Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:51 pm on 9 March 2022.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 1:51, 9 March 2022

I would say that we have good practice right across Wales, to be fair to all local authorities run by a variety, of course, of different parties. We do see good practice taking place across Wales, and I am really pleased that part of our co-operation agreement is about increasing the amount of spend that is spent here in Wales and kept here in Wales in that kind of foundational economy approach that we're very keen to deliver on. We referred to 52 per cent—I had a meeting with your designated Member recently where we talked about some of the challenges of that figure in respect of it only accounting for where the invoice is sent, essentially, rather than really getting under where the spend is happening and particularly not getting under where the spend is happening in those supply chains. So, we've got a piece of work going on to try and further refine that figure to get a better understanding of it, and part of that work, then, is about looking at where these supply chain voids are. So, we procure things from outside of Wales—what are they and can we do them here and can we do them better and can we do them in a way that creates local jobs? So, that piece of work is an important one that I'm sure will take us towards our shared ambition to improve the amount of money that is retained here in Wales from the public sector.