6. Debate: Draft Budget 2022-23

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:56 pm on 8 February 2022.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 5:56, 8 February 2022

I will sum up by saying our additional concern is on the—. There's no increase at the moment in the well-being of future generations commissioner's budget. She is the lowest-funded commissioner of all the four commissioners. How does the Welsh Government expect their office to take up additional public bodies and support them and scrutinise them without additional money? That simply doesn't add up. In particular, of great concern is the fact that under your new budget alignment exercise, commissioners are no longer going to be able to keep money in reserves for doing statutory inquiries. I think that definitely needs to be challenged because if you don't have money in reserves, and are having to go cap in hand to the Welsh Government to do a statutory review into, perhaps, the Welsh Government, it really does introduce a clear conflict of interest. I think that's something that I would like the Welsh Government to respond on and rectify.