, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Just carrying on from that, I assume you or your successor will be reporting to this committee, or its successor, the outturn after the election.
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I'm very pleased to see that Bill going forward, and I spoke in favour of it in the Senedd, but I don't think that the reason that a lot of people don't vote is because they haven't got around to registering. I think, unfortunately for all of us who are…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
On polling stations, something I've spent a lot of time taking an interest in, much as we dislike it here and much as we're not happy with it, turnout for a general election is at least 50 per cent higher than that for a Senedd election. So, surely, when a…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Diolch, Cadeirydd. The Bill estimates savings of £751,000 over the eight-year appraisal period. You mentioned that further savings may result once more information is available. What is the potential significance of these savings? Have you got a range for…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, and Estimate 2024-25: Evidence session
Thank you.
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, and Estimate 2024-25: Evidence session
My last question. Your accounts show that computers, equipment, furniture and fittings were reclassified as surplus during the year. I understand the value is about £137,000, and that may or may not be correct. They were fully depreciated. What's happened to…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, and Estimate 2024-25: Evidence session
Thank you. I think that is a positive way forward. You outline two risks with a high level of risk—the number of complaints and staff resource, and the other around budget. I'm sure anybody else we had in here or at any other committee would be identifying…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, and Estimate 2024-25: Evidence session
I'm going to put that out, because there are some that are a serious problem, and I think that the health boards are finding it difficult to deal with them. Maybe you might have a better handle on it. The annual report says you have reviewed the governance…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, and Estimate 2024-25: Evidence session
Because that does not appear to be well enough known. And I'm going to do my bit for you; I'm going to—
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, and Estimate 2024-25: Evidence session
So, you were saying about moving, I've actually been dealing with somebody who was in London, has now moved to Wales, and now wants to complain about London, but that is outside your scope. Are people able to complain about individual GP practices?
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, and Estimate 2024-25: Evidence session
We've spent a lot of time in the past, before you took over, Michelle, talking about own-initiative investigations. Your predecessor was very keen on it and eventually you've got that capacity. But what capacity do you have to conduct own-initiative…
, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Can I just declare my normal interest, that I chair the Public and Commercial Services Union group in the Senedd?
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
I welcome the statement by the Minister. One of the best developments in the last Senedd was the creation of the four economic regions in Wales. I welcome the commitment to regional working to ensure that more decisions can be taken closer to communities…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
Following austerity, brought in by the Conservatives, we've had the Conservatives, under Liz Truss, trashing the economy, and now, under a multimillionaire Prime Minister, we have returned to austerity. The Conservative legacy is low or zero growth, high tax…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
I'm asking for two Government statements, the first on river and sea pollution. I'm concerned about raw sewerage being discharged into rivers. My concern is mainly about the River Tawe, but, on an all-Wales basis, I'm concerned about any river in Wales that…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
That's me finished, Mark.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Okay, thank you very much. Really, with a number of these things, all I've been trying to do is raise the issue with you so that you go back and talk to other people, rather than expecting an answer today.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Finally from me, harassment or discrimination are noted as a reason for some staff leaving. Can you expand on this and what actions were taken to address the issue? I know that some people use the word 'discrimination' when they feel that they've been badly…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
That's a question that whatever answer you can give, in one respect is right and in one respect is wrong, because you want low staff turnover at executive level and senior level to have continuity, but when you have low turnover, it can have a huge effect on…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
I ask this all the time, and I'll keep on asking it: do you analyse your staff in turnover and recruitment by the first part of their postcode? I live in SA6, for example. So, not the full postcode, but it gives you an idea of the area where people are coming…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
I'm going to go on to talk about staff now. In the 'Diversity and Inclusion: Workforce, Recruitment, Pay Gap Reporting and Equal Pay Audit Report', you analysed staff turnover by grade. Have you also analysed staff turnover by length of service, and if so…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Well, I'll stop here, but I've been in places where people have put their password attached to a Post-it note on their screen—I'm not saying I've seen that in the Senedd, but I've seen it in other places—so that they don't lose their password. It's silly…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Right. When people, you think, are trying to break into our system, some of them are just trying to show off, some are just trying to do damage, but most people who break into our system are trying to steal money, aren't they? And just to ensure that you…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Can I say that I agree with your external company? I think it's very easy to spend lots of money early on in a process and then discover later on that we've moved further and further forward. I'm old enough to remember when pocket calculators were incredibly…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Senedd Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
If I move on to risk profile, cyber security is a huge problem for everybody. I think somebody once said the only way you can make it absolutely safe is to come off the network, and that is actually true. It's got to be, possibly, the most significant risk…
