Tory leader calls on First Minister to apologise to the people of Wales for the ‘utter failure’ of its public procurement service

Drawing comparisons with the First Minister’s silence over the M4 relief road, Mr Davies asked for answers about what changes are being made to the service, which is currently under review.

The National Procurement Service was ended by the Welsh Government in September last year in favour of a “smaller operation”.

Mark Drakeford AM faced questions from the opposition leader in the chamber about why the governmental service in charge of purchasing work, goods and services from outside companies had been, as Mr Davies described, a “complete and utter failure”.

He accused the First Minister of failing the people of Wales by ‘dithering’ over the review for a new service, and called on the Welsh Labour-leader to apologise to the people of Wales.

Mr Davies challenged Mr Drakeford to: “take the opportunity here today to apologise to the people of Wales for this failure, and can you outline specifically what changes have been made, and the impact on regional and local working; or is this just a case of your government dithering and kicking another decision into the long grass, just like the M4 relief road?”

Speaking outside the chamber, he added:

“Time and time again, I stand in this chamber and ask the First Minister to uphold a promise he’s made to this country; and time and time again, he dithers and fails to give us a clear answer on a key issue.

“The uncertainty around public procurement practices in Wales are damaging to businesses and to the confidence of business owners and investors. Effective public procurement is crucial to supporting Wales’ SMEs.

“The Welsh Government’s complete lack of competency and direction is yet again having an impact on the future prosperity of Wales.”