19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Rhianon Passmore, and then I'll bring you in, Mike.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Thank you.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
So, should I refer cases via committee to you?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Can I ask a supplementary at that point? Straight after that amended guidance in April 2020, or in the following weeks, I was contacted by scores and scores and scores of legitimate self-catering businesses. These were owned by Welsh people in north Wales…
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Thank you very much indeed. Natasha Asghar.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Mike Hedges.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
The main thing I'm trying to be absolutely clear on is whether the Welsh Government knew while it still had the capacity to spend that money, or it didn't discover this till after the end of the funding period.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Please do, yes.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
And when was it first indicated or intimated to the Welsh Government that it could be lost, which generated the Minister's response?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
The key point, as I understand it, is that that was in addition to the £350 million—it was in excess, in other words. But, just to clarify, when did the Welsh Government first know that this funding would be lost if they didn't use it?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Okay. Rhianon Passmore, could you take up the questions, please?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Well, the law applying to human resources and equality is quite specific in some areas, as you know. In some areas, yes, it requires interpretation according to the individual person or demographic we’re talking about. So, it’s a question of what we’re…
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Right. So, I think that we can conclude it would have been done differently, but all you can refer to is, 'We would've gone down the civil service scheme.' Okay. Can you clarify what you meant when you told the committee, you think, quote, 'there has to be…
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
So, would each element of the payment have been made, if that legal advice had been received at that time—yes or no?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
On the basis of that legal advice, if it were to be held then, would you anticipate that things would have been done differently?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Okay. I'll move on. I have a couple more questions before I pass on to colleagues. The recent legal advice you refer to: what difference, if any, would that have made for the governance and approval of each element of the payment, had you received the advice…
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Mike Hedges.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Natasha Asghar.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
It would be good if you could clarify, because you've just described payments under contractual terms and obligations and also referred to an extra-contractual payment. We'd understood that previously, the former were described as extra-contractual payments…
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Thank you. You told committee that recent legal advice received by the Welsh Government confirmed that the former Permanent Secretary has, and I quote, 'entitlement, in employment law terms, on the three areas, even if we change the labels.' Does the legal…
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Mike Hedges.
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Thank you. Just before I bring Mike Hedges in, given the circumstances that you've just described, how do your terms and conditions compare with those advertised for the role of Permanent Secretary?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Okay. Well, your previous evidence appeared to suggest that you remain in secondment with the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Is that the case, and if it is, why? And have you retained your terms and conditions as an employee of the health board?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
And in terms of the Permanent Secretary position, were previous appointments conducted in the same way, or were those subject to competitive application?
19 Hydref 2022 , Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Craffu ar Gyfrifon—Llywodraeth Cymru 2020-21
Okay. Thank you. How did the Welsh Government balance its wish to avoid a protracted handover period—I think that was a quote that you referred to in your previous evidence session with us—with the implications of filling the posts of chief executive of the…
