Councils and public services
How councils are funded and run, reform of public bodies and the civil service, and the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
In the Programme for Government this sits under the well-being objective Standing up for Wales and demanding fairness from Westminster.
- Statements and debates
- 1
- Contributions
- 655
- Written questions
- 14
- Commitments raised
- 6 of 7
655 contributions in the Seventh Senedd touched on this. The busiest month was Sept 2026, with 262.
- Plaid49%
- Reform28%
- Conservative11%
- Labour11%
- Green0%
- Lib Dem0%
On this page
The debate so far
Since May 2026 the Senedd has mainly argued about how councils are funded: the size of the settlement, a review of the funding formula and council tax rises. Members have also pressed ministers on social care costs, council borrowing and regional bodies. Debate on public service reform has covered the civil service, arm's-length bodies and Audit Wales scrutiny. The Well-being of Future Generations Act has been discussed mostly in relation to a promised review.
The main arguments
- Peter Fox (Welsh Conservatives) asked whether councils will get a significant uplift to fund social care. Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru) blamed UK cuts for tight funding, cited the extra £112.8 million this year, and said future funding would follow normal budget planning.
