, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Public Appointments: evidence session with Welsh Government
Thank you. I'm slightly confused in terms of you've got a target that's not a target in terms of make-up of diversity within boards. So could you just give me a little bit more information about what you're aiming to achieve and how you evaluate that?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Public Appointments: evidence session with Welsh Government
Okay, thank you. In your evidence to the committee on 14 December 2023, there were 25 actions included in the diversity and inclusion strategy, which you've just referenced, for public appointments. Nine of those, at that point, had been completed or closed…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Public Appointments: evidence session with Welsh Government
I was speaking specifically to the 'Reflecting Wales in Running Wales' strategy—there will be an evaluation in terms of that year of running. And I take what you say about the anti-racist action plan, but I'm talking about the reflecting Wales strategy here…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Public Appointments: evidence session with Welsh Government
And to be clear, there will be evaluation around the 'Reflecting Wales in Running Wales' strategy independently.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Public Appointments: evidence session with Welsh Government
And in terms of your—. Yes.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Public Appointments: evidence session with Welsh Government
Diolch. Thank you very much, Chair. There seems to be a plethora of initiatives and suites of ongoing activity. If I ask the first question, if I may, Chair, in regard to the evaluation of the 2022-23 action planning around the strategy, is there a reason why…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Papers to note
In terms of the agenda items that we have, I'm content to discuss later some of the response that we've had, rather than doing that now. I have a few points that I want to make, so I'll do that later in private. Thank you, Chair.
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Okay. Thank you very much. Diolch, Gadeirydd.
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Okay, thank you. Moving on then, in terms of your increased engagement work, what measures are you taking to ensure that your communication methods with stakeholders and potential service users are efficient and cost-effective, moving forward?
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Fine. So, you would say that it doesn't adopt different categories of expenditure than for the estimate. You say they're broadly similar.
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Okay, thank you. You include in the annual report and accounts a breakdown of resource outturn for 2023-24 and 2022-23, with explanations for the variances between the two years. However, you have not included a detailed comparison of the outturn against the…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Thank you. That's very encouraging. You seem to have achieved what many others haven't in terms of spending 26 per cent less on professional advice for 2023-24. You've also—if I move on from that—increased your computer services budget by £169,000. Is there…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Thank you. And that is a very small number, as you stated. I would, obviously, though, as a trajectory, be concerned in terms of future capacity around the workload that you've got, and, generally speaking, that will trail, but we'll be watching that. I'm…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Thank you very much, Chair. You've already detailed the reasoning around complaints against your office in terms of timescales or dissatisfaction around public body decision making. Outside of capacity, which seems to be one of the things that is prevalent…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Thank you. In terms of the target and the potential of displacement in capacity in trying to reduce or put the focus on reduction in terms of aged cases, is that, in a sense, de-prioritising the organisation? And secondly, in terms of the code of conduct…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - Scrutiny of Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24, and Estimate 2025-26: Evidence session
Thank you very much, Chair. Apologies for arriving later than I meant to. We're going to talk to those aged investigations that we've just been mentioning, and those have drastically reduced, haven't they, by 70 per cent in 2023-24, which is no mean feat over…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, First Minister. You've stated that Wales is currently being short-changed after being denied funding deriving from the HS2 project from the previous Government, which did not see a single inch of railway track being built in Wales. And, as we await…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
8. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK Government, prior to the forthcoming UK Government budget, regarding rail infrastructure in Wales? OQ61728
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2024-25: Evidence session
Thank you very much, Chair.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2024-25: Evidence session
I like that turn of phrase, Chair. I'm going to move on to cultural and sporting organisations. There’s been a very welcome £5 million injection in-year. The Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations Committee have heard from…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2024-25: Evidence session
Thank you. There's £81.5 million of general capital funding that has been allocated to the city and growth deals, and similar applications for this in supplementary budgets previously. So, was this funding anticipated, and is that in line with where it's…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2024-25: Evidence session
Thank you, Chair. Just to follow that through, I believe that there was a consequential received in terms of the £18.7 million of revenue and £20.3 million of capital allocated to the core Valleys lines. So, what was that funding? Or what will that be used…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2024-25: Evidence session
We muted and unmuted at the same time. So, moving on to the transport MEG, £34.3 million to Transport for Wales has been transferred from the bus support, local transport priorities, and sustainable and active travel BELs. So, what is the rationale around…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2024-25: Evidence session
Yes, it was on the previous question—sorry to go back. But very briefly, in terms of that important planning assumption around the pay consequentials, were the other parliaments, devolved legislatures, in the same position as far as you know? And, obviously…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2024-25: Evidence session
Yes, if possible. Speaking more generically, in terms of the scarcity historically, for a long time, around capital for Wales, is there cognisance of that dearth? And I don't know if it was mentioned in the FISC, but are we hopeful that that is going to be…
