, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session 1
Lovely, great. Well, croeso cynnes. Thank you very much for making yourselves available today. I'd like to start with looking at the economic context and to clarify some of the overall principles and aims underpinning the budget, and how inflation has changed…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2023-24: Evidence session 1
Croeso cynnes to the Minister. Nice to see you, hot off the back of your statement yesterday. So, we'll crack on with the first session with yourself. I think you're with us today and then you're with us in January. Could you introduce yourself and your…
, Finance Committee
Papers to note
Lovely, thank you. Great. Okay, we'll move on then.
, Finance Committee
Papers to note
We'll move on to the papers to note. There are a raft of papers to note with quite a few letters going backwards and forwards. I'd just like to pick up on paper to note 10. We've had a letter back from the First Minister about the implications of Bills, the…
, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Good morning. Welcome to this meeting of the Finance Committee. We're going to be scrutinising the budget and we have the Minister with us this morning. We've had apologies from Rhianon, and I extend a warm welcome to Joyce; Joyce Watson is going to be…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Can we have a Government statement on the fire service please, Trefnydd? Like many who saw the ITN report on South Wales Fire and Rescue Service yesterday evening, I was horrified. There should not be any place for misogyny within the workplace, but this is…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, Prif Weinidog. Yesterday marked four years since you took office as First Minister. In that time, we've seen an upturn in fortunes for some of our poorest—. We haven't seen an upturn—. Not even able to read my question, sorry. I'll start again…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
4. How is the Government helping to combat poverty in South Wales East during the cost-of-living crisis? OQ58896
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
Thank you, Vikki. Diolch, Ben.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
So, if a register was forthcoming, how would be the best way of handling that with your members in particular? Would it be a rolling start, or any thoughts around that?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
No, just: what challenges would a register cause for your members?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
Diolch, Ben. Diolch, Vikki.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
And do you think—perhaps finally from me, really—that Wales is, because of the nature of our society, the nature of our Parliament compared to Westminster in particular, that a potentially self-regulated industry in Wales, as the lobbying industry seems to…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
So, do you think that—? You talked there about the different types of lobbying and different types of organisations. So, do different forms of lobbying pose different levels of threat to the democratic institutions that they're trying to lobby?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
I'm just thinking of some of possibly your smaller members that don't have that capacity at all. Is there an inequality then between their ability to influence?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
You were talking about the TSPC earlier, and the CPA, and your members, and I'm just wondering how far the problem potentially goes, and whether or not it goes there at all, of some voluntary organisations having a public affairs person employed; some people…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 2
Diolch, Vikki. Hello, Ben. We've looked at the benefits of lobbying. I'd like to flip it over and look at the other side of the coin. Does lobbying pose any problems to or obstruct the proper functioning of representative democratic politics?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 1
Yes. Based on what you've just said—lobbying is a small sector, effectively, in Wales—why is it potentially better? Is it because it self-regulates? Why haven't we had the scandals? Is it just because we're better people? [Laughter.]
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 1
So, which ones are better than others?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 1
So, following on from that, then, do different forms of lobbying pose different levels of threat to democratic institutions?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 1
So, do you think that different forms—? Sorry. Gemma's arrived. I'll let Gemma—. Sorry, Gemma.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 1
So, is it—touching on something that you said earlier—that smaller charities might not be able to employ a specific person to do public engagement whereas the larger ones can, does lobbying potentially exacerbate that, and the ones with the deepest pockets…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 1
We've looked at some of the benefits of lobbying. I'd like to look at the other side of it—the flip of the coin, if you like—so, the disvalue of lobbying. Does lobbying pose any problems to, or obscure or obstruct the proper function of the representative…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into lobbying: Evidence session 1
Thank you, Vikki, and good morning, Naomi.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Instruments that raise issues to be reported to the Senedd under Standing Order 21.2 or 21.3
Yes, that's it.
