, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Potentially, yes, so there are elements, and as this inquiry has gone on, we've teased out a lot of information. And I think that probably brings us to time, unless you've got something to add in on this.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
There is that element, and obviously with fewer MPs being returned next week from Wales, but at least—. Yes. So, that's a—
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Yes. This afternoon. We'll have that discussion later.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Yes.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Is there a body within the UK currently that could take on that sort of independent arbitration? I'm just thinking either the Office for Budget Responsibility or the National Audit Office, or somebody who could look at the facts and make a decision and that…
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Thank you very much. We've touched on it a few times during the session this morning: mediation and arbitration when it comes to resolving disputes. You've talked about different international examples of how this is done. You're very well aware of the Welsh…
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
With this committee, in particular, we get reports from FISC; we get a letter, very often, from the Cabinet Secretary once she's been to those meetings, and she gives us a short report. Is there more work that this committee could do in the scrutiny element…
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
When the inter-parliamentary forum—. Recently, we went to and held a session in Westminster with some committees there as well, and we had I think it was six or even seven different political parties around the table, sharing information and sharing and…
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
You've alluded to one there and we've set up between ourselves, the Finance Committee here, and in Scotland and Northern Ireland now—as that executive finds its feet again—the Interparliamentary Finance Committee Forum. Do you think that that has any merit in…
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
There's no grandstanding, I suppose.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Sorry, Peter. In those closed-door meetings, if you like, in your instinct, is that based on those people going into the room already having a relationship, or is it that—? What's the dynamic there? Why do they work?
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Peter.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Right, okay. Thank you for that.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
—and it's reviewed then periodically.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
So, it's multi-year, at three or five years—
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Multi-year, because, otherwise, you're constantly doing bureaucracy, basically, rather than actually getting on with what you need to be doing.
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
And—sorry, Mike—in those systems, is it on an annual basis, or do they do them on a—?
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
How do they resolve it?
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
It's relationship building as well, so you can put things in the rules, but you can also build relationships. I think it was the Cabinet Secretary for finance in Scotland who was saying that building relationships with an ever-changing Chief Secretary to the…
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Would you suggest, potentially, either legislating or putting things in place to do that? Is that what you're saying?
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Peter, did you want to come in?
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Diolch yn fawr. I'll bring Mike Hedges in—. Sorry, Peter, did you want to come in?
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Is the system rigged so that the Treasury always wins?
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
Okay. So when it comes to FISC in particular—and obviously we were talking about the financial elements of that, and devolved funding in particular, and we'll come on to some of those things later with my colleagues—some of the evidence that we've received to…
, Finance Committee
Fiscal Inter-governmental Relations: Evidence session 7
We've had some evidence to this committee when it comes to the FISC element—so the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee—and that's based on good working relationships between ministers and officials, but it also has been hit with some change of…
