3. Will the Minister make a statement on the financial support given to Welsh Government sponsored bodies? OAQ55024

The Welsh Government delivers its aims and objectives, in part, through a number of public bodies, including Welsh Government sponsored bodies. Financial support is provided via grant-in-aid for running costs and overheads. Welsh Government sponsored bodies may also apply for hypothecated grant funding.

Thank you, finance Minister, for that answer. 

Obviously, in April there was the declaration by the Welsh Government of the climate change emergency. My colleague Nick Ramsay highlighted that your comments yesterday were saying that this was a green budget. Natural Resources Wales, which is your own regulator for many of the things in the environmental field, has had a flatline budget, which in effect is a real-terms cut. Can you confirm whether you did receive any representations from the environment Minister to try and secure a real-terms increase in NRW's budget, or haven't you received any representations? And if there is to be no increase in its budget, how do you expect Natural Resources Wales to undertake the functions you've placed on it?

The funding for Natural Resources Wales is a matter for the environment Minister, but in this budget the core funding is £69 million revenue in 2020-21, and there is a capital budget of £1.2 million in 2020-21. The reduction in revenue that's been seen has been due to changes in the non-recurrent EU transition funding that was awarded during 2019-20, and a recurrent interim main expenditure group movement of £0.2 million to the local environment quality budget expenditure line, and that's due to budget re-alignments. So, those do not impact at all on the direct funding to Natural Resources Wales. The capital budgets aren't rolled forward and they're based on a profile of planned expenditure agreed during 2017-18, with 2020-21 being the final year of that three-year agreement. 

So, there's been no change in the grant-in-aid for Natural Resources Wales, but I think it's important to remember that they also receive an amount of money of grant funding from various parts of Welsh Government in addition to the grant-in-aid, and that's year-on-year for projects that are outside of the grant-in-aid. Examples would include the Wales coastal path or Fly-tipping Action Wales, which were previously included in the grant-in-aid when those resided in a different portfolio. That, again, is about the way that things have moved within Government.

Also, Natural Resources Wales has been in receipt of additional non-recurrent funding for various pressures. The Minister will obviously have some further detail on those in previous years, but they're also in receipt, again, of commercial income and forestry income, and that is another source of income for Natural Resources Wales. I know the Minister has to consider all the pressures right across her portfolio in the round, but the core funding is not the sole funding for Natural Resources Wales.

David Rowlands. David Rowlands.

Sorry, Llywydd. The 2017-18 Government report shows the Welsh Government spent £323 million on direct funding to third sector organisations. This does not include indirect payments through such agencies as local government. Given that there are numerous instances of duplication in the delivery of third sector services—for instance, there is said to be around 48 organisations involved in looking after the homeless—is the Welsh Government convinced that this funding gives good value for taxpayers' money?

Well, the third sector, of course, generally, I would say, does not classify as Welsh Government sponsored bodies. When we're talking about Welsh Government sponsored bodies, they would be executive bodies such as Natural Resources Wales, the arts council, or advisory bodies such as the Welsh Medical Committee, the Welsh Optometric Committee, or tribunals such as the mental health review tribunal, Welsh language tribunal and so on. So, this wouldn't be a Welsh Government sponsored body matter, but I know that the Minister with responsibility for the third sector is always very keen to ensure that those organisations aren't duplicating, and, in fact, it's often a requirement now of grants that the proposals are brought forward in partnership with other organisations in order to ensure that those organisations are maximising their contribution but also seeking, then, to avoid that kind of duplication. But, if you have any particular grants of concern, then I'd be obviously more than happy to take a look at them.