, Finance Committee
Review into the operations, processes and investigations carried out by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales: Evidence session
Yes, because there's quite a lot of people who contacted lots of their elected Members, concerned because they have a perspective, they have a view that they feel ought to have been contributed to the outcomes of this, and I’m just trying to understand—very…
, Finance Committee
Review into the operations, processes and investigations carried out by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales: Evidence session
Thank you, Chris. Thanks for the clarity around all of that. That was helpful to clarify what we needed. Moving on, obviously, the review was very inclusive and interviewed all staff and key people within the organisation. How did you decide, then, that you’d…
, Finance Committee
Review into the operations, processes and investigations carried out by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales: Evidence session
Yes. Thank you.
, Finance Committee
Review into the operations, processes and investigations carried out by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales: Evidence session
Thank you. That was very reassuring, because I think that adds to the integrity and robustness of the independence, and so I'm pleased that's good and clear. The remit of the review did not include investigating the initial incident or the former code team…
, Plenary
Debate on the Petitions Committee Report, 'Freedom to thrive: Free and accessible public transport for young people'
Can I also thank the petitioner for submitting the petition? Our young people are our future, and the ability to broaden horizons is an incredibly important part of boosting the prospects of young people in Wales. Free public transport for young people has…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I appreciate the fact that being in leadership means making some difficult decisions, especially when it comes to budget allocations. It's clear that many of our public services are in dire need of improving, requiring extensive…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
4. What opportunities for spending efficiencies has the Welsh Government identified ahead of the publication of its draft budget for 2025-26? OQ61667
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I’m going to move on to another area that I think deserves some clarification. Yesterday my colleague Sam Kurtz raised a question in here about the legitimacy of spending £16,000 on a St David’s Day event in New York, which…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. So many times we’ve heard colleagues on those benches over there saying that there was £6 billion underfunded, and Jo Stevens has said the same in the Westminster Chamber, that we should cough up billions, so you can understand…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
Diolch, Llywydd. Can I also welcome you formally, Cabinet Secretary, to your new role, even though we've spoken before? And can I thank you also for the engagement you've extended so far? That bodes well for us to have a constructive relationship, moving…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning: Economic Growth
Cabinet Secretary, thank you very much for your statement. There's much in it that I welcome, but the proof will be, as always, in the pudding. You talk about a pro-worker and pro-business approach to economic growth, but this simply isn't the case…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Trefnydd, can I request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, outlining the latest position on the Raglan junction of the A40 in my constituency of Monmouth? As you are no doubt aware, there have been many, many accidents over…
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
No. Thanks for that clarity. That's all from me. Thank you.
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
I was going to ask that question: are we likely to see anything else like that?
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
Just a last question from me, and I'm conscious of what we talked about earlier, about sensitivity around individual issues. But the accounts include a special payment of £21,000 made to a member of staff in resolution of an employment dispute. Can you…
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
Just a couple of more quick ones from me. Your financial statements outlined a credit loss of £143,000 in 2023-24, up from £77,000 the previous year. The accounts note this relates to a provision for bad debt over 12 months old. So, why has the figure almost…
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
Okay. Fine, that's good.
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
Thank you for that. A supplementary to that, then: you've underspent capital in 2023-24 by almost 20 per cent on a cash budget of £310,000. Are you happy with that level of variance, and, given that this isn't the first time that you've underspent on capital…
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
Well, that's good. So, you've got your optimum-sized team, really, or near it, anyway.
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
So, clearly, you're short on staff, or are you running at an optimum? What would your optimum be? It looks like you could generate enough income if you invested in staff, so you could keep going on with that equation, but what's your optimum to say that you…
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
If there's anything else you wanted to add to it, you're welcome to.
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
Right, I've answered my own question. [Laughter.]
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
Thank you for that, that's helpful. Just moving on to resources, then, I noted that the total resources, gross expenditure, was £1.6 million lower than in your estimate this year. The largest area of variance, we know, is a £1.1 million underspend in staffing…
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
That's helpful. It seems like you've got a good suite of support around there, and I take the point that sometimes stress and anxiety can be caused from outside the organisation. But you're confident that any internal related stress-driven absences—you're…
, Finance Committee
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 and the Annual Plan 2024-25: Evidence session
That's fine, and puts it into context, being 0.2 of a post. If it had been a full-time equivalent, then I would have thought there might have been a—. Thanks for that. That's useful. Just around sickness absence, and I know it's one of your areas that has…
