, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I will be making a statement to the Senedd next week, on 14 November, providing an update on our important work to make council tax fairer.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I have less in common with this Member’s contribution this afternoon. And I just want to correct the record, because I do think it is wrong that the Welsh Conservatives do, week after week, mislead the Welsh public. It is not the case that we have cut the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I’m very grateful for the questions. I’m sure that we do have a lot of common ground on this issue in terms of ensuring that Wales gets its fair share. The current UK funding arrangements, set out in the statement of funding policy, are imposed by the UK…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Further to discussions at the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee in September, I have written to the Chancellor and met with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to outline the priorities for Wales at the autumn statement. It is essential that…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Just to be clear, setting a cap wouldn't lead to a referendum in any case, but a cap is a tool that Welsh Ministers do have if they feel that, in any case, a local authority is intending to introduce a council tax increase that is palpably excessive…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you very much for the question. There's no indication at all from the UK Government that it understands the struggles that local governments are facing—certainly not in England, and I know that they're not interested in the trials of local authorities…
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Topical Questions
I'll begin by saying that the start of the contribution was a very lazy contribution to what is a really, really serious issue. I actually commend the leader of Denbighshire council for the work that he's done in identifying the pressures early on and working…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I'm very grateful to the Member for the question. I'm very proud of the work that we've been doing in partnership with Plaid Cymru as part of our co-operation agreement on making council tax fairer. And I'd just like to put on record, really, my appreciation…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Well, just to reassure the Member and people living in Denbighshire, and all colleagues in the Chamber, I have been assured by the leader of the council today that Denbighshire will present a balanced budget. What the communication referred to does is…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I work closely with local authorities to understand the pressures they face. I meet regularly with leaders, individually and through relevant groups such as the partnership council and the finance sub-group. I'm meeting the leader of Denbighshire council…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
Thank you. I think that some of the problems relate to—we've seen it with HS2, haven't we—the comparability factors, and that's a particularly acute issue when it comes to rail. But another part is just the lack of transparency in year. We are taking really…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
I'm very grateful for those comments. As I mentioned, we will be publishing the addendum to the strategic integrated impact assessment. But our approach to the exercise has been about allocating funding and assessing the strategic and cumulative impacts of…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
I know that the Minister for Social Justice has been very interested to hear your points; I know you've made them to her previously as well, in terms of the potential sharing of those back-office functions amongst the commissioners. Something that we are…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
I'm grateful for those comments. I would just refer you to the response I made in relation to free school meals and the fact that that is a demand-led budget. We expect to meet the demand, and if the demand grows, then we will have systems in place to be able…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
I'll begin by thanking the Member for the support that they've offered in terms of our request to the UK Government for the capital-to-revenue switch. That is warmly welcomed. I hope that you'll also support us—I'm certain that you will—in our request for the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
Thank you for recognising the importance of protecting the RSG, particularly insofar as it supports children and particularly through schools, but also through children’s services and so on. I think that that was a really important sort of starting point for…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
I’m very happy to agree with Alun Davies’s comments there, and particularly those around the system needing to be flexible enough to allow us to manage our budget in the best way possible. So, the fiscal framework as it stands gives us some borrowing powers…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
As I understand it, that scheme is still open for applications, so, obviously, we would encourage people to put their applications in to that particular scheme. And as you'll see in the document that was published today and that was quoted from, these are…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
So, I would disagree with the fundamental premise there that the Welsh Government has its priorities in the wrong place. This entire exercise was undertaken on the basis of a range of priorities and a range of principles that were about protecting public…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
I'm very grateful to Mike Hedges for those comments and suggestions this afternoon. I know colleagues will be definitely considering those particular points, because actually, even though now, today, we're discussing where we are at this point within the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
Thank you very much for those questions. I think perhaps it's helpful if I go through some of the parts of the package in order to try and respond to those questions. So, in essence, there are two parallel things going on here within the package. The first is…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
Thank you, Llywydd. I was just reflecting on the fact that we set these spending plans back in late 2021 at the start of our three-year spending review and there was no way at that point we could have imagined the situation in Ukraine, for example, and the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
Well, I'll begin, Llywydd, where I agree with the opposition spokesperson, and he did begin his contribution by recognising that Governments across the world are grappling with the impacts of inflation, and that is fair comment. Although in the UK we're…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
In addition, we have made a decision to protect the revenue support grant to local authorities, which pays for schools, social care and much else besides, recognising the pressures on those services. Rail services are facing significant cost pressures…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on 2023-24 Financial Position
Thank you. I am pleased to be able to provide the Senedd with an update on our current financial position this year. This follows the First Minister’s written statement in August where he indicated that work would take place over the summer to address the…
