, Finance Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
A warm welcome to this meeting of the Finance Committee. It's good to see Members present. We have received an apology from Rhianon Passmore, and we must thank John Griffiths for stepping into the breach and joining us this morning on the committee. So, a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch. That would be welcome. And if you could write to us immediately when you know that, then that would be excellent to find out exactly what the situation is. You described this budget as a good budget earlier; the First Minister has boasted the claim…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
On that question—Jane Dodds asked the question earlier of whether you would rather see the NI increase scrapped. I didn't hear a 'yes' or 'no' answer, but you might want to address that as well. While I'm sure you hope the full cost of Welsh local authorities…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Thank you for that reply.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to begin by thanking all local authority staff across Wales—our carers, our road repair crews, our bin collectors, the back-office staff and many, many others. These workers are under growing pressure, delivering essential services…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Earlier this month, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board declared a critical incident due to sustained pressure. This announcement was no surprise to anyone who'd been following the coverage of the hospital since it opened its doors just a few short years…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Thank you for that response.
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
7. What is the Government doing to improve acute health services for people in South Wales East? OQ62185
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I'd go further than Alun Davies, I'd say this is a scandal, what's happening with eHarleyStreet in Blaenau Gwent and across the Aneurin Bevan health board. Representing the area, I've been in touch with some of the GPs—the 40-plus GPs—that are now being…
, Finance Committee
Motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of this meeting
So, under Standing Order 17.42(ix), I propose that we resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of this meeting. Yes? Diolch yn fawr. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Thank you so much for your time. As with all our witnesses this morning, we've run over time, but it's always because there's so much to say. We're very grateful to you for making the time. Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, there will be a transcript…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Okay, thank you very much, and, finally, something that we should have talked about in a previous question, really. It's around the child poverty strategy that was published in 2024. Does this budget go far enough to support that strategy?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Okay, thank you. Just looking at something that's close to the heart of this committee, tax and stuff that we look at—and we take a keen interest in tax policy—are there any Welsh taxes that you think need a greater focus on? You had a conversation with Sam…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Thank you for that. I know it's not necessarily your area of expertise on that aspect, but I appreciate your thoughts on that. A couple of questions to finish off, more around the budget improvement impact advisory group and how that engages with Welsh…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Of course, yes. But from a broader point around gender budgeting and some of the things that Mike was talking about, transport in particular—. Generalising an awful lot, but women and older people, or women in particular, use more buses than trains, so maybe…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Thanks, Sam. I've got a few questions just to finish off, and part of the question that I've got we've covered already, because I wanted to have a look at what the draft budget says around gender equality and childcare. Now, we've talked about Flying Start…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Okay. Thank you for that. Thank you. I'll come over to Sam.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Great. You were talking about demographics, and Mike was talking there about the distribution, and you talked a bit about older people, and we've talked about Flying Start, with younger people, and one of the things that the UK Government have done is the…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Thank you very much. I'm now going to pass over to Mike Hedges.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
I suppose bringing everybody around the table was the big benefit, to be able to thrash out some of this across organisations and experts.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Of course, yes.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
So, it was asking for a lot of money, and then the money being cut, I suppose. Or was it asking for changes in where money was being spent?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Right. Thanks for that. So, was it useful when it was running?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
Thank you very much for that. Has the Wales expert group on the cost-of-living crisis had any engagement with the Welsh Government on the development of the draft budget, to be able to put some of these points to it, and are there any plans for the expert…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 7
One of the things that we discussed yesterday, actually, in a statement by the Cabinet Secretary was the Welsh benefits charter. I don't know if you caught that discussion in Plenary yesterday, but there were lots of comments made. What are your views on that…
