Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution – in the Senedd at 2:38 pm on 12 January 2022.
Well, I'm grateful for your apology, Minister. Of course, there's a single line in the budget to cover this particular issue, and I did ask in previous opportunities in the Senedd for an explanation as to what the remuneration would be for both the chairs and the members of the commission, and I'm still awaiting that information. Of course, it's not contained in the budget that has been published. You talk about engagement; of course, the previous commissions did engage quite extensively as part of their work, and managed it within a financial envelope that is significantly different to the £3.3 million that the Welsh Government has sought to allocate.
Now, when you announced the establishment of the commission, you advised Members of the Senedd that you expected it to complete its work by the end of 2023. Can you explain, therefore, why in the budget—the three-year indicative budget that was published—there's still a further £1.1 million allocated for the 2024-25 financial year, which would be after this commission has completed its work? Why is a third of the commission's budget expected to take place after the completion of the commission's work? That seems to me to make no sense at all, or have you revised the timetable?