, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Mike.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
So, what will be the benefit of doing it like that, rather than the way that it is now? What do you foresee as the benefits?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
That would be helpful.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Okay. The budget notes the financial transactions capital reserves of £265 million and that allocations will be included in the final rather than the draft budget. What allocations are you planning, and why were these not included in the draft budget?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
No, £505 million.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Peter, did you want to come in? You're just on mute a sec. If you can unmute—. There we are.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Andrew, did you want to come in? I think Peter wants to come in as well.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
I think there was a report published earlier this month that there's an unallocated £505 million of COVID funding within this financial year. Will that be rolled over into next year, or how are you—? Is that going to be part of something that—? Could you go…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
You touched on it there, and, obviously, the seriousness of the omicron variant would have become apparent towards the end of your budget-setting process. Have you managed to respond to the new challenges with this budget, or are your allocations based on the…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Lovely. So, I suppose, what are you hoping to achieve with this budget?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Thank you very much. It's good of you to join us this close to Christmas. I know it's been a busy few months for you, and laying the budget on Monday. Obviously, you've had a lot of time to look at it; we've had very little time to look at it so far, so we'll…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Excellent, thank you very much.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 1
Welcome this morning. It's great to have the Minister and her officials here with us. Maybe, Minister, you could introduce yourself, your team and your roles as well, if that's possible.
, Finance Committee
Papers to note
So, we'll move to papers to note. The only paper to note is the minutes of the meeting of 16 December. I assume that they're an accurate record unless I hear differently. Excellent. We'll note those papers. Thank you.
, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Okay, thank you very much. Thanks, both. Thanks.
, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Always good to do so. Peter.
, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Hello, Carolyn. Can we unmute Carolyn?
, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Good morning. Welcome to this morning's session. We're gathering just before Christmas, so it's good to see you all. I'm not the only one with a tree in the background, so that's good to see. The meeting is being broadcast live on Senedd.tv. We've received…
, Finance Committee
Motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of this meeting
I'll now propose that we go into private session. So, I propose, in accordance with Standing Order 17.42, that this committee resolves to exclude the public from the remainder of this meeting. Is everybody content? Great. Thank you.
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Pre-nomination hearing
Diolch yn fawr iawn. Thank you very much for a fascinating 40 minutes with you. I'll just ask if either Peter or Mike have any further questions that they might want to ask. No, that's great. Well, thank you so much.
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Pre-nomination hearing
Diolch, and my final question: how will you engage with stakeholders, other regulators and commissioners, and how will you develop a relationship with this community and engage with its scrutiny and recommendations? Not 'community', sorry; 'with this…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Pre-nomination hearing
Great. Thank you. The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales deals with a number of complaints from all sorts of stakeholders, including listed authorities, and some of those will be through the medium of the Welsh language. How will you ensure that the…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Pre-nomination hearing
Thank you. I'd like to look at what will the office of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales look like in 2029, at the end of your term as the ombudsman. What's the long-term vision you have for the office and how will that benefit Welsh public life?
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Pre-nomination hearing
Thank you, Peter. I've got a few last questions from myself. You touched on a little bit of this already, but I'd like you to explain how you'll balance driving service improvements whilst also managing ever-increasing complaints and enquiries, particularly…
, Finance Committee
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales—Pre-nomination hearing
Diolch, Mike. I'll pass on to Peter. If we can unmute Peter.
