, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General
Well, thank you, but I trust, given your role as Counsel General providing advice to Welsh Government, relevant Ministers would come to you for advice accordingly. And your priority, as I said, on such important matters, should be public concern and not…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General
—will therefore be made for the Welsh Government to commission an independent review into its current educational reforms. In the interest of public concern, what advice would you therefore give to the Welsh Government regarding this?
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General
Diolch. Can I be heard? Yes. In which case, public inquiries are major investigations convened by a Government Minister. The only justification required for a public inquiry is the existence of public concern about a particular event or set of events…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
I call for two statements from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. The first on action by the Welsh Government to reduce the numbers of autistic people or people with a learning disability still locked up in assessment and treatment centres in…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
As agreed earlier in today's meeting, the committee will now continue in private session for the remainder of today's meeting. I'd be grateful if you could take us into private session.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
I'm pleased to say that that has brought us in virtually perfectly on time. Witnesses, a draft transcript of today's meeting will be supplied to you to check for accuracy before being formally published. Otherwise, it just falls to me to thank you for…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Mr Moss first, and then Mike.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Are you content to answer a couple of questions that Members may have regarding the letter that we received from Tim Moss dated 15 March? I think we had it earlier this week, if I'm correct. You confirm that the Welsh Government does collect applicants'…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
I think if it was a good read, we'd have a concern of another type.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
And what do you consider to be your priorities for further improvements in future accounts?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Thank you very much. Back to me for concluding questions. If you're able to, we'd like also to conclude by asking a couple of questions following receipt from Mr Moss of a letter regarding public appointments, which we, I think, received earlier this week…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Thank you. Mike Hedges.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Okay. Thank you. Adam Price.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Mike Hedges.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Thank you very much indeed. In that case, can I bring Natasha Asghar back in?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Thank you. Mike Hedges.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 2)
Croeso. Welcome back to this morning's meeting of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee in the Senedd. Could I invite Natasha Asghar to take up our questions to Welsh Government officials regarding the 2022-23 Welsh Government report and…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
Thank you very much indeed. Could we break until 10:45? And then, again, I would remind people to please be as succinct as possible, because we do have a lot more questions to get through. Thank you.
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
Okay, thank you. Can I bring in Adam Price?
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
And my final question in this section. The committee previously recommended that you publish your pay policy statement well in advance, which we understood you had accepted, to enable necessary processes to be gone through at this end before we're in a…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
And in terms of parity of treatment, which is my closing section of my questions, if current full-time senior officials work in excess of their contracted hours on a regularised basis, can they also accrue additional leave in the way a part-time contracted…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
Okay. In the accounts, you report that two senior officials have applied for and have had approved partial retirement. How many of your senior team are currently partially retired? How are you managing the reduction in capacity and ensuring parity of…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
Okay. Thank you. Moving on, last year, you told us that senior officials withholding consent for information to be reported in the remuneration report would be exceptional events, yet, for 2022-23, two senior civil servants have done so. Why was this, and…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
I'm sure we all send you our best wishes for your future, wherever it may take you. No doubt you have plans, but this isn't the place to share them. Any further questions, Members, on that? No. Will you provide an update about planned improvements to the…
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Evidence Session: Scrutiny of the Welsh Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (Part 1)
Okay. Thank you. Welsh Government recently advertised the role of director of finance. When do you expect to appoint a person to this post, and is the post likely to be vacant before a successful candidate takes up the role? If it is, what interim…
