8. Will the Minister make a statement on the percentage of the Welsh Government's budget for 2021-22 that is spent on areas of policy that are not devolved? OQ56624

The Welsh Government only invests in line with the priorities voted upon by the people of Wales. This has included the need to invest to address historic and consistent underinvestment by the UK Government in critical areas such as broadband and rail infrastructure.

Thank you, Minister. On 19 May 2021, the First Minister admitted himself to the Senedd that:

'We don't have all the powers that would be necessary, let alone all of the funding that would be necessary to include a universal basic income for the whole of Wales'.

So, pardon my astonishment, then, that the Welsh Government so soon into this new Senedd has already started to spend resources on a non-devolved area of policy. Now, whilst the First Minister may think that he has the ability to design an experiment that will allow you to test the claims that are made for UBI, every single penny that is invested and minute of time spent by officials on this pursuit of a socialist utopia is simply quite unjustifiable. In fact, Wales would be a step closer to being a communist state should your concept of giving every person a fixed amount of money every month become a reality. So, will you as Minister state how much resources have you agreed to allow to be allocated to fund work related to UBI this financial year? Diolch.

Well, of course, universal basic income is about alleviating poverty, and that is absolutely the interest of the Welsh Government. It's also about giving people more control over their lives and having a positive impact on their mental health and their well-being—all things that we would want to achieve here in Wales. We've followed pilots across the world very closely and with interest, and we think that there is the opportunity to test a version here.

Of course, we are not testing a version for the entire population. We're thinking about a cohort of people, potentially care leavers, who I think are some of the most vulnerable people and the people who are most deserving of us supporting them, and finding creative ways and innovative ways to support those individuals. So, we're looking closely at models that have been drawn up elsewhere; we're looking at the experience of Scotland and other countries across the world. But all of this work is being undertaken in the portfolio of the Minister for Social Justice, and she'll be managing this particular piece of work within her main expenditure group.

I thank the Minister.

Before we move on, can I just say that I've noticed a tendency for a proliferation of flag flying behind Members on Zoom this week? It looks as if the R rate on flags is greater than 1 at the moment. Therefore, from next week, no more flags. Otherwise, I'll be tempted to fly the flag of the independent tropical republic of Ceredigion behind me here. [Interruption.] Exactly. So, we move on to a flagless week next week, please.