Ken Skates MS, Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
On 30 January 2020, I issued a Written Statement to confirm that, as a result of legal advice, Welsh Government had cancelled the procurement for the Job Support Wales Programme due to technical difficulties. I am today providing Members with an up-date on the matter.
A review of the difficulties we experienced with the procurement was commissioned by the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd and was completed by officials in March 2020. The review confirmed that although the Welsh Government’s approach to procurement was in line with the Public Contract Regulations, it was appropriate in this instance to abandon this particular procurement. The review made a number of recommendations to strengthen internal processes and these are now being taken forward by officials.
The Welsh Government’s Internal Audit Services will be reviewing the lessons learned from this matter to ensure they are applied consistently across all future Welsh Government procurement activities.
Announcements on the future for the Employability and Skills programmes will be made in due course.
I will continue to keep Members informed of any significant developments.