6. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s budget priorities for 2021-2022 in Pembrokeshire? OQ56433

Yes. Our priorities are to provide certainty for our public services, help rebuild a greener economy and to make changes for a fairer, more equal Wales. This includes an increased settlement of £179.4 million for Pembrokeshire County Council and £48.7 million towards a new 11-to-19 secondary school building for Haverfordwest high.

Thank you for that response. Minister, it is vital that the Welsh Government prioritises its resources to support lives and livelihoods during the COVID pandemic. I've received representations from local businesses and individuals in Pembrokeshire who have slipped through the net in terms of accessing Government support, despite, of course, the funds that you've just said that you've allocated to Pembrokeshire. It is vital that funds designated to support our businesses actually reach those businesses that require support. So, Minister, what processes have you undertaken in your role as finance Minister to monitor the effectiveness of Government spend during the pandemic, and what assurances can you offer the people of Pembrokeshire that the Welsh Government is ensuring that its support reaches those that actually need it?

The Welsh Government put in place some formal evaluation processes, particularly of the non-domestic rates grant support, to ensure that the funding was reaching those businesses that we intended for it to reach, and we've been keen to ensure that we have those monitoring and evaluation points built into our projects. Since the start of the pandemic, businesses in Pembrokeshire have received over £91 million from the economic resilience fund, and our other restriction-based funds. For example, our latest restrictions-based fund has seen 4,380 grants paid to businesses in Pembrokeshire, worth £14.1 million. We've also provided 628 businesses with £10.1 million of support under phases 1 and 2 of the ERF, and that's safeguarded in Pembrokeshire alone 4,585 jobs, which I think is a tremendous achievement in very difficult times. And, of course, through the loan scheme, then, through the DBW, we've provided over £5.4 million to 80 businesses in Pembrokeshire, helping to safeguard a further 915 jobs. So, there certainly is significant funding going into Pembrokeshire, but, again, there will be businesses that we have not yet been able to reach, and I'm always interested and keen to understand where those gaps in provision are. If there is further information that you can share with me about specific businesses, I'd be very interested to receive that.