Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 23 February 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:52, 23 February 2021

I certainly agree with the Member that it's unacceptable that people who have done so much at the front line during the pandemic are not paid at a level that recognises the value and importance of the work that they do. Of course, if my party at Westminster succeeds in persuading the UK Government to make such a payment, there will be money that will come to Wales to allow us to fund such a commitment. But I always have to ask myself where the money will come from. Week by week, he asks me to spend money that he hasn't got and I haven't got, and I'm keeping a running total of his many, many unfunded commitments that he constantly tries to press upon me. The Welsh Government is using the money we have in a way that would promote the payment of the real living wage in the social care sector. That is a business investment, in my view, for those private organisations that fail to do so at the moment. In the money that we provide, we are doing everything we can to make sure that that is made their priority. If more money comes our way, we'll be able to do even more.