3. 3. Statement: The Welsh Government Future Trends Report

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:11 pm on 2 May 2017.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:11, 2 May 2017

I thank the Member for his contribution. I’m glad that he’s found the sessions that the committee has had with the commissioner useful. Her office was part of the group that helped in putting together this report. There will be many further opportunities, I’m sure, to hear from the commissioner and to work with her to make sure that the information in this report is useful to policymakers as they try to assess the opportunities that trends we see today provide for future policymakers, and to avoid the sort of pitfalls that the Member pointed to when he referred to the Beeching report.

If I’m frank, Llywydd, I think he’s one step ahead of where the report is today. The report is meant to be the best drawing together we can make of the evidence, of the data, of the different trends that we see in the Welsh economy, in Welsh society, and in those wider environmental things, for all policymakers—including political parties and individual politicians—to draw their conclusions as to how policies should be shaped in the future. The report aims to be policy neutral. It doesn’t aim to push policy in any particular direction. It’s meant to be there as a resource for people to devise the answers that they think would best meet the needs of Wales. Mr Bennett raises a number of important policy matters. He won’t find the answers just in the report itself. What he will find is raw material to help any one of us to try to find answers for ourselves.