Group 1: Establishment of the Commission and appointment and terms of its members (Amendments 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 119)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:06 pm on 21 June 2022.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 4:06, 21 June 2022

Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you for your response, Minister. I'm disappointed, yet not surprised, that the Minister has rejected my amendments, but I would like to stress the importance yet again of ensuring proper communication between the Welsh Ministers and the commission concerning its remit. I also feel we must emphasise the absolute necessity of an efficient arm's-length approach being guaranteed, and the value that extending the time of the application of the Bill would bring. It's imperative to the success of the commission that it has autonomy and independence to truly feel able to make decisions deemed necessary without the undue influence of Welsh Government Ministers.

I know what the Minister has said previously about the public appointments process, as we've heard it before in a previous health Minister's arguments on the citizen voice body during the passage of the Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act 2020, and most recently, at Stage 2 of this Bill. While of course we don't want to be overprescriptive about the commission's structure, I and my group have become increasingly concerned that certain appointments are closer to the Welsh Government than being truly independent. Granted, we have a small pool to work with in Wales, but I think there is a case to be made that Members of the commission should have been questioned and evaluated by the committee. I'm not sure if the Minister's response in the committee has allayed my own concerns about the separation of Welsh Government and the commission, especially as he didn't consider any provision needed to be placed on the face of the Bill. I move our amendments.