Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:14 pm on 8 January 2019.
Just a very brief contribution from me as Chair of the Finance Committee, just to express disappointment that the Government has decided to proceed with this debate today, because, as we've already heard earlier, we are to have a debate tomorrow on the cost of caring for an ageing population, which is a report compiled by the committee on this very same topic. I did ask the Government to consider being more innovative in the way that we deal with this situation, and that we could merge, perhaps, the two debates into one, or that we could have one after the other, so we can have a more meaningful, rounded debate, rather than having two separate debates. Unfortunately, the Government decided not to take that approach, so I just want to put on record my disappointment in that regard, and the fact that we have missed an opportunity, because now we will have the same debate, involving the same people, probably, on the very same issue, just 24 hours after this debate. So, it is an opportunity missed, and, indeed, I don't think it's the most effective or efficient use of our time in this Assembly. It's just a missed opportunity.