Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 1:50 pm on 22 May 2019.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 1:50, 22 May 2019

And I was pleased, certainly after years of my party campaigning for the devolution of the administration of welfare, to hear positive sounds from Government, and I'm pleased that we are at a point where this is under consideration. But really the truth is that this is a no-brainer, especially when the report from the Wales Governance Centre made it clear that there are elements of welfare that you can safely predict, that there won't be fluctuation, or too much fluctuation, in coming years, where we can very confidently say that there is no real risk to the public purse in Wales. So, once again, maybe it's the case also that Welsh Government has decided to wait for a report from a committee in this Assembly, but of course we've had two committee reports already that have suggested that we move forward towards the devolution of welfare. Why is it that Government has not been able up to this point to even consider, and why is it that we should believe that you are willing now, when you have not been in the past, to take this hugely sensible step, which the evidence is now absolutely clear on, that we can look after the most vulnerable in Wales by doing this?