I'm pleased to contribute to this debate. At the very heart of any Government must be a commitment to continually review its own structures and processes to ensure that they're fit for purpose and delivering value for money for the taxpayer. Every Government must be able to look at itself critically and think about how it can deliver services efficiently and effectively. To see the improvements in our public services that we all want, we have to question how decisions are being made, how resources are being allocated, and we need to identify waste. Now, earlier this year I made a commitment to the people of Wales that, should I lead a future Welsh Government, as Angela Burns said, I would establish an office of Government resilience and efficiency. The whole point of establishing that office is to create an arm's-length, independent body that could identify where resources are being wasted and where Government processes are failing to deliver improvements to our public services.

Members can all point to examples of Government projects and schemes that have been delayed and over budget. For example, this year, Audit Wales has issued a number of reports on Welsh Government infrastructure project overspends, including the A465 Heads of the Valleys road and the £60 million overspend on removal of asbestos at Glan Clwyd Hospital. These reports once again highlight the lack of sufficient mechanisms within the Welsh Government to properly plan and deliver long-term projects. Nobody is disputing the merits of delivering the A465 Heads of the Valleys road, for example. Indeed, sometimes we can overlook the wider social benefits of developing infrastructure projects across Wales, and so it's worth reiterating that good infrastructure development, when it's delivered properly, has the ability to transform how we live and work in so many ways. Well-crafted and developed infrastructure can better connect us to essential goods and services, it can provide better living conditions, better schools for our children, and it can also provide jobs throughout the construction phase and along the supply chain. Therefore, perhaps, in responding to today's debate, the Minister will tell us how the Welsh Government is measuring the social benefits of each individual project in its pipeline, and perhaps the Minister can also tell us how the Welsh Government measures the social benefits of a project when it allocates that funding.

My colleague Angela Burns has already talked about millions and millions of pounds a year that have been wasted that could be spent delivering infrastructure to better support communities right across the country. That's valuable funding that could be used to widen roads, improve schools or build houses. Sadly, there have been countless reports over the years of projects that have shown waste in the form of overspending, investment losses and financial irregularities. Financial waste is one thing, but it's only one piece of the puzzle, and we also need to better examine our systems too. Procurement has long been a challenge for consultants and constructors, and I'm very much aware from the discussion that I've had over the years that that process needs to be streamlined, and that the information requirements have sometime been disproportional to the value of the bid. Therefore, we have to seriously look at developing a holistic approach to delivering improvements in procurement so that, as a Government, we can maximise our spend. I'm also aware that there is a need for regular engagement and communication between partners at all stages of development. Is the Welsh Government really asking itself whether the tendering process is working as well as it can be? What after-support and discussion is there for those who've worked hard on Government projects only for the project to be pulled? These are the sorts of issues that the Government needs to better understand so that the system can be improved for the better. Therefore, I hope that, in responding to today's debate, the Minister will take the opportunity to update Members on how the Welsh Government is monitoring the effectiveness of its procurement policies, and how it's critically evaluating the way it delivers infrastructure projects.

Llywydd, I believe that a cultural change is needed to really deliver improvements in our public service delivery here in Wales. I've made it clear that I'm committed to radically reforming how Government operates and how public services in Wales are delivered, and ultimately what the people of Wales want to see is an end to silo working, a much more conscious effort to eradicate waste, and to see their hard-earned money being used effectively to deliver transformational projects.

Now, there are plenty of examples of public sector oversight across the world, and we need to learn from the way other Governments have operated and see where we can adapt those practices here. For example, in New Zealand, the policy advisory group was established to provide politically impartial, free and frank advice to the Prime Minister and other Ministers. In a similar way, the office of Government resilience and efficiency would have the same role at the heart of decision making, but also the teeth to work across the public service and with other key stakeholders to root out inefficiencies.

Therefore, in closing, Llywydd, in order to drive forward improvements in our public services and deliver successful infrastructure projects across Wales, we have to commit to re-examining our spend and our processes. I believe that's best done by creating an office of Government resilience and efficiency—an office that can help transform the way our services are delivered and that drives the type of cultural change that the people of Wales want to see. I therefore urge Members to support our motion.