Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. It's my pleasure to lead this debate this afternoon on the report by the Finance Committee on the implementation of fiscal devolution in Wales. The timing of this debate is very timely, of course, because in three days income tax rates decided in this Chamber will come into force. I'm sure that not many people would have thought we would have reached this point many years ago, but this, of course, will generate about £2 billion-worth of tax that'll be collected each year in Wales. The decision to introduce Welsh rates of income tax represents the largest such transfer of responsibility in Wales's history. And it's a key moment for us in terms of implementing fiscal devolution in Wales and the final part of the Wales Act 2014. Also, Monday was the one-year anniversary of the introduction of the first new Welsh taxes for 800 years, namely the land transaction tax and the landfill disposals tax. So, it's been a significant year for fiscal devolution in Wales.

I'm pleased, therefore, to open this debate today as Chair of the Finance Committee at such an important juncture, and I'd like to thank those who contributed to the inquiry. The committee is happy to report that the implementation of fiscal devolution in Wales has so far been largely successful. In particular, the establishment of the Welsh Revenue Authority, and then the subsequent implementation of the land transaction tax and landfill disposals tax, have been very positive. It's reassuring to note that the final cost of implementing the WRA was delivered within the Welsh Government's initial estimate, at around £6 million.

The committee visited the WRA offices in Treforest last year, and the positive, enthusiastic culture that the organisation has fostered and the expertise they have attracted made a very positive impression on us as committee members.

At times, when scrutinising the Welsh Government's work, criticism can be directed at civil servants, but on this occasion we feel that we should acknowledge their hard work and their enthusiasm for this process.

However, the committee notes that it is early days for the establishment of the WRA, and the committee would like to echo its concerns from last year's report regarding the number of on loan staff and seconded staff that they currently retain at the authority. And, while we recognise the benefits of this approach in the establishment of the WRA, we do believe that consideration needs to be given to workforce planning and the steps being taken to retain knowledge and experience within the authority. The WRA board told us that they were giving this issue due consideration and that a 'people committee' had been established to consider the issue of staff retention. The committee would welcome annual updates from the board specifically on this issue.

On 15 January, following a vote in this Chamber, we decided that 10p would be the Welsh rate of income tax for each band, namely the same as the consequential reduction in UK income tax rates. This means that the rates that people in Wales pay will not change this year.