Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 3 November 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:46, 3 November 2020

Llywydd, I was simply making it clear that people in Wales pay into the insurance scheme that is the United Kingdom. I was taking issue with remarks made by the Secretary of State for Wales that somehow help had been given to Wales out of the largesse of the UK Government. What has happened is that Wales, which makes a greater tax effort—its citizens make a greater tax effort than any other part of the United Kingdom—is using that insurance policy. We have paid in and now we are taking out of the scheme when it meets our needs. But if we weren't part of a scheme, if we weren't paying in, then we wouldn't be able to take out, and that's the point that I was making.