, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for the question. Yes, my officials are looking closely at the research. One question that I've asked of them is to what extent it would make a difference to the formula—would it make a substantial and meaningful difference to the amount of money…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Over a quarter of the latest local government settlement was allocated on the basis of 22 deprivation indicators, enabling local authorities to identify and provide support to those areas with the greatest need.
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm really keen to keep those discussions going with local government, and just to be as open and honest with them as we can be at every point of this process. As I say, I was at the WLGA conference and met with the Welsh local government executive recently…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I regularly meet local authorities in the finance sub-group and the partnership council to discuss budgets and pressures. My Cabinet colleagues also meet frequently with councils to discuss issues relating to their portfolios.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
—then I am more than happy to have those discussions. The Member says that it's a stock answer, but the Member asks me the question all the time, and the answer hasn't changed.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I will say that 72 per cent of the funding is updated annually, and that includes the population data, which makes up 25 per cent of the funding. That already uses the latest population data. That's from the 2020-21 budget. I updated the finance sub-group…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I discuss the funding formula on a regular basis with the finance sub-group of the partnership council. The funding formula continues to be developed and agreed with the distribution sub-group to update and review the data and factors in the formula including…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for the question. Also, I do think it is important to recognise that there is some significant cross-party support for some of the quite simple fiscal flexibilities that we're asking for. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has also suggested it would…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes, I absolutely agree with that. Our borrowing limits are very small, and that's one of the reasons that we've overprogrammed our capital budget this year by £100 million, just to try and safeguard against any slippage and to maximise the use of the Welsh…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I have repeatedly made the case for increased borrowing powers for the Welsh Government. When I met with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury last month, I pressed for the recent improvements to borrowing and reserve limits within the Scottish fiscal framework…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
One really important piece of work that we've been doing with our budget advisory group has been looking at how we define and measure prevention and preventative spend. I think that that work has been really helpful in terms of helping all of us think about…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I do think that the Member is being somewhat disingenuous, I'm afraid, in that contribution, because he fails to recognise that schools in Wales are funded through local government and through the RSG. After the spring statement, I was very clear with the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'll be sure that the Minister who is leading on the development of this strategy is aware of those comments, although I think that she has probably had representations from the same organisations. But in terms of how we consider the rights of children and…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Revising the budget lines has been a complex piece of work and has not been done in isolation. We have been working constructively across Government to understand the impacts of decisions and ensure the cumulative impacts—including those concerning children…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I've been very pleased to be in touch with the leader of Swansea Labour council—although I should say, Llywydd, that is in my MS role rather than my ministerial role—but the aim there is to have a conversation very shortly to discuss those particular…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government provides the funding, legislative framework and guidance to support local authorities to undertake their statutory duties in a way that provides flexibility to reflect local needs.
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
What I would say is that I would expect all local authorities to act in accordance with the highest standards when recruiting to posts within their organisations, and to operate in an open and transparent way. I think there is plenty of legislation there in…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Legislation places many requirements on local authorities to be open and transparent. I also recently issued revised statutory guidance to support councils to engage effectively with residents. Auditors and regulators are responsible for ensuring councils are…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, just a couple of key points to say. First of all, we have protected the revenue support grant in this financial year, but, of course, local authorities will be feeling the impact of inflation themselves, so their money will not go as far as it had been…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Certainly. So, I firstly want to just recognise and acknowledge the point that Peredur has made about the anxiety that organisations across the public sector are feeling at the moment. And, in terms of how we came to the £900 million, that was an exercise…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I meet local authorities regularly and recently attended the Welsh Local Government Association conference, and I've also met with the WLGA executive. The revenue support grant has been protected in decisions about the 2023-24 budget. I welcome the pragmatic…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, the assessment of the availability of reserves to local authorities at the moment is that, at an all-Wales level, general or unallocated reserves would cover just 10 days of the costs of local government. Now, I am aware, of course, that the picture does…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I'll just start by reflecting on the comments made by the Chancellor yesterday about the situation in regard to the economy in the UK. He seems to be very satisfied with its performance post Brexit. Well, despite what the Chancellor said, the latest…
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Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
It's rather like having £100 taken out of your back pocket, being handed £5 back and being expected to be grateful for it. I mean, this is money that should have come to Wales and would have come to Wales if the UK Government had committed to its promise to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I can confirm that I’m not having any discussions at the moment with any council in regard to a workplace parking levy.
