having to do this whilst swimming against a UK Government 'that sweeps away the vulnerable and the low paid'.
Mark Drakeford: Thank you to the Member for that question. We do have a timetable. It starts with the plan, through to the White Paper and all the way up to the final Act.
Mark Drakeford: While I know and have seen the timetable for that process—the plan early next year, the White Paper, the consultation, the arrival of a Bill on the floor of the Senedd later in the term—I don't have it in front of me, and I'm very happy to write to the Member setting out that timetable.FootnoteLink But I can give her an assurance, absolutely, that a timetable of that sort quite definitely...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for that, Llywydd, and I absolutely recognise the difficulties that hospitality are facing at this time. She will know that the Welsh Government has not changed any rules as far as COVID in Wales is concerned this week, but the news of the omicron variant is changing people's behaviour, and there's no doubt at all that that is having an impact upon business in the...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for that, Llywydd. The direct impact of the new variant on Welsh hospitality businesses has, to date, been minimal. Indirect impact through changed customer behaviour is harder to assess. Given high levels of uncertainty, the Welsh Government will monitor developments closely and respond swiftly should that be required.
Mark Drakeford: I entirely agree with the substantive point that Delyth Jewell is making. None of us is safe until all of us are safe. And that's the case for making sure that rich countries like the United Kingdom play our part—our full part—in assisting the rest of the world. It isn't simply a matter of generosity, it is a matter of enlightened self-interest. But until we can get the rest of the world...
Mark Drakeford: First of all, can I say that in my letter to the Foreign Secretary on this matter earlier in the year, and more recently to the Prime Minister, I was at pains to say how strongly the Welsh Government supports the actions that the UK Government has led in relation to the COVAX programme and the efforts that the UK Government has made to lead action across the world in that regard? So, I want...
