, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Evidence session with the Lady Chief Justice
Good afternoon. We're all aware, of course, of the general backlog that is typical of the criminal cases across England and Wales at present, but to what extent is the situation in Wales better, worse, or is it broadly similar to what we see across England…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Chair, I'd just like to point out my declaration of interest, which is that my partner is a member of the judiciary.
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
Okay. Thank you very much.
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
And finally from me, Chair, you touched upon the question already of the handover from one auditor general to the next, but as a body as well Audit Wales has a variety of strategies and programmes that are already in place. So, how are you going to…
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
Audit Wales is a larger organisation, I think, than the authority that you lead at present—about 300 staff members. What challenges does this change in scale and complexity create for you, and how would you manage those challenges?
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
Thank you very much. Given that the Auditor General for Wales is the chief executive of Audit Wales, and works within established governance structures, what is your plan to nurture an effective working relationship with the chair and board of Audit Wales…
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
Is failure within the confines of a robust evaluation framework an inalienable part of the innovation process and the process of learning?
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
Thank you very much. Auditing is vital in safeguarding public money and the public's trust. But Wales also need more experimentation and pilot schemes to improve services and to increase productivity. As auditor general, how would you ensure that auditing…
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
The timeliness has been deteriorating—I think I'm right to say that—over recent years. To what extent can you give the committee assurance on the basis of what you've just said? Do you think that it will be possible to maintain more robust timeliness…
, Finance Committee
Pre-nomination Hearing - Auditor General for Wales
Thank you, Chair, and good morning to you. Could I just stay with this question of auditing experience within the public sector? In a speech recently on the accounts of local authorities, the current Auditor General for Wales noted that only 56 per cent of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
Counsel General, would you accept—and this does go to your responsibilities—given everything that I've shared, that the legislative handling of this highly sensitive, complex matter, affecting children and young people, and a particularly vulnerable group…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
But, Counsel General, you are responsible, aren't you, for litigation involving Welsh Ministers? Can you at least tell us when, given that the High Court has now recorded that the Senedd and the public were given an inaccurate, misleading description of these…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
Diolch, Llywydd. Counsel General, the High Court, in its judgment on ATB v. Welsh Ministers, handed down on 25 November last year, after an initial hearing on 8 October, refused leave to judicially review secondary Senedd legislation in relation to the…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Iawn, diolch yn fawr.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
But, in terms of a sensitive issue like that, you would have expected them to inform you if they had sub-contracted that work to someone else. Can I take that for granted?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Yes.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
One final thing: do you know whether the company, Teacher Booker, had subcontracted some of the work in terms of identity recognition? Can you confirm that or not?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Just for me to understand, how did that happen? Were you clear in terms of what the expectations were, that is, for the service to be offered in accordance with the standards, and, if we're referring specifically to the company here, or any other provider, it…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Could I just raise a specific question, finally? The Welsh Language Commissioner published a very critical report on the pilot scheme, noting failures in terms of compliance with the Welsh language standards and monitoring deficiencies by the Welsh…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Where are we now, then, in terms of the policy? Is there still a commitment to move away from a for-profit system, or is that not a commitment by now?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
But the Welsh Government has legislative capability to change that, don't they? The Welsh Government has the right, if it's still the policy intention, to resolve or overcome that barrier.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Could I turn to that decision, therefore, to close that pilot scheme? This committee had received evidence at one time that the pilot was going well. Could you explain, therefore, why you moved in more detailed terms than you've already used? That is, there…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Could I turn now to the national supply pool for Wales, and specifically the pilot scheme in Anglesey? This did stem, of course, from the co-operation agreement—maybe I should declare an interest there on the record—and the policy intention was to move…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
Could you explain why exactly there was a need to update the guidance on invoices, including NI payments, in this context?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Covering Teachers' Absence: evidence session with Welsh Government
You referred earlier to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. Are there any issues that they've raised, or local authorities and schools, that you will be interweaving into the design of the new framework?
