11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Yes. I think that the intention is that anything that involves changes to the support to which people are entitled, it would obviously be only right to consult on that.
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
So, again, I think that this is something that would allow us to respond to things such as support for families hosting people from Ukraine—so, those kinds of unforeseen circumstances where we would want to recognise people's ongoing eligibility for support…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Band D was set as the mid reference point for the eight-band system back in 1991, so depending on the decisions that are taken in respect of council tax in the future, it might be appropriate to have a different band letter-wise or number-wise, because it…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
So, this is in relation to civil penalties. So, it's important, obviously, that we're able to provide for civil penalties, and any of those proposals that we have will be subject to consultation. The Bill does specify a maximum penalty that could be imposed…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
And millions of pounds are lost to local authorities every year though the abuse of charitable rate relief.
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Do you want to say something about charitable rate relief and shutting down avoidance schemes?
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
So, that's because techniques to avoid tax are constantly evolving in ways that aren't possible to predict, and non-domestic rates are obviously no exception to that. So, it provides the appropriate level of flexibility, I think, to respond to specific…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Two reasons, really, the first being, obviously, to protect the vast majority of people who pay their non-domestic rates appropriately under the correct sum, and so on. So, to be fair to those people, but then also to protect the important revenue that is…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Ruth's already got her finger on the pulse.
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Yes, they do, and if you bear with me I can tell you which sections.
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Perhaps Ruth or Debra—. Who would be the best person to answer that?
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
So, in terms of what you're describing, I would say that's not what happens in either Westminster or Scotland in the sense that those Ministers also rely on a whole suite of secondary powers in order to make the kinds of decisions that we are proposing to…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
So, I would say, though, in any case, if you were to have a finance Bill in the Senedd, in the context of that, which we described in the Wales tax Acts scrutiny, it would not be the right place, I think, to include decisions relating to local government…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
But, to my knowledge, neither of those use a finance Bill to deal with local government finance matters, because—
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
I think it's just that in some cases they do, and in some cases they don't, so this legislation would make things more coherent. So, I mentioned previously, when you're dealing with charitable rates relief, that's set out in primary legislation, whereas small…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
I'll ask Debra to come in on this.
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
So, I think we would have to disagree in terms of needing primary legislation at all times, especially because some of the things that we're talking about, in terms of local government finance, are just almost routine, in some ways. So, the date of a…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Well, we know that the council tax and NDR systems will need to be updated frequently and will need to respond to things frequently. Does it feel right, then, to be using a kind of more emergency procedure to deal with things that we could reasonably…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
No. I think that what we're proposing is consistent with what, as you say, is a very long-standing principle in relation to the role of the legislature. I don't see a contradiction there, especially as lots of what the Bill relates to are some of the…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Can I ask you to take that?
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
I suppose it's a question about what's reasonable and proportionate. Would it be reasonable and proportionate to bring in a piece of primary legislation to delay the revaluation date by one year? Now, there's an argument to be had there, I suppose, but, you…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
So, I would say that that's a matter for the Senedd in terms of prioritising its scrutiny. But, I suppose you can't have it both ways, in the sense of wanting plenty of information and detail to scrutinise versus a more simple, streamlined system. So, if…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
Well, by the commitment to have the scrutiny in the affirmative of regulations, for example, and then also by the wider consultation work that we'll do, which I know the Senedd will take an interest in as well. Certainly, it's a big step forward as compared…
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
I think the Bill expands on the opportunities that the Senedd has for scrutiny, as compared to the current system. So, I think it's an improvement. Obviously, I'm happy to take the committee's views, but—
11 Rhagfyr 2023 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Bil Cyllid Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru): Sesiwn dystiolaeth
I think the flexibility is needed now, or the ability to respond, because things, as I say, happen all the time that we might need to respond to in order to either provide businesses with the support that they need, or households with the support that they…
