First Minister to face north Wales questions
The First Minister, Mark Drakeford will face questioning later this week on subjects directly affecting north Wales.
The Senedd’s Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister will meet on Friday (July 7) at Glyndwr University in Wrexham to hold Mark Drakeford to account for his government’s performance on behalf of the people of Wales.
The Committee will be chaired by the Deputy Presiding Officer, David Rees MS.
It meets once every Senedd term and its membership comprises of the Chairs of all Senedd Committees.
Subjects for scrutiny will include the performance of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) which manages NHS services and hospitals in Anglesey, Conwy, Gwynedd, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.
In May, claims made by a leaked report by accountancy firm EY alleged that finance officials made deliberately incorrect entries in accounts at the heath board and wrongly accounted for millions of pounds.
The health board was placed back into special measures on February 27 this year.
Health and Social Services Minister, Eluned Morgan said it was due to “serious concerns around the performance of the health board”.
Transport
The First Minister will also face questioning on transport matters following the cancellation of the third Menai crossing.
In March this year, the Welsh Government was urged to hold a review into the resilience of links between Anglesey and the mainland following the closure of the Menai Suspension Bridge last autumn.
The bridge was closed in October 2022 due to safety concerns and its closure impacted local businesses and communities and created congestion on the Britannia Bridge.
In February, the government announced it had abandoned plans for the construction of a third Menai bridge as part of its roads review, which scrapped most major roadbuilding projects.
Mark Drakeford will also be questioned on north Wales rail services and the Anglesey Freeport which aims to attract £1.4 billion worth of investment in the green energy sector and create at least 3,500 jobs with a focus on marine energy technology and low carbon energy.
The scrutiny committee will also look at economic development in the north of the country including analysing Wrexham AFC and the Racecourse as well as cross-border economic links between Wales, England and Ireland.
The First Minister will also be grilled on the North Wales Growth Deal which made £30 million of funding available to transformational new projects in north Wales that will deliver jobs, growth and investment into the region.
The cross-party committee will be broadcast live on Senedd TV on Friday at 10am.
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That is after he has faced the bouncers and spin bowling of Hugo and co in the court of Judge Baroness Hallett…
Tough week for the man…
There are serious concerns about the performance of the Baroness !
The man is a bloody nightmare when independent Wales clowns like him will not have a look in mind i prefer him to the bigger clowns in London who keep wales down and rob us blind the party known as SCUM tories
Question Number 1
why do you visit the northern territories so little ?
Questiom Number 2
what do you think of the Umiversity
changing its name by dropping
both Glyndwr & Wrecsam from its official
title ?
Q.1 should be – ” Do you recall where Y Gogledd is?” which might then lead to “Is that why you don’t visit?”
“First Minister to face north Wales questions”. I have been reliably informed that Mark Drakeford will not answer questions unless he knows well beforehand what those questions will be.