Speeches by Hoare.

“I take that. The data sometimes points to a destination not intended by those strategies in many respects. Notwithstanding all that you have said, Wales has incredibly long and, arguably, unsustainable waiting lists in too many areas of legitimate health demand from people who live there. What is this ministerial advis…”

“Secretary of State, it is lovely to see you. It is good news, of course, that the UK shared prosperity fund for the additional year 2025-26 has been confirmed by the Government. What is your view of the purpose of the shared prosperity fund and its future?”

“Thank you for that. When you set out your priorities in your opening remarks earlier this afternoon, the one thing that you did not mention—whether by accident or by design, I am not going to comment upon—was your view about the role of the Secretary of State as the voice of strengthening the Union of the United Kingdo…”

“My final question is on the same theme. I can understand why the Senedd would not want allocations of the fund made for things that either are going to undermine or are different from priorities that they have, but what is your view towards devolving this funding to the Welsh Government? You and I probably share a view…”

“Dr Stout, can I just ask you the “why?” question? You mentioned in your initial answer to the Chair that services have not been prioritised and are scattergun, if you will, rather than an Exocet approach. You have referenced in answer to my question the things that could have been done such as Bengoa. This is a simple …”

“I hope it is not contentious to suggest that all public services require continual review, transformation and modernisation. Quite a lot of that depends upon political stability and mutual political trust. We have been more than aware of the shortage of that capital in recent years. Thank heavens Stormont is now back u…”

“We like marginal positivity; that is always a good sign.”

“All our communities would be impoverished without the community and voluntary sector. Let me ask this final question, if I may, to Ms Watt, so she can validate her appearance fee, as it were. There is a huge amount of hope pinned on the shared prosperity fund. What is your assessment as to how it is playing out?”

“On that point of rising costs, particularly but not exclusively on the voluntary sector, Celine, as you have just highlighted, should we be concerned that current operators will retreat from the field of delivery, because it is too much of a hassle scrabbling around for every brass farthing and people are not content w…”

“With the greatest respect to Ann, Celine may have a more direct view on this question.”

“Could the Minister confirm, given the seriousness of the issues, that when in doubt the precautionary principle will come to the fore, there will be urgency and the proper decisions will be taken? He mentioned working with the devolved Administrations. Given the shared land border on the island of Ireland and the trade…”

“I want to continue this exploration of the voluntary and community sector. We know that, when public services or public sector-delivered services come under pressure, lots of people will look to the voluntary and community sector for the support that they are looking for. I wondered whether the panel of witnesses could…”

“All our communities would be impoverished without the community and voluntary sector. Let me ask this final question, if I may, to Ms Watt, so she can validate her appearance fee, as it were. There is a huge amount of hope pinned on the shared prosperity fund. What is your assessment as to how it is playing out?”

“On that point of rising costs, particularly but not exclusively on the voluntary sector, Celine, as you have just highlighted, should we be concerned that current operators will retreat from the field of delivery, because it is too much of a hassle scrabbling around for every brass farthing and people are not content w…”

“With the greatest respect to Ann, Celine may have a more direct view on this question.”

“I want to continue this exploration of the voluntary and community sector. We know that, when public services or public sector-delivered services come under pressure, lots of people will look to the voluntary and community sector for the support that they are looking for. I wondered whether the panel of witnesses could…”

“Dr Gault, I suppose that is my initial and caveated question to you as well.”

“Reference was made in some earlier answers and conversations to the public sector transformation board, which of itself is of course to be welcomed. Transforming public services without just rattling the begging bowl—I do not use that term in a pejorative sense—is often not for the squeamish, and it requires political …”

“Thank you, Chair. It is lovely to be back.”

“What else could the UK Government do to help drive that forward by deploying their good offices, experience and expertise? We have often used the phrase “devolve and forget”—one devolves a competence and therefore presumes that it is manifest within the devolved area. One of the downsides of devolution is that the devo…”