, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Delivering a Fairer Council Tax
Diolch, Llywydd. Our programme for government commits us to reforming council tax to make it fairer, and the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru reaffirms that aim. Today, I am launching a phase 2 consultation, which provides an update on our latest work…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I know this is an area where the Member takes a very different view of the provision of care to the most vulnerable children in Wales, as compared to the Welsh Government. I think the question, again, I'm afraid, is best given to the Minister for Social…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for the question. I'd be very keen to have a copy of the report to which you referred, to study it more carefully. You do mention the increase to £5, which was an increase, I think, of 11 per cent at the time, and we have committed to reviewing the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
We provided increases of £100 million to support capital and revenue programmes supporting both childcare and Flying Start for the current three-year budget period. I continue to engage regularly with the Deputy Minister for Social Services, who is…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
That would, I think, really be a matter for discussion between the education Minister and the Minister for transport; that's where the budgets sit for these particular discussions to be had. Of course, I have individual meetings with all of my colleagues, and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful for the question. I don't want to mislead colleagues as to thinking that there is any funding available at the centre now within the Welsh Government in order to provide funding for new—I appreciate this is a continuation of an…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Fflecsi Bwcabus service was introduced as a European funded initiative. Unfortunately, as the UK Government has not maintained its commitment to replace this funding, and budgets continue to squeeze, we will be unable to support many initiatives…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think that would be more a question for the Minister for Climate Change, in whose portfolio the funding for flooding sits. But I can say that we are providing £34 million in capital funding to our risk management authorities this financial year as part of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I would always encourage local authorities to apply for any of our flood schemes where they think it would be of benefit to their communities. And then, of course, we have the emergency financial assistance scheme, which is available for local authorities…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government is already investing £75 million as part of our flood programme for 2023-24, with £5.25 million revenue funding available to local authorities. We've also made £12 million capital funding available to support the development and delivery…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
That's a very bizarre way of looking at how we fund local government here in Wales. We fund local government here in Wales through the RSG and through specific grants, and then local authorities also raise council tax. That's just part of the way in which…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very, very grateful for the question. Obviously, protecting public services is always right at the heart of everything that we seek to do, and particularly so through our budget choices. I think, though, that there are other ways in which we can help…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I discuss support for local government with Cabinet colleagues regularly, most recently as part of the in-year budget reprioritisation exercise and as part of the work on the Welsh budget for 2024-25.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think that that's really a question to my colleague the Minister for Economy, who will be making those choices, but I'm more than happy to make that case on your behalf in the discussions that I will have with him. I just also should mention the work that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government believes in the principle of subsidiarity, that Government responsibilities should be allocated to the most local level at which they can be performed effectively and efficiently. The relevant portfolio Ministers will always, therefore…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I would disagree that it duplicates functions. Instead, it puts those functions into a structure and framework where those functions are best deployed. I think that it is important to give local authorities the ability to work across those local…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful for the question. My own role in respect of CJCs is really in terms of the establishment and the governance of CJCs, but of course, I work very closely with my colleagues who have those portfolio interests. Myself, the Minister for Climate…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I remain grateful to local authority partners for their work and progress in establishing corporate joint committees. The Welsh Government is working closely with CJCs to support their ongoing implementation, both in relation to their statutory planning…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for the questions. Just to confirm that—I think you used the word 'blind-sided', but we absolutely weren't; we saw this coming in terms of there being severe pressures on the budget before we even entered this financial year. So, I think that it's…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think that you answered that question in your question, in the sense that you referred to Cabinet making decisions and Cabinet discussing with a view to making decisions. Well, that's what the purpose of Cabinet is. There are so many other meetings that go…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, the area where I would agree is that there will be long-term financial impacts, and we'll see those impacts in the £93 million a year that the NHS is going to save in terms of dealing with the awful aftermath of car accidents. So, we will continue to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'd be very keen for the UK Conservative Government to answer that question through increased funding for Wales in the autumn statement on the twenty-second of this month, because, at the end of the day, we only have a finite amount of money available to us…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm grateful for the question, and I think that one of the important things there to recognise is that that agreement was made back in 2016. But the framework and the statement of funding policy haven't evolved to meet those challenges and to recognise all…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm not going to conflate the two issues of local government reserves with council tax reform. I think that that would be a dangerous thing to do, because I think that it is important to keep the two things separate. Council tax reserves are in many ways a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'll begin by saying and recognising the fact that we are working on 2003 valuations for properties at the moment. That can't be right, to be working on a system that is 20 years out of date. But, that said, in England and Scotland they're working on…
