, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Can I just interrupt you? Going back to an earlier question, briefly, would you say that that was shortsighted in terms of use of reserves, or have you got any thought process around that? Because what you're saying is that they're no longer there to be used…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
I think that's a whole section in itself, isn't it, in terms of that operational issue, but one that is very important and, if it's got right, as in some areas and countries, it's a fantastic thing to do, but it has to be got right, doesn't it? So, moving on…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
It's obviously a really important one to get right. And, obviously, I presume you publish the results of the staff survey—
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Okay. And obviously, in terms of reportage of that, that's also important. Moving on, you describe the embedding of a shorter working week into the culture of the office as 'transformative', and that it's increased the team's wellness, which you've already…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Thank you, and it is very important. Has there been any change in your policy around inward secondments?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Thank you very much, Chair. Over 40 per cent of the staff employed at 31 March 2023 were on a fixed-term contract, and, in that year, six people, I believe, left at the end of their term. Have you evaluated the impact of using fixed-term contracts on the…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Brilliant. Thank you very much, Chair.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
And finally, how have you agreed that your meetings with the Welsh Government are going to be recorded, and those discussions with them? Have you agreed that?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Apologies, Chair—just before you come in—my son is ill at the moment, so he was just talking to me, so I may have slipped a different question in. I know that you want to come in on that briefly.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Okay, thanks. And finally, then: how has your office assessed the cost of the section 20 reviews around procurement—you mentioned that in particular—and how the Welsh Government is implementing the Act? What are the implications, then, for any further reviews…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
No, no. That would be fantastic, but, obviously, yes, we'd like to see that and we'd like to be cognisant of that. So, if you could send that in, that would be fantastic. So, I'm going to move on to my next question. Around half of the requests for advice and…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
—for example? Because otherwise, I'm not going to get through this, and the Chair is not going to be very happy.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
To interrupt you, I've got another couple of questions. Could you actually send that in to the committee, in terms of that—
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
In regard to the income generated by your office, which reached almost £400,000 in 2022-23, the Welsh Government provided the vast chunk of that—£329,000 in contributions to joint projects and the leadership academy. So, the question would be: is the funding…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
It's a hugely difficult one, because, you're quite right, you need to be at the centre of these things. There is that element, is there not, of spin-off in terms of spreading the word, but there are other means, sometimes, of doing that. However, it's very…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Okay. And, obviously, there is a real place for being at these places, but, obviously, we're all in that scenario now, in terms of the public purse, aren't we? I'm going to move on to my next—[Interruption.] Go on.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
That's fantastic. Good. So, depending on external forces, then, hopefully that will continue. But we all know where inflation is. So, expenditure on travel and subsistence also increased by £16,000 to £37,000, compared with the year before, and it's also…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Thank you. I'm not quite clear on the second part of my question; apologies if I'm lumped them together. So, the other administrative costs—total of the administrative costs—went down by £105,000 in 2022-23 when you came into post, compared with 2021-22. And…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
That's fine. I'm just thinking that's something that could be done as a theme across the board, and, obviously, you've led the way on that. So, during 2022-23, and, obviously, in terms of your reign, in terms of coming into post, and with the Minister for…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
—a forest of very informative assistance and support. But I'm just wondering if that's something that you have done, or whether there's a collective, thematic approach to this across Welsh Government or the civil service. A simple 'yes' or 'no'.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
No, no, just simply, you said that you've got an index at the front, in terms of explaining what everybody else's role is, in order to guide the public, really—
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23
Thank you very much, Chair, and lovely to have you both with us today. Just as a quick aside, you did mention that you've got an index, a smorgasbord of ombudsmen and commissioners that are there to support and enable the Welsh public. Is that your interface…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Progress Update on the Plan for Employability and Skills
Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you. Minister, I warmly welcome your statement today and its real contribution toward our stronger, greener and fairer Wales. As we face head-on the loss of extensive specific EU funding, the pandemic impact and over a decade of…
, Plenary
Short Debate: Breaking the class ceiling—Building an egalitarian Wales
When the leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, addressed the recent Labour Party conference in Liverpool, he confronted head-on the concern that for too long the voice of the working class has felt undervalued, dialects unheard, and 200 years on from the…
, Plenary
Short Debate: Breaking the class ceiling—Building an egalitarian Wales
Diolch, Llywydd. I'm very deeply honoured to represent Islwyn. The constituency that I represent is a proud collection of working-class Gwent valleys towns and villages that were historically known for coal mining, with the very largest council estates in the…
