Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:33 pm on 28 March 2023.
I thank the Member for welcoming this development. What's important to remember is that this is not the start of the commissioning process; commissioning is already happening, but I would say, to be honest, that it's happening in a way that's non-strategic across the system. But we have a plan to ensure that we move over time from the commissioning that's happening, for example, within the Welsh Government, to the new body in a smooth way.
The first priority of the body will be to establish a staffing structure and so forth. So, the main priority is to ensure that a chief executive is employed. The hope is that that will happen by, perhaps, September, and then a staffing structure around that, including interim secondments, so that we have a body of experienced people available who can work on the strategy. It's right to say that one of the main concerns among stakeholders is the lack of Welsh materials for the new curriculum, and the experience of adequate resources during COVID-19 in digital terms has been a consideration in establishing this new body.
As I mentioned in the statement, we heard the voices of practitioners in the national network, but we've also had discussions with a stakeholder group to look at different options in order to understand how best to structure the new body, and I think this is the best way of doing that. It's an arm's-length body from the Government, but then it meets the needs of stakeholders in a more flexible way, I would say, than any Government can do. So, I hope that I will be able to make a statement on progress in this area, but just to give the Member some assurance that a plan already exists to continue to commission, but when the body is more operational, there will be more of an opportunity to do that in a strategic way and a more engaging way for publishers and designers and those who create the content across the sector.