Agenda and minutes

1.1        The Chair welcomed Members and members of the public to the meeting.

1.2        Apologies had been received from Ann Jones.

1.3        Mike Hedges declared an interest as a former employee of Coleg Morgannwg.

Video Conference: European Commission

FIN(4) 02-12 – Paper 1, Paper 2

·         Guy Flament, DG Regional Policy Officer, European Commission

·         Marc Vermyle, DG Employment, European Commission

·         Agnes Lindemans, Head of unit -UK and Ireland, DG Regional Policy

2.1 The Chair welcomed Guy Flament, DG Regional Policy, European Commission; Agnes Lindemans, DG Regional Policy; and Marc Vermyle, DG Employment to the Committee meeting via video conference.

2.2 Members questioned the witnesses.

Action points:

·         DG Regional Policy agreed to provide verification of their evidence which stated that Wales’s economy is highly reliant on the public sector.

·         DG Employment agreed to provide information on the use of higher intervention rates to support new projects in Wales since 2009.

FIN(4) 02-12 – Paper 3

·         Lowri Gwilym, Team Manager Europe and Regeneration

·         Neville Davies, WLGA European Adviser and Head of European Policy and External Funding, Carmarthenshire County Council

·         Peter Mortimer, WLGA European Adviser and Regeneration Manager, Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council

3.1 The Chair welcomed Lowri Gwilym, Team Manager, Europe and Regeneration, WLGA; and Neville Davies, WLGA European Adviser and Head of European Policy and External Funding, Carmarthenshire County Council.

3.2 Members questioned the witnesses.

Action point:

·         The WLGA agreed to provide details of how many local government-led projects in Wales have utilised higher intervention rates.

Pembrokeshire College

FIN(4) 02-12 – Paper 4

·       Nicky Howells, External Funding Manager, Pembrokeshire College

·       David Evans, Director of Finance  

Coleg Morgannwg

FIN(4) 02-12 – Paper 5

·       Judith Evans, Principal, Coleg Morgannwg

·       Karen Phillips, Deputy Principal, Coleg Morgannwg

4.1 The Committee welcomed Nicky Howells, External Funding Manager, Pembrokeshire College; David Evans, Director of Finance, Pembrokeshire College; Judith Evans, Principle, Coleg Morgannwg; and Karen Phillips, Deputy Principle, Coleg Morgannwg.

4.2 The Committee questioned the witnesses.

Dr Mark Drakeford AM, Chair, Programme Monitoring Committee

5.1 The Committee welcomed Dr Mark Drakeford, Chair of the Programme Monitoring Committee.

5.2 The Committee questioned the witness.

FIN(4) 02-12 – Paper 6 - Response to the scrutiny of the Welsh Government’s budget 2012-2013 from the Minister for Finance

FIN(4) 02-12 – Paper 7 - Correspondence from the Permanent Secretary on the Welsh Government’s budget 2012-2013

Minutes of previous meeting

6.1 The Committee noted the letter from the Minister for Finance regarding the Welsh Government budget 2012-2013.

6.2 The Committee noted the letter from the Permanent Secretary regarding the Welsh Government budget 2012-2013.

6.3 The Committee ratified the minutes of the previous meeting.  

Items 8 and 9.

8.1 The Committee discussed its inquiry into prudential borrowing and innovative approaches to capital funding.

9.1 The Committee discussed its draft budget protocol with the Welsh Government.

View the meeting transcript.