Concise Minutes - Finance Committee

Meeting Venue: Hybrid - Committee

room 3, Senedd and video conference

via Zoom

Meeting date: Thursday, 23 January 2025

Meeting time: 09.30 - 15.10
This meeting can be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/15055

Hybrid

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Attendance

Category	Names
Members of the Senedd:	Peredur Owen Griffiths MS (Chair) Mike Hedges MS Sam Rowlands MS John Griffiths MS (In place of Rhianon Passmore MS)
Witnesses:	Mark Drakeford MS, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Welsh Government Emma Watkins, Deputy Director, Budget & Government Business, Welsh Government Andrew Jeffreys, Director Treasury, Welsh Government Dr Lind Osti, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, Bangor Business School, Bangor University Dr. Rhys ap Gwilym, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Bangor Business School, Bangor University Professor Calvin Jones, Professor of Economics, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University
Committee Staff:	Owain Roberts (Clerk) Sian Giddins (Second Clerk) Rachael Davies (Second Clerk) Mike Lewis (Deputy Clerk) Martin Jennings (Researcher) Owen Holzinger (Researcher) Joanne McCarthy (Researcher) Peter Davies (Researcher) Božo Lugonja (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. John Griffiths MS substituted for Rhianon Passmore MS.

</AI3>

<AI4>

2 Paper(s) to note

2.1 The Committee noted the papers.

</AI4>

<AI5>

2.1 PTN 1 - Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill: Welsh Government response to the Finance Committee's report recommendations - 13 January 2025

</AI5>

<AI6>

2.2 PTN 2 - Letter from the Women's Equality Network (WEN) Wales to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip: Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill - 10 January 2025

</AI6>

<AI7>

2.3 PTN 3 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language: Implications of Budgets not being approved by the Senedd - 16 January 2025

</AI7>

<AI8>

2.4 PTN 4 - Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Additional information received from the WLGA in relation to the Shared Prosperity Fund - 16 January 2025

</AI8>

<AI9>

2.5 PTN 5 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning: Inter-Ministerial Group for Business and Industry - 17 January 2025

</AI9>

<AI10>

3 Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 8

3.1 The Committee took evidence on the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 from Mark Drakeford MS, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Welsh Government; Andrew Jeffreys, Director Treasury, Welsh Government; and Emma Watkins, Deputy Director, Budget and Government Business, Welsh Government.

</AI10>

<AI11>

4 Motion under Standing Order 17.42 (ix) to resolve to exclude the public from items 5, 6 and 9; and the start of the meeting on 30 January 2025

4.1 The motion was agreed.

</AI11>

<AI12>

5 Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Consideration of evidence

5.1 The Committee considered the evidence received.

</AI12>

<AI13>

6 Second Supplementary Budget 2024-25 requests from Directly Funded Bodies

6.1 The Committee considered and agreed the requested variations to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales’s Estimate 2024-25; and the Senedd Commission’s Budget 2024-25.

</AI13>

<AI14>

Lunch

</AI14>

<AI15>

Public

</AI15>

<AI16>

7 Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2

7.1 The Committee took evidence on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill from Dr Rhys Ap Gwilym, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Bangor Business School, Bangor University; and Dr Linda Osti, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, Bangor Business School, Bangor University.

</AI16>

<AI17>

Break

</AI17>

<AI18>

8 Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3

8.1 The Committee took evidence on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill from Professor Calvin Jones, Professor of Economics, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University.

</AI18>

<AI19>

Private

</AI19>

<AI20>

9 Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Consideration of evidence

9.1 The Committee considered the evidence received.

</AI20>

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