, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence Session with the President of the Welsh Tribunals
Okay. Thank you for that. Applications to the Welsh Language Tribunal remained quite low over the last three years. Are you aware of any particular reason why this is, and do you think that this is a trend that will likely continue?
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence Session with the President of the Welsh Tribunals
Diolch, Cadeirydd. If I could touch on applications to the Welsh tribunals as they currently stand, applications to Residential Property Tribunal Wales remained high in the period of 2023-24, and in the annual report, it identified a large number of appeals…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Instruments that raise issues to be reported to the Senedd under Standing Order 21.2 or 21.3—previously considered
I'd agree with that comment.
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Education funding
To put it simply, the current skills system in Wales is underperforming, it's failing our young people, and it's ultimately detrimental to our economy and social well-being. And what's the result? Well, a significant skills gap across the economy. Now, in…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership: Social partnership
I thank the Minister for his statement today. I'm going to take a moment to talk about the working of the social partnership council. There are some unanswered questions about its priorities, its operations and practical impact. While the council brings…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning: Economic Growth
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement. I'm going to start my response to the statement probably in quite a weird way by actually agreeing with something that the Conservative spokesperson said in reference to the economy and the Welsh Government's…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Mental Health and Well-being: Mental Health and Well-being
Something I've spoken about before is how I feel there is a lost generation when it comes to mental health. And I would say that my generation is that lost generation. We have been given the language to address mental health, we've been told, 'You need to…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
Great. Diolch yn fawr. Diolch.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
And I can understand it’ll be quite tricky for you guys to put that together, especially with some of the stuff we were talking about earlier—not being able to carry funds over and not having a reserve. So, it's something to keep an eye on, of course.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
—as we go down the line, more than anything else, and now what is the effect on the budget this financial year as well.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
—so, within the financial years—
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
Just to add, the thing I'm particularly interested in is how does this affect financial budgets—
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
So, thinking forward, then, this is a long-term project, and Senedd 2032 is another project that's going to require, I imagine, a lot of similar stuff to what you're doing right now. So, how are you using this as an opportunity to learn towards implementing…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
Okay. Does anyone want to add anything to that point? No. If I could move, then, to the links, potentially, between Welsh Government and the Commission when we’re looking at the reform agenda, how do you make it clear who’s responsible for the delivery end of…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of Senedd Commission Accounts 2023-24
Diolch, Cadeirydd. If I could touch on that element of risk that was mentioned earlier, you, of course, identified a key strategic risk when it comes to dealing with the reform agenda, that being capacity and capabilities within the organisation itself. So…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Senedd Commission Public Appointments
Diolch yn fawr.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Senedd Commission Public Appointments
And those conversations are ongoing at the moment, are they?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Senedd Commission Public Appointments
Diolch, Cadeirydd. I'm conscious of time, so I'll try and keep this to one question. The Finance Committee expressed a view that Welsh Government and Senedd public appointments should be governed by a consistent set of principles. I'd just be interested to…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cabinet Manuals and the Ministerial Code
Okay. Diolch.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cabinet Manuals and the Ministerial Code
That, to me, sounds like there's just an element of trust, in that sense, rather than there actually being something actionable there. It's all well and good saying that previous First Ministers might have taken it seriously and made it clear to their Cabinet…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cabinet Manuals and the Ministerial Code
Thank you for that. I think it's an important line of questioning, specifically coming into the pre-election period. In assessing the general election, there were a number of civil servants who actually made those accusations, that there were Ministers…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cabinet Manuals and the Ministerial Code
So, the question for me is—okay, you might not have seen it yourself; it doesn’t mean to say it’s not happening—what are the safeguards that are in place, then, to ensure that it doesn’t happen.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cabinet Manuals and the Ministerial Code
But you accept that it can happen? With the pressure that could be put on a civil servant by a Minister, or a special adviser, there’s a balance of power question here, isn’t there?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cabinet Manuals and the Ministerial Code
Thank you for that. Taking on board, of course, what you said about those conversations being private between civil servants and the Permanent Secretary, what happens in the case, then—. Because, obviously, when we’re coming into an election, political…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Cabinet Manuals and the Ministerial Code
Diolch, Cadeirydd. If I could move over to how Government Ministers make use of resources—still sort of linked to the questions the Chair was asking, but still rather separate. On 23 May of this year, the Government indicated that it would respond to factual…
