Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I am pleased to move this motion and recommend to the Senedd that Nick Bennett is appointed as the acting Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for an eight-month term.

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales is an important public role. The appointment to the post is significant. In the normal course of these matters, the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee would have held a process to recruit a successor for the full seven-year term. Unfortunately, following the initial lockdown in March last year, the committee responded to the pandemic by prioritising work on the effects of the pandemic, of the crisis, on the committee's remit, and that subsequently meant that factors around a full recruitment process would be very precarious in terms of timings and due process. Therefore, we carefully considered the range of options available to us as a committee before coming to a decision. We unanimously believe that this acting appointment was the most pragmatic and prudent approach in the current situation. 

As the short report that we published last week outlined, there was a real and significant risk that, if we had embarked on recruitment for the substantive post, we would have been unable to complete it before the scheduled date for dissolution in April. This could have led to the very real possibility of there not being someone in post to replace Nick Bennett when his substantive term of office ends in July of this year. As the committee that has been responsible for scrutinising the current public services ombudsman for much of his term, we have been satisfied with his and his office's performance. Our first preference was therefore to approach Nick Bennett to see if he was in a position to continue in post for a time-limited period. We were pleased that he was able and willing to do so. We also believe this will provide some stability, as the ombudsman's office, along with all other organisations, continues to deal with the challenges of the pandemic. We hope that by the time the sixth Senedd undertakes the recruitment of the next substantive postholder we will be starting to move out of the immediate crisis. 

I therefore call on the Senedd to support this motion and appoint Nick Bennett as acting Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for a limited eight-month term, ending in March 2022. Diolch yn fawr.