Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 9 February 2022.
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.