5. Will the Minister provide an update on how the Welsh Government is managing its resources to ensure value for money and effectiveness? OAQ54857

The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring spending decisions are informed by robust evidence and value for money is considered throughout policy development. We draw on a range of guidance to make the best use of public resources, including the high-level principles set out in HM Treasury's Green Book.

The Minister will know there's no shortage of candidates for increased spending where there is a real need, whether it's the health service or reducing fuel poverty or whatever. I think most Welsh taxpayers will scratch their heads, therefore, when they discover that £1.2 million is to be spent on organisations like the Welsh Centre for International Affairs—two thirds of whose income is spent on the salaries of its staff. Of the part of its income that is not spent on staff salaries, it supports organisations like Hub Cymru Africa, which receives £640,000 a year. It provides no accounts of its own, so we've no idea how many people it employs or what they earn, and it spends the money it doesn't spend on staff salaries mostly on non-Welsh items or other entities, who themselves mainly spend the money on staff salaries, like the sub-Sahara advisory panel, whose income is £68,000 a year, and its staff costs are greater at £74,000.

The Welsh Government has no responsibility for foreign aid, foreign development or foreign policy, so why are we indulging in this taxpayer-funded merry-go-round of virtue signalling for middle-class politicians in Cardiff Bay when there are real needs outside? As the blogger Jac o' the North has perhaps more pithily described it:

'A country with homeless on the streets, where kids go to school hungry, where people die waiting for ambulances, apparently has millions of pounds to spare so that dilettante English activists and useless Welsh politicians can feel better about themselves.'

This Welsh Government is proudly a global, internationalist Welsh Government that takes its responsibilities to the planet and to others very seriously. We're absolutely proud of the work that we're doing through our Wales for Africa programme. I think that perhaps it might speak more easily to the Member's set of values if I just make the point that, actually, it's in our own best interests if countries overseas that are currently struggling are able to cope better in so many ways. Peace overseas is in our own best interests. Ensuring that overseas countries are able to make their contribution to the climate crisis is in our own best interests. So, I think that perhaps those narrow thoughts might help the Member understand how important our Wales for Africa programme is.

Clearly, managing resources to ensure value for money and effectiveness includes play, which is key to children's health and well-being. The recent review of play sufficiency assessments carried out for the Welsh Government by Play Wales reported that the all-Wales play opportunities grant funding from Welsh Government has resulted in increased activity to secure play opportunities across Wales, and that the Welsh Government should be clear on how anti-poverty and other focused investments should be used to support play sufficiency. How do you therefore respond to concerns raised with me by play sector representatives this week who've been informed that the all-Wales play opportunities grant is not going ahead again in the next financial year; that the only thing that's been keeping the last remaining bits of play and play work infrastructure going across Wales has been this grant; and that, as a sector, they're haemorrhaging excellent staff who have jumped ship to pastures new, and whilst there is excellent work going on in some areas, there are still huge gaps in the infrastructure and provision is dwindling?

I'm aware of the good work of Play Wales. I've had the opportunity to see some of the things that they do locally within my own patch. What I will say is I'm not familiar particularly with the specific grant to which the Member refers, but if you would write to me with some further information, I can then discuss it perhaps with the relevant responsible Minister.