Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, as the cornerstone of communities across Wales, we remain wholly committed to supporting small businesses in Ogmore and all parts of Wales to prosper, sustain and grow through key services, including Business Wales and the Development Bank of Wales.
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, the leader of Plaid Cymru had an opportunity to go to Llanelwedd today. I spent Friday evening in the company of Clwb Cinio Caerfyrddin, and a very fine evening it was too. I was surrounded by people who work in the farming industry, and what Adam Price said was absolutely what was reflected to me. These are people who feel very, very badly let down by the promises that were...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, the Minister, Julie James and the Minister, Lesley Griffiths, have met with unions to discuss what we hear is actually happening at present. The important thing for us is to collect this information to be clear about the situation and what is actually happening in this field. To be honest, we're not quite sure as yet what exactly is going on, but we want to collaborate with the...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, may I begin by congratulating everybody that has been part of creating the winter fair in Builth Wells, in a way that is appropriate to the context? I had an opportunity to speak to the Minister, Lesley Griffiths, about her visit to Builth Wells yesterday, and I am very pleased to hear about everything that was in place to assist people to be able to go and attend the fair in...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, the Member would do better not to read out his pre-prepared scripts for us, because then he would have had a chance to listen to the answers rather than reading out what he was going to say, whatever the answer happened to be. I'm afraid his questions today are tired and inaccurate. He hasn't read—or if he has read, he hasn't understood—the agreement that we have struck with...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, more people work in the Welsh NHS today than at any other time in its history, and that includes more doctors, more nurses, more physiotherapists, more occupational therapists, and all the team that go into providing services for the Welsh public. That is the result of continued investment by successive Welsh Governments in our NHS and in its workforce. There are record numbers of...
Mark Drakeford: No, I don't in that simplistic way, Llywydd. The Member, of course, is right that the NHS in Wales is struggling under the demands that it is currently having to address, and that is about to get worse and more difficult because of the new variant that has already arrived in the United Kingdom. The health service is dealing with the impact of a global pandemic, with the delays in treatment...
Mark Drakeford: Well, Llywydd, I've explained previously on the floor of the Senedd that, as far as child poverty is concerned, the devolution period can be very easily divided into two periods. In the first period, the first decade, with a Labour Government at Westminster working with a Labour Government here, child poverty fell year after year during that period. It is in the last 10 years, with her...
Mark Drakeford: Thank you very much for that question, of course, and I thank the Member for what she said about the agreement. We now have opportunities to take further steps, by extending free school meals and childcare provision. The Government will focus on what is contained in the agreement, because that is challenging and ambitious, but now we're able to co-operate in order to do what the agreement...
Mark Drakeford: May I thank Sioned Williams very much for the question, Llywydd? Despite the head winds created by the United Kingdom Government, we will pursue the measures set out in our programme for government and the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru to bear down on child poverty in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member for those questions and for her consistent interest in this whole topic. She will be very familiar with the scheme that was tried out in Conwy earlier in the year, and a great deal of learning has been taken from that, as well as a pilot scheme in Northern Ireland, and the work that was done previously in the Wirral that I know she is aware of. So, we will be bringing...
Mark Drakeford: Well, the first step, Llywydd, was for us to take the powers. Without the powers, there'd be no opportunity for us to have any kind of scheme, and that is not in our hands as a Senedd; we have to draw the powers back to this place in order to be able to have a scheme, and that's what has occurred in collaboration with others. We have been collaborating not only with the United Kingdom...
Mark Drakeford: Llywydd, earlier this month, powers to implement a deposit-return scheme were devolved to Wales. Early in the new year, we will publish our design for such a scheme and its intended implementation date.
Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government and the health board remain focussed on improving the quality and safety of mental health services across north Wales. Reports by Health Inspectorate Wales show that standards of care have improved in recent years.
Mark Drakeford: We recently published our Net Zero Wales plan, setting out the actions we must all take across this Senedd term to put us on the path to net zero. It describes our approach to support the public sector to achieve the collective ambition of being carbon neutral by 2030.
Mark Drakeford: We are following the progress of pilots in other countries. In particular, officials are in touch with their counterparts in Scotland about the design and delivery options for the yet to be implemented Scottish pilot. We are considering any lessons Wales can learn from these developments.
Mark Drakeford: Music is an important part of our culture and heritage. We recognise the importance of music education to young people and have allocated £1.5 million in this financial year to support music services across Wales. Through our programme for government, we will establish a national music service.
Mark Drakeford: I'm absolutely happy to give that assurance, Dirprwy Lywydd. I did directly raise with the UK Government not simply ports in Pembrokeshire, but particularly the impact on Holyhead given its significance as a port to the whole of the United Kingdom in the BIC context, and Welsh Ministers lose no opportunity to make sure that we return to this issue with UK Ministers whenever we have that...
Mark Drakeford: I thank Rhianon Passmore for that, Dirprwy Lywydd. The bilateral meetings that are possible around an event like the BIC are very valuable. I did have such a meeting with Mr Gove. My aim in those meetings is that where I think we can work on things together, I want to emphasise those things, and I want to make progress on positive ground. We did that on a number of issues, the UK inquiry into...
Mark Drakeford: Dirprwy Lywydd, I thank Joyce Watson for that very important question, which is absolutely relevant to the part of Wales that she represents. I did have an opportunity to discuss these issues, both with Mr Gove but also with the Taoiseach as well. The danger for Wales, Dirprwy Lywydd, is that we are being squeezed in both directions. People in the Republic are making plans to transport goods...
