Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:03 pm on 3 April 2019.
Minister, you'll be aware that when the National Procurement Service was first created in 2013 the then Minister, Jane Hutt, described the NPS as a
'very Welsh way to meet Welsh business needs but also value for money for the Welsh pound.'
Since then, however, as you know, the NPS has made significant losses, ultimately leading to the decision by the Welsh Government to review the NPS altogether.
Now, naturally, public procurement has been cited in the Welsh Government's own economic strategy, the economic action plan, as being a key enabler for driving forward business growth and job creation here in Wales. Can I therefore ask you to outline what you believe are the core factors that have contributed to the failure of the NPS? Do you agree that the failure of the NPS constitutes a serious and significant blow to the Welsh Government's overall programme for policy delivery in this Assembly term?