, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
A very warm welcome to you all this morning. It's great to see you. We are here for a meeting of the Finance Committee. We will be considering Stage 2 of the Bill. A very warm welcome to the Minister, and I welcome Llyr Gruffydd also, who has come here to…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I echo some of the questions from Jayne Bryant and Natasha Asghar, and I was also very concerned to hear about the news of this development this morning. I'd like the Minister to inform the Senedd about the extent of the due diligence that was conducted…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Diolch yn fawr. Something else that struck me on a number of visits throughout the region was the age profile of some of the key volunteers that these venues and clubs need to keep them ticking over. Many are older and there's little evidence of succession…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. A couple of weeks ago, I visited the Risca foodbank, along with my Plaid Cymru colleague Delyth Jewell. There, we heard about the increasing demand for their services, which is hardly surprising with the cost-of-living crisis that…
, Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership: The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill
Thank you very much for the update today, Minister. There are elements within the draft that we welcome, and we look forward to the opportunity to influence its impact, as referenced by the Minister's statement. Since 2012, Plaid Cymru has continually called…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Diolch yn fawr. Diolch, Chair.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
And just a last one from me, and thanks for your indulgence, Chair, is: do you see next year's staffing budget needing to be increasing at the same sort of rate, or is this a year of exceptions and we'll back to seeing something akin to normality next year?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
And just to touch a bit on those appointments and the civil service in general but more at that senior level, how diverse are those new 20 and how are you ensuring that there is gender balancing and all the other diverse aspects of a modern civil service that…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Can I ask you just to explore a little bit about why 20 senior members of staff, rather than 40 junior members of staff who could be brought on?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Diolch, Mark—diolch, Chair. Just with regard to senior civil service recruitment, I understand that there's been the appointment of 20 additional senior civil servants to support the organisation, and at the Finance Committee we saw that there's an increased…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Me, Mark, if I can.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Diolch yn fawr. Diolch, Chair.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Because it seems to be used more so in UK Government departments than here. Is that because of the dynamic between the civil service and UK departments, as opposed to the dynamic that you've got and the relationship you've got with Welsh Government?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
And in what sort of circumstances would you expect to get ministerial direction?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Thank you. I'd like to understand a little bit about the relationship between Ministers and the civil service. How will you approach challenging Ministers, and in particular the compliance with the key legislation, such as the the Well-being of Future…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Okay, thank you very much. Chair, do you want me to move on to the next question as well?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
And what is that cost?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Scrutiny of public administration: Evidence session
Yes, thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, Dr Goodall. Lovely to meet you, and I'm sure you'd expect the Chair of finance as well, sitting on here as a substitute today, to have an interest in financial implications. Could you give me an idea of the financial…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Election of Temporary Chair
Diolch, Heléna. Diolch, Chair.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Election of Temporary Chair
And just finally from me, Chair, if I may, what role do you think that volunteers have in care home settings on an ongoing basis? Are they there to enhance people's lives or are they there to perform the basic functions? What are your thoughts around…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Election of Temporary Chair
Going on from your comments earlier that a care home is people's home and, obviously, the workforce are there to support people in their home, because they're in a care home, how well do you think that partners are working to develop a sustainable workforce…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Election of Temporary Chair
Okay, thank you. Recognising the increasing costs in the sector, how do you think the Welsh Government and commissioners should respond to manage those impacts on service users?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Election of Temporary Chair
Okay. So, what expectations do you have for the work being carried out by the local authorities on market stability reports and their potential to change the shape of care home capacity and services?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Election of Temporary Chair
Thank you, Chair, and morning, Heléna, it's lovely to see you. As Natasha said, looking at the stability and the quality of care, what's your overall assessment of the state of the care homes market for older people in Wales, its overall sustainability and…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Election of Temporary Chair
I nominate Natasha.
