, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
I think it was because the request from business was less than we'd anticipated, and I know that businesses had to put in a request that was in line with the kind of loss that they were experiencing. So, perhaps some businesses have been more resilient than…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Yes, that's part of the announcement that the economy Minister made, but we still have funding within that £200 million that was earmarked, and the economy Minister is currently working with his officials to determine what kind of schemes and support…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
So, that particular package was delivered both through Welsh Government and through local authorities, depending on the size of the ask and the nature of the challenge that the business was facing. So, the original May-to-June package only closed on Wednesday…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Yes, this was all about timing. So, you'll remember that we had our final budget published on 2 March and then the UK Government, of course, had its March budget on the third, so that is the reason; although, ahead of that budget, we were calling on the UK…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Yes, I'd be happy to do that. That stimulus package built on the £320 million package that we announced within the financial year last year, but the additional funding to which you've referred, the £224.5 million, is a mixture of £188.5 million general…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Yes, the committee's previous interventions have been really helpful in this regard, because it does show that it is actually a cross-party committee of the Senedd, sharing the concerns that the Welsh Government has identified in terms of that lack of clarity…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Yes, unfortunately, these uncertainties remain. The COVID guarantee was really helpful in terms of being an innovative way in which to provide at least some certainty for devolved administrations in terms of helping us with our planning. So, that was a step…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Wow, lots of interesting questions there, Chair. So, I'll take the end of your question first, and that's about the reforming or reconsidering the way in which we raise local taxation. So, one of the items within our programme for government is a commitment…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Well, you would have seen the programme for government, published by the First Minister. I think it will be the case that the programme for government will be reflected more so in the discussions that we're having, as we prepare the budget for the next…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2021-22: Evidence session
Well, bore da; good morning, Chair. Congratulations on your election to your post and good morning to the rest of committee. As you'll see in our supplementary budget documentation, the budget here really does focus, once more, on our response to the…
, Finance Committee
Papers to note
Yes. I'm Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, of course, universal basic income is about alleviating poverty, and that is absolutely the interest of the Welsh Government. It's also about giving people more control over their lives and having a positive impact on their mental health and their…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government only invests in line with the priorities voted upon by the people of Wales. This has included the need to invest to address historic and consistent underinvestment by the UK Government in critical areas such as broadband and rail…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, this funding formula is developed in consultation with local government to ensure that there is fair treatment of different factors, and, of course, the independent members of the distribution sub-group are there to ensure that there is no bias in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes. The funding formula is developed and maintained jointly with local government. If local government, through the collective voice of the Welsh Local Government Association, has proposals for different approaches or wants a formal review of the formula…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Welsh Government has provided, over recent years, significant funding for councils for Safe Routes to School, Safe Routes in Communities, and also our active travel funding. At the start of the previous Senedd, we were only investing around £16 million a year…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising that issue, and I'm really pleased to say that we do have a debate on buses, of course, later on this afternoon, where some of these issues can be explored in more depth with the Minister with responsibility for transport. But…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Tackling climate change is at the heart of this Government’s policy making. For example, this year we have provided £275 million of capital funding to support the continued delivery of our metro networks, increased investment in active travel to around £55…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I have to say to Mark Isherwood it's more than a claim—it's a fact. Welsh Government has provided the most generous package of business support, and businesses in north Wales have received over £475 million of support through the economic resilience fund…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Our package of business support is the most generous available anywhere in the UK, and we have provided more in business support than we've received from the UK Government in respect of support in England. I have earmarked up to £200 million of additional…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising that important issue. We've been really conscious of lost income for local authorities in particular and, as a result, Welsh Government has provided £190.5 million to support local government in terms of lost income. And that includes…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising this issue. We do have a civil contingencies unit within the Welsh Government, and work is under way to examine the preparations and planning of all parts of Welsh Government in terms of what we need to do alongside partners for future…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'd like to echo Buffy Williams's admiration and thanks for local government workers who, as she said, have gone absolutely above and beyond through the course of the pandemic, and keep doing so as we try and move through this current period as well. It is…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
My ministerial colleagues and I have had regular discussions with local government leaders on the effect of the pandemic, including the financial impacts. Welsh Government officials have worked with local government finance directors to understand the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, in terms of the Scottish council elections, I'm not aware of any problems that we've had in 2017 or 2012, but it is absolutely the case that 2007 was a very difficult year for those particular elections, which did combine the elections for the Scottish…
