Questions now from the party spokespeople. First of all, the Conservatives' spokesperson, Joel James. 

Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, almost a year ago the 'Procuring Well-being in Wales' report was published, and it clearly shows that after almost seven years of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 this Government has been found negligent of its responsibilities in ensuring that the Act is applied correctly for public procurement in Wales, and ensuring that the Act is delivering for the people of Wales in the manner and spirit it was intended. A particular area of the procuring well-being report that made uncomfortable reading was the response of the Government concerning the recommendations regarding climate change. As the Minister will know, the commissioner expressed concern that public money, especially when procurement was taken into account, was not being spent in line with the climate emergency that the Welsh Government has declared, and recommended that,

'In order to meet carbon emission targets, every public body should set out how they have considered the carbon impact of their procurement decisions'.  

Disappointingly, the response of the Welsh Government was that the proposed social partnership and public procurement (Wales) Bill will place a duty on public bodies to produce a procurement strategy and report compliance. Now, whilst this Bill might well place a duty on public bodies, it won't achieve anything in the timescales needed. It is nothing more than kicking the can down the road, because not only has this Bill not been introduced yet, it will be several years before it becomes law and implemented. There's an absolute and unprecedented need to do everything we can to meet our carbon emission targets, but it's almost as if the Government sees the social partnership Bill as a panacea that will resolve all of their issues, when, in reality, it is just another dose of the socialist mindset that prescribes that the only way to deal with legislative failure is to create more legislation. Given that between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of all public body carbon emissions come from procurement, and given the unprecedented need to get the Welsh public sector to understand the carbon footprint, can the Minister make a commitment to implement your commissioner's recommendations that make the reporting of the carbon impact in public procurement decisions mandatory and with immediate effect? Thank you. 

I thought the Member was asking quite a comprehensive and well-thought-out question, and then he went to that low level again in making those low blows with regard to the social partnership and public procurement Bill. He uses the term 'panacea'. It is a significant piece of legislation, and it is definitely not being kicked into the long grass; it is scheduled to still be brought before this Senedd in this first year of this Senedd term. 

Thank you, Deputy Minister, but I feel, once again, that this Welsh Government is missing the point, because, rather than introducing new legislation, you need to make sure that existing legislation works first. If the future generations Act has been so heavily criticised for not working, why should we expect the social partnership Bill to work? As mentioned in yesterday's budget debate, the future generations commissioner has very publicly declared that her budget is the smallest of the commissioners and is not big enough for her to fully implement the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. The commissioner has further complained that 43 per cent of her time is being taken up by instructing the Welsh Government on how to implement policy within its own organisation. The commissioner has, as a result, requested that her budget be increased to £1.592 million for 2022 and 2023, so that her office can, and I quote,

'plan for and meet known statutory work demands at the end of 2021-22 and beginning of 2022-23.'

The commissioner has stated that the flat-line underfunding her office receives means in real terms, and in her own words, she

'can do less while expectations and demands for support and advice across 44 public bodies grows', and

'The level of support and advice offered to Public Bodies and Ministers increases year on year.'

In this week's Equality and Social Justice Committee meeting, the commissioner stated that she was, and I quote again, massively under-resourced, which means that the commissioner is highlighting that her office would be unable to meet statutory work demands as imposed by this Government if she does not receive more funding.

If the commissioner is complaining that she is financially ill-equipped to meet her general duties, how can it be, Deputy Minister, that the commissioner has wasted a sizeable amount of her money and her budget on hiring an outside body to undertake a universal basic income feasibility study and also to conduct research into a shorter working week, which are both reserved matters that neither her office nor this Government has any control over?

Surely, Deputy Minister, you agree with me that the commissioner is wasting public money on such research, especially since UBI has never been implemented wholesale, despite trials worldwide and despite repeatedly showing that human behaviour does not fit into the socialist model of how the world works. Given the extensive criticism—

I think I'm going to have to draw your attention to the fact that you've been over two minutes now. If you can ask your question now, I'd be grateful.

Yes, perfect. Given the extensive criticism by the commissioner of this Government, particularly that the Welsh Government has failed to show clear, joined-up leadership and that there's poor communication and integration between different Welsh priorities, and that the Welsh Government doesn't actually listen to many of her recommendations, do you think this warrants a rethink of how best to implement the future generations Act, and maybe, instead of a commissioner, the Act would be better implemented in-house by the Welsh Government? Thank you.

Llywydd, I think, like many in here, I managed to lose track of what the actual question was in the Member's contribution then. And just to make the point that, actually, this is a responsibility the Minister for Social Justice leads on, so please do write to her on these. But I'm able to actually advise the Member at this point that we are in discussions with the future generations commissioner's office on a range of options to alleviate the budget pressures faced by the commissioner, and this includes options with regard to the alignment exercise and the reserves the commissioner has to draw on to manage her work. We very much do recognise the work that the future generations commissioner does in promoting the sustainable development principle and advising bodies on how they can work in a sustainable way, including the Welsh Government.

Thank you, Deputy Minister, for that, because at the moment it seems that the commissioner is free to waste public money at her discretion and on her own irrelevant pet projects. But, since being elected, I've read and heard of countless organisations complaining that the Welsh Government is not focused on implementing policy—

Can I just cut across? I do need to have some quiet. I'm struggling to hear Members and the Deputy Minister as well. So, if we can have some quiet on the back benches, and if you can keep your question as succinct as possible, thank you.

Yes, thank you, Llywydd. The Welsh Government is not focused on implementing policy and there is a climate of seemingly warm words and promises, but a distinct lack of action. During a recent meeting with one of the commissioners, the matter of policy implementation was again brought up, plus another very interesting point. They believe that the implementation problem that this Government has stems from the fact that portfolio responsibilities for Ministers are poorly aligned when compared to the policy areas that they cover.

From what I can gather, this has been brought up before in Government meetings and, though Ministers will no doubt work closely together, the reactionary nature of government means that many areas are being overlooked. It's easy to glance over the list of ministerial responsibilities and see how portfolios do not align. For example, the role of pollinators for agriculture, which should be a rural affairs matter, comes under the responsibilities of the Minister for Climate Change, and within your own portfolio, Deputy Minister, many of the responsibilities that lie with the children's commissioner, for example, come under the remit of the Minister for education, and not yourself.

Whilst I would never expect the Deputy Minister to ever admit to it in public that this issue exists, in the spirit of getting the best for the people of Wales, will the Deputy Minister or Minister commit to raising this concern of policy and role alignment as an item of business when the Welsh Government Cabinet next meets? Thank you.

I thank the Member for his final question. I can give assurance to the Member and Members in here that, as a responsible Government, we very much work on a cross-Government basis. We do not operate in silos and we recognise that, actually, we work collectively, whether that be with the Minister for education, the Minister for Social Justice, with my colleagues in health, and right across the Welsh Government piece to make sure we work as a Government, as a collective, to make a difference to the people of Wales.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson now, Peredur Owen Griffiths.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Older people have endured a particularly difficult time during the pandemic, which has left many with anxiety about what the future holds. The cost-of-living crisis will add significantly to these worries, especially as fuel bills are already likely to be inflated due to the isolation requirements over the last two years.

The Government announcement on the winter fuel support scheme calculated that around 350,000 householders are eligible to apply for a payment of £200 under the scheme. According to the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, over £200 million of pension credit went unclaimed in Wales last year. Knowing that health risks increase due to cold homes for those over the age of 55, and access to inefficient broadband and the internet is difficult for many, can you tell us how many eligible households have successfully applied to date, and how will the Welsh Government be using the extended deadline to promote the support available, particularly to older people?

Diolch yn fawr for that really important question in terms of the cost-of-living crisis, and particularly our concerns about tackling fuel poverty. I can relay to the Member and to Members across the Chamber that, as I think I've already said, 350,000 people should be eligible for the winter fuel support scheme; the £100 has doubled in the last fortnight to £200; we've had 146,000 applications so far, and over 105,000 payments have been made.

Local authorities are playing a crucial role here in contacting all those who they deem to be eligible for our winter fuel payment support scheme. It is very important also—. It's been extended to the end of February, so I also urge everyone here across the Chamber, as I'm sure you will all want to make sure that your constituents who are eligible will apply for the fuel support scheme.

But it's also very important to recognise the needs of pensioners, and I'm glad you've raised the issue that two out of five people who are eligible for pension credit are not claiming it. So, I very much welcome the older people's commissioner, and indeed Age Cymru, and all those who are representing older people and pensioners of their commitment to support our 'Claim what's yours' income maximisation claims, and to ensure that they do apply for the pension credit scheme.

But also another message, which actually, I have to say, is for the UK Government as well, because energy bill rebates to older people and vulnerable households through the warm home discount and the winter fuel payment, as well as the winter fuel payment scheme, could be easily expanded by the UK Government to offer further support, so I'm sure you will join me in calling for that after what I thought was a derisory uplift, which was announced last week, in terms of the warm home discount. And can I also just take the opportunity to say that, of course, pensioners are also eligible to apply for the discretionary assistance fund? And we are investing through the Warm Homes programme in energy efficiency measures.

Diolch, Minister. You mentioned the Warm Homes programme. Despite a 2010 Welsh Government target to eradicate fuel poverty as far as reasonably practicable in all households by 2018, fuel poverty was only reduced by 6 per cent in all households between 2012 and 2016. This Government is consulting on the next iteration of the Warm Homes programme, first launched in 2009. Many, including the Bevan Foundation, have argued that a single programme cannot have a dual aim of reducing fuel poverty and decarbonising homes. The Warm Homes programme failed to adequately meet either objective, because of its dual aims. To address this, two separate programmes should be established, one focused on decarbonising homes and one on fuel poverty.

The consultation poses the question, of the twin objectives of alleviating fuel poverty and tackling climate change, whether one should take precedence over the other in a new programme. Surely these two objectives shouldn't have to compete. Isn't it time that we finally get to the root cause of these issues with two separate, but collaborative and focused programmes? Diolch.

Thank you. Again, a very useful contribution, because, as you say, Peredur, we are consulting on the next iteration of the Warm Homes programme. It started in December and the consultation goes on until 1 April, and we have a fuel poverty advisory panel. The points that you make are very important. I think it's important that we do see both as objectives that we should be pursuing in terms of our Warm Homes programme. But just to say, in terms of improving home energy efficiency through the Warm Homes programme, up until the end of March last year £394 million had been invested in improving home energy efficiency, and more than 168,000 people had received energy efficiency advice through the Warm Homes programme as well. So, yes, we need to ensure that this is supporting decarbonising Welsh homes and sustainable growth in the housing retrofit and renewable sector. So, let's see how the new programmes—however they pan out in terms of those objectives—can meet those needs.