, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Well, £350 million could have made a significant difference to us here in Wales in terms of the investment that we're able to make in public services. I think that the UK Government should return that money to Wales. There's absolutely no argument now that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Up to the end of 2024-25, Wales will have missed out on around £350 million as a result of the incorrect classification of HS2 as an England-and-Wales project.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I'm afraid I can't eliminate non-domestic rates for a very large sector of our economy here in Wales, just because non-domestic rates—. Let's remember the purpose of those non-domestic rates—they are there to provide vital funding for our public services. So…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I'm really grateful to Vikki Howells for raising that, and I know that she's been talking to businesses in her local area a great deal, and they have been expressing concerns about those gaps between revaluations. That's one of the reasons why we're…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
We remain on track to deliver the programme of reforms that I set out for this Senedd term. Several improvements have already been made, including delivering the 2023 revaluation. Through the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill, we will deliver on the range…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
We know that this is a concern to a number of public bodies, which is why we've worked to develop an insourcing toolkit. We know that a number of local authorities are very interested—local authorities, but you could read across to other parts of the public…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I'm very grateful for the question, and it leads me to think of some work that we've been doing through the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru in relation to better understanding Welsh spend in terms of procurement. So, we've been looking at how we can…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Procurement is one of the most important levers we have to support a more equal, more sustainable and more prosperous Wales. Implementing robust procurement policies can help us achieve our ambitious net-zero aspirations, support a green recovery and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
The first thing to say is that we haven't yet developed the contracts that we will use for the franchising, but our existing contracts for TrawsCymru services will be used as a starting point because they have, already, some of the features that we would…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I can't say anything about the budgets for the years that we don't have a settlement for at this point. I think something that needs to be recognised is that we provide significant funding already to support bus services across Wales. But what franchising…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Decisions about the funding available for bus franchising will be a matter for the budget-setting process in the appropriate years, noting the challenging fiscal outlook that we're facing.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
We're focusing on a roll-out of our childcare measures in a way that is focused, structured and budgeted for, and a way in which the sector is there ready, if you like, to deliver on, which isn't the case in England, which I think we can all agree has been…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I was informed of the Barnett consequentials for Wales as a result of the childcare funding in England in a call with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on the morning of the UK spring budget 2023.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I wouldn't say that the Senedd or anybody else was blindsided by the work that we did to respond to the impacts of inflation on our budgets, because we were really clear. We did have some debates about it in Government and we decided at the end to make a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Yes, certainly. I think that what you've set out is very much our approach to the first supplementary budget, which we will be publishing in June, as normal. Officials have been working through the implications of the changes in responsibilities in terms of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I recognise the concerns about the impact on households during the cost-of-living crisis, and that was very central to our considerations as we looked at the pace of reform. The slower pace was the favoured response in terms of the consultation, so we…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
The first thing to say is there's been an awful lot of misreporting. I'm aware that the Conservatives have had their wrists slapped somewhat in relation to their use of the phrase 'a blanket ban' in terms of the 20 mph and so on. So, I would urge the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
So, I'm not able to set out those details today because, whilst the announcement has said that the revaluation will take place in 2028, and we'll be amending the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill to reflect that, what we don't have now, at this point, is…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
So, I've just set out the ways in which the fiscal framework is working very much to our advantage at the moment, and particularly in terms of the Barnett needs factor, whereby we have an additional £300 million in the settlement. So, I think that's important…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I'm afraid I don't recognise any part of that contribution at all because it mixes up a whole load of different matters, including the way in which the UK Government is responsible for pensions here in Wales, the way in which the UK Government is responsible…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Yes, it's absolutely the case that the value of the flexibilities that we have has been eroded since the point at which they were set. So, in this financial year, our reserve capacity and also our borrowing powers will be worth 23 per cent less than at the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Yes. The fiscal framework is subject to regular internal review. In the main, it is operating well. However, there are elements relating to fiscal flexibilities where I have been making the case for improvements with UK Government Ministers.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
I'm very grateful for that question and that clear recognition that property taxes are stable taxes but also taxes that are much more difficult to avoid in many ways. For that reason, we think that council tax absolutely plays an important part in our local…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Well, I'm grateful for the opportunity just to restate the purpose behind the 182 days that was introduced, and that is very much because the Welsh Government believes that owners of properties and residents of properties, be they domestic or business, should…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office
Having listened carefully to people’s views from our consultation, there was a clear appetite for reform but delivered over a slower time frame. I'll deliver some improvements to make council tax fairer this term, and continue engaging on the right structural…
