Lesley Griffiths: Our approach to supporting the rural economy is focused on delivering programme for government commitments. I have announced over £200 million of funding for rural investment schemes to support the resilience of the rural economy and our natural environment.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. The Member raises the very important point, I think, that the COVID pandemic had a lot of harms apart from COVID itself, and clearly, as you say, people with some disabilities may not have been able to recognise the limits and the limitations that were put on people even outside, with how many people could get together to go for a walk, for instance. I'm not aware of any specific...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. You do raise a very important point, and obviously my colleague the Minister for Finance and Local Government does have these discussions with local authorities, and I know the Minister for Climate Change also does, with her planning hat on, in relation to LDPs. I go back to what I was saying about Local Places for Nature; it just shows how people do really appreciate the ability...
Lesley Griffiths: High-quality green spaces and parks provide opportunities for healthy recreation, support biodiversity and reduce air pollution. The Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature programme, and the enabling natural resources and well-being grant, have funded the creation of hundreds of local spaces, and our green flags award scheme also drives up quality.
Lesley Griffiths: The current rural development programme has a dedicated Wales rural network team that promotes all projects and shares best practice in rural development on a pan-Wales basis.
Lesley Griffiths: The rural development programme continues to invest in projects that benefit our natural environment while supporting rural businesses and communities across Wales.
Lesley Griffiths: Our animal welfare plan and programme for government includes two actions related to the Welsh Government-funded local authority enforcement project. My officials are in regular contact with local government colleagues regarding this work and wider animal welfare developments.
Lesley Griffiths: High-quality green spaces and parks provide opportunities for healthy recreation, support biodiversity and reduce air pollution. The Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature programme and enabling natural resources and well-being grant have funded the creation of hundreds of local spaces. Our green flags award scheme also drives up quality.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. You're quite right; we see far too many dog attacks, particularly on sheep and lambs, and I think it's very important. As you say, we're just—. Well, some areas have already started lambing; others are to follow. But I was really pleased to see the wildlife and rural crime commissioner's campaign, 'ewes a lead'—'use' spelt 'ewes'—which I thought was very clever. But I think...
Lesley Griffiths: I don't think the way that you set that out is correct—we've already extended BTEC eligibility, for instance—but I know the Minister for Education and Welsh Language is continuing to have discussions with Qualifications Wales and will provide a statement in due course.
Lesley Griffiths: I agree with you and I will ask the Minister for Health and Social Services to issue a written statement. We do have Rare Disease Day coming up at the end of this month, so I will ask the Minister for Health and Social Services to issue a written statement to highlight our support for rare disease, and also the progress that we are making here in Wales. In response to your first request,...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. I don't disagree with what you're saying about the support, but you will appreciate the significant demands on the health budget. Obviously, the supplementary budget is due to be published, and I'm unaware if this scheme is receiving any increase, but it may be worth waiting to see if that's the case before asking for a further statement.
Lesley Griffiths: The Member will be aware that the setting of council tax is a matter for each local authority, and whilst, of course, any increase of council tax is often very unwelcome to the majority of local tax payers, I think it is good to recognise it's a significant source of funding for local services. You say the funding formula is flawed—well, you'll appreciate that that funding formula is not...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to this week's business. The Packaging Waste (Data Collection and Reporting) (Wales) Regulations 2023 have been withdrawn and the debate postponed. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out in the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, and you clearly outline, as you say, that some families face difficulties and challenges that we just haven't had to in our lives, and they're very, very difficult. As you know, we've allocated £90 million for a second Welsh Government fuel support scheme—I do hope your constituents have been able to access that—and there are a variety of schemes that have been brought forward...
Lesley Griffiths: People with health needs have been severely affected by the crisis. Our 'Here to help' campaign is supporting people to access all the financial support that they are entitled to. Training for front-line workers is also helping support workers to signpost vulnerable people so they can receive the help that’s available.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. You raise a very important point: it is about making sure that they have that multi-agency approach, as you say, so if there are specific barriers to someone being able to leave hospital, all the partners are working very closely together. The pathways of care reporting framework has been developed jointly by an expert group, and that comprised of partners from across a range of...
Lesley Griffiths: I think the real living wage was a vital first step, really, and it provided a very important starting point for improved working conditions for our social care staff. I know that the Deputy Minister continues to work very closely with the social care fair work forum to look at more ways of how we can further improve the terms and conditions of all of our social care workers across Wales. We...
Lesley Griffiths: The pathways of care reporting pilot has been successfully rolled out across all health boards. Whilst the full impact is not yet known, it's intended to provide a single data source to better understand the reasons for delays at the point of discharge and help partners identify solutions together.
Lesley Griffiths: We are awaiting confirmation of the final Wales rail enhancement funding from the UK Government. You will have heard me say in my earlier answer that the Minister for Finance and Local Government raised this again last week with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, particularly around HS2 being an England-and-Wales project. I'm really not sure how they can possibly believe that; it's really...
