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Procurement arrangements “could be strengthened”
One of the issues that’s bubbled in the background in Welsh public policy for a decade or so is public procurement. Pointing to several previous reports from the Auditor General, Shadow Finance Minister, Nick Ramsay (Con, Monmouth), said it raised questions about the governance arrangements for procurement given some high-profile failures.
“Unfortunately, as you know, the Auditor General’s reports concluded that public bodies are not using (National Procurement Service) frameworks as much as was originally anticipated, whilst the council procurement for Job Support Wales was a high-profile procurement failure that brought into question the Welsh Government’s commitment to be an exemplar of best procurement practice.”
– Shadow Finance Minister, Nick Ramsay MS
Finance Minister & Trefnydd, Rebecca Evans (Lab, Gower), confirmed that a revised Welsh public procurement strategy is currently in development, building upon the close working between the Welsh Government and other public bodies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additionally, in a separate piece of work, areas of procurement which result in money being spent outside Wales have been identified in order to develop plans to drive up spending with local companies and suppliers. More news on this is due by the end of September.
Clarity needed over £500 quarantine payments
During yesterday’s national address, the First Minister announced that – in line with England – £500 would be given to those on low incomes who need to quarantine during the second wave of Covid-19.
Being a fairly big commitment, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS (Plaid, Ynys Môn) asked for further details – given the issues with the Welsh Government’s £500 bonus for care workers, which resulted in problems over being subject to tax by the UK Treasury.
As you might expect, the Minister didn’t have details at hand yet, but there were options being worked on.
“The First Minister talked about the potential for using the discretionary assistance fund as a mechanism for that, other options are available and are also being considered. And also looking in detail at what the eligibility criteria will be as well. So, I’m afraid I can’t give you all of those details today because some modelling work is being undertaken by Welsh Treasury on that, but as soon as we do have more details about the scheme, obviously, I’ll be very, very keen to share that.”
– Finance Minister & Trefnydd, Rebecca Evans
