, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Senedd Commission Draft Budget 2027-28: Evidence Session
Our first substantive item is item 3, which is scrutiny of the Senedd Commission draft budget 2027-28. We have our witnesses in front of us. Perhaps, Peredur Owen Griffiths, you want to introduce yourself and colleagues.
, Finance Committee
Papers to note
Item 2, our papers to note. We have three papers to note. Are Members content to do so? Yes. Thank you very much.
, Finance Committee
Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Bore da. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to our Finance Committee here on 8 October. I welcome all Members to the committee. In particular, we have two new Members of the committee today, Cai Parry-Jones and Dan Thomas. We also have Benjamin Hodge Mckenna…
, Plenary
Debate: Fiscal Reform
Diolch, Lywydd. I'm grateful to be able to take part in this debate this evening. And I must say, Llywydd, it has been far more interesting than I expected when I saw the title of the debate in the first place. I will first of all remind the Labour…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution
Thank you for your response, Cabinet Minister. You'll know, in July, that your colleague the Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport announced that the Welsh Government will be setting up a new shadow broadcasting and communications authority as a first step…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution
Diolch, Lywydd. As the Cabinet Minister for effectiveness, what actions are you taking to guarantee that your Cabinet colleagues are effectively ensuring value for money in the departments across the Welsh Government?
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
First Minister, the irony of you calling a Member of the Senedd an isolationist when you are desperate to break up the United Kingdom and isolate Wales from this United Kingdom, when you've signed a pact with the SNP and Sinn Féin to isolate Wales from the…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Okay. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Cabinet Minister, and to your team as well. I can't see anybody else wanting to ask any more questions, so thank you for your time, and we'll see you again here soon, no doubt. Members, we passed a motion earlier on to move into a…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Diolch. Perhaps one last question, unless anyone else has anything they wanted to pick up at all. I'm conscious that, in terms of the pressures being faced, you've generally referred to general inflation and the impact of real-terms cuts. Are there any…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Yes, and I think we would appreciate that as a committee. I guess there are particular programmes I'm thinking about, maybe more than 10 years ago now, with the old spend-to-save programmes, where capital investment produced revenue savings in the long run…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Yes. Andrew.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Okay, thank you. And then, going back to looking ahead, in terms of capital financing, I was reflecting on your comments about the current expectation of a 9 per cent real-terms cut to capital over a three-year period. Are you doing any particular work to…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Diolch, Elfed. Thank you, Cabinet Minister, for your response to those points. We have you here for pre-budget scrutiny for the next financial year, and I'm conscious that we're also sat here having had a supplementary budget yet to be supported within this…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Diolch yn fawr. Thank you. Elfed.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Sorry, before you jump back in, Huw, the unhypothecated elements of RSG as a general principle that, rather than specific grant awards to local authorities, fall into an unhypothecated pot.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Diolch yn fawr iawn. Huw Thomas.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Thanks, Iain. Perhaps on that last point, Cabinet Minister, are the Cabinet in the right place, do you think, in terms of thinking when it comes to—? I guess any Cabinet Minister that comes in front of you and your colleagues—the Deputy First Minister and the…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Thank you, Minister. Anything else, Lyn, from your side, before I bring Iain in? No. Thank you. Iain.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Diolch yn fawr. I think Lyn has some points on this subject. Lyn, over to you.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
I know I've just said that I'll bring Lyn in a second, but I'm really sorry, there's something just come into my mind with this as well. You've come into the role and have an ability to pull a lever and make a financial change in the public life of Wales or…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Thanks, Cabinet Minister. Before Lyn comes back in, Huw Thomas has a question.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Thank you very much, Cabinet Minister. Lyn.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Cabinet Minister, I think Emma wants to come in as well.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Thank you. Does anybody else want to add to that? No. Diolch yn fawr iawn. Ben.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2027-28 - Pre-budget scrutiny: Cabinet Minister for Finance
Thanks, Sera, and thank you for that response as well. I'll bring Ben in in just a moment. I appreciate, Cabinet Minister, that you haven't sat in this position before, but, perhaps from officials' perspective—. Because spending reviews have taken place in…
