Agenda and minutes
PDF 160 KBVenue: Committee Room 5 - Tŷ Hywel. View directions
Contact: Owain Roberts
Media
Senedd.TV: View the webcast
Transcript: Transcript for 18/09/2025 - Finance Committee
| Expected timing | No. | Item |
|---|---|---|
(09.30 - 09.45) |
Registration |
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(09.45 - 10.00) |
Private pre-meeting |
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(10.00) |
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest Minutes: 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. |
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(10.00) |
Paper(s) to note Minutes of the meetings held on 26 June, 2 July and 9 July. Supporting documents:
Minutes: 2.1 The papers were noted. |
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PTN 1 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language: Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC) - 8 July 2025 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 3 - Letter from the First Minister of Wales: Inter-Institutional Relations Agreement: 43rd British-Irish Council Summit - 22 July 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 4 - Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales: Briefing - New research on the childcare needs of families in Wales - July 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 5 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language: Consultation on reviewing the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013 - 11 July 2025 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 8 - Letter from the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA): Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill - 15 July 2025 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 10 - Letter from the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA): Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill - 1 August 2025 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 13 - Letter from Audit Wales: Notification of audit deadline position - Powys Teaching Health Board - 21 July 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 14 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language: Office for National Statistics and the Census 2031 - 4 August 2025 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 16 - Welsh Government response to the Committee's report on the First Supplementary Budget 2025-26 - 18 August 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 17 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language: Welsh Rates of Income Tax - Outturn Statistics 2023-24 - 21 August 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 18 - Additional information from National Energy Action relating to fuel poverty in Wales - 7 August 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 19 - Letter from the Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Finance: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Bill - 22 July 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 20 - Letter to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Finance: Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Bill - 8 September 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 21 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning: Inter-Ministerial Group for Business and Industry (IMG) - 2 September 2025 Supporting documents: |
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PTN 22 - Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning: Inter-Ministerial Group for Business and Industry – 10 September 2025 Supporting documents: |
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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 Supporting documents: |
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(10.00 - 11.00) |
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 and the Annual Plan 2025-26: Evidence session Adrian Crompton, Auditor General for Wales, Audit Wales Ian Rees, Chair of the Wales Audit Office Board, Audit Wales Kevin Thomas, Executive Director for Corporate Services,
Audit Wales Ann-Marie Harkin, Executive Director for Audit Services, Audit Wales Supporting documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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(11.00) |
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 Minutes: 4.1 The motion was agreed. |
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(11.00 - 11.15) |
Audit Wales – Scrutiny of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 and the Annual Plan 2025-26: Consideration of evidence Minutes: 5.1 The Committee considered the evidence received. |
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(11.15 - 11.30) |
Appointment of the Auditor General for Wales: Update Supporting documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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(11.30 - 11.40) |
Chair's Forum - Consultation: Reviewing Committee Effectiveness in the Sixth Senedd Supporting documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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(11.40 - 11.50) |
Changes to the Budget Process Protocol and related budgetary procedures: Update Supporting documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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(11.50 - 12.00) |
Consideration of Forward Work Programme Supporting documents:
Minutes: 9.1 The Committee considered its Forward Work Programme. |
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(12.00 - 12.10) |
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2026-27: Approach to scrutiny Supporting documents:
Minutes: 10.1 The Committee considered the cover paper on the approach to Draft Budget scrutiny 2026-27 and agreed the action points within it. |
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(12.10 - 12.20) |
Financial implications of the Planning (Wales) Bill and the Planning (Consequential Provisions) (Wales) Bill Supporting documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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(12.20 - 12.45) |
Break |
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Public |
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(12.45 - 13.45) |
Financial implications of the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 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 Supporting documents: British Sign Language (Wales) Bill, as introduced British Sign Language (Wales) Bill, as introduced (Introduction to the Bill in British Sign Language) British Sign Language (Wales) Bill – Bill summary Welsh Government: Evidence paper (British Sign
Language version) Supporting documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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Private |
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(13.45 - 14.00) |
Financial implications of the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill: Consideration of evidence Minutes: 13.1 The Committee considered the evidence received. |