Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:35 pm on 24 March 2021.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm really missing that digital clock in the Chamber. Maybe I need to get a mini one on the screen here.
Can I thank all the Members who've contributed to today's debate, and also the Minister for her excellent comments there? As I said in opening, it's really important that this Act continues to be scrutinised in the next Senedd. As Delyth Jewell said, we started that process of scrutiny in this inquiry, the first time it had been looked at properly.
This Act quite simply has the chance to change the whole way that Government works and that public services operate in Wales. It has great potential so long as the recommendations of our inquiry are implemented and monitored in the next Senedd. Put simply, the complexities need to be taken away, the Act needs to be streamlined, we need a refocusing of what is in principle a very effective, a very good piece of legislation, but which in practice has been less effective than it might have been because of some of the issues surrounding its implementation.
Can I thank all the Members who took part in this inquiry? Can I also thank the members of the committee during my time chairing it over the last five years? I should also give thanks to Llyr Gruffydd as well, and the other Chairs who took part, once it was decided that the public accounts inquiry was the best vehicle for looking at and scrutinising this Act. It is cross-cutting, and that's something that needs to be looked at and monitored in future, to make sure that it isn't simply an add-on, but is something that is mainstreamed through all policies.
Finally, Dirprwy Lywydd, a huge thank you to my clerks for their support over the last five years, and also to the staff of Audit Wales, who've provided great support to the committee as well. I'm sure the Public Accounts Committee in the sixth Senedd will continue the valuable work that we have been implementing in the fifth. I look forward to reading future reports of the committee, and I wish all my fellow members of the committee well in the future. Diolch.