Attendance
|
Category
|
Names
|
|
Members of the Senedd:
|
Peredur Owen Griffiths MS (Chair)
Mike Hedges MS
Sam Rowlands MS
|
|
Witnesses:
|
Adrian Crompton, Auditor General for Wales,
Audit Wales
Dr Ian Rees, Chair of the Wales Audit Office
Board, Audit Wales
Ann-Marie Harkin, Executive Director for Audit
Services, Audit Wales
Kevin Thomas, Executive Director for Corporate
Services, Audit Wales
Jane Hutt MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social
Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip
Amira Evans, Head of Equalities, Welsh
Government
Bethany Thomas, British Sign Language Policy
Manager, Welsh Government
|
|
Committee Staff:
|
Owain Roberts (Clerk)
Georgina Owen (Second Clerk)
Mike Lewis (Deputy Clerk)
Martin Jennings (Researcher)
Peter Davies (Researcher)
Christian Tipples (Researcher)
Ben Harris (Legal Adviser)
|
<AI1>
Registration
</AI1>
<AI2>
Private pre-meeting
</AI2>
<AI3>
1
Introductions, apologies, substitutions
and declarations of interest
1.1 The Chair welcomed Members to the meeting
of the Finance Committee.
1.2 Apologies were received from Rhianon
Passmore MS. There was no substitute for Rhianon Passmore MS.
1.3 Members declared the following relevant
interests under Standing Order 17.24A:
·
Mike Hedges MS
declared that he has a sister who is profoundly hard of hearing and
a user of British Sign Language. He also declared that he has
worked on the development of the Bill alongside the Member in
charge.
</AI3>
<AI4>
2
Paper(s) to note
2.1 The papers were noted.
</AI4>
<AI5>
2.1
PTN 1 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary
for Finance and Welsh Language: Finance: Interministerial Standing
Committee (F:ISC) - 8 July 2025
</AI5>
<AI6>
2.2
PTN 2- Letter from the Deputy First
Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affair:
Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee (IMSC) – 14 July
2025
</AI6>
<AI7>
2.3
PTN 3 - Letter from the First Minister of
Wales: Inter-Institutional Relations Agreement: 43rd British-Irish
Council Summit - 22 July 2025
</AI7>
<AI8>
2.4
PTN 4 - Women’s Equality Network
(WEN) Wales: Briefing - New research on the childcare needs of
families in Wales - July 2025
</AI8>
<AI9>
2.5
PTN 5 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary
for Finance and Welsh Language: Consultation on reviewing the
Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013 - 11 July 2025
</AI9>
<AI10>
2.6
PTN 6 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary
for Finance and Welsh Language: Financial information for Directly
Funded Bodies to consider in their budget planning - 11 July
2025
</AI10>
<AI11>
2.7
PTN 7 - Letter from the Deputy First
Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural
Affairs: Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill - Stage 4 - 11
July 2025
</AI11>
<AI12>
2.8
PTN 8 - Letter from the Welsh Local
Government Association (WLGA): Homelessness and Social Housing
Allocation (Wales) Bill - 15 July 2025
</AI12>
<AI13>
2.9
PTN 9 - Letter from the Chair of the
Local Government and Housing Committee to the Welsh Local
Government Association (WLGA): Homelessness and Social Housing
Allocation (Wales) Bill - 18 July 2025
</AI13>
<AI14>
2.10 PTN 10 -
Letter from the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA):
Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill - 1 August
2025
</AI14>
<AI15>
2.11 PTN 11 -
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government:
Additional information on the Homelessness and Social Housing
Allocation (Wales) Bill - 27 August 2025
</AI15>
<AI16>
2.12 PTN 12 -
Letter from the Senedd Commission: Update to recommendations made
in the Committee's report on the Scrutiny of the Senedd Commission
Draft Budget 2025-26 - 15 July 2025
</AI16>
<AI17>
2.13 PTN 13 -
Letter from Audit Wales: Notification of audit deadline position -
Powys Teaching Health Board - 21 July 2025
</AI17>
<AI18>
2.14 PTN 14 -
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language:
Office for National Statistics and the Census 2031 - 4 August
2025
</AI18>
<AI19>
2.15 PTN 15 -
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language:
Barnett formula consequentials from the UK Spending Review (11
June) - 5 August 2025
</AI19>
<AI20>
2.16 PTN 16 -
Welsh Government response to the Committee's report on the First
Supplementary Budget 2025-26 - 18 August 2025
</AI20>
<AI21>
2.17 PTN 17 -
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language:
Welsh Rates of Income Tax - Outturn Statistics 2023-24 - 21 August
2025
</AI21>
<AI22>
2.18 PTN 18 -
Additional information from National Energy Action relating to fuel
poverty in Wales - 7 August 2025
</AI22>
<AI23>
2.19 PTN 19 -
Letter from the Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee
for Finance: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Bill - 22 July
2025
</AI23>
<AI24>
2.20 PTN 20 -
Letter to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for
Finance: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Bill - 8 September
2025
</AI24>
<AI25>
2.21 PTN 21 -
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning:
Inter-Ministerial Group for Business and Industry (IMG) - 2
September 2025
</AI25>
<AI26>
2.22 PTN 22 -
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning:
Inter-Ministerial Group for Business and Industry – 10
September 2025
</AI26>
<AI27>
2.23 PTN 23 -
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales:
Response to the Committee's report on the Bus Services (Wales) Bill
- 8 September 2025
</AI27>
<AI28>
3
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the
Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 and the Annual Plan 2025-26:
Evidence session
3.1 The Committee took evidence on Audit
Wales’s Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 and the Annual
Plan 2025-26 from Adrian Crompton, Auditor General for Wales, Audit
Wales; Dr Ian Rees, Chair of the Wales Audit Office, Audit Wales;
Kevin Thomas, Executive Director of Corporate Services, Audit
Wales; and Ann-Marie Harkin, Executive Director for Audit Services,
Audit Wales.
</AI28>
<AI29>
4
Motion under Standing Order 17.42 (ix) to
resolve to exclude the public from items 5 to 11 and 13; and the
start of the meeting on 24 September 2025
4.1 The motion was agreed.
</AI29>
<AI30>
5
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the
Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 and the Annual Plan 2025-26:
Consideration of evidence
5.1 The Committee considered the evidence
received.
</AI30>
<AI31>
6
Appointment of the Auditor General for
Wales: Update
6.1 The Committee considered the documents in
relation to the appointment of the Auditor General for Wales and
agreed the actions included within the cover paper.
</AI31>
<AI32>
7
Chair's Forum - Consultation: Reviewing
Committee Effectiveness in the Sixth Senedd
7.1 The Committee considered the cover paper
and the Llywydd’s letter and agreed to submit a response to
the Chairs’ Forum consultation on Reviewing Committee
Effectiveness.
</AI32>
<AI33>
8
Changes to the Budget Process Protocol
and related budgetary procedures: Update
8.1 The Committee considered the cover paper
and the Cabinet Secretary’s letter in relation to the Budget
Process Protocol and related budgetary procedures, and agreed to
write to the Cabinet Secretary and the Directly Funded Bodies.
</AI33>
<AI34>
9
Consideration of Forward Work
Programme
9.1 The Committee considered its Forward Work
Programme.
</AI34>
<AI35>
10
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft
Budget 2026-27: Approach to scrutiny
10.1 The Committee considered the cover paper
on the approach to Draft Budget scrutiny 2026-27 and agreed the
action points within it.
</AI35>
<AI36>
11
Financial implications of the Planning
(Wales) Bill and the Planning (Consequential Provisions) (Wales)
Bill
11.1 The Committee considered the cover paper
in relation to the Bills and agreed to write to the Counsel General
and Minister for Delivery with specific questions.
</AI36>
<AI37>
Break
</AI37>
<AI38>
Public
</AI38>
<AI39>
12
Financial implications of the British
Sign Language (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
12.1 The Committee took evidence on the
Financial implications of the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill
from Jane Hutt MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd
and Chief Whip; Amira Evans, Head of Equalities, Welsh Government;
and Bethany Thomas, British Sign Language Policy Manager, Welsh
Government.
</AI39>
<AI40>
Private
</AI40>
<AI41>
13
Financial implications of the British
Sign Language (Wales) Bill: Consideration of evidence
13.1 The Committee considered the evidence
received.
</AI41>
<TRAILER_SECTION>
</TRAILER_SECTION>
<LAYOUT_SECTION>
1.
FIELD_TITLE
FIELD_SUMMARY
</LAYOUT_SECTION>
<TITLE_ONLY_LAYOUT_SECTION>
2.
FIELD_TITLE
</TITLE_ONLY_LAYOUT_SECTION>
<HEADING_LAYOUT_SECTION>
FIELD_TITLE
</HEADING_LAYOUT_SECTION>
<TITLED_COMMENT_LAYOUT_SECTION>
FIELD_TITLE
FIELD_SUMMARY
</TITLED_COMMENT_LAYOUT_SECTION>
<COMMENT_LAYOUT_SECTION>
FIELD_SUMMARY
</COMMENT_LAYOUT_SECTION>
<SUBNUMBER_LAYOUT_SECTION>
2.1
FIELD_TITLE
FIELD_SUMMARY
</SUBNUMBER_LAYOUT_SECTION>
<TITLE_ONLY_SUBNUMBER_LAYOUT_SECTION>
2.2
FIELD_TITLE
</TITLE_ONLY_SUBNUMBER_LAYOUT_SECTION>