, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes. So, once an asset is completed and operational, the public sector pays the annual service payments to which you've referred, and that's paid to the project company. And it's modelled to provide for the cost of design, build, finance, maintenance and the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm grateful to Mike Hedges for the question, and respectfully suggest that we take different views on the mutual investment model. And I suppose the direct answer to the question as to whether we will postpone projects until we can fund them through…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The mutual investment model is used to bring forward capital investment when all other sources of funding have been exhausted. It has been used to fund the dualling of sections 5 and 6 of the A465, as well as school-building projects in Flintshire and Rhondda…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, I’ve been crystal clear, I think, since the launch of this work that we will obviously be considering transitional arrangements for people who are impacted by council tax reform in terms of seeing their bills rise. What those transitional arrangements…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, I launched a phase 2 consultation on a fairer council tax on 14 November. I am seeking views on the scale and the pace of reform. The consultation makes clear that the earliest date from which reform could take effect would be April 2025, and I'll…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, Llywydd, I don’t intend to fight a general election that hasn’t yet even been called in finance questions in this Senedd, but what I will say is that we have to be mindful of what an incoming Labour Government—should there be one—would be inheriting. It…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I had the opportunity, this week, to talk to Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer about some of their plans for the future and some of the things that they will be putting to the people of the United Kingdom. And one of the things that they've already talked about…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think that council leaders themselves recognise that a section 114 notice, in and of itself, doesn't help the situation at all. I think council leaders will be working very hard to balance their budgets for the next year. They'll be thinking about all of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, the funding formula is constantly under review through the work of the distribution sub-group of the Partnership Council for Wales, which works alongside the finance sub-group, essentially to determine and update figures that relate to the funding…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, as I was just referring in my previous comments, things are looking very difficult for local authorities, but, that said, I am confident that local authorities will provide balanced budgets for the next financial year.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I should just be clear that 2025 is the earliest date at which council tax reform could come into place. We are currently consulting, and part of that includes the pace of reform, which could be 2028, or another date. So, I'd just be clear about that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful for the question. It is a fact that there are so many people across Wales who aren't claiming what is rightfully theirs. That's why the work that we're doing through our 'Claim what's yours' campaign is so vitally important, in terms of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
We have provided funding to local authorities because we know that our councils provide many services that are essential for many people in our society. We have provided over £3 billion of support to those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis, including…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think we have to be realistic about the challenges facing us. Our Welsh Government budget actually decreases in real terms next year and, obviously, that’s going to have an impact also on the budgets of local authorities as well. Were there to be additional…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
There’s absolutely no doubt whatsoever that leisure services, including libraries and sport centres and other local leisure services, obviously, have a huge social impact and are incredibly beneficial. That said, we do understand of course the huge pressures…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
In making our decisions on the budget for 2023-24, I considered the breadth of services that local authorities deliver for their communities across Wales. Councils in South Wales East received a combined uplift of 7.4 per cent. This is significantly better…
, Plenary
The Representation of the People (Electoral Registers Publication Date) (Wales) Regulations 2023
Thank you. The arrangements for the administration of our elections are important in order to ensure the smooth running of those elections. Much of the administration is governed by legislation, which includes the date for the publication of the electoral…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Local Government’s Progress towards Net Zero
I'm very grateful for those points, and the next reports will be published on the Welsh Government's website in January, and I'll make sure that we send you a link to those and also to the ones that are currently available. Whenever we support projects, we…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Local Government’s Progress towards Net Zero
I'm really grateful to Jane Dodds for setting out that really good example of how Powys has used the toolkit that is available to interrogate its spend and then to make the right choices to try and reduce the carbon emissions through the supply chain. I think…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Local Government’s Progress towards Net Zero
Yes. I'm grateful to you for raising that and for your long-standing work in terms of driving forward this agenda. We do continue to encourage local government pensions authorities to decarbonise their pension investments where they've not already done so…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Local Government’s Progress towards Net Zero
I'm very grateful for those questions. Perhaps I'll start my response where you left off, in relation to procurement. We did publish a new Welsh public procurement policy statement in 2021, and that sets out 10 principles for procuring for well-being in…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Local Government’s Progress towards Net Zero
I'm very grateful for those questions and comments, and, I think, for what is a really shared recognition of the importance of this agenda, and an agreement, really, that there should be collaborative working across sectors as we take our journey to net zero…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Local Government’s Progress towards Net Zero
Diolch, Llywydd. Next week we will again mark Wales Climate Week, coinciding with Conference of the Parties 28, when the world will consider how to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis. I am pleased to update Members on local authorities' progress…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I would absolutely recognise and agree with that analysis. But, of course, it's just the Tories doing what the Tories do—they look after the most wealthy in society, they look after the vested interests, they have absolutely zero interest in supporting the…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I'm very grateful to the Member for raising those points, and for the obvious concern that there is for people who are struggling. So, we have made strong representations to the UK Government on the fact that the energy crisis isn't over; energy prices are…
