A row over government spending broke out in the Senedd yesterday as James Evans accused the Welsh Labour Government of wasting taxpayers’ money. Video from Senedd.tv
00:00Dear Al Cloweth, what steps has the Welsh Government taken to identify and eliminate wasteful spending and reduce bureaucracy across its departments and publicly funded bodies?
00:10Everyone who works in the public service in Wales shares a personal responsibility for the stewardship of taxpayers' money.
00:18Managing Welsh public money sets out the framework and principles which must be applied in the Welsh Government and its sponsored bodies.
00:25First Minister, people across Wales are angry.
00:30And rightly so.
00:31While they face real struggles on a day-to-day basis with housing, NHS waiting times and poor educational performance, your Welsh Labour Government is hell-bent on wasting their money.
00:45And let me go through some of the wasteful spending that Welsh Government have.
00:481.5 million on a commission to look at Welsh independence.
00:52120 million on more politicians.
00:55150 million on an M4 relief road, the road to nowhere.
00:592.8 million on business rates for half-empty Welsh Government buildings.
01:04And 250,000 spent on a project to count moths.
01:09Well, you couldn't make it up.
01:11The public are angry, First Minister, and they want every element of public spending scrutinised properly.
01:17So can you explain to those people, First Minister, why is this Government not reducing bureaucracy, not reducing waste, and why is it spending their hard-earned taxpayer money?
01:27Do you want to compare stats?
01:30I'll give you some stats.
01:32The Tory Government wrote off £10 billion when it comes to PPE.
01:38That was enough to pay for the entire NHS in Wales for a whole year.
01:44We're not talking millions, we're talking billions here.
01:48£140 million on a Rwanda deal that never materialised.
01:56£1.7 million on painting the Prime Minister's plane.
02:05£3 billion on hiring temps to do civil servant jobs.
02:12And half a billion pounds on post-Brexit inspection sites which were never used.
02:17I can go on and on and on.
02:19Don't you come to me in the Tory party and talk to me about waste.
02:24You are the experts on waste.
02:27Question side, Thressel George.
02:31George, Llyweth.
02:33First Minister, what action is the Welsh Government...
